dangerous-action-guard
Before executing any irreversible or high-impact action, pause and get explicit user confirmation. Log every confirmed and rejected action to an audit trail.
Dangerous action categories
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| File destruction | rm -rf, unlink, delete files, empty trash, wipe directories |
| Git destructive | git push --force, git reset --hard, git clean -f, git branch -D |
| External messaging | Send email, post to Slack/Teams/Discord, publish social post, reply-all |
| Financial | Confirm purchase, submit payment, execute trade, cancel subscription |
| Credentials | Rotate/delete API keys, modify OAuth apps, change passwords |
| Infrastructure | Deploy to production, drop database, terminate server instance |
| Permission changes | Share document, change access controls, make resource public |
Confirmation protocol
When about to execute a dangerous action:
Step 1 — Pause before the action Do not execute the action yet. Write it to pending_action in state with a 5-minute expiry.
Step 2 — Describe to user Tell the user:
- What you're about to do (exact command or operation)
- What it will affect (files, people, systems)
- Whether it's reversible and how (if at all)
Step 3 — Wait for explicit confirmation Accept only unambiguous affirmatives: "yes", "go ahead", "confirmed", "do it", "proceed". Do NOT proceed on: "maybe", "I think so", "sure I guess", or any other hedged response.
Step 4 — Execute within expiry window If confirmed, execute within 5 minutes. If the session lapsed or the user is no longer active, re-confirm.
Step 5 — Log to audit trail Write to state: action, timestamp, user confirmation phrase, outcome (executed / rejected / expired).
Approval expiry
Approvals expire after 5 minutes. If you execute a dangerous action more than 5 minutes after receiving confirmation, re-confirm with the user. Stale approvals from prior sessions never carry over.
Batch operations
For bulk operations (e.g. "delete all temp files"), list the specific items and the count before confirming — never confirm a batch without showing scope. If scope exceeds 10 items, show first 5 and the total count.
Audit trail
Every action — confirmed or rejected — is logged to state. Use python3 audit.py --history to review the full trail. The audit trail is the user's safety net for disputed actions.