Security Profiles

codescout now supports a profile field in the [security] section of .codescout/project.toml. The profile controls how strictly path validation and shell command safety checks are enforced.

Profiles

default (standard sandbox)

This is the profile used when no profile key is present.

• Read deny-list active — system paths (.ssh/, /etc/passwd, etc.) are blocked regardless of the calling tool.
• Writes restricted to the project root and the system temp directory. Additional directories can be added via extra_write_roots.
• Dangerous shell commands (e.g. rm -rf, dd, mkfs) require acknowledge_risk: true in run_command.

root (unrestricted)

For system-administration projects that legitimately need full filesystem access.

• No read deny-list — any path readable by the OS user can be read.
• Writes allowed anywhere the OS user has permission.
• Dangerous command check bypassed — run_command executes without a speed bump.

Source-file shell access guidance (prefer read_file/symbols over cat) remains active in both profiles. It improves tool output quality, not security.

Configuration

Add a [security] section to .codescout/project.toml:

[security]
profile = "root"

The default value is "default" — omitting the field is equivalent to profile = "default".

When to use root mode

Only switch to root if your project genuinely needs it:

• System administration scripts that read /etc, /var, or write outside the project tree.
• Dotfile managers, backup tools, or package managers where restricting paths would prevent the tool from functioning.

For regular application development, keep profile = "default". The sandbox prevents accidental reads of SSH keys or credential files and catches destructive shell commands before they run.

Limitations

• The profile is per-project, not per-tool. There is no way to lift the sandbox for a single tool call.
• profile = "root" does not bypass OS-level permissions — codescout can still only access paths the running user is allowed to read or write.