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Configuring autonomy

• Last updated: July 23, 2026

• Read time: 3 Minutes

Burp AT keeps you in control of what it can do without asking for permission, from checking with you before every action to running on its own. You can set permissions at a high level using autonomy modes, or configure permissions for individual tools if you want a more granular approach. These controls enable you to leave Burp AT to work knowing it won't take an action you've restricted.

Enabling and disabling tools

Burp AT never uses a tool you've disabled, whatever autonomy mode it's in. Tool settings work on a per-project basis, so you can disable different tools in different projects.

To enable or disable tools:

1. Click Settings, then select Tools to open Tool settings.
2. On the Enabled tools tab, turn a tool's toggle on or off. To change a whole group at once, use the group dropdown.

Use the Search tools box to find a specific tool. To restore default permissions, select Reset to Burp's default.

Configuring autonomy modes

Each Burp AT task has an autonomy mode that defines when Burp AT needs to ask for permission before using a tool:

• Manual - Burp AT uses the permission you've set for each tool.

• Smart - Burp AT approves routine tool use on its own and stops to ask you about anything that it judges to be potentially risky.

• Autonomous - Burp AT runs without asking for approval, apart from a few high-impact tools that always require it.

To change the autonomy mode for a task, select an option from the Mode drop-down in the message box. By default, new tasks use Smart mode.

Burp AT never uses tools that you've disabled in any autonomy mode.

Configuring Manual mode

In Manual mode, Burp AT uses the permission you set for each tool. To set these, select Settings > Tools and click the Manual mode tab. You can set each tool to:

• Ask - Burp AT always asks for your permission before it uses the tool.

• Act - Burp AT uses the tool without asking.

The default setting for each tool varies depending on its potential impact. You can change these to suit how you want to work.

Each tool has a short description of what it does, to help you decide what to allow. You can set a whole group at once using the dropdowns on the Manual mode tab.

Approving an action

When Burp AT needs your permission to use a tool, it pauses and explains what it wants to do. To see the action it plans to take before you decide, click Show detail. You can select:

• Approve - Burp AT uses the tool once.

• Always approve - Burp AT uses the tool and sets it to Act in Tool settings, so it doesn't ask again for that tool in this project. This option isn't always available: it appears only in Manual mode when the tool is set to Ask, and never for tools that always require approval.

• Reject - Burp AT doesn't use the tool this time, and finds another way to continue.

Burp AT and scope

Burp AT respects the scope you define in Burp, and checks whether a target is in scope before it acts.

Burp AT can edit scope, but it always asks for approval first. To keep its testing strictly within a scope you've manually defined, open Tool settings (Settings > Tools) and, on the Enabled tools tab, disable the Add to scope and Remove from scope tools.