Access Modes & Safety

Understanding how Astronox protects you while staying productive.

Overview

Astronox uses a risk-based safety system that evaluates every operation and asks for confirmation when appropriate. You control the balance between safety and speed with Access Modes.

Access Modes

Safe Mode (Recommended)

Philosophy: Better safe than sorry.

Behavior:

• Confirms medium, high, and very high-risk operations
• Shows what will happen before it happens
• Provides clear approve/deny buttons
• Explains potential consequences
• Gives you control over every critical decision

Best for:

• Learning Astronox
• Working with important files
• Critical work environments
• When unsure about operations
• Building trust with AI

Example flow:

You: "Delete old temporary files from Downloads"

AI: 🛠️ Searching for files...
    Found 23 temporary files (older than 30 days)

    ⚠️ Confirmation Required

    About to delete 23 files (total: 145 MB):
    • temp_file_1.tmp (5 MB)
    • cache_data.dat (12 MB)
    • ...and 21 more

    This action cannot be undone.

    [✓ Proceed] [✗ Cancel]

You: [Clicks Proceed]

AI: ✅ Successfully deleted 23 files
    Freed 145 MB of disk space

Full Mode (Advanced)

Philosophy: Trust the AI, confirm only critical operations.

Behavior:

• Most operations execute immediately
• Only very high-risk actions ask confirmation
• Bulk deletions (>50 files) still confirm
• Critical system changes still confirm
• Faster workflow, less interruption

Best for:

• Experienced users
• Trusted automation workflows
• Repetitive tasks
• When you've verified the AI understands correctly
• Power user workflows

Example flow:

You: "Delete old temporary files from Downloads"

AI: 🛠️ Searching for files...
    ✅ Found and deleted 23 temporary files (145 MB)

You: "Organize remaining files by type"

AI: 🛠️ Organizing...
    ✅ Created 5 category folders
    ✅ Moved 87 files
    Complete!

⚠️ Important:

• Review AI responses carefully
• Still get confirmations for truly dangerous operations
• Can always cancel or undo (if operation allows)

Risk Levels Explained

Every tool/operation in Astronox has an assigned risk level.

🟢 Low Risk

Operations:

• Reading file contents
• Listing directories
• Viewing system information
• Searching files
• Getting clipboard contents
• Memory retrieval

Safety:

• Never asks confirmation (either mode)
• Read-only operations
• Cannot damage data
• Safe to execute freely

Examples:

"Show files in Documents"
"What's using the most CPU?"
"Read this log file"
"Show clipboard history"

🟡 Medium Risk

Operations:

• Creating files/folders
• Writing to files (new content)
• Modifying file permissions
• Clipboard writes
• Memory storage

Safety:

• Safe Mode: Confirms before execution
• Full Mode: Executes immediately

Why medium:

• Can modify data
• Usually reversible
• Low chance of serious damage

Examples:

"Create a new folder called 'Archive'"
"Write this data to a file"
"Save this to clipboard"
"Remember my project deadline"

🟠 High Risk

Operations:

• Deleting files (small batches, <10 files)
• Moving files between folders
• Renaming files
• Terminating processes
• Modifying system settings
• Running shell commands

Safety:

• Safe Mode: Always confirms with details
• Full Mode: Confirms only if potentially dangerous

Why high:

• Potential data loss
• May affect running applications
• Often irreversible
• Requires careful review

Examples:

"Delete these old files"
"Kill the Chrome process"
"Increase brightness to 100%"
"Run this shell script"

Confirmation example:

⚠️ High Risk Operation

About to terminate process:
• Name: Google Chrome
• PID: 12345
• Memory: 2.4 GB
• CPU: 15%

This will close all Chrome windows and tabs.
Unsaved work may be lost.

[✓ Proceed] [✗ Cancel]

🔴 Very High Risk

Operations:

• Bulk deletions (>10 files)
• Deleting entire directories
• System-critical file operations
• Disabling safety features
• Permanent configuration changes
• Mass file modifications

Safety:

• Both modes: Always confirm with extra warnings
• Shows comprehensive details
• Requires explicit user approval
• Cannot be bypassed

Why very high:

• Irreversible data loss
• Potential system instability
• Affects many files/settings
• Requires absolute certainty

Examples:

"Delete all files in this folder"
"Remove the entire project directory"
"Disable memory system permanently"

Confirmation example:

🔴 VERY HIGH RISK OPERATION

About to DELETE ENTIRE FOLDER:
📁 /Users/you/OldProjects/ (2.4 GB, 347 files)

This will permanently delete:
• 247 code files
• 89 images
• 11 documents
• All subfolders and contents

⚠️ THIS CANNOT BE UNDONE ⚠️

Type 'DELETE' to confirm: [________]

[✓ I understand, proceed] [✗ Cancel]

Safety Features

Preview Before Execute

In Safe Mode, Astronox shows:

• What will be affected
• Expected outcome
• Potential side effects
• Risk assessment

Example:

📋 Operation Preview

Command: Delete files older than 90 days
Target: /Users/you/Downloads
Files affected: 47 files (2.3 GB)

Breakdown by type:
• 23 PDFs (1.2 GB)
• 15 images (800 MB)
• 9 videos (300 MB)

Risk: Medium - files will be moved to Trash
Reversible: Yes (can restore from Trash)

Explanation of Consequences

AI explains what will happen in plain language:

"Moving these files will:
• Remove them from Downloads
• Place them in the Archive folder
• Preserve all file metadata
• Not affect any running applications

Safe to proceed if you no longer need quick access."

