freeze

name	freeze
description	Scope-lock file editing to a specific glob pattern. Only files matching the pattern can be edited until /unfreeze is called.
argument-hint	<glob-pattern>
user-invocable	true
allowed-tools	Write, Read

Freeze

Role: worker. This command restricts Write/Edit operations to files matching a glob pattern.

You have been invoked with the /freeze command.

Worker constraints

1. Write only the freeze-state file; do not edit source.
2. Do not enforce the lock yourself — the pre-tool-guard hook does.
3. Be concise. Confirm the locked scope in one line.

Parse Arguments

Arguments: $ARGUMENTS

• Positional: <glob-pattern> (required) — glob pattern for files that ARE allowed to be edited (e.g., src/auth/**, *.test.ts)

If no pattern is provided, display usage and exit:

Usage: /freeze <glob-pattern> Example: /freeze src/auth/** — only files under src/auth/ can be edited.

Steps

1. Write freeze state

Write the following JSON to .claude/hooks/freeze-state.json (relative to the current repo root — not hooks/freeze-state.json, which would sit inside the plugin's own shared install/cache directory and scope-lock every other concurrently-running session, worktree, and project on the machine; see issue #1890):

{
  "active": true,
  "allowed_patterns": ["<glob-pattern>"],
  "frozen_at": "<ISO timestamp>"
}

2. Confirm

Display:

Scope locked to <pattern>. Only matching files can be edited. Use /unfreeze to lift the restriction.

Notes

• The hooks/pre_tool_guard.py hook resolves this same path per invoking repo via hooks/lib/artifact_paths.py's resolve_file("hooks", "freeze-state.json") — the same .claude/-scoped convention .review-passed and other per-repo runtime state already use — and blocks Write/Edit to files that do NOT match the allowed patterns.
• Freeze state persists across tool calls within a session, and is scoped to the repo it was activated in.
• If a session crashes while frozen, use /unfreeze in the next session to clear stale state.
• Multiple patterns can be provided as comma-separated: /freeze src/auth/**,src/middleware/**
• /build can also engage this same .claude/hooks/freeze-state.json contract automatically, per slice, when a plan opts into **Scope enforcement:** freeze and declares slice-level **Files:** (issue #865) — see scripts/build_slice_scope.py and the build skill's "Slice dispatch bookkeeping" section. That path is opt-in metadata, not a manual /freeze invocation, but writes/clears the identical file this command does.