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# Destructive Actions Policy
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Classification rules used by the pre-action check in `HARNESS.md`. When an action
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doesn't clearly match a category, classify it at the *more* cautious level — treating
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a borderline reversible action as destructive costs one extra confirmation; treating a
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destructive action as reversible can be unrecoverable.
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## Read-only (no gate)
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- Reading/searching files, listing directories, `git status`/`git log`/`git diff`.
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- GET requests / read-only API calls.
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- Running tests, linters, type checkers (unless they have a `--fix`/write mode enabled).
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- Querying a database with `SELECT`-only statements.
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## Reversible-write (proceeds, logged)
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- Editing or creating a file that's tracked in version control (recoverable via git
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  history/diff).
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- Creating a new branch.
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- Writing to a scratch/temp directory.
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- Adding a row / creating a new resource via an API, where the created resource can be
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  deleted or is clearly low-stakes (e.g. a draft, a test-environment record).
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## Destructive / irreversible (requires confirmation gate)
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- **Deleting** anything without a recoverable trash/soft-delete: files, database rows,
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  cloud resources (buckets, instances, secrets), branches with unmerged commits.
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- **Force-pushing** or rewriting shared git history (`push --force` to a shared
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  branch, `rebase` on public history, `git reset --hard` that discards uncommitted
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  work).
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- **Schema/infrastructure changes** with data-loss potential: dropping/altering a
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  table column, changing a database's access controls, modifying DNS, revoking API
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  keys or access grants, changing IAM/permission policies.
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- **External communication**: sending an email, chat message, or notification to
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  anyone outside the immediate operator; posting/publishing public content; opening
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  or merging a PR without review when the repo's norm is to require review.
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- **Financial actions**: any purchase, trade, transfer, subscription change, or refund
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  — regardless of amount.
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- **Bulk operations**: anything matching a wildcard/glob/`--all`/`--force` flag that
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  could affect more targets than individually reviewed (e.g. "delete all branches
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  matching `feature/*`") — the confirmation gate must state the actual resolved count
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  of affected items, not just the pattern.
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- **Credential/secret handling**: rotating, revoking, or regenerating any credential
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  that other systems depend on.
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- **Overwriting without merge**: replacing a file/resource wholesale in a way that
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  discards concurrent changes (e.g. a force-overwrite that could clobber another
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  process's write).
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## Never auto-escalate a classification downward
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An action doesn't become "just reversible-write" because the operator seems rushed, or
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because a previous similar action was approved — each destructive action gets its own
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gate, every time, per `HARNESS.md`.
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