diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Models/AppSettingsEntity.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Models/AppSettingsEntity.cs
index a76baa4..dc92908 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Models/AppSettingsEntity.cs
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Models/AppSettingsEntity.cs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ public sealed class AppSettingsEntity
     public string DefaultClaudeInstructions { get; set; } = string.Empty;
     public string DefaultModel { get; set; } = "sonnet";
     public int DefaultMaxTurns { get; set; } = 100;
-    public string DefaultPermissionMode { get; set; } = "bypassPermissions";
+    public string DefaultPermissionMode { get; set; } = "auto";
 
     public string WorktreeStrategy { get; set; } = "sibling";
     public string? CentralWorktreeRoot { get; set; }
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Repositories/AppSettingsRepository.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Repositories/AppSettingsRepository.cs
index ee843a4..e425585 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Repositories/AppSettingsRepository.cs
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Data/Repositories/AppSettingsRepository.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public sealed class AppSettingsRepository
         row.DefaultModel = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(updated.DefaultModel) ? "sonnet" : updated.DefaultModel;
         row.DefaultMaxTurns = updated.DefaultMaxTurns;
         row.DefaultPermissionMode = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(updated.DefaultPermissionMode)
-            ? "bypassPermissions" : updated.DefaultPermissionMode;
+            ? "auto" : updated.DefaultPermissionMode;
         row.WorktreeStrategy = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(updated.WorktreeStrategy) ? "sibling" : updated.WorktreeStrategy;
         row.CentralWorktreeRoot = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(updated.CentralWorktreeRoot)
             ? null : updated.CentralWorktreeRoot;
diff --git a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Modals/SettingsModalViewModel.cs b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Modals/SettingsModalViewModel.cs
index 93dd519..ff4d775 100644
--- a/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Modals/SettingsModalViewModel.cs
+++ b/src/ClaudeDo.Ui/ViewModels/Modals/SettingsModalViewModel.cs
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ public sealed partial class SettingsModalViewModel : ViewModelBase
     [ObservableProperty] private string _defaultClaudeInstructions = "";
     [ObservableProperty] private string _defaultModel = "sonnet";
     [ObservableProperty] private int _defaultMaxTurns = 100;
-    [ObservableProperty] private string _defaultPermissionMode = "bypassPermissions";
+    [ObservableProperty] private string _defaultPermissionMode = "auto";
     [ObservableProperty] private string _worktreeStrategy = "sibling";
     [ObservableProperty] private string? _centralWorktreeRoot;
     [ObservableProperty] private bool _worktreeAutoCleanupEnabled;
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public sealed partial class SettingsModalViewModel : ViewModelBase
 
     public IReadOnlyList<string> Models { get; } = new[] { "opus", "sonnet", "haiku" };
     public IReadOnlyList<string> PermissionModes { get; } = new[]
-        { "bypassPermissions", "acceptEdits", "plan", "default" };
+        { "auto", "bypassPermissions", "acceptEdits", "plan", "default" };
     public IReadOnlyList<string> WorktreeStrategies { get; } = new[] { "sibling", "central" };
 
     public string AppVersion { get; } =
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ public sealed partial class SettingsModalViewModel : ViewModelBase
                 DefaultClaudeInstructions = dto.DefaultClaudeInstructions ?? "";
                 DefaultModel = dto.DefaultModel ?? "sonnet";
                 DefaultMaxTurns = dto.DefaultMaxTurns;
-                DefaultPermissionMode = dto.DefaultPermissionMode ?? "bypassPermissions";
+                DefaultPermissionMode = dto.DefaultPermissionMode ?? "auto";
                 WorktreeStrategy = dto.WorktreeStrategy ?? "sibling";
                 CentralWorktreeRoot = dto.CentralWorktreeRoot;
                 WorktreeAutoCleanupEnabled = dto.WorktreeAutoCleanupEnabled;
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ public sealed partial class SettingsModalViewModel : ViewModelBase
                 DefaultClaudeInstructions ?? "",
                 DefaultModel ?? "sonnet",
                 DefaultMaxTurns,
-                DefaultPermissionMode ?? "bypassPermissions",
+                DefaultPermissionMode ?? "auto",
                 WorktreeStrategy ?? "sibling",
                 string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(CentralWorktreeRoot) ? null : CentralWorktreeRoot,
                 WorktreeAutoCleanupEnabled,