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Protected paths prevent agents from modifying sensitive files — system configs, keys, environment files, and the SDK itself.

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Quick Start

from praisonaiagents import Agent, search_replace, append_to_file, write_file

agent = Agent(
    name="SafeCoderAgent",
    instructions="Edit code safely. Never touch system files.",
    tools=[search_replace, append_to_file, write_file],
)

# Returns error — /etc/passwd is protected
agent.start("Append 'test' to /etc/passwd")

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How It Works

is_protected(abs_path) and get_protection_reason(abs_path) from praisonai.security.protected guard file-modifying tools. Protected targets include:
  • Environment files (.env, .env.local, …)
  • Git internals (.git/)
  • SSH keys (~/.ssh/, id_rsa, …)
  • AWS credentials (~/.aws/)
  • Boot/system paths (/etc/passwd, /boot/)
  • Core SDK (praisonaiagents/)
  • Audit log (audit.jsonl)
Error response shape: 
{
    "success": False,
    "error": "Path '/etc/passwd' is protected: <reason>",
}

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Tools That Enforce Protection

ToolEnforces is_protected()
write_fileYes
append_to_fileYes (PR #2062)
search_replaceYes (PR #2062)
apply_diffYes

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Inspecting Protection

from praisonai.security import is_protected, get_protection_reason

is_protected(".env")           # True
get_protection_reason(".env")  # "Environment file containing secrets"
is_protected("src/app.py")     # False
Do not disable protected-path checks in production — extend the list only for deliberate, reviewed exceptions.

Security Overview

Full security feature matrix

Shell Tools

Dangerous command protection