Permissions and security
What it does on its own, what it asks for, and how to set rules.
Updated on Sep 16, 2026
The agent works with your credentials on your machine. That's why it asks for permission before acting, and you decide how much control to give.
| Action | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Read files and list folders | Free: this is how it understands the project |
| Edit, create and delete files | Asks for approval |
Run commands (bash) | Asks for approval, showing the full command |
| Access the web | Asks for approval |
- Once: approves only this action.
- Always: approves this action and similar ones until the end of the session.
- Deny: the action does not happen and the agent is notified.
In ~/.config/hinow/hinow.json (or .hinow/hinow.json in the project) you set what is always allowed, always asked, or always denied, by tool and by command pattern. So bun test can run without asking and rm -rf is forbidden.
{
"permission": {
"bash": {
"bun test *": "allow",
"git status": "allow",
"rm -rf *": "deny",
"*": "ask"
},
"edit": "ask"
}
}When the session runs on another machine of yours, approvals reach your screen: the machine that executes waits for your response. Before that, the machine itself decides whether to accept remote sessions (allow, ask or deny); see Enable a machine.
What leaves the machine
The snippets that the agent reads and what it writes go to HINOW's models to generate the response. The entire repository is not sent, and in remote sessions the code stays on the executing machine.