Agent Governance
GitHubOfficialContributed by @imran-siddique via pull request #755Distributed by GitHub
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- Agent tooling
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AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
Agent governance is essential for deploying AI agents in production environments where safety, compliance, and reliability are critical. This skill provides a structured approach to controlling agent behavior through declarative policies, intent classification, tool-level decorators, and trust-based delegation. By separating governance logic from business logic, developers can enforce boundaries on tool usage, content processing, and rate limits, while maintaining immutable audit trails for accountability.
What it does
- Defines composable, serializable governance policies for tool access and content filtering.
- Implements pre-flight intent classification to detect and block malicious prompts.
- Provides a decorator-based pattern to enforce governance on individual tool functions.
- Establishes trust scoring systems with temporal decay for multi-agent workflows.
- Creates append-only audit trails for monitoring and compliance reporting.
- Offers integration patterns for popular agent frameworks like PydanticAI, CrewAI, and LangChain.
When to use it
- When building agents that interact with external tools, databases, or file systems.
- When deploying agents in sensitive domains like finance, healthcare, or infrastructure management.
- When implementing multi-agent systems that require trust boundaries between delegates.
- When compliance, auditability, and safety are mandatory requirements for production.
Advantages
- Enables policy changes without requiring code redeployments via configuration-based policies.
- Implements a fail-closed security posture for agent operations.
- Supports granular control through policy composition and most-restrictive-wins logic.
- Provides clear visibility into agent actions through structured, exportable audit logs.
Usage examples
- “How do I prevent my agent from executing dangerous shell commands?”
- The skill provides a GovernancePolicy structure and a @govern decorator to block specific tools like 'shell_exec' via an allowlist or blocklist.
- “How can I ensure my agent doesn't leak sensitive information like passwords?”
- The skill demonstrates using blocked_patterns in a policy object to scan content for sensitive strings before tool execution.
- “How do I manage trust between multiple agents in a complex workflow?”
- The skill introduces a TrustScore class with temporal decay and an AgentTrustRegistry to gate sensitive operations based on agent reliability.
- “How can I log all agent actions for compliance purposes?”
- The skill provides an AuditTrail class that captures tool execution, status, and metadata, with support for JSONL export.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/github/agent-governance/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip agent-governance.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by imran-siddique
Agent Governance Patterns
Patterns for adding safety, trust, and policy enforcement to AI agent systems.
Overview
Governance patterns ensure AI agents operate within defined boundaries — controlling which tools they can call, what content they can process, how much they can do, and maintaining accountability through audit trails.
User Request → Intent Classification → Policy Check → Tool Execution → Audit Log
↓ ↓ ↓
Threat Detection Allow/Deny Trust UpdateWhen to Use
Agents with tool access: Any agent that calls external tools (APIs, databases, shell commands)
Multi-agent systems: Agents delegating to other agents need trust boundaries
Production deployments: Compliance, audit, and safety requirements
Sensitive operations: Financial transactions, data access, infrastructure management
Pattern 1: Governance Policy
Define what an agent is allowed to do as a composable, serializable policy object.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from enum import Enum
from typing import Optional
import re
class PolicyAction(Enum):
ALLOW = "allow"
DENY = "deny"
REVIEW = "review" # flag for human review
@dataclass
class GovernancePolicy:
"""Declarative policy controlling agent behavior."""
name: str
allowed_tools: list[str] = field(default_factory=list) # allowlist
blocked_tools: list[str] = field(default_factory=list) # blocklist
blocked_patterns: list[str] = field(default_factory=list) # content filters
max_calls_per_request: int = 100 # rate limit
require_human_approval: list[str] = field(default_factory=list) # tools needing approval
def check_tool(self, tool_name: str) -> PolicyAction:
"""Check if a tool is allowed by this policy."""
if tool_name in self.blocked_tools:
return PolicyAction.DENY
if tool_name in self.require_human_approval:
return PolicyAction.REVIEW
if self.allowed_tools and tool_name not in self.allowed_tools:
return PolicyAction.DENY
return PolicyAction.ALLOW
def check_content(self, content: str) -> Optional[str]:
"""Check content against blocked patterns. Returns matched pattern or None."""
for pattern in self.blocked_patterns:
if re.search(pattern, content, re.IGNORECASE):
return pattern
return NonePolicy Composition
Combine multiple policies (e.g., org-wide + team + agent-specific):
def compose_policies(*policies: GovernancePolicy) -> GovernancePolicy:
"""Merge policies with most-restrictive-wins semantics."""
