AgentGuard

Stop runaway Python agents before they burn money.

AgentGuard47 is a zero-dependency runtime control SDK for Python agents. Add hard budget caps, loop detection, retry limits, timeouts, local traces, and incident reports without changing agent frameworks or sending data anywhere by default.

Use it when an agent can call tools, retry work, review code, or run long enough to create surprise spend.

pip install agentguard47

Why AgentGuard

Most agent tooling tells you what happened after the run. AgentGuard stops the bad run while it is happening.

Problem	What AgentGuard does
Agent loops on the same tool	Raises LoopDetected
Flaky tool retries forever	Raises RetryLimitExceeded
Run spends too much	Raises BudgetExceeded
Run hangs	Raises TimeoutExceeded
Team needs proof	Writes local JSONL traces and incident reports
Dashboard comes later	HttpSink mirrors events only when you opt in

Design constraints:

• zero runtime dependencies
• MIT licensed
• local-first by default
• no API key required for local proof
• no network calls unless you configure HttpSink
• guards raise exceptions inside the running process

Real Incidents AgentGuard Prevents

PocketOS — agent deleted prod DB and backups in 9 seconds (May 2026)

A Cursor agent ran a destructive sequence against PocketOS production and wiped the live database. Backups went with it.

Reported root cause from the team's postmortem:

• one API key had write + delete on both prod and backups
• backups lived in the same Railway environment as prod
• no confirmation step before destructive actions
• the agent was given enough rope to chain the calls in one turn

Source: r/devops thread

The "AI did it" framing buries the actual lesson: the blast radius was infra, not the model. AgentGuard does not replace least-privilege creds or isolated backups. It does kill the run before a loop, retry storm, or runaway turn finishes the job.

A BudgetGuard plus LoopGuard wired around the agent loop caps how much it can do in one session:

from agentguard import BudgetGuard, LoopGuard, RateLimitGuard, Tracer

budget = BudgetGuard(max_calls=20, max_cost_usd=1.00)
loop = LoopGuard(max_repeats=2)
rate = RateLimitGuard(max_calls_per_minute=10)
tracer = Tracer(service="cursor-agent", guards=[loop, rate])

with tracer.trace("agent.run"):
    budget.consume(calls=1)
    # tool call here — guards raise on overrun

A 9-second sequence of destructive calls trips LoopGuard or RateLimitGuard long before it finishes. The exception kills the run in-process. Pair this with scoped credentials and out-of-environment backups for the rest of the blast radius.

Local Proof In 60 Seconds

agentguard doctor
agentguard demo
agentguard quickstart --framework raw

doctor verifies the install and local trace writing. demo proves budget, loop, and retry stops offline. quickstart prints the smallest starter for your stack.

Installed-package proof:

agentguard demo

Source-checkout proof with local incident output and hosted-compatible NDJSON:

git clone https://github.com/bmdhodl/agent47.git
cd agent47
PYTHONPATH=sdk python examples/sticky_agent_proof.py --out-dir proof/sticky-agent-proof
agentguard incident proof/sticky-agent-proof/sticky_agent_proof_traces.jsonl

Expected first value moment:

BudgetGuard stops simulated spend.
LoopGuard stops repeated tool calls.
RetryGuard stops a retry storm.
No API keys. No dashboard. No network calls.

Notebook version:

Copy-Paste Repo Setup

Use this when you want a coding agent or teammate to add AgentGuard safely:

pip install agentguard47
agentguard doctor
agentguard quickstart --framework raw --write
python agentguard_raw_quickstart.py
agentguard report .agentguard/traces.jsonl

Optional shared local defaults, saved as .agentguard.json in the repo root:

{
  "profile": "coding-agent",
  "service": "my-agent",
  "trace_file": ".agentguard/traces.jsonl",
  "budget_usd": 5.0
}

Keep the first PR local-only. Add hosted ingest later only when retained incidents, alerts, or team visibility matter.

