Argent Settings Permissions
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.
- Skill ID
- software-mansion/argent/argent-settings-permissions
- Publisher
- software-mansion
- Repository
- argent
- Installs
- 284
- Files
- 1
- Synced
- Sep 16, 2026
Open any RiverX project, open the Skills panel in the chat, and search for this identifier. The files are fetched from the source repository at install time.
software-mansion/argent/argent-settings-permissionsInstalls these files- SKILL.md
What this skill tells the agent
What this tool is for
settings-permissions edits the platform's permission store directly - the iOS simulator's TCC database, or Android's package-manager permission flags. It replaces the manual Settings → Privacy dance during test setup: pre-authorize a service so the app never has to ask, deny it up front to test the refusal path, or reset it so the first-run dialog appears again on the next launch.
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 - this tool is the exception for the cases the app can't reach.
When to use it - and when NOT to
Decide with this order. The first matching row wins.
| Situation | Do this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 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) - do NOT use this tool | It's real user behavior and exercises the flow you're testing. See argent-device-interact. |
| The app is about to ask (or just asked) and the system permission dialog is on screen | Tap the dialog (Allow / Don't Allow / Allow While Using App) - do NOT use this tool | The app-triggered prompt is the natural path; answering it is what a user does. describe exposes the dialog buttons; fall back to screenshot only if it doesn't. |
| You need the permission already granted/denied before the app runs, so no dialog interrupts the flow | Use this tool (grant / deny) before launch-app | The app can't pre-set its own permission; a real user would do it in Settings. This is the core use case. (deny suppresses the prompt on iOS only - see Gotchas.) |
| The user already denied it and you need it on again | Use this tool (grant) | iOS never re-shows a dialog once denied - the only in-device path is the Settings app. This tool is the shortcut. |
| You need the first-run dialog to appear again (test the prompt itself, or reset dirty state) | Use this tool (reset) | Returns the permission to "not yet asked" so the app prompts on next use. |
| The permission is not one this tool supports on the target platform (see the support table) | Do NOT use this tool | It will return an "unsupported" error. Use the app dialog if the app triggers one, or navigate the real Settings app. |
| The setting isn't one of the 11 runtime permissions below (e.g. Wi-Fi, cellular data, dark mode, VPN, Focus) | Do NOT use this tool | Out of scope - drive the Settings app or the app's own UI instead. |
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.
Supported permissions & platform coverage
permission | iOS simulator (TCC service) | Android (android.permission.*) |
|---|---|---|
camera | camera - only if the target simulator's runtime models it (varies by simruntime, not by the installed Xcode; simulators have no camera hardware) | CAMERA |
microphone | microphone | RECORD_AUDIO |
photos | photos + photos-add (add-only access is a separate TCC service; photos-add is best-effort - check applied to see whether both changed) | READ_MEDIA_IMAGES + READ_MEDIA_VIDEO + READ_MEDIA_VISUAL_USER_SELECTED + READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE |
contacts | contacts | READ_CONTACTS + WRITE_CONTACTS |
notifications | unsupported - no iOS equivalent; answer the app's dialog instead | POST_NOTIFICATIONS |
calendar | calendar | READ_CALENDAR + WRITE_CALENDAR |
location | location | ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION + ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION |
location-always | location-always | ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION (a grant also adds fine + coarse - background alone can't read location) |
media-library | media-library | READ_MEDIA_AUDIO + READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE |
motion | motion | ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION |