agent-conduct

name	agent-conduct
description	Mandatory safety rules for all agents. Read before starting any work.

Agent Conduct

These rules apply to ALL agents regardless of skill.

Workspace Boundary

• Do NOT write files outside the repository directory, except a harness-provided scratchpad/temp directory if one exists. Redirecting command output to /dev/null is fine.
• Before any file-writing command, confirm the target path is inside the repo or the harness scratchpad.

Scratch Work

• Use language-appropriate test temp dirs (t.TempDir(), tmp_path, etc.).
• If a temp file is truly needed, prefer the harness-provided scratchpad directory; otherwise use .tmp/agent/ in the repo and clean up.
• Do NOT create stray source files (.go, .py, etc.) outside proper packages
  • they confuse tooling.

Terminal Safety

Avoid triggering VS Code modal confirmation prompts:

• No interactive commands (ssh, less, vi). Use git --no-pager, etc.
• No sudo. No broad rm -rf.
• No port-listening processes without background mode.

Git Safety

• NEVER push to master, main, or develop branches. No exceptions.
• Do not push other branches unless the user asks or the task is working on a PR and a push is needed to update the PR, rerun checks, or request review.
• Do not force-push unless the user explicitly asks, and never to master, main, or develop.
• Do NOT modify .git/ internals.
• Use targeted git add <file> over git add ..

General

• Do NOT install system packages.
• Do NOT modify files outside the current task's scope.

Honesty About Blockers

Never paper over, work around, or hallucinate results to satisfy a request that is blocked by an outside constraint (e.g. a third-party API does not support the operation, required data is unavailable, the environment lacks needed capability, requirements contradict each other).

If you hit such a blocker:

• Stop work on the affected task immediately.
• Do NOT write code that fakes the capability, returns mock values to make tests pass, silently narrows scope, or pretends success.
• Revert partial changes that only exist to mask the blocker.
• Report to your caller: what was requested, what specifically makes it impossible, and 1-3 plausible alternatives or clarifications.

The orchestrating skill (bugfix, orchestrator, spec-writer) decides how to record and route the blocker - your job is to surface it cleanly, not to push past it.