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Faster Agents, Tighter Permissions, and a Cleaner Plugin Experience

May 2026 brings auto-approve mode and MCP tool permissions to all users, introduces hooks in the CLI, removes built-in system agents in favor of the unified Coding Agent, and ships a wave of JetBrains stability and compatibility fixes.

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New Features

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Auto-Approve Mode for Agent Actions

Hands-Free Agent Execution

Let the agent run end-to-end without pausing for approvals on every action.
A new Auto-approve mode is now generally available across VS Code and JetBrains. Ideal for trusted workflows where you want the agent to keep moving without manual confirmation at each step.

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Permission Management for MCP Tools

Control Which Tools Agents Can Use

Review and approve MCP tool access before agents invoke them.
Agents now request permission before using MCP tools. You can grant one-time access or configure “Always allow” for trusted tools in settings — giving you full visibility into which external tools run during a task.

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Hooks in ZenCLI

A new hooks system in zencli lets you run custom commands at key points in an agent’s lifecycle — perfect for logging, custom telemetry, or pre/post-task automation.

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Global Installation of Codex and Claude Code

The CLI now supports global installation of Codex and Claude Code, making it easier to share runtimes across projects without re-downloading on every run.

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Provider API Keys from .env

You can now configure provider API keys directly in your project’s .env file — the CLI will pick them up automatically, no manual export needed.

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Improvements

  • Custom rules have been fully removed — use AGENTS.md instead for a single, standardized way to define project conventions
  • Built-in system agents have been removed from both VS Code and JetBrains — all tasks now run through the unified Coding Agent
  • Usage-based billing support in plugins
  • More consistent sign-in experience in VS Code across all auth flows

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Bug Fixes

  • Fixed JetBrains compatibility issues affecting newer IDE versions
  • Fixed plugin window constantly stealing focus during agent runs
  • Fixed errors when reading directories on certain filesystems
  • Fixed CLI hanging after task completion
  • Fixed generic CLI errors surfaced during long-running sessions
  • 3.56.0 (May 26, 2026)
  • 3.54.0 (May 19, 2026)
  • 3.52.0 (May 12, 2026)
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