Quickstart: Guard One Agent Run

from agentguard import BudgetGuard, JsonlFileSink, LoopGuard, Tracer

budget = BudgetGuard(max_cost_usd=5.00, max_calls=50, warn_at_pct=0.8)
loop = LoopGuard(max_repeats=3)
tracer = Tracer(
    sink=JsonlFileSink(".agentguard/traces.jsonl"),
    service="support-agent",
    guards=[loop],
)

with tracer.trace("agent.run") as span:
    budget.consume(calls=1, cost_usd=0.02)
    loop.check("search", {"query": "refund policy"})
    span.event("tool.call", data={"tool": "search", "query": "refund policy"})
    # Call your agent or tool here.

Inspect the local proof:

agentguard report .agentguard/traces.jsonl
agentguard incident .agentguard/traces.jsonl

Auto-Patch Provider SDKs

If you already call OpenAI or Anthropic directly, patch once and keep using the provider normally:

from agentguard import BudgetGuard, Tracer, patch_openai

budget = BudgetGuard(max_cost_usd=5.00, warn_at_pct=0.8)
tracer = Tracer(service="support-agent")
patch_openai(tracer, budget_guard=budget)

# OpenAI chat completions are now traced and budget-enforced.

When accumulated cost crosses the hard limit, BudgetExceeded is raised and the agent stops.

Guards

Guard	Stops	Example
BudgetGuard	dollar, token, or call overruns	BudgetGuard(max_cost_usd=5.00)
LoopGuard	exact repeated tool calls	LoopGuard(max_repeats=3)
FuzzyLoopGuard	similar calls and A-B-A-B loops	FuzzyLoopGuard(max_tool_repeats=5)
RetryGuard	retry storms on the same tool	RetryGuard(max_retries=3)
TimeoutGuard	long-running jobs	TimeoutGuard(max_seconds=300)
RateLimitGuard	calls per minute	RateLimitGuard(max_calls_per_minute=60)
BudgetAwareEscalation	hard turns that need a stronger model	BudgetAwareEscalation(...)

Guards are static runtime checks. They do not ask another model whether a run is safe. They raise exceptions.

Examples

All examples are local-first. No API key is required unless the example says so.

Example	What it proves
examples/try_it_now.py	budget, loop, and retry stops
examples/sticky_agent_proof.py	one CrewAI-style retry storm proof with local incident and hosted NDJSON outputs
examples/coding_agent_review_loop.py	review/refinement loop stopped by budget and retry guards
examples/per_token_budget_spike.py	one oversized token-heavy turn can blow a run budget
examples/budget_aware_escalation.py	when to escalate from a cheap model to a stronger one
examples/decision_trace_workflow.py	proposal, edit, approval, and binding decision events

Sample incident: docs/examples/coding-agent-review-loop-incident.md

Proof gallery: docs/examples/proof-gallery.md

Starter files: examples/starters/

Framework Integrations

AgentGuard can wrap raw Python code or integrate with common agent stacks.

agentguard quickstart --framework raw
agentguard quickstart --framework openai
agentguard quickstart --framework anthropic
agentguard quickstart --framework langchain
agentguard quickstart --framework langgraph
agentguard quickstart --framework crewai

Optional integration extras are opt-in. The core SDK stays stdlib-only.

pip install "agentguard47[langchain]"
pip install "agentguard47[langgraph]"
pip install "agentguard47[crewai]"
pip install "agentguard47[otel]"

Runtime Control vs Observability

AgentGuard is not a generic tracing platform. It is the local runtime stop layer.

Capability	AgentGuard
In-process hard budget caps	Yes
Kill a bad run by raising an exception	Yes
Loop and retry-storm detection	Yes
Local JSONL traces	Yes
Local incident reports	Yes
Hosted ingest	Optional
Required dashboard	No
Runtime dependencies	None

Competitive notes:

• AgentGuard vs Vercel AI Gateway
• Where AgentGuard fits in the agent security stack

Decision Traces

Capture proposal, human edit, approval, override, and binding events through the same event pipeline:

from agentguard import JsonlFileSink, Tracer, decision_flow

tracer = Tracer(sink=JsonlFileSink(".agentguard/traces.jsonl"))

with tracer.trace("agent.run") as run:
    with decision_flow(
        run,
        workflow_id="deploy-review",
        object_type="pull_request",
        object_id="123",
        actor_type="human",
        actor_id="pat",
    ) as decision:
        decision.proposed({"action": "merge"})
        decision.approved(comment="Looks safe")
        decision.bound(binding_state="merged", outcome="success")

