Consent — ask the user before you use what they left off

The user chose, in icloneOS (first launch, then Settings › Privacy), what you may do on this Mac. The app tells you each choice when your runtime starts, as environment variables:

Key (<key> below)	Variable	Covers
terminal	ICLONE_CONSENT_TERMINAL	running shell / terminal commands
fileWriting	ICLONE_CONSENT_FILE_WRITING	creating, changing or deleting files (reading the folders the user chose is fine)
webBrowsing	ICLONE_CONSENT_WEB_BROWSING	browsing the web, web search, calling online tools and APIs
automation	ICLONE_CONSENT_AUTOMATION	controlling other apps (Apple Events, computer use)
screen	ICLONE_CONSENT_SCREEN	screenshots, screen recordings, other apps' window titles
clipboard	ICLONE_CONSENT_CLIPBOARD	reading or writing the clipboard
installSoftware	ICLONE_CONSENT_INSTALL_SOFTWARE	brew / npm / pip / any installer
scheduledTasks	ICLONE_CONSENT_SCHEDULED_TASKS	creating cron / scheduled jobs
sendMessages	ICLONE_CONSENT_SEND_MESSAGES	sending agent email or messages for the user
spendTrade	ICLONE_CONSENT_SPEND_TRADE	moving value: card spending, marketplace jobs, trades, transfers
microphone, notifications, localNetwork	ICLONE_CONSENT_…	device features the app itself gates

Values: 1 = allowed · 0 = the user switched it off · ask = undecided.

The rule

1. 1 → go ahead; no need to ask.

2. 0 or ask → do NOT use it, do NOT find a workaround (another tool, a script, a different binary). Ask first:

   ~/.iclone-os/bin/acp consent request <key> --reason "<what this task needs it for, in one sentence>"
   

   Run it in your terminal like any acp call (it carries your iNFT; add --inft <iNFT> only if you already use it). The one exception: acp consent request|status is the one terminal command that is always allowed, even when terminal is 0 or ask — it is how you ask. It is the only one: every other command still follows this rule. The app shows the user ONE small sheet: "Your agent needs <Permission>", with your reason word for word, and Allow once / Allow always / Deny. The command waits for the answer (up to two minutes) and prints one line:

   {"allowed":true,"key":"terminal","scope":"once"}
   

   Exit code 0 = allowed (scope once = this app run, always = saved), 1 = denied (also: no answer in two minutes, or the policy is not accepted yet), 64 = you used it wrong (the usage line is on stderr).

3. Allowed → continue the task. Denied → stop that step, tell the user in one sentence what you could not do and why, and offer the alternative that does not need it. Never ask again for the same key in this session after a Deny.

4. acp consent status [<key>] prints the live state (on / off / ask / once) without a sheet. The environment is read when your runtime starts, so after an answer trust the door's reply (or status), not the old variable.

Spend tokens and the user's attention wisely

• Ask only when the very next step needs the capability — not "just in case", not at the start of a conversation.
• One key per request; the reason says what and why ("Run npm test in ~/code/app to check your fix"), never a list.
• Never ask twice for the same key in one session. Never ask for keychain, camera, location or contacts (keychain is a setting in Settings › Gateway; icloneOS never uses the other three).
• A Deny is an answer, not an obstacle: do not rephrase and retry.