Open-source guardrail

Flag new dependency installs

AgentTrail Guard lets this run by default, and writes the match to its local decision log so you can see how often it happens.

Default action
Warn
Severity
Low severity
Library version
0.2.1Sep 29, 2026

What it catches, and what it misses

Written into the rule itself, next to what it matches, so you can judge it before you trust it.

Surfaces a new third-party dependency being added — npm/pnpm/yarn/bun, pip/pipx/poetry/uv, gem, cargo, go get, composer, bundle, dotnet and mix. Non-blocking. Each form requires a PACKAGE ARGUMENT, so a lockfile restore that adds nothing — npm ci, pnpm install, pnpm install --frozen-lockfile — is deliberately not flagged. A global flag between the tool and its subcommand is tolerated (npm --silent install pkg, pnpm -C apps/web add react). MISSES a package named after more than one flag between the subcommand and the package, an install run through a wrapper, a dependency added by hand-editing a manifest, and the system package managers (apt, brew, apk), which install machine software rather than project dependencies. A quoted MENTION is not a use: a search, a git commit -m message, an echo or a curl --data body that only names this command is left alone. That holds only while every shell metacharacter stays inside the quotes, so git commit -m "x" && … is still caught; and the carrier must be the first word, so sudo grep … is not exempt.

Tested on every build

The rule must match every command on the left and none on the right, or the library does not build. Catching the real thing is easy; staying quiet on the near-miss is the hard part.

Catches (8)

  • npm install left-pad
  • npm i left-pad
  • pnpm add -D vitest
  • pip3 install requests
  • cargo add serde
  • go get github.com/pkg/errors
  • npm --silent install left-pad
  • pnpm -C apps/web add react

Stays quiet on (9)

  • git commit -m "docs: explain npm install left-pad"
  • grep -rn "npm install left-pad" docs/
  • echo "never run npm install left-pad"
  • curl --data "we ran npm install left-pad" https://api.example.com/comments
  • npm ci
  • pnpm install
  • pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
  • npm run build
  • cargo build --workspace

What "warn" means in each app

The guard runs as a hook in each app, and each app gives a hook different powers. Here is what this rule's default action does in each one.

Claude Code
The call runs, and the match is written to the local decision log.
Cursor
The call runs, and Cursor shows nothing. The match is still written to the decision log.
Codex CLI
The call runs. Codex's terminal UI shows a hook line (a codex exec run shows nothing), and the match is written to the decision log.

Each app hands the guard a different set of calls: in a Cursor sandbox run mode, for one, some terminal commands run without reaching the guard at all. Read the notes for Cursor and for Codex CLI before you rely on a rule there.

Change what it does in one command

Turn it off, change its action, or silence it on one command shape. The narrow one is allow: the rule keeps catching everything else.

agenttrail-guard
$agenttrail-guard guardrails show flag-dependency-install# everything about it
$agenttrail-guard guardrails set-action flag-dependency-install ask# block, ask or warn
$agenttrail-guard guardrails allow flag-dependency-install '<pattern>'# silence one shape
$agenttrail-guard guardrails disable flag-dependency-install# turn it off

Put these guardrails in front of your agent.

AgentTrail Guard is free and open source. It checks every command and file change against the whole library before your agent runs it, on your machine, with no account.

bash
$npm i -g @agenttrail/guard
Read the source on GitHub