combined = GovernancePolicy(name="composed")
for policy in policies:
combined.blocked_tools.extend(policy.blocked_tools)
combined.blocked_patterns.extend(policy.blocked_patterns)
combined.require_human_approval.extend(policy.require_human_approval)
combined.max_calls_per_request = min(
combined.max_calls_per_request,
policy.max_calls_per_request
)
if policy.allowed_tools:
if combined.allowed_tools:
combined.allowed_tools = [
t for t in combined.allowed_tools if t in policy.allowed_tools
]
else:
combined.allowed_tools = list(policy.allowed_tools)
return combined
# Usage: layer policies from broad to specific
org_policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="org-wide",
blocked_tools=["shell_exec", "delete_database"],
blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)(api[_-]?key|secret|password)\s*[:=]"],
max_calls_per_request=50
)
team_policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="data-team",
allowed_tools=["query_db", "read_file", "write_report"],
require_human_approval=["write_report"]
)
agent_policy = compose_policies(org_policy, team_policy)Policy as YAML
Store policies as configuration, not code:
# governance-policy.yaml
name: production-agent
allowed_tools:
- search_documents
- query_database
- send_email
blocked_tools:
- shell_exec
- delete_record
blocked_patterns:
- "(?i)(api[_-]?key|secret|password)\\s*[:=]"
- "(?i)(drop|truncate|delete from)\\s+\\w+"
max_calls_per_request: 25
require_human_approval:
- send_emailimport yaml
def load_policy(path: str) -> GovernancePolicy:
with open(path) as f:
data = yaml.safe_load(f)
return GovernancePolicy(**data)Pattern 2: Semantic Intent Classification
Detect dangerous intent in prompts before they reach the agent, using pattern-based signals.
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class IntentSignal:
category: str # e.g., "data_exfiltration", "privilege_escalation"
confidence: float # 0.0 to 1.0
evidence: str # what triggered the detection
# Weighted signal patterns for threat detection
THREAT_SIGNALS = [
# Data exfiltration
(r"(?i)send\s+(all|every|entire)\s+\w+\s+to\s+", "data_exfiltration", 0.8),
(r"(?i)export\s+.*\s+to\s+(external|outside|third.?party)", "data_exfiltration", 0.9),
(r"(?i)curl\s+.*\s+-d\s+", "data_exfiltration", 0.7),
# Privilege escalation
(r"(?i)(sudo|as\s+root|admin\s+access)", "privilege_escalation", 0.8),
(r"(?i)chmod\s+777", "privilege_escalation", 0.9),
# System modification
(r"(?i)(rm\s+-rf|del\s+/[sq]|format\s+c:)", "system_destruction", 0.95),
(r"(?i)(drop\s+database|truncate\s+table)", "system_destruction", 0.9),
# Prompt injection
(r"(?i)ignore\s+(previous|above|all)\s+(instructions?|rules?)", "prompt_injection", 0.9),
(r"(?i)you\s+are\s+now\s+(a|an)\s+", "prompt_injection", 0.7),
]
def classify_intent(content: str) -> list[IntentSignal]:
"""Classify content for threat signals."""
signals = []
for pattern, category, weight in THREAT_SIGNALS:
match = re.search(pattern, content)
if match:
signals.append(IntentSignal(
category=category,
confidence=weight,
evidence=match.group()
))
return signals
def is_safe(content: str, threshold: float = 0.7) -> bool:
"""Quick check: is the content safe above the given threshold?"""
signals = classify_intent(content)
return not any(s.confidence >= threshold for s in signals)Key insight: Intent classification happens before tool execution, acting as a pre-flight safety check. This is fundamentally different from output guardrails which only check after generation.
