Auto mode unavailable despite Max plan subscription
Status Closed — not planned
Reported on v2.1.97
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 9 comments · opened Apr 9, 2026 · closed Apr 10, 2026
Bug Description
--mode auto flag is not recognized, and auto mode shows "not available for your plan" despite being on the Max plan with correct configuration.
Environment
- Claude Code version: 2.1.97 (latest available via npm)
- OS: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
- Plan: Claude Max subscription
Steps to Reproduce
- Configure auto mode in
~/.claude/settings.json:
``json``
{ "preferences": { "defaultMode": "auto" } }
- Launch Claude Code — auto mode is not activated, shows "not available for your plan"
- Try launching with
claude --mode auto— returnserror: unknown option '--mode'
Expected Behavior
Auto mode should be available for Max plan subscribers, and --mode should be a valid CLI flag.
Actual Behavior
- Auto mode gated with "not available for your plan" message
--modeflag not recognized (CLI suggests--modelinstead)- Authentication refresh does not resolve the issue
Additional Context
~/.claude/settings.jsonhasdefaultMode: "auto"correctly set- Confirmed version 2.1.97 is the latest available via
npm show @anthropic-ai/claude-code version
9 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
👎 These are not duplicates of this issue.
The suggested issues (#33587, #44708, #42649) are about Plan mode breaking because the automode entitlement check bleeds into it. That's a different symptom.
This issue is about auto mode itself being completely unavailable on a Max subscription. I'm paying for Max. Auto mode is a Max feature. It doesn't work. Period. Shift+Tab doesn't cycle to it,
--mode autodoesn't exist as a flag, and the settings config forautomodeis silently ignored.Yes, the root cause is probably the same broken entitlement check — but closing this as a duplicate of Plan mode bugs means the actual auto mode unavailability gets buried and never explicitly tracked. Those issues are about Plan mode. This issue is about Auto mode. They're siblings, not duplicates.
The fact that there are now 4+ issues all pointing at the same busted permission gate should be a signal to actually prioritize fixing it, not to auto-close everything into a pile and forget about it.
Please reopen and track this separately, or at minimum confirm the entitlement check fix will address auto mode availability — not just the Plan mode regression.
same here
It's pretty ridiculous. If we can use --dangerously-skip-permissions, auto mode needs to be accessible for MAX plan users and addressed independently of /plan mode.
I can enable auto mode with
claude --permission-mode autobut claude code says "auto mode is unavailable for your plan" even though I'm on Max planAuto mode is not available for Max at the moment: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes#eliminate-prompts-with-auto-mode
@timgu0 wow - totally not cool. firstly, may you please explain to me why it's not available for Max? :(
secondly, in the meantime, what's stopping us from simply manually adjusting the permissions to 'simulate' automode, in theory nothing right?
Exactly, we can use our MAX plan tokens to build the architecture to perform automode functionality. So lame. Why are y'all doing such a terrible job of supporting MAX plan users? Kissing the butts of massive corporate entities, while spitting in the faces of real people, then calling yourselves the good guys. What kind of alignment do you think you're really building with those business practices?
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