argent-settings-permissions

Use it when:: A test needs a permission such as camera, location or notifications set before the app asks, turned back on after a denial, or reset.
It does:: Edits the permission store directly: the iOS simulator's TCC database, or Android's runtime permissions over adb.
Prefers:: The app's own toggle or permission dialog whenever one can make the change, since that's the flow under test.
Works with:: 11 runtime permissions, not all on both platforms, on iOS simulators and Android; not physical iPhones.
Needs:: The Argent MCP server.

Skill 4 of 12 in the Argent bundle, after argent-tv-interact and before argent-test-ui-flow.

TL;DR

Part of Software Mansion's Argent toolkit, which lets the agent control simulators, emulators and devices. Argent's settings-permissions tool is for test setup, not a general toggle, and this skill's table decides when to use it, first match winning: tap the app's own control or the system dialog when there is one; use the tool to grant or deny before launch, to turn back on a permission iOS won't ask for again, or to reset it so the first-run dialog returns. Anything outside the 11 runtime permissions, such as Wi-Fi or dark mode, goes through the Settings app or the app's own UI instead. Its gotchas cover the platform differences: on Android a pre-launch deny doesn't suppress the prompt, a reset below API 33 can't clear "don't ask again", and granting background location adds fine and coarse location too. Permissions are set before launching the app, since a change can terminate a running one.

Summarizes the skill at b965c94.

npx skills add https://github.com/software-mansion/argent --skill argent-settings-permissions

skills.sh page Source on GitHub All skills from software-mansion/argent

Total Downloads: 22,500 on skills.sh, Nov 9, 2026
Repo stars: 3,175 software-mansion/argent
First seen: Jul 14, 2026 on skills.sh

Weekly Downloads

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+26% over the 8 weeks to Nov 9

Weekly values

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Category	category:debugging category:computer-use category:software-engineering Find root causes, review code and test what you built. Drive desktop apps, phones and simulators: tap, type, read the screen and test native apps. Everything for building software: planning, coding, debugging, design, frameworks, cloud, agents and skills.
Type	type:tool Operates a CLI, API, app or bundled script to get something done.
Effect	effect:local Its own steps create or change files, git state or local tools.
Needs	needs:mcp Needs an MCP server connected.
Publisher	by:official A verified publisher on skills.sh, or the company or maintainer behind the product the skill operates.
Topics	testing mobile
Stack	stack:argent

SKILL.md

From software-mansion/argent at b965c94. Checked daily, last changed Nov 6, 2026.

Frontmatter

name: argent-settings-permissions
description: Grant, deny, or reset an app's runtime permissions (camera, microphone, photos, contacts, notifications, calendar, location, location-always, media-library, motion, reminders) on an iOS simulator or Android device using the argent `settings-permissions` tool - without navigating the system Settings UI. Use when the permission cannot be changed through the app itself - and only then, pre-authorize before the app asks, deny up front, re-enable a permission the user already denied, or reset so the prompt reappears. If the app can flip it - via an in-app toggle or the system permission dialog the app triggers - interact with the app instead.

settings-permissions edits the platform's permission store directly (the iOS simulator's TCC database, Android's runtime permissions over adb). It is a test-setup / out-of-band tool, not a general permissions toggle: the default way to change a permission is still through the app. The tool's description covers the supported permissions per platform, the parameters, the result (applied / skipped) and the per-platform requirements.

When to use it - and when NOT to

The first matching row wins.

Situation	Do this
The app has an in-app control for the permission (a toggle in its own settings screen)	Tap it in the app (`describe` → `gesture-tap`); it exercises the flow you're testing
The app asked and the system permission dialog is on screen	Tap the dialog (`Allow` / `Don't Allow` / `Allow While Using App`); `describe` exposes its buttons
The permission must be granted/denied before the app runs, so no dialog interrupts the flow	Use this tool (`grant` / `deny`) before `launch-app`
The user already denied it and you need it on again	Use this tool (`grant`): iOS never re-shows a dialog once denied
You need the first-run dialog to appear again	Use this tool (`reset`)
The permission is unsupported on the target platform, or it isn't one of the 11 runtime permissions (Wi-Fi, dark mode, VPN, Focus, …)	Do NOT use this tool: answer the app's dialog, or drive the Settings app or the app's own UI

Rule of thumb: if a human tester could flip it inside the app, do that. Reach for settings-permissions only for a change a human would otherwise make in the system Settings app.

Gotchas

iOS simulator only on Apple platforms. A physical iPhone has no host-side TCC switch, so the tool does not apply there.
A pre-launch deny suppresses the prompt on iOS only. On iOS a TCC denial answers the app's request, so no dialog appears. On Android a deny clears the grant but sets no "user-fixed" flag, so the app's next request still shows the system dialog: a pre-launch deny there tests the revoked state, not a suppressed prompt.
Android reset below API 33 can't clear "don't ask again". It revokes the grant, but clearing the user-fixed flag needs Android 13 / API 33+, so the dialog may stay suppressed on older devices.
Set permissions before launch-app. A change can terminate a running app; if you change one while it runs, restart-app afterwards.
Android location-always: a grant also adds fine and coarse location, since background alone can't read location.