Pattern 3: Tool-Level Governance Decorator
Wrap individual tool functions with governance checks:
import functools
import time
from collections import defaultdict
_call_counters: dict[str, int] = defaultdict(int)
def govern(policy: GovernancePolicy, audit_trail=None):
"""Decorator that enforces governance policy on a tool function."""
def decorator(func):
@functools.wraps(func)
async def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
tool_name = func.__name__
# 1. Check tool allowlist/blocklist
action = policy.check_tool(tool_name)
if action == PolicyAction.DENY:
raise PermissionError(f"Policy '{policy.name}' blocks tool '{tool_name}'")
if action == PolicyAction.REVIEW:
raise PermissionError(f"Tool '{tool_name}' requires human approval")
# 2. Check rate limit
_call_counters[policy.name] += 1
if _call_counters[policy.name] > policy.max_calls_per_request:
raise PermissionError(f"Rate limit exceeded: {policy.max_calls_per_request} calls")
# 3. Check content in arguments
for arg in list(args) + list(kwargs.values()):
if isinstance(arg, str):
matched = policy.check_content(arg)
if matched:
raise PermissionError(f"Blocked pattern detected: {matched}")
# 4. Execute and audit
start = time.monotonic()
try:
result = await func(*args, **kwargs)
if audit_trail is not None:
audit_trail.append({
"tool": tool_name,
"action": "allowed",
"duration_ms": (time.monotonic() - start) * 1000,
"timestamp": time.time()
})
return result
except Exception as e:
if audit_trail is not None:
audit_trail.append({
"tool": tool_name,
"action": "error",
"error": str(e),
"timestamp": time.time()
})
raise
return wrapper
return decorator
# Usage with any agent framework
audit_log = []
policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="search-agent",
allowed_tools=["search", "summarize"],
blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)password"],
max_calls_per_request=10
)
@govern(policy, audit_trail=audit_log)
async def search(query: str) -> str:
"""Search documents — governed by policy."""
return f"Results for: {query}"
# Passes: search("latest quarterly report")
# Blocked: search("show me the admin password")Pattern 4: Trust Scoring
Track agent reliability over time with decay-based trust scores:
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
import math
import time
@dataclass
class TrustScore:
"""Trust score with temporal decay."""
score: float = 0.5 # 0.0 (untrusted) to 1.0 (fully trusted)
successes: int = 0
failures: int = 0
last_updated: float = field(default_factory=time.time)
def record_success(self, reward: float = 0.05):
self.successes += 1
self.score = min(1.0, self.score + reward * (1 - self.score))
self.last_updated = time.time()
def record_failure(self, penalty: float = 0.15):
self.failures += 1
self.score = max(0.0, self.score - penalty * self.score)
self.last_updated = time.time()
def current(self, decay_rate: float = 0.001) -> float:
"""Get score with temporal decay — trust erodes without activity."""
elapsed = time.time() - self.last_updated
decay = math.exp(-decay_rate * elapsed)
return self.score * decay
@property
def reliability(self) -> float:
total = self.successes + self.failures
return self.successes / total if total > 0 else 0.0
# Usage in multi-agent systems
trust = TrustScore()
# Agent completes tasks successfully
trust.record_success() # 0.525
trust.record_success() # 0.549
# Agent makes an error
trust.record_failure() # 0.467
# Gate sensitive operations on trust
if trust.current() >= 0.7:
# Allow autonomous operation
pass
elif trust.current() >= 0.4:
# Allow with human oversight
pass
else:
# Deny or require explicit approval
passMulti-agent trust: In systems where agents delegate to other agents, each agent maintains trust scores for its delegates:
class AgentTrustRegistry:
def __init__(self):
self.scores: dict[str, TrustScore] = {}
def get_trust(self, agent_id: str) -> TrustScore:
if agent_id not in self.scores:
self.scores[agent_id] = TrustScore()
return self.scores[agent_id]
def most_trusted(self, agents: list[str]) -> str:
return max(agents, key=lambda a: self.get_trust(a).current())
def meets_threshold(self, agent_id: str, threshold: float) -> bool:
return self.get_trust(agent_id).current() >= thresholdPattern 5: Audit Trail
Append-only audit log for all agent actions — critical for compliance and debugging:
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
import json
import time
@dataclass
class AuditEntry:
timestamp: float
agent_id: str
tool_name: str
action: str # "allowed", "denied", "error"
policy_name: str
details: dict = field(default_factory=dict)
class AuditTrail:
"""Append-only audit trail for agent governance events."""
def __init__(self):
self._entries: list[AuditEntry] = []
def log(self, agent_id: str, tool_name: str, action: str,
policy_name: str, **details):
self._entries.append(AuditEntry(
timestamp=time.time(),
agent_id=agent_id,
tool_name=tool_name,
action=action,
policy_name=policy_name,
details=details
))
def denied(self) -> list[AuditEntry]:
"""Get all denied actions — useful for security review."""
