feat: Support for sudo and password-requiring commands in Bash tool #9808

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1. github-actions

   assigned

   thdxr

   on Jan 21, 2026
2. github-actions commented on Jan 21, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Jan 21, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

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   This issue might be a duplicate of existing issues. Please check:

   • App becomes unresponsive when executing commands requiring sudo password #652: App becomes unresponsive when executing commands requiring sudo password
   • Agent runs "sudo" and freezes UI when analyzing system configs (e.g. Apache) #3212: Agent runs "sudo" and freezes UI when analyzing system configs (e.g. Apache)
   • Support for running commands that use raw mode stdin #1180: Support for running commands that use raw mode stdin

   Feel free to ignore if none of these address your specific case.
3. bernatfp

   added a commit that references this issue on Jan 21, 2026

   feat: add support for sudo and password-requiring commands

   ...

   79b38a6
4. ArabianCowboy commented on Mar 22, 2026

   

   ArabianCowboy

   on Mar 22, 2026

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   +1 on this. As someone working in system administration and deployment contexts, this is a consistent blocker. Running sudo commands, SSH connections, or anything requiring a password mid-execution currently forces me to leave the agent context entirely. The proposed PTY + SecureInput approach looks like the right solution — would love to see this prioritized. Gemini CLI and Codex CLI both handle this natively and it significantly changes the day-to-day usability for sysadmin workflows.
5. mikegilchrist commented on Apr 8, 2026

   

   mikegilchrist

   on Apr 8, 2026

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   Alternative for headless/SSH workflows: global sudo timestamp + PreToolUse hook

   SUDO_ASKPASS with GUI helpers is great for local desktop sessions, but breaks on SSH+tmux workflows where there's no reachable X display. Here's a lighter approach that works without any custom askpass program.

   Setup

   /etc/sudoers.d/claude-global-timestamp:

   Defaults timestamp_type=global
   Defaults timestamp_timeout=20
   

   timestamp_type=global makes sudo's credential cache per-user instead of per-tty. With that, authenticating in any terminal (a second SSH session, a sibling tmux pane, or the parent shell via Ctrl-Z) caches credentials that Claude's Bash-tool subprocess can then reuse within the timeout window.

   Usage

   1. Ctrl-Z to suspend Claude (or open a second pane / SSH session)
   2. sudo -v
   3. fg to resume Claude (if you suspended)
   4. Claude's subsequent sudo commands work for 20 minutes
   5. sudo -k in any terminal to end the session early

   Important gotcha: Claude's ! command prefix does not give you an interactive tty — it runs through the same ttyless Bash-tool mechanism, so plain sudo still fails there. Use Ctrl-Z + fg, or a separate pane.

   Automation with a PreToolUse hook

   A small sudo-cache-check.sh hook runs before every Bash tool call, scans for sudo, probes sudo -n true, and if the cache is cold returns an ask decision with a message telling the user exactly what to do. Claude never wastes a tool call on a command that would immediately fail with "a terminal is required to read the password."

   Sketch:

   #!/bin/bash
   set -o pipefail
   input=$(cat)
   command=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // empty')
   [ -z "$command" ] && exit 0
   
   # No sudo => allow
   echo "$command" | grep -Eq '(^|[^a-zA-Z0-9_/.-])sudo([[:space:]]|$)' || exit 0
   
   # Cache-management (-v, -k, -K) or explicit -n => allow through
   if echo "$command" | grep -Eq '(^|[^a-zA-Z0-9_/.-])sudo[[:space:]]+-[vkKn]([[:space:]]|$)'; then
       jq -n '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PreToolUse","permissionDecision":"allow","permissionDecisionReason":"sudo cache-management or non-interactive"}}'
       exit 0
   fi
   
   # Probe
   if sudo -n true 2>/dev/null; then
       jq -n '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PreToolUse","permissionDecision":"allow","permissionDecisionReason":"sudo cache warm"}}'
       exit 0
   fi
   
   # Cold: ask user to authenticate
   msg='Sudo cache is cold. Press Ctrl-Z, run `sudo -v`, then `fg` and tell me to retry.'
   jq -n --arg msg "$msg" '{"hookSpecificOutput":{"hookEventName":"PreToolUse","permissionDecision":"ask","permissionDecisionReason":$msg}}'

   Registered under PreToolUse.Bash in ~/.claude/settings.json.

   Why this beats the alternatives for SSH workflows

   Approach	Works over SSH	Maintenance	Auto-expires	User control
   Full NOPASSWD	yes	low	no	weak
   Narrow NOPASSWD	yes	per-command	no	strong but rigid
   SUDO_ASKPASS (GUI)	no	low	yes (per-cmd)	per-cmd confirm
   Copy-paste	yes	tedious	n/a	strong
   This approach	yes	low	yes (20 min)	strong

   Trust model

   During the window, any process running as your user can sudo without a prompt — effectively the same trust boundary as the interactive shell you're already typing in. Appropriate for single-user workstations where you're actively supervising Claude; not appropriate for multi-user or unattended-agent setups.

   Happy to PR a canonical version of the setup script + hook into a docs page if the maintainers would find that useful.
6. ziuus commented on May 21, 2026

   

   ziuus

   on May 21, 2026

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   I'd like to take this on. The PTY infra in src/pty/ already has write()+onData() — my plan is to add an interactive: boolean flag to the Bash tool schema and route those commands through the PTY instead of the current child process spawn. Would that approach work for you all?
7. github-actions commented on Jul 21, 2026

   

   github-actionsBot

   on Jul 21, 2026 – with GitHub Actions

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   To stay organized issues are automatically closed after 60 days of no activity. If the issue is still relevant please open a new one.
8. github-actions

   closed this as not plannedon Jul 21, 2026
9. ziuus commented on Jul 23, 2026

   

   ziuus

   on Jul 23, 2026

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   Reopening this — I've implemented the PTY-based sudo support with SecureInput. PR: #38510

   The implementation:

   • Adds a SecureInput Effect service (password prompt detection, PTY execution, event-driven user input)
   • Adds interactive: boolean parameter to ShellTool (auto-detected for sudo/ssh/ansible)
   • Uses bun-pty for PTY-based execution when interactive
   • Password goes directly to PTY fd — never stored or logged
   • Output sanitization replaces password prompts with [password supplied]
   • API routes: GET /secure-input (list), POST /:id/submit, POST /:id/cancel
   • Bus events for real-time UI integration

   Follow-up work needed: TUI prompt component, web app prompt component, SDK types.

   👍React with 👍1Reacted by Tianming Zhuang
10. ziuus commented on Jul 24, 2026

    

    ziuus

    on Jul 24, 2026

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    Opened PR #38640 implementing PTY-based interactive command execution with SecureInput. The updated version removes the InstanceState dependency so the service can be provided globally without Scope/InstanceRef requirements.