Undo Capability

Some operations can be undone:

Reversible:

• File moves (can move back)
• Deletes (if sent to Trash)
• File renames (can rename back)
• Setting changes (can revert)

Irreversible:

• Permanent deletions (bypass Trash)
• Overwriting file contents
• Bulk modifications
• Process termination

AI will tell you:

✅ Reversible: Files will go to Trash, can be restored

or

⚠️ Irreversible: Files will be permanently deleted, cannot undo

Process Guard

Special protection for critical processes:

Always protected:

• System processes (kernel, services)
• Security software
• Astronox itself

Optionally protected (configurable):

• Database servers
• Long-running builds
• Development servers
• Custom list you define

How it works:

You: "Kill all processes using lots of memory"

AI: Found 3 processes:
    • Chrome: 2.4 GB ← Can terminate
    • Docker: 1.8 GB ← Can terminate
    • postgres: 900 MB ← PROTECTED by Process Guard

    ⚠️ Cannot terminate postgres (protected)
    Proceed with other 2 processes?

    [✓ Yes] [✗ Cancel]

Switching Modes Safely

When to Use Safe Mode

Use Safe Mode when:

• Learning Astronox features
• Working with important data
• Unsure what operation will do
• In critical work environment
• Building trust with AI
• Training someone new

Benefits:

• Peace of mind
• Educational (see what AI does)
• Catch mistakes before they happen
• Control every critical decision

Trade-off:

• More confirmations
• Slower workflow
• More clicking

When to Use Full Mode

Use Full Mode when:

• You're experienced with Astronox
• Running trusted automation
• Performing repetitive tasks
• AI has proven understanding
• Speed is important

Benefits:

• Faster workflow
• Less interruption
• More fluid conversation
• Better for automation

Trade-off:

• Less visibility
• Requires more trust
• Must review responses carefully

⚠️ Critical: Even in Full Mode, stay alert and review AI's actions.

Switching Modes

Via Settings:

1. Settings → General → Access Mode
2. Select Safe or Full
3. Save

Via Chat:

"Switch to Full Mode"
"Enable Safe Mode"
"Change to safe access mode"

Mode applies:

• To all future operations
• Does not affect operations already in progress
• Persists across app restarts

Safety Best Practices

✅ Start with Safe Mode

Learn what Astronox does before trusting it in Full Mode.

✅ Read Confirmations Carefully

Don't just click "Proceed" reflexively. Review:

• What files/processes are affected
• Expected outcome
• Whether it's reversible

✅ Test with Unimportant Data First

Before running operations on critical files:

• Test with sample/dummy files
• Verify behavior matches expectations
• Then apply to real data

✅ Use Backups

Before bulk operations:

"Create a backup of this folder before proceeding"

✅ Ask for Previews

"Show me what will be deleted before you delete it"
"List the files that will be affected first"
"Can you preview the changes?"

✅ Break Down Complex Tasks

Instead of:

❌ "Clean up my entire system - delete old files, organize everything, optimize"

Try:

✅ "First, show me old files in Downloads"
   [Review]
✅ "Delete the ones older than 6 months"
   [Confirm]
✅ "Now organize remaining files by type"
   [Review]

✅ Watch for Red Flags

Be extra careful if AI says:

• "This cannot be undone"
• "Very high risk"
• "May cause system instability"
• "Affects [large number] files"

✅ Use Memory Wisely

If storing sensitive info:

"Remember my project deadline, but don't store passwords or API keys"

✅ Review Before Automation

When saving scripts:

"Show me the script you generated"
[Review carefully]
"Explain what each part does"
[Verify understanding]
"Now save it as an automation"

What Astronox Cannot Do (By Design)

These protections are built-in and cannot be disabled:

Cannot Access Password Managers

• No access to Keychain, 1Password, etc.
• Cannot retrieve stored passwords
• Cannot store passwords in memory

Cannot Modify Running Apps' Internal State

• Can only launch/quit applications
• Cannot control app features directly
• Cannot simulate clicks or keystrokes (future: with permission)

Cannot Execute Without Review (Very High Risk)

• Bulk deletions always confirm
• System-critical changes always confirm
• Cannot be bypassed even in Full Mode

Cannot Access Encrypted Data

• Cannot decrypt protected files
• Cannot access encrypted volumes
• Respects system security boundaries

Emergency: Canceling Operations

During Confirmation

Simply click [✗ Cancel] button

During Execution (Streaming)

• Close the app (force quit if needed)
• Most operations are atomic (complete or fail, not partial)
• File operations typically succeed or fail per-file

After Execution

• Some operations can be undone (see above)
• Check Trash for deleted files
• Use system restore for critical changes

Trust Calibration

Building Trust Over Time

Week 1: Safe Mode, simple tasks

• "List files in folder"
• "Find duplicate files"
• Build understanding

Week 2-3: Safe Mode, more complex

• "Organize Downloads folder"
• "Create backup scripts"
• Verify AI understands correctly

Week 4+: Consider Full Mode

• If AI consistently performs correctly
• For repetitive, trusted workflows
• Keep Safe Mode for new/risky tasks

Red Flags (Stay in Safe Mode)

• AI misunderstands requests frequently
• Suggests unexpected operations
• You're unsure what it will do
• Working with critical data

Privacy & Safety

What Astronox Sends to AI

Only when necessary for the task:

• File names (when listing/searching)
• File contents (when reading)
• System info (when requested)
• Clipboard (when accessed)

Never sent:

• Files you didn't ask about
• Password manager data
• Unrelated system info
• Other apps' data

Audit Trail (Future)

Coming soon:

• Log of all operations performed
• What was sent to AI providers
• Timestamp and results
• Export for review

Next: Learn about API Keys & Providers in detail.