policy
ak policy compile
Propose policy rules from the project's instruction files without changing what is enforced.
Use ak policy compile to read your project's instruction files and propose a
rule for each sentence that matches a known form. Proposals go to
.agentkit/policy-candidates.yaml, which the engine never evaluates. Nothing
takes effect until you promote it with ak policy adopt.
Usage
ak policy compile [flags]The command accepts no positional arguments. It replaces any previous proposals
and never writes .agentkit/policy.yaml.
Command flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--dir <path> | . | Project directory holding .agentkit/policy.yaml. |
--source <file> | The document's sources | Instruction file to read, relative to the project directory. Repeatable. |
Without --source, the command reads the sources listed in the active policy
document, or AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md when there is none. A source file that
does not exist is skipped. A source that points outside the project is refused.
Shared flags are described in CLI conventions.
Common examples
ak policy compile
ak policy compile --source CLAUDE.md --jsonRecognised sentence forms
The compiler understands a closed set of forms. A leading list marker is ignored, and paths may be wrapped in backticks or quotes.
| Instruction form | Proposed rule | Action |
|---|---|---|
Never edit <path> (also do not/don't, and modify, change, write to) | protected_path | warn |
<path> is read-only | protected_path | warn |
Use <program>, never <other> (also not, instead of) | command rewriting <other> to <program> | rewrite |
Never run <program> (also do not/don't) | command | warn |
Run <check> after changing <path> (also editing, touching) | required_check | warn |
After changing <path>, run <check> | required_check | warn |
Do not run <check> for docs changes | diff_class | warn |
A path must look like a path, so it needs a /, ., *, or ?. The diff-class
form accepts docs, documentation, markdown, test, and tests (with an
optional -only suffix) followed by changes or diffs.
A line that starts like an instruction (never, do not, don't, always,
use, run, after, must, or avoid) but matches no form is reported as
unrecognised and produces no proposal. Prose never compiles into a block.
Automation output
kind is policy.compile. The data payload contains:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
candidates | Absolute path of the candidates file that was written. |
sources | Instruction files that were read. |
candidates_found | Proposals, each with id, rule, and quote (the instruction as written). |
unrecognized | Lines that read like rules but matched no form: file, line, and text. |
Exit behavior
| Exit | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
0 | Proposals were written, including when no sentence matched a form. | Review the proposals, then adopt the ones you want. |
1 | An instruction file or the candidates file could not be read or written. | Check the source paths and file permissions. |
2 | Arguments were invalid. | Correct the invocation. |