| name | Unprivileged Automation |
| description | Use when a Codex agent needs a scratchpad-driven workflow for execution tasks in a live workspace without privileged access, especially when the user wants explicit scope tracking, durable notes, planned check-ins, and a final approval gate before autonomous execution. |
Unprivileged Automation
Use this skill for orchestrating tasks where the agent should work from a durable scratchpad and proceed autonomously, cautiously, under normal sandboxed or limited-access conditions.
When to use
- The task is long-running, research-related, or operationally sensitive.
- The user wants a scratchpad to track scope, commands, session names, status, and notes.
- The task may involve restricted commands or sandbox limits. Prefer non-escalated approaches first, but go ahead and request user-approved escalation when the task genuinely requires it.
Workflow
- Copy
~/.agents/skills/unprivileged-automation/scratchpads/template.md to the scratchpad path provided by the user.
- If the user did not provide a scratchpad path, ask for one before proceeding.
- Immediately edit the copied scratchpad so it reflects the current task, scope, paths, sessions, commands, status, and notes.
- Read the scratchpad's
Operating Rules section and adopt it as the canonical local operations manual for the task.
- Treat the user's request as free-form context. Extract the real task, constraints, goals, risks, any access limits, and current status, then normalize them into the scratchpad.
- Before proceeding autonomously, confirm your understanding and ask the user for one final approval before execution.
- Use the scratchpad as the source of truth for the rest of the task.
Operating Notes
- Stay within the user-approved scope.
- Assume limited permissions by default; prefer sandbox-safe and non-destructive actions first.
- Prefer non-escalated approaches first. When escalation is genuinely required to complete the task, go ahead and request user approval.
- Ask before dangerous, irreversible, high-impact, or privilege-requiring actions.
- Prefer durable logs and checkpoint-aware relaunches. You MUST use tmux for long-running work, and should request escalation to launch tmux if the environment prevents it.
- Keep context lean by updating the scratchpad instead of restating operational state in chat.
- For long waits, use the local
Codex Orchestrator skill instead of harness sleep timers.
Bundled Resource
Scratchpad template:
~/.agents/skills/unprivileged-automation/scratchpads/template.md
