Coding agents are getting remarkably capable. Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and others can now write entire features, run tests, and iterate on feedback. But there is a problem: they stall when you are not at your desk.

The Approval Bottleneck

Every coding agent eventually hits a permission prompt. Should I run this command? Should I modify this file? Should I install this package? These are the moments where agent productivity drops to zero. If you are away from your desk, cooking dinner, or in a meeting, the agent simply waits.

When you are running multiple IDE sessions across different repositories, the problem compounds. There is no central place to see what each agent is doing, approve risky actions, or launch new work remotely.

What Askance Does

Askance intercepts tool permission prompts before they block the agent. It evaluates each action against configurable safety policies, auto-approves low-risk operations, and routes medium and high-risk actions to your phone, tablet, or desktop for approval. The agent keeps working on safe tasks while waiting.

• Policy engine with YAML-based rules: allow, gate, or deny actions based on tool name, command patterns, file paths, and risk level
• Real-time dashboard showing all active agent sessions across multiple repositories
• Push notifications to mobile, desktop, and web for pending approvals
• Remote task dispatch: start new features from your tablet without touching the IDE
• Audit trail for every approval decision

The Architecture

Askance is a full-stack product built with .NET 10 on the backend (using Clean Architecture with CQRS via MediatR), a React dashboard, an Electron desktop tray app, and a Capacitor mobile app. It integrates with Claude Code via hooks and MCP tools, with support for Cursor and GitHub Copilot agent workflows.

Why This Matters Now

As coding agents become more autonomous, governance becomes the bottleneck. Askance is our bet that the future of AI-assisted development requires a proper control plane: one that balances speed with safety, and lets developers supervise agents without being chained to their desk.

Askance is an active Advancer investment. Visit www.askance.app to learn more.