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Canon

Playbook

Add a human gate

Approval and missing info are tools. Pause is an API. The blob survives the wait.

When: A side effect needs a person, or the agent is missing information only a person has.

  1. 01

    Name the tool

    ask_human({ question, payload, reason }). Not a Slack side channel.

    Humans as Tools
  2. 02

    Checkpoint

    Serialize the blob. Launch/pause/resume are boring APIs.

    Durable Execution
  3. 03

    Show the loop

    The human sees the exact command, diff, or refund. Interrupt is first-class.

    Show the Loop

Done when

  • ask_human is a tool, the run checkpoints, and resume does not re-execute the side effect.

Refuse

  • HITL that cannot resume. ask_human as a tool. Checkpoint. Resume from the blob.
  • Unbounded loop. Force a done schema, a step cap, and a money cap. 'Done' is a tool or a structured intent.