# approval.md > Human approval for agent actions. A harness-agnostic, open-source framework for approving agent actions with a human in the loop. approval.md is a CLI, an MCP server and a set of harness hooks, with Apache 2.0 code and a CC0 specification and schemas. The current version is 0.3.0, it runs on Node 20 or newer, and the feature index describes it; the runtime installs from npm as `approval-md`. Policy lives in `APPROVAL.md` at the root of a repository, a human attests its bytes, and every gate decision and execution is appended to a hash-chained JSONL log that `approval log verify` answers for. Credentials sit in an encrypted vault and are scoped to adapter execution, with single-use tokens on paths that require a human grant. ## Start here - [README](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/README.md): the pitch, the quickstart, the autonomy table and the integration signposts. - [Extended guide](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/README-extended.md): the product tour and operating detail, from the policy file to the phone prompt, the vault and the credential boundary. - [Landing page as markdown](https://approval.md/llms-full.txt): this site's whole content, including the 70-entry feature index with claims and links. - [SPEC.md](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/SPEC.md): the specification and the source of truth for design decisions, including section 11 on the security posture and section 11.1 on the global invariants. - [npm package](https://www.npmjs.com/package/approval-md): the TypeScript reference runtime, installed as `approval-md`. The current version is 0.3.0. ## Reference - [CLI reference](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/cli-reference.md): the reasoning behind each verb, its threat model, and the alternatives rejected. - [Public adapter API](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/adapter-api.md): ESM and TypeScript exports at `approval-md/adapters`, with packed-consumer execution-binding and conformance tests; shipped in 0.2.0. - [ZZZ adapter](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/cli-reference.md#adapter-zzz): `approval adapter zzz`, shipped in 0.2.0, creates a thread or reply through zzz.bot with a vaulted ZZZ service credential and exact payload binding; its tests use a mock HTTP service, with no live post. - [policy.schema.json](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/schema/policy.schema.json): the closed schema for the `approval-policy` block, including the five autonomy levels. - [event.schema.json](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/schema/event.schema.json): the schema every log record passes before it is appended. - [envelope.schema.json](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/schema/envelope.schema.json): the schema for the action envelope an agent registers. ## Harness integration - [Claude Code hook](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/claude-code-hook.md): `approval hook claude-code` as a PreToolUse hook, classifying the commands a coding agent runs on its own. - [Cursor hook](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/cursor-hook.md): the same deterministic core answering Cursor's native permission JSON, with `failClosed: true` required. - [Codex over MCP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/cli-reference.md#mcp-serve): Codex can use the shipped `approval mcp serve` route for agent-facing gate tools; it does not intercept ordinary shell or file tools, and repository setup still awaits human installation and attestation. - [Codex hook experiment](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/codex-hook.md): experimental direct-patch gating, shipped in 0.2.0; Bash is denied on Codex 0.152.1 because its effective working directory is hidden, and normal activation remains blocked. - [Git evidence](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/git-evidence.md): the optional second record the daemon commits per tick. ## Examples - [Telegram, end to end](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/telegram-demo.md): request, a tap on a phone, an executed run, with a scripted twin in CI. - [Real mail over SMTP](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/email-demo.md): an agent's chaser sent through the vault and the token window. - [An AgentMail draft](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/agentmail-demo.md): the two-key split, where the send key waits in the vault. - [An MCP client asks](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/mcp-demo.md): Claude Code over MCP on one side, a phone on the other. - [A Backlog.md board](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/backlog-md-project/README.md): one envelope on one task file, then register, request, wait and run. - [Web agent demo day](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/web-agent-demo/runbook.md): a runbook for showing the gate to a room. - [Grok Bot connector](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/examples/grok-bot-connector/runbook.md): a guest-mode MCP session for an agent in someone else's cloud. ## Verification - [Conformance suite](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/conformance/README.md): six language-neutral vector files under a SHA-256 manifest, for a second implementation. - [Integrations considered](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/integrations-considered.md): every integration weighed, with the reasoning for each verdict. - [Dogfood cutover](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/docs/dogfood-cutover.md): how this repository runs its own work behind its own gate. ## Optional - [CLAUDE.md](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/approval-md/approval.md/main/CLAUDE.md): the working rules for agents in this repository. - [Source repository](https://github.com/approval-md/approval.md): issues, pull requests and the commit history.