[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
- Start a Claude Code session
- Use
WebSearchdirectly in the main conversation → user is prompted for permission - Spawn a subagent (e.g.,
claude-code-guidevia Task tool) that usesWebSearch - 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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