Supported event types:

• decision.proposed
• decision.edited
• decision.overridden
• decision.approved
• decision.bound

Guide: docs/guides/decision-tracing.md

MCP Server

AgentGuard also ships a read-only MCP server for coding-agent workflows:

npx -y @agentguard47/mcp-server

Use the SDK to enforce local safety where the agent runs. Use MCP when a client like Codex, Claude Code, or Cursor needs read access to traces, decisions, costs, usage, and budget health.

Hosted Dashboard Boundary

The SDK is the free local proof path. The hosted dashboard is for retained history, alerts, team visibility, spend trends, hosted decision history, and dashboard-managed remote kill signals.

Use local SDK when	Use hosted dashboard when
You are proving AgentGuard in one repo	Multiple people need the same incident history
You need hard stops for loops, retries, timeouts, or budget burn	Runs need retained alerts and follow-up outside the terminal
You want JSONL traces and reports without an API key	You need spend trends across traces, services, or teammates
You are testing an agent before production	Operators need dashboard-managed remote kill signals

Start local. Add hosted ingest when the work becomes shared, expensive, or risky enough that local files are no longer enough.

from agentguard import HttpSink, Tracer

tracer = Tracer(
    sink=HttpSink(
        url="https://app.agentguard47.com/api/ingest",
        api_key="ag_...",
    )
)

HttpSink mirrors trace and decision events to the dashboard. It does not execute remote kill signals by itself.

Dashboard contract: docs/guides/dashboard-contract.md

Reports And CI Gates

Generate a local incident report:

agentguard incident .agentguard/traces.jsonl --format markdown
agentguard incident .agentguard/traces.jsonl --format html

Fail CI when a trace violates safety expectations:

from agentguard import EvalSuite

result = (
    EvalSuite(".agentguard/traces.jsonl")
    .assert_no_loops()
    .assert_budget_under(tokens=50_000)
    .assert_no_errors()
    .run()
)

assert result.passed

Package Facts

• Package: agentguard47
• Python: 3.9+
• License: MIT
• Core runtime dependencies: zero
• Trace format: JSONL
• Local commands: doctor, demo, quickstart, report, incident, eval
• MCP package: @agentguard47/mcp-server

Docs

Topic	Link
Getting started	docs/guides/getting-started.md
Coding-agent setup	docs/guides/coding-agents.md
Safety pack	docs/guides/coding-agent-safety-pack.md
Dashboard contract	docs/guides/dashboard-contract.md
Decision traces	docs/guides/decision-tracing.md
Managed sessions	docs/guides/managed-agent-sessions.md
Activation metrics design	docs/guides/activation-metrics-design.md
Proof gallery	docs/examples/proof-gallery.md
PyPI Trusted Publishing	docs/release/trusted-publishing.md

Architecture

agent code
   |
   v
Tracer
   |
   +-- guards raise exceptions locally
   |
   +-- sinks write traces locally or mirror to hosted ingest

Repository layout:

sdk/          Python SDK package
mcp-server/   read-only MCP server
docs/         guides and competitive notes
examples/     runnable local examples
ops/          repo operating docs
memory/       SDK-only state and decisions

Security

• No secrets are required for local mode.
• Do not put API keys in .agentguard.json.
• Hosted ingest API keys should be stored in environment variables.
• Local guards remain authoritative even when hosted ingest is configured.

Report security issues through GitHub Security Advisories or by email: pat@bmdpat.com.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome when they keep the SDK small, local-first, and zero-dependency.

Before opening a PR:

python -m pytest sdk/tests/ -v
python -m ruff check sdk/agentguard/
python scripts/sdk_release_guard.py

Useful links:

• CONTRIBUTING.md
• GOLDEN_PRINCIPLES.md
• good first issues

License

MIT. See LICENSE.