Approval

Route tool approvals to Slack, Discord, Telegram, or any channel before agents execute dangerous operations

Route tool approvals to Slack, Discord, Telegram, a webhook, or a local dashboard. Agents pause before executing dangerous tools and wait for human approval via your chosen platform.

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import SlackApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    instructions="Help users with system tasks",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=SlackApproval(channel="#approvals"),
)
agent.start("Delete old log files")

Diagram

Quick Start

Pick a backend

Choose your approval channel. Each backend reads its token from an environment variable:

Backend	Command	Required Env Vars
Slack	`--approval slack`	`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`, `SLACK_CHANNEL`
Discord	`--approval discord`	`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`, `DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID`
Telegram	`--approval telegram`	`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`, `TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID`

Set environment variables

bash

# Slack
export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-token
export SLACK_CHANNEL=C0123456789  # or #channel-name

# Discord
export DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
export DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID=123456789

# Telegram
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC-DEF
export TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID=your-chat-id

Run with –approval

bash

praisonai "deploy to production" --approval slack

praisonai "delete old logs" --approval discord

praisonai "clean up temp files" --approval telegram

CLI Commands

The --approval flag works with all CLI commands:

bash

# Direct prompt
praisonai "task" --approval slack

praisonai "task" --approval telegram

praisonai "task" --approval discord

All CLI Approval Flags

Flag	Description	Example
`--approval <backend>`	Route approvals to a platform	`--approval slack`
`--trust`	Auto-approve all tools (skip prompts)	`--trust`
`--approve-level <level>`	Auto-approve up to a risk level	`--approve-level high`
`--approve-all-tools`	Require approval for all tools, not just dangerous ones	`--approve-all-tools`
`--approval-timeout <sec>`	Override backend timeout	`--approval-timeout 60`

Available Backends

Value	What Happens	Env Vars
`console`	Interactive terminal prompt (default)	—
`slack`	Slack Block Kit message → reply “yes”/”no”	`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`, `SLACK_CHANNEL`
`telegram`	Telegram inline keyboard buttons	`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`, `TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID`
`discord`	Discord embed → text reply “yes”/”no”	`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`, `DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID`
`webhook`	POST to HTTP endpoint → poll for decision	`APPROVAL_WEBHOOK_URL`
`http`	Local web dashboard (browser)	—
`agent`	Delegate to an AI reviewer agent	—
`auto`	Auto-approve everything (same as `--trust`)	—
`none`	Disable approval entirely	—

Programmatic Usage

Slack

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import SlackApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    instructions="Help users with system tasks",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=SlackApproval(channel="#approvals"),
)
agent.start("Delete old log files")

The Slack bot token needs chat:write and channels:history (or im:history for DMs) scopes.

Parameter	Default	Description
`token`	`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN` env	Slack bot token (`xoxb-...`)
`channel`	`SLACK_CHANNEL` env, or bot’s own DM	Channel ID, `#name`, or user ID
`timeout`	`300` (5 min)	Seconds to wait for response
`poll_interval`	`3.0`	Seconds between reply polls

Diagram

Discord

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import DiscordApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    instructions="Help users with system tasks",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=DiscordApproval(channel_id="YOUR_CHANNEL_ID"),
)
agent.start("Delete old log files")

Parameter	Default	Description
`token`	`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` env	Discord bot token
`channel_id`	_(required)_	Channel ID to send approvals to
`timeout`	`300` (5 min)	Seconds to wait for response
`poll_interval`	`3.0`	Seconds between polls

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import TelegramApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    instructions="Help users with system tasks",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=TelegramApproval(chat_id="YOUR_CHAT_ID"),
)
agent.start("Delete old log files")

Parameter	Default	Description
`token`	`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` env	Telegram bot token
`chat_id`	_(required)_	Chat ID to send approvals to
`timeout`	`300` (5 min)	Seconds to wait for response
`poll_interval`	`2.0`	Seconds between polls

Diagram

Webhook

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import WebhookApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=WebhookApproval(
        webhook_url="https://your-app.com/api/approvals",
        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer sk-xxx"},
    ),
)

Parameter	Default	Description
`webhook_url`	`APPROVAL_WEBHOOK_URL` env	URL to POST requests to
`status_url`	`webhook_url/{request_id}`	URL template for polling
`headers`	`{}`	Extra HTTP headers (e.g. auth)
`timeout`	`300` (5 min)	Seconds to wait
`poll_interval`	`5.0`	Seconds between polls

HTTP Dashboard

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonai.bots import HTTPApproval

agent = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=HTTPApproval(host="127.0.0.1", port=8899),
)
# Open http://127.0.0.1:8899/approve/<request_id> in your browser

Parameter	Default	Description
`host`	`127.0.0.1`	Bind address
`port`	`8899`	Port to listen on
`timeout`	`300` (5 min)	Seconds to wait for response

