approval triggers analysis
analysis of what assistant actions precede user APPROVAL messages.
methodology
sampled ~80 APPROVAL messages from threads.db, examining the assistant message immediately preceding each approval.
trigger categories
1. COMPLETION SIGNALS (most common)
user approves when assistant declares work done with explicit completion language:
- “done. [summary of changes]”
- “all tests pass. the fix is complete”
- “summary of changes: [list]”
- “shipped. [commit hash]”
approval phrases: “ship it”, “commit”, “push”, “go on”, “continue”
2. IMPLEMENTATION CONFIRMATION
assistant presents a concrete plan or asks “want me to do X?” — user says yes:
- “want me to implement it and benchmark?”
- “ready for the next step—shall I write tests?”
- “the optimization applies partially. want me to document it?”
approval phrases: “do it”, “yes”, “yeah”, “ok”, “proceed”
3. QUESTION ANSWERING
assistant answers a technical question satisfactorily, user moves forward:
- explanation of tradeoffs
- diagnosis of root cause
- confirmation of user’s hypothesis
approval phrases: “ok [next instruction]”, “makes sense, do it”
4. TOOL/CONFIG COMPLETION
assistant modifies configuration, skill, or tooling:
- nix config changes
- skill file updates
- CI workflow tweaks
approval phrases: “ship it”, “rebuild”, “commit”
5. PARTIAL PROGRESS
assistant shows intermediate results, user directs continuation:
- benchmark results shown
- test failures diagnosed
- code diff presented
approval phrases: “go on”, “continue”, “ok”, “next”
approval message patterns
| pattern | frequency | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ”ship it” | HIGH | commit and push changes |
| ”do it” | HIGH | execute proposed plan |
| ”commit” | MEDIUM | save changes to git |
| ”go on” / “continue” | MEDIUM | proceed to next step |
| ”ok [instruction]“ | MEDIUM | implicit approval + redirect |
| bare “ok” | LOW | minimal acknowledgment |
anti-patterns (what DOESN’T trigger approval)
- open-ended questions back to user — triggers QUESTION not APPROVAL
- partial work without summary — user asks for clarification
- verbose explanations without action — user redirects
- asking permission when action is obvious — user says “just do it”
key insight
approvals cluster around state transitions:
- planning → implementation
- implementation → testing
- testing → shipping
- debugging → fixing
the assistant signals completion of a phase, user approves transition to next phase.