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Work: setting to turn off agent question cards (elicitation)? #1301
Description
Request
A user asked whether they can turn off the box Work shows when the agent asks a question (for example, "move forward with this suggestion?"). They like the UI but would rather the agent keep going on its own.
We're not sure the complexity is worth it yet. This issue records the research so we can decide later, or pick it up if more people ask.
Where questions come from
All three agent types show the same question card:
| Agent | Source | How it could be turned off at startup |
|---|---|---|
| Maple's own agent | request_user_input in agent/tools/desktop.rs (desktop_tools), always registered for desktop tasks |
Don't register the tool |
| Claude Code | AskUserQuestion, intercepted in agent/external_agents/claude.rs |
Add --disallowedTools AskUserQuestion to command_args. Takes effect when the process starts, including --resume; a running task keeps the tool until its process restarts |
| Codex | request_user_input, which Codex offers only in plan mode by default. We turn it on for the default mode with features.default_mode_request_user_input: true in session_config() (codex.rs) |
Send false. The config goes with every thread start and turn, so it applies from the next turn |
Turning the tools off at startup is better than declining the agent's questions afterwards: the model never tries to ask, so there are no wasted round trips and no prompt workarounds.
Open questions
- Remote hosts.
AppSettingsis a cache in the desktop app, but tools are registered and agent processes started on the host, which may be a remote machine. The setting would have to reach the host, probably copied to each task likedefault_web_enabled/set_session_web_enabled, which means a change to the remote wire format. Claude Code makes this stricter, because the host needs the value before it starts the process, not just when a prompt arrives. - Codex non-blocking questions. Codex can also ask through an agent message delivered asynchronously (
CodexItem::AsyncQuestion). Not yet checked against Codex's source: doesdefault_mode_request_user_input: falsealso stop these? If not, show them as plain text without the card. - Codex plan mode always offers the tool. As far as we know Maple never puts Codex in plan mode.
- Running tasks. Should changing the setting affect running tasks, or only new ones? Claude Code can only change when its process restarts.
- Scope. A toggle that works only for some agents, or only on the local computer, may confuse more than it helps. If we build this, it probably needs to cover all three agents and remote hosts from the start.
- Keep permission prompts separate. This would turn off questions only, never tool-permission prompts.
Workaround today
Add an instruction under Settings → Prompt, for example "make reasonable assumptions and keep going instead of asking me." This is a request to the model, not a hard switch. Not checked: whether these instructions reach Claude Code and Codex, or only Maple's agent.
Activity