Agent

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonaiagents.approval import AgentApproval

reviewer = Agent(
    name="security-reviewer",
    instructions="Only approve low-risk read operations. Deny anything destructive.",
)

worker = Agent(
    name="assistant",
    tools=["execute_command"],
    approval=AgentApproval(approver_agent=reviewer),
)

Parameter	Default	Description
`approver_agent`	Auto-created	Agent instance to evaluate requests
`llm`	`gpt-4o-mini`	LLM for default approver agent

Approval Keywords

All messaging backends (Slack, Discord, Telegram) understand these keywords:

Action	Keywords
Approve	yes, y, approve, approved, ok, allow, go, proceed, confirm
Deny	no, n, deny, denied, reject, block, stop, cancel, refuse

How It Works

Diagram

Step	What Happens
Agent backend	`approval=True` or custom backend on the Agent is checked first
Required?	Only tools in the dangerous-tools set need approval
Env check	`PRAISONAI_AUTO_APPROVE=true` skips all prompts
YAML check	Tools listed in YAML `approve` field are auto-approved
Already approved	Once approved in a session, no re-prompt
Backend	ConsoleBackend (default), AutoApproveBackend, or your custom

Configuration Options

Agent Parameter (Recommended)

Value	Behavior
`approval=True`	Auto-approve all dangerous tools for this agent
`approval=False` / `None`	Use registry fallback (default: console prompt)
`approval=SlackApproval(...)`	Route approvals to Slack
`approval=TelegramApproval(...)`	Route approvals to Telegram
`approval=DiscordApproval(...)`	Route approvals to Discord

Other Methods

Method	Scope	Use Case
`PRAISONAI_AUTO_APPROVE=true`	All agents	CI/CD, testing
`get_approval_registry().set_backend(backend)`	All agents	Global policy
`get_approval_registry().set_backend(backend, agent_name="x")`	Single agent	Registry-level control
YAML `approve: [tool1, tool2]`	Per-task	Declarative configs

Multi-Agent Example

Different agents can have different approval policies:

python

from praisonaiagents import Agent
from praisonaiagents.approval import AgentApproval
from praisonai.bots import SlackApproval, TelegramApproval

# Bot agent: auto-approve everything
bot = Agent(name="bot", approval=True)

# Interactive: console prompt (default)
interactive = Agent(name="interactive")

# Critical ops: approved via Slack
deployer = Agent(
    name="deployer",
    approval=SlackApproval(channel="#deploy-approvals"),
)

# Data ops: approved via Telegram
data_agent = Agent(
    name="data-processor",
    approval=TelegramApproval(chat_id="123456"),
)

# AI-reviewed: no human needed
reviewer = Agent(name="reviewer", instructions="Only approve safe read operations")
ai_agent = Agent(name="ai-reviewed", approval=AgentApproval(approver_agent=reviewer))

Dangerous Tools (Default)

These tools require approval by default:

Tool	Risk Level
`execute_command`	critical
`kill_process`	critical
`execute_code`	critical
`write_file`	high
`delete_file`	high
`move_file`	high
`execute_query`	high
`crawl`	medium
`scrape_page`	medium

Add or remove requirements:

python

from praisonaiagents.approval import get_approval_registry

registry = get_approval_registry()
registry.add_requirement("my_dangerous_tool", risk_level="high")
registry.remove_requirement("crawl")

Best Practices

Use approval=True for bot agents

Set approval=True directly on agent constructors for unattended bots. This is the simplest, most agent-centric approach.

Use –approval slack for team oversight

Route dangerous tool approvals to a shared Slack channel so your team can review and approve in real time. Works across timezones — the agent waits up to 5 minutes by default.

Cross-platform: Telegram bot → Slack approval

Users can chat with your agent via Telegram while dangerous tool approvals are routed to a Slack admin channel. Just set approval=SlackApproval(...) on the agent powering the Telegram bot.

Use environment variable for CI/CD

Set PRAISONAI_AUTO_APPROVE=true in your CI environment to avoid blocking on prompts during automated testing.

Use per-agent backends for multi-agent systems

Different agents may need different approval policies. Pass different backends to each agent’s approval= parameter.

Approval Protocol

Full protocol reference, custom backend interface, and registry API

CLI Tool Approval

--trust, --approve-level, and --approval CLI flags

Planning

Plan approval and non-interactive auto-approve

Messaging Bots

Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp bots

Tools

Built-in tools reference

Approval

Quick Start

CLI Commands

All CLI Approval Flags

Available Backends

Programmatic Usage

Slack

Discord

Telegram

Webhook

HTTP Dashboard

Agent

Approval Keywords

How It Works

Configuration Options

Agent Parameter (Recommended)

Other Methods

Multi-Agent Example

Dangerous Tools (Default)

Best Practices

Related