Permissions
Why Autonomous Work cannot install software or repair PATH on its own.
Autonomous Work runs in a mode that auto-confirms only file edits (writeFile and applyCodeEdit) — every other destructive action, including running arbitrary commands, installing software, changing PATH, or committing to git, still requires a real confirmation nobody is present in an unattended run to give.
If the model attempts one of those other actions, the run reaches a real, structurally-enforced "waiting for permission" state and stops there — it does not silently skip the step, retry indefinitely, or fall back to auto-approving it.
Concretely: Autonomous Work cannot currently detect a missing dependency, install it, repair PATH, and continue on its own. It can detect and request permission, but installation and PATH repair require a human confirmation the unattended run has no way to supply. See Coding → Software Installation for the full user-directed-vs-autonomous comparison.
Product disclosure
This page documents the current PawOS behavior for Permissions. It is intended to disclose what users can see and use, what permissions are required, what evidence is recorded, and what limitations remain.
This disclosure is part of the PawOS documentation for Permissions. It is written to make the product behavior understandable before a user relies on it, pays for it, connects an account, approves a plan, or authorizes a machine-affecting action.
What users see
- Autonomous Work appears as an unattended ticket-oriented run with investigation, plan, implementation, validation, completion, and charging state.
- Users should see eligibility, connector status, credit balance, ticket context, execution evidence, and final completion/charging result.
- When a connector cannot write back to the tracker, the user should see a structured report or supported PR/MR comment path rather than a claimed ticket update.
What PawOS does
- PawOS investigates the ticket and repository, creates isolated work where supported, applies changes through the same coding mechanisms, validates the result, and records evidence.
- Autonomous Work Credits are separate from Paw Compute and fund ticket completions only when completion criteria are satisfied.
- Billing logic is intended to be success-gated and protected against duplicate completion charges.
Permissions and boundaries
- Autonomous Work does not grant permission to install software, repair PATH, change system settings, or bypass user/organization confirmation gates.
- Connector capabilities differ by provider. Reading a ticket, commenting on a PR, creating a PR, and changing ticket status are separate capabilities.
- A run that is blocked, failed, or not verified should not be described as completed.
Evidence and records
- Completion should be supported by repository state, validation output, changed files, connector evidence where available, and billing/completion records.
- If independent connector verification is absent for a specific close/merge state, that limitation must remain disclosed.
Limitations and user responsibility
- Jira and Linear write-back from Autonomous Work is not implemented in the current docs.
- Automatic new PR/MR creation is not documented as implemented; supported connector actions should be described provider by provider.
- Eligible account, connector, repository, and credit conditions are required before an actual run can be validated.
Warning
PawOS can assist with planning, coding, automation, connectors, billing flows, and system operations, but the user remains responsible for reviewing plans, confirmations, diffs, command effects, connector side effects, billing actions, and final outputs before relying on them.