AntColony keeps you in charge with layers that don't depend on the model behaving: an authority tree for tools, allowed sites, a hold on risky clicks, no access to passwords, budgets, and changes that wait for your click.
Rights only narrow going down.
Every ant sits somewhere in the colony's tree, and can use a tool only if every node above it can. Switch the Browser off on the Research nest and watch Pico and Juno lose it, even though they were granted it.
OnGranted, but switched off aboveOff
The guard stays down until you lift it.
waits under a guard you lift with . A is refused outright. You can whenever you like.
Nine things that keep you in charge.
Tools follow the authority tree
A nest can only use tools its parent may use, and the Queen's own tools cap everything. Switch a tool off on a nest and every ant in it loses it.
Allowed sites, enforced early
The list is checked before any page or frame loads. An ant reaching for a new site asks you; a link off the list is stopped and the ant is told why.
Risky clicks wait for you
Send, pay, delete, post, submit and form submissions are held in the side panel until you allow or deny them.
Passwords never reach an ant
Reading a page hides password fields, and ants can't type into them. They ask you to take the wheel and log in.
You can take the wheel
Drive any browser yourself, any time. That ant's actions are refused until you hand it back.
Budgets
Spending limits cap what a task may cost, for runs you start and for routines alike.
Changes are cards
When the Queen changes the colony, the code (not the model) gives each change a risk class. Only safe, reversible ones happen without your click.
Code lands only when you merge
The engineering team works in a safe copy on its own branch, and an ant's terminals are always sandboxed.
An audit trail
The Midden keeps every failure, stop and error. It's for you to read, and it's never shown to the model.
Questions
How do I stop an ant from doing something I don't want?
Ants only visit sites the colony is allowed to open, and they ask you first before reaching a new one. Risky clicks such as send, pay, delete, post and submit wait for your yes. Ants can never type into password fields, and you can take the wheel of any browser at any time.
Where is my data kept?
On your Mac. The colony, its memory (the storerooms), browser logins and downloads live in the app's data folder and ~/Downloads/AntColony. Your model key is sent only to the model provider for the requests that need it.
Try it with the demo colony.
Download the app and watch a simulated colony work, no key needed. Add your own key when you want it working for you.
Download for Mac