Most of what the assistant does is recoverable, so it does it without asking. A small set of actions is not, and those pause the task and ask you before they run.

## What pauses for approval

| The assistant wants to | Approval |
|---|---|
| Restore a file to an older version | Always |
| Revoke a share link | Always |
| Force an undo of a whole run, after a conflict | Only when it forces past the conflict |
| Run a shell command that starts with `rm` or `mv`, anywhere in the chain | Always |

Everything else runs without asking, including creating and editing files. Monofile captures every write as a version and groups a run's writes into a changeset you can revert in one click, so they are already reviewable. See [[Reviewing Changes]]. Approval covers the actions that destroy history or cut off access, where a later revert cannot help you.

A conflict is the common route to that third row. When the assistant tries to undo a run and a file in it has changed since, Monofile refuses the undo and instructs the assistant to check with you before forcing it. Forcing discards those later changes, which is why it asks.

## Answering

The tool row in the conversation shows that it needs your approval, with two buttons.

- **Approve** runs the action and the assistant carries on with the rest of the work.
- **Deny** skips the action. The assistant learns that you declined and keeps going, usually by proposing something else. Denying does not end the conversation, and it is not an error.

You can also say what you want in the next message. A denied revert followed by "restore only the second file instead" is a normal exchange.

## The task waits

A pending approval parks the task. Monofile saves the conversation in that state, so:

- Reloading the page, closing the panel or switching devices does not lose the question. It is waiting for you when you come back.
- The pause has no time pressure. Answer in a minute or tomorrow.
- Approving starts a fresh task that carries out the action and continues the work.

> [!NOTE]
> A conversation waiting on an answer does not count as running, so the running tasks badge does not include it.

## Keeping approvals cheap

1. **Ask for the safe work first.** Monofile instructs the assistant to do the reversible part of a job before anything that needs your approval. That way a pending question blocks as little as possible.
2. **Ask for a checkpoint before big jobs.** With a named snapshot, the recovery path is a restore you choose, rather than a revert the assistant has to ask permission for. See [[Checkpoints]].

> [!TIP]
> If you want an assistant that cannot reach any of these actions at all, put the conversation in **Read** mode. It then has no write, revert or share tools to ask about. See [[The AI Assistant]].

## Next steps

:::cards
- [[Reviewing Changes]] — The diff view and the changeset card: keep or revert everything an agent touched.
- [[Long-Running Tasks]] — Durable runs that survive reloads and closed tabs, and how to watch or stop them.
- [[Reverting Safely]] — Restore a file or undo a whole run, and what happens on a conflict.
- [[Share Links]] — Secret per-file URLs with optional expiry, password and pinned content.
:::