[BUG] Subagents denied tool permissions without user prompt

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Jan 28, 2026 by treerz Closed Feb 1, 2026

Description

When a subagent (Task tool) attempts to use certain tools like WebSearch, permission is denied without prompting the user. In contrast, when the main conversation uses the same tool, the user is properly prompted to allow or deny.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Start a Claude Code session
  2. Use WebSearch directly in the main conversation → user is prompted for permission
  3. Spawn a subagent (e.g., claude-code-guide via Task tool) that uses WebSearch
  4. The subagent receives "Permission to use WebSearch has been denied" without the user ever being prompted

Expected Behavior

One of the following:

  • Subagents should inherit permissions already granted to the main conversation
  • Subagents should be able to escalate permission requests to the user
  • At minimum, the user should be informed that a subagent requested a permission that was denied

Actual Behavior

  • Subagents silently fail with permission denied
  • User is never prompted or informed
  • This can cause confusion when subagent results are incomplete or unexpected

Environment

  • OS: macOS (Darwin 21.6.0)
  • Claude Code version: Latest (Claude Code v2.1.22)
  • Terminal: Standard terminal

Additional Context

This was discovered when a claude-code-guide subagent attempted to answer questions about Claude Code. The subagent tried to use WebSearch but was denied, while the same WebSearch worked fine when called directly from the main conversation after user approval.

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