Codex MCP per-tool approval_mode: always prompt on Sume generate_video

In Codex, add a tools.<tool>.approval_mode table under the Sume server and set it to prompt for each paid tool, such as generate_video, while leaving the server default for everything else. Codex's MCP reference lists default_tools_approval_mode with the values auto, prompt, writes and approve, and a per-tool override that takes precedence for that tool (read 2026-10-02).

What the reference lists

The Codex reference groups approval settings with the other per-server keys. Codex CLI 0.159.0 and 0.160.0, released on 2026-09-29 and 2026-10-01, are the current builds in the changelog, and the changelog lists configurable tool and MCP input schema budgets in 0.159.0 and an opt-in Guardian review in 0.160.0.

[mcp_servers.sume]
url = "https://mcp.sume.com/mcp"
bearer_token_env_var = "SUME_API_KEY"
default_tools_approval_mode = "writes"
tool_timeout_sec = 90

[mcp_servers.sume.tools.generate_video]
approval_mode = "prompt"

[mcp_servers.sume.tools.avatar-video-previews_generate_video]
approval_mode = "prompt"

Which Sume tools to pin to prompt

Sume's docs list the paid tools: generate_image, generate_video, music_create, tts_create, stt_create, image_upscale_create, rmbg_create, video_upscale_create and kling-motion-control_create, plus the avatar creates (MCP tools and gates). Each needs an idempotency_key, which Sume describes as transport and deduplication, not human approval. So Sume's own gate will not stop an agent from submitting; Codex's prompt mode is what puts a person in the loop.

Pin the expensive ones, usually video and avatar creates, to prompt, and leave cheap reads alone. A server-wide default of writes is a good base, but check in the Codex docs how that mode treats a tool that Sume marks as paid, because the docs I read do not spell out how Codex classifies it.

Pair it with Sume's own preview

Ask the agent to run the paid call with dry_run=true first, then approve the real call when the preview looks right. max_spend_usd adds a cap, and Sume enforces it only when it is provided. A prompt on the real call plus a dry_run before it gives you a cost preview and a human decision, which neither gives alone.

Keep the OAuth versus key difference in mind: with OAuth mcp:read only, paid tools are hidden and return insufficient_scope, so per-tool approval only matters for key sessions and for OAuth sessions where you turned Write on (MCP OAuth and API keys).

Caveats

Verify the first call with mcp_health (MCP quickstart).

• I have not tested which tool-name spelling Codex expects for hyphenated Sume names; confirm with codex mcp list and a trial call.
• Approval settings control prompts, not spend; the wallet is the spend gate.
• Guardian review in 0.160.0 is opt-in per the changelog, and I did not read its behavior beyond that line.