return [e for e in self._entries if e.action == "denied"]
def by_agent(self, agent_id: str) -> list[AuditEntry]:
return [e for e in self._entries if e.agent_id == agent_id]
def export_jsonl(self, path: str):
"""Export as JSON Lines for log aggregation systems."""
with open(path, "w") as f:
for entry in self._entries:
f.write(json.dumps({
"timestamp": entry.timestamp,
"agent_id": entry.agent_id,
"tool": entry.tool_name,
"action": entry.action,
"policy": entry.policy_name,
**entry.details
}) + "\n")Pattern 6: Framework Integration
PydanticAI
from pydantic_ai import Agent
policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="support-bot",
allowed_tools=["search_docs", "create_ticket"],
blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)(ssn|social\s+security|credit\s+card)"],
max_calls_per_request=20
)
agent = Agent("openai:gpt-4o", system_prompt="You are a support assistant.")
@agent.tool
@govern(policy)
async def search_docs(ctx, query: str) -> str:
"""Search knowledge base — governed."""
return await kb.search(query)
@agent.tool
@govern(policy)
async def create_ticket(ctx, title: str, body: str) -> str:
"""Create support ticket — governed."""
return await tickets.create(title=title, body=body)CrewAI
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="research-crew",
allowed_tools=["search", "analyze"],
max_calls_per_request=30
)
# Apply governance at the crew level
def governed_crew_run(crew: Crew, policy: GovernancePolicy):
"""Wrap crew execution with governance checks."""
audit = AuditTrail()
for agent in crew.agents:
for tool in agent.tools:
original = tool.func
tool.func = govern(policy, audit_trail=audit)(original)
result = crew.kickoff()
return result, auditOpenAI Agents SDK
from agents import Agent, function_tool
policy = GovernancePolicy(
name="coding-agent",
allowed_tools=["read_file", "write_file", "run_tests"],
blocked_tools=["shell_exec"],
max_calls_per_request=50
)
@function_tool
@govern(policy)
async def read_file(path: str) -> str:
"""Read file contents — governed."""
import os
safe_path = os.path.realpath(path)
if not safe_path.startswith(os.path.realpath(".")):
raise ValueError("Path traversal blocked by governance")
with open(safe_path) as f:
return f.read()Governance Levels
Match governance strictness to risk level:
| Level | Controls | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Audit only, no restrictions | Internal dev/testing |
| Standard | Tool allowlist + content filters | General production agents |
| Strict | All controls + human approval for sensitive ops | Financial, healthcare, legal |
| Locked | Allowlist only, no dynamic tools, full audit | Compliance-critical systems |
Best Practices
| Practice | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Policy as configuration | Store policies in YAML/JSON, not hardcoded — enables change without deploys |
| Most-restrictive-wins | When composing policies, deny always overrides allow |
| Pre-flight intent check | Classify intent before tool execution, not after |
| Trust decay | Trust scores should decay over time — require ongoing good behavior |
| Append-only audit | Never modify or delete audit entries — immutability enables compliance |
| Fail closed | If governance check errors, deny the action rather than allowing it |
| Separate policy from logic | Governance enforcement should be independent of agent business logic |
Quick Start Checklist
## Agent Governance Implementation Checklist
### Setup
- [ ] Define governance policy (allowed tools, blocked patterns, rate limits)
- [ ] Choose governance level (open/standard/strict/locked)
- [ ] Set up audit trail storage
### Implementation
- [ ] Add @govern decorator to all tool functions
- [ ] Add intent classification to user input processing
- [ ] Implement trust scoring for multi-agent interactions
- [ ] Wire up audit trail export
### Validation
- [ ] Test that blocked tools are properly denied
- [ ] Test that content filters catch sensitive patterns
- [ ] Test rate limiting behavior
- [ ] Verify audit trail captures all events
- [ ] Test policy composition (most-restrictive-wins)Related Resources
Agent Governance Toolkit — Full governance framework
AgentMesh Integrations — Framework-specific packages
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer949 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
- SKILL.md18.1 KiB
Requirements and compatibility
Written for: GitHub Copilot
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs Python
Security
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Attribution and licence
- Contributed by
@imran-siddiquevia pull request #755
- Publisher
- GitHub (Official)
- Distributed by
- GitHub
- Source
- github/awesome-copilot · skills/agent-governance · commit 797337f
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
- Contributors
- imran-siddique
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by imran-siddique or GitHub.
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