---
title: "Approvals"
description: "A rule that says ask me before holds your agent's action until you decide. An approved action runs once, exactly as asked. A denied one never runs."
route: /docs/trust/approvals
---

# Approvals

When a rule says ask me before, Clam holds your agent's action and asks you. Approve it and it runs once, exactly as the agent asked. Deny it and it never runs.

## What ask me before does

Your agent calls a tool, say Send, and the matching rule says ask me before. Clam holds the request: nothing is sent, saved or changed. You see exactly what would happen, including the recipients, the subject and the full text as it would go out.

Press **Approve** and the action runs once, as you saw it. Press **Deny** and the agent is told only that you denied it, and not to retry.

Every tool can ask except Search: messages your rules say to ask about are left out of results, and the agent can ask to read them one at a time.

## Where you're asked

Every request appears on the Shell's **Approvals** tab. To be asked on your phone instead, connect WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack under Settings → Channels, then pick the channel in the Approvals card on the Shell's **Settings** tab. A chat message that can't be delivered isn't retried elsewhere; the request is on the Approvals tab either way.

## How long you have

You have 60 minutes to decide, then your agent has 60 minutes to collect your approval. Miss either and nothing runs; the tab shows both countdowns.

## Your agent checks back by itself

While it waits, the agent is told the action needs your approval and where you were asked, nothing about which rule applied. It checks back by itself, about every two minutes and within half a minute once you approve; saying "I approved it" makes it collect straight away. Clam never asks you twice for the same request.

## Limits

A Shell can hold 3 open requests and make 10 new ones an hour; past either, the call is blocked. Hit a limit twice in 24 hours and the Shell stops asking until you press **Resume requests** on the Approvals tab.

## Add ask me before to a rule

Write it on the action you want to be asked about:

> Read emails about work and draft replies, but ask me before sending anything.

A block still wins: add "Never send to anyone outside my company" and a send to an outside address is blocked, not held. See [Writing effective policies](https://useclam.ai/docs/policies/writing-effective-policies).