I built a governance layer so an AI agent can build its own tools but can't cross a line I set

Reddit r/AI_Agents Tools
ai-agents governance security prototype guardrails

Summary

The author built Arcforge, a governance layer that lets an AI agent generate and register its own tools (e.g., a payment tool via OpenAPI) while enforcing policy limits (e.g., blocking a $9,999 charge) before the agent ever holds the API key. It's an early prototype seeking feedback on guardrails.

I keep seeing agents get more autonomous — calling APIs, moving money — and the part that worries me is control. So I built Arcforge to explore it. In the demo, an agent has no payment tool, so it writes an OpenAPI spec, generates + registers the tool itself, then uses it. A $50 charge goes through; a $9,999 one gets blocked by a policy I set, before it ever reaches Stripe. The agent never even holds the API key. It's an early prototype. Not selling anything — genuinely want to know if this is useful or if I'm overthinking it. What guardrails would you actually want before letting an agent take real actions? Happy to share a demo in the comments if useful.
Original Article

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