interlock checks every tool call your AI agent makes, inside the agent's own
process, and allows, blocks, or rewrites it before it runs. These docs take you
from a first guarded function to a production deployment.
New here? Do the getting started tutorial (about fifteen
minutes), then read how interlock works .
How these docs are organised
Section
What it's for
Read it when
Getting started A guided first run, every step with real output
You've never used interlock
Concepts How a decision is made: events, rules, verdicts, order, failures
You want to understand what you're relying on
Security model What interlock protects against, what it assumes, where it stops
Before you trust it with anything that matters
Guides (below)
Step-by-step instructions for one task each
You know what you want to do
Reference (below)
Every function, parameter, detector, and CLI flag
You need an exact name or default
Guide
You'll learn to
Console Build and launch the local web UI over your running policy engine
Writing rules Block, rewrite, check results, scope rules to tools, and test your policy
Using detectors Pick from the 115 built-in detectors, make sure they see your tools, and start from a tested set
Declarative policies Write rules as JSON/YAML, lock the ones that must stay on, and accept project overlays safely
Approvals Hold a call for a human with ESCALATE, and write an approver
Coding agents Guard Claude Code, Codex and Cursor with one command
Credentials Let agents use secrets they never see
Databases and APIs Judge SQL by what it does, mask what comes back, keep personal data out of queries
Review queue Refuse now, let a human approve later, run the identical retry once
Integrations Connect @guard, MCP, LangChain, a model SDK loop, or a Node.js agent
MCP Guard MCP sessions and decide which servers and tools to trust
Scopes Give each tenant, agent, and sub-agent its own rules
Audit log Keep a tamper-evident record of every decision
Sandbox Run subprocesses under OS-level confinement built from your policy
Production checklist Roll out safely: prove protection is on, monitor mode, refusals, logging, deployment
Page
Covers
Python API Every public class and function, with signatures
Detector catalog All 115 detectors: what they catch, which calls they see, how to build them
Command line interlock doctor, report, install-hook, hook, policy, trust, mcp
Sidecar The interlock-sidecar daemon for Node.js agents, and its wire protocol
Node.js client The interlock-guard npm package
Native scope store The optional Rust backend for very large scope trees