[DOCS] Manual mode footer indicator: v2.1.203 grey ⏸ badge in the footer for manual permission mode is not documented

Documentation Type

Missing documentation (feature not documented)

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes

Section/Topic

• The opening paragraph of "## Switch permission modes" / "## Available modes" in permission-modes.md, which says "The current mode appears in the status bar" without naming the manual-mode badge.
• The Manual (default) mode description at the top of the page, which describes what Manual mode does but never tells the reader what footer badge it shows.
• Cross-references in how-claude-code-works.md ("Control what Claude can do") and statusline.md ("Footer badges render alongside a custom status line…"), where a new "active mode always visible" footer badge is the only mode footer indicator the docs do not enumerate.

Current Documentation

The permission-modes.md page documents two footer/status-bar badges for permission modes but not for Manual:

acceptEdits mode lets Claude create and edit files in your working directory without prompting. The status bar shows ⏵⏵ accept edits on while this mode is active.

dontAsk mode auto-denies every tool call that would otherwise prompt. The status bar shows ⏵⏵ don't ask on while this mode is active.

The CLI-mode cycling paragraph describes the indicator generically:

During a session: press Shift+Tab to cycle default → acceptEdits → plan. The current mode appears in the status bar. Not every mode is in the default cycle:

The page names Manual as the UI label for the default mode and explains it:

| default | Reads only. Labeled Manual in the CLI and IDE extensions | Getting started, sensitive work |

The mode that reviews every action is named Manual in the CLI, in claude --help, and in the VS Code and JetBrains extensions. Its config value is default, which is what hooks and SDK integrations use. The CLI accepts manual as an alias wherever you type the value, for example claude --permission-mode manual or "defaultMode": "manual". The Manual label and the manual alias require Claude Code v2.1.200 or later.

statusline.md:18 says the status line "renders in its own row above the built-in footer badges and does not replace them," but never names the Manual-mode footer badge.

how-claude-code-works.md lists "Default" as a cycling option alongside Auto-accept edits and Plan mode but does not mention that Manual mode now has a footer badge the way the docs imply other modes do.

What's Wrong or Missing?

The v2.1.203 changelog entry reads:

Added a grey ⏸ badge to the footer when in manual permission mode, making the active mode always visible

After v2.1.203, every CLI session in Manual (the renamed default) mode shows a small grey ⏸ badge in the footer that names the active mode, regardless of whether the user is currently cycling modes with Shift+Tab. The docs enumerate the ⏵⏵ accept edits on and ⏵⏵ don't ask on badges inline next to their mode descriptions, but they do not give the new Manual badge the same treatment. Three concrete gaps follow.

A. The new Manual badge is not documented anywhere

A reader looking up "what does the ⏸ badge in the footer mean" has no docs entry to point them at. The closest the page comes is the generic sentence "The current mode appears in the status bar," which predates the Manual badge and does not name the new grey ⏸ glyph or confirm that Manual mode is the only mode whose indicator is shown all the time.

B. The "Manual" mode description contradicts the badge story

The "Available modes" table and the prose below it describe Manual as a mode name ("Labeled Manual in the CLI and IDE extensions"), but never state that Manual mode now has a visible footer badge that mirrors that label. Users on v2.1.203 will see a ⏸ indicator in the footer at every prompt without explanation, while users on older versions will not see it at all — and the docs say nothing about either behavior.

C. The other modes' footer badges are documented inline; Manual's is not

The page treats the ⏵⏵ accept edits on and ⏵⏵ don't ask on indicators as part of the mode description. The Manual badge should get the same inline treatment so a reader skimming for "what does the badge in my footer mean" finds one answer per mode without having to leave the page.

Suggested Improvement

Add an inline note to the Manual-mode description in permission-modes.md, alongside the existing acceptEdits / dontAsk paragraphs. For example, in the opening prose where Manual is defined:

The mode that reviews every action is named Manual in the CLI, in claude --help, and in the VS Code and JetBrains extensions. {/ min-version: 2.1.203 /}As of v2.1.203, a grey ⏸ badge sits in the footer while Manual mode is active so the active mode is always visible, even when you are not cycling with Shift+Tab. Its config value is default, which is what hooks and SDK integrations use. The CLI accepts manual as an alias wherever you type the value, for example claude --permission-mode manual or "defaultMode": "manual". The Manual label and the manual alias require Claude Code v2.1.200 or later.

Also tighten the generic sentence under "Switch permission modes" so the indicator paragraph matches the new reality:

Before:

During a session: press Shift+Tab to cycle default → acceptEdits → plan. The current mode appears in the status bar. Not every mode is in the default cycle:

After:

During a session: press Shift+Tab to cycle default → acceptEdits → plan. The current mode appears in the footer as a mode indicator (a grey ⏸ badge in Manual mode, ⏵⏵ accept edits on in acceptEdits, or ⏵⏵ don't ask on in dontAsk). Not every mode is in the default cycle:

Optionally add a one-line cross-reference at the bottom of statusline.md near the existing footerLinksRegexes and prUrlTemplate notes:

The built-in footer also carries the active permission mode: a grey ⏸ badge in Manual mode (v2.1.203+), ⏵⏵ accept edits on in acceptEdits, or ⏵⏵ don't ask on in dontAsk. See Choose a permission mode.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

The v2.1.203 release entry this issue is tied to:

Added a grey ⏸ badge to the footer when in manual permission mode, making the active mode always visible

The badge complements the v2.1.200 "default" → "Manual" rename and the v2.1.203 round of footer indicator improvements. Documentation for the older ⏵⏵ accept edits on and ⏵⏵ don't ask on badges is already in permission-modes.md, so the Manual badge is the only indicator that has no matching prose.

Affected Pages:
| Page | Context |
|------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes | Primary location; inline Manual-mode description and "Switch permission modes" CLI tab |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/how-claude-code-works | "Control what Claude can do" — lists Default as a cycling option without describing the footer badge |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/statusline | "Footer badges" section — names footerLinksRegexes and the PR badge but not the active-mode indicator |

Total scope: 3 pages affected.

Version: v2.1.203