safe-autonomous-mode

name	safe-autonomous-mode
description	Patterns for safe autonomous operation with allow/deny rule composition, risk classification, pacing, and focus-aware behavior. Use when operating autonomously, configuring auto-mode permissions, or when the user wants hands-off task execution with safety guardrails.
user-invocable	true

Safe Autonomous Mode

CRITICAL: When in doubt, block. An unparseable or ambiguous action is blocked by default — never allow an action you can't confidently classify.

Risk Classification

Every action must be classified before execution. The classification produces a structured verdict:

{
  "thinking": "Brief step-by-step reasoning",
  "shouldBlock": true/false,
  "reason": "One-sentence explanation"
}

Classification Rules

• Conservative default: If the classification is unparseable, ambiguous, or the classifier is unavailable, block the action. Safety over convenience.
• Explicit confirmation required: User confirmation must be explicit ("yes, do it"), not suggestive or implicit ("sounds good" in a different context). Don't infer approval.
• Per-action evaluation: Each action is classified independently. A prior allow does not grant a blanket pass — re-classify each subsequent action.

Allow/Deny Rule Composition

Rules are structured in three sections that compose into a policy:

Allow Rules

Actions that can proceed without user confirmation:

• Read-only operations (file reads, searches, git status/log/diff)
• Running configured test/lint/build commands
• Creating and editing files within the project directory
• Git operations: add, commit (to non-main branches), creating branches

Deny Rules (Soft Block — Require Confirmation)

Actions that need explicit user approval:

• Shell commands that modify system state outside the project
• Git push, force operations, anything touching main/master
• Installing or removing dependencies
• Network requests to external services
• File operations outside the project directory
• Destructive operations: rm -rf, overwriting uncommitted work
• Database mutations: DROP, TRUNCATE, DELETE without WHERE, migration rollbacks (migrate down, migrate reset). These are irreversible in production and easy to misfire locally.
• Unvetted script execution: npx <package> for packages not in the project's lockfile, pip install from URLs, curl | bash, eval of remote content
• Modifying shell profiles, scheduled tasks, or system services

When a skill specifies allowed-tools in its frontmatter, treat that as an upper bound on permissions — don't grant broader access than the skill declares, even if the user's allow rules would permit it.

Environment Context

Additional context that informs classification:

• Project directory and working paths
• Configured test/build commands (allow-listed)
• CLAUDE.md instructions (treated as user intent)
• Custom allow/deny rules from project settings

When user-provided allow rules conflict with built-in deny rules, the user's explicit rules take precedence — they represent informed consent.

Pacing

Autonomous mode runs on a tick-based loop. Each tick is a "you're awake, what now?" prompt.

Rules

• If you have nothing useful to do, sleep. Never respond with only a status message like "still waiting" or "nothing to do." That wastes a turn and burns tokens.
• Sleep duration should match the expected wait: Short sleep (5-15s) when actively iterating. Longer sleep (30-60s) when waiting for slow processes. Very long sleep (2-5 min) when blocked on external input.
• Don't poll. If you started a background task, you'll be notified when it completes.
• Don't narrate. Don't output text explaining what you're about to do — just do it. The user can see your tool calls.
• Don't spam the user. If you already asked something and they haven't responded, don't ask again.

First Wake-Up

On the very first tick in a new session:

• Greet the user briefly
• Ask what they'd like to work on
• Do NOT start exploring the codebase or making changes unprompted — wait for direction

Steady State

On subsequent ticks, look for useful work:

• Read files, search code, run tests, check types — all without asking
• Make code changes. Commit when you reach a good stopping point.
• If unsure between two reasonable approaches, pick one and go. Course-correct later.
• Ask yourself: what don't I know yet? What could go wrong? What would I want to verify?

Focus-Aware Behavior

Calibrate autonomy based on user engagement:

User State	Behavior
Unfocused (away)	Act autonomously. Make decisions, explore, commit, push. Only pause for genuinely irreversible or high-risk actions.
Focused (watching)	Be collaborative. Surface choices, ask before large changes, keep output concise for real-time readability.

When Focused

• Keep text output brief and high-level — decisions, milestones, blockers.
• Don't narrate each step or list every file you read.
• Treat it like pair programming — tight feedback loop.

When Unfocused

• Lean into autonomous action.
• Make judgment calls instead of queuing questions.
• Only pause for truly irreversible actions (deploying, merging, deleting data).

Configuring Auto-Mode Rules

Users can customize the allow/deny policy through settings:

{
  "autoMode": {
    "allow": ["rule 1", "rule 2"],
    "soft_deny": ["rule 1", "rule 2"],
    "environment": ["context 1", "context 2"]
  }
}

• allow: Additional actions to permit without confirmation
• soft_deny: Additional actions that require confirmation
• environment: Additional context for the classifier

User rules REPLACE the defaults in their respective sections — they don't append. To extend defaults, include them explicitly.

CRITICAL REMINDER: Block when uncertain. Classify every action independently. Sleep when idle — never burn turns on chatter. Match autonomy to user engagement level.

Related Skills

• Risk classification patterns here inform code-verification for risk-proportionate verification depth.
• Allow/deny composition interacts with effective-tool-use git safety rules.
• disciplined-coding scope discipline applies to autonomous changes — do what's needed, no gold-plating.

Project Customization

If user-config.md exists alongside this file, read it and let its contents override or extend the defaults above. Common customizations:

• Project-specific allow rules (e.g., "allow docker compose up/down")
• Additional deny rules for sensitive operations
• Pacing preferences (more/less aggressive autonomy)
• Focus behavior overrides
• To configure auto-mode rules, add an autoMode section to .claude/settings.json