Give Tools Identity Policy And Limits
BOUNDARY-GIVE-TOOLS-IDENTITY-POLICY-AND-LIMITS
Summary
Give effectful callable units typed identity, authorization policy, cancellation, and bounded output. The added ceremony is reserved for real tool boundaries where auditability, recovery, and blast-radius control matter.
Rule
Give tool boundaries typed identity, policy, cancellation, and output limits.
Why
Tool calls need typed identity, authorization policy, cancellation behavior, and output limits because they cross from controlled code into filesystem, shell, network, provider, or user-visible effects. Unbounded or anonymous tools are hard to audit and recover from.
Helps
- Reduces tool blast radius and makes execution, cancellation, and diagnostics predictable.
Limits
Do not burden tiny pure helpers with tool-boundary ceremony. Apply this where a callable unit can perform effects, consume resources, or expose data.
Agent Instruction
Give tool boundaries typed identity, authorization policy, cancellation, and output limits before
crossing into filesystem, shell, network, provider, or user-visible effects.Mechanisms
Supported by tool schemas, operation IDs, policy checks, timeout and output caps, cancellation tokens, structured errors, and audit logs.