The Warden's Pact: Guardrails and Human-in-the-Loop Patterns

# .github/workflows/guardrail-file-scope.yml
name: File-Scope Guardrail Check

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]

jobs:
  check-agent-pr-scope:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    if: contains(github.event.pull_request.head.ref, 'copilot/')
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Check agent PR scope
        id: scope_check
        run: |
          # Get all files changed in this PR
          CHANGED_FILES=$(gh pr view "$" \
            --json files -q '.files[].path')
          
          echo "Files changed:"
          echo "$CHANGED_FILES"
          
          # Check for forbidden paths (agent should not touch these)
          FORBIDDEN_PATTERNS=(
            "src/auth/"
            "src/crypto/"
            ".github/workflows/"
            "database/migrations/"
          )
          
          for PATTERN in "${FORBIDDEN_PATTERNS[@]}"; do
            if echo "$CHANGED_FILES" | grep -q "^$PATTERN"; then
              echo "::error::Agent PR touches forbidden path: $PATTERN"
              echo "scope_violation=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
              exit 1
            fi
          done
          
          echo "✅ File scope check passed"
          echo "scope_violation=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

      - name: Label scope violation
        if: failure()
        uses: actions/github-script@v7
        with:
          script: |
            await github.rest.issues.addLabels({
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
              issue_number: context.payload.pull_request.number,
              labels: ['guardrail-violation', 'needs-human']
            });

# .github/workflows/agent-with-approval-gate.yml
name: Agent Deploy with Approval Gate

on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      target_environment:
        description: "Target environment (staging or production)"
        required: true
        type: choice
        options: [staging, production]

jobs:
  prepare:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      deploy_plan: $
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Create deployment plan
        id: plan
        run: |
          echo "Agent creating deployment plan..."
          PLAN=$(echo '{"version": "1.2.0", "changes": ["feature-x", "bugfix-y"]}')
          echo "deploy_plan=$PLAN" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

  # This job runs in the 'production' environment
  # GitHub will pause here and require human approver(s) before proceeding
  deploy:
    needs: prepare
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment:
      name: $    # Must be configured with required reviewers in GitHub repo settings
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Deploy (approved by human reviewer)
        run: |
          echo "✅ Deployment approved by human reviewer"
          echo "Deploying plan: $"
          # ... actual deployment steps ...

# .github/workflows/agent-audit-trail.yml
name: Agent Action Audit Trail

on:
  workflow_run:
    workflows: ["*Agent*", "*Copilot*"]
    types: [completed]

jobs:
  log-audit-entry:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          token: $

      - name: Write audit log entry
        run: |
          AUDIT_DATE=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)
          AUDIT_FILE="work/gh-600/audit/audit-${AUDIT_DATE}.jsonl"
          mkdir -p "$(dirname "$AUDIT_FILE")"
          
          cat >> "$AUDIT_FILE" << EOF
          {
            "timestamp": "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)",
            "actor": "github-actions[bot]",
            "workflow": "$",
            "run_id": "$",
            "conclusion": "$",
            "triggered_by": "$",
            "head_branch": "$",
            "head_sha": "$"
          }
          EOF
          
          echo "Audit entry written to $AUDIT_FILE"

      - name: Commit audit log
        run: |
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
          git add work/gh-600/audit/
          git diff --staged --quiet || git commit -m "audit: log agent action run $"
          git push