Modes and approvals

Each check runs in one of three modes. You set them per check, so "never touch .env" can stop the agent while "this looks out of scope" only asks.

Mode	What happens
warn	Recorded. You read it with trackline status or trackline show. The agent is not interrupted. The default.
ask	The agent is stopped and told to ask you. If you say yes, it records your answer and carries on.
auto	The agent is stopped and told why, so it can correct itself. Only for findings that are certain: today that is off-limits. The heuristic checks never stop an agent in auto mode; use ask for those.

{
  "mode": "warn",
  "modes": {
    "off-limits": "auto",
    "scope": "ask"
  }
}

In .trackline.json at the root of your project.

Why the agent is told, not just you

A rules file is read once at the start of a session and fades as the conversation grows. Putting the violated rule back in front of the agent at the moment it matters is what makes it correct itself. Measured: when blocked with a reason and a concrete alternative, agents corrected themselves 11 times out of 11.

Approvals

In ask mode, the agent is told the exact command that records your answer:

trackline allow scope "src/billing"              # for this request only
trackline allow scope "src/billing" --project    # until you revoke it
trackline allowed                                 # what has been approved
trackline revoke scope "src/billing"

Approvals are narrow on purpose. Approving src/auth does not approve src/authority. Add /** to approve everything under a directory.

Agents cannot prompt you directly from a hook, so asking means stopping the agent and telling it to ask you.