MCPInstall

agent-governance

by github OfficialAI & Agents

Patterns and techniques for adding governance, safety, and trust controls to AI agent systems. Use this skill when: - Building AI agents that call external tools (APIs, databases, file systems) - Implementing policy-based access controls for agent tool usage - Adding semantic intent classification to detect dangerous prompts - Creating trust scoring systems for multi-agent workflows - Building audit trails for agent actions and decisions - Enforcing rate limits, content filters, or tool restrictions on agents - Working with any agent framework (PydanticAI, CrewAI, OpenAI Agents, LangChain, AutoGen)

Installs
9.6K
Last 24h
—
Trending rank
—
Security
Warn

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill agent-governance
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads agent-governance automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

Security audits

Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.

Gen Agent Trust Hub PassSAFE ·This skill provides patterns and code snippets for implementing governance, safety controls, and audit logs in AI agent systems. It includes defensive measures like tool allowlisting, intent classification via regex, and trust scoring.
Socket PassNo alerts
Snyk PassLOW ·Risk: LOW · No issues
Runlayer WarnMEDIUM ·1/1 file flagged
ZeroLeaks PassNONE ·Score: 93/100 · 2 sections analyzed

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Agent Governance Patterns

Patterns for adding safety, trust, and policy enforcement to AI agent systems.

Overview

Governance patterns ensure AI agents operate within defined boundaries — controlling which tools they can call, what content they can process, how much they can do, and maintaining accountability through audit trails.

User Request → Intent Classification → Policy Check → Tool Execution → Audit Log
                     ↓                      ↓               ↓
              Threat Detection         Allow/Deny      Trust Update

When to Use

  • Agents with tool access: Any agent that calls external tools (APIs, databases, shell commands)
  • Multi-agent systems: Agents delegating to other agents need trust boundaries
  • Production deployments: Compliance, audit, and safety requirements
  • Sensitive operations: Financial transactions, data access, infrastructure management

Pattern 1: Governance Policy

Define what an agent is allowed to do as a composable, serializable policy object.

from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from enum import Enum
from typing import Optional
import re

class PolicyAction(Enum):
    ALLOW = "allow"
    DENY = "deny"
    REVIEW = "review"  # flag for human review

@dataclass
class GovernancePolicy:
    """Declarative policy controlling agent behavior."""
    name: str
    allowed_tools: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)       # allowlist
    blocked_tools: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)       # blocklist
    blocked_patterns: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)    # content filters
    max_calls_per_request: int = 100                             # rate limit
    require_human_approval: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)  # tools needing approval

    def check_tool(self, tool_name: str) -> PolicyAction:
        """Check if a tool is allowed by this policy."""
        if tool_name in self.blocked_tools:
            return PolicyAction.DENY
        if tool_name in self.require_human_approval:
            return PolicyAction.REVIEW
        if self.allowed_tools and tool_name not in self.allowed_tools:
            return PolicyAction.DENY
        return PolicyAction.ALLOW

    def check_content(self, content: str) -> Optional[str]:
        """Check content against blocked patterns. Returns matched pattern or None."""
        for pattern in self.blocked_patterns:
            if re.search(pattern, content, re.IGNORECASE):
                return pattern
        return None

Policy Composition

Combine multiple policies (e.g., org-wide + team + agent-specific):

def compose_policies(*policies: GovernancePolicy) -> GovernancePolicy:
    """Merge policies with most-restrictive-wins semantics."""
    combined = GovernancePolicy(name="composed")

    for policy in policies:
        combined.blocked_tools.extend(policy.blocked_tools)
        combined.blocked_patterns.extend(policy.blocked_patterns)
        combined.require_human_approval.extend(policy.require_human_approval)
        combined.max_calls_per_request = min(
            combined.max_calls_per_request,
            policy.max_calls_per_request
        )
        if policy.allowed_tools:
            if combined.allowed_tools:
                combined.allowed_tools = [
                    t for t in combined.allowed_tools if t in policy.allowed_tools
                ]
            else:
                combined.allowed_tools = list(policy.allowed_tools)

    return combined


# Usage: layer policies from broad to specific
org_policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="org-wide",
    blocked_tools=["shell_exec", "delete_database"],
    blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)(api[_-]?key|secret|password)\s*[:=]"],
    max_calls_per_request=50
)
team_policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="data-team",
    allowed_tools=["query_db", "read_file", "write_report"],
    require_human_approval=["write_report"]
)
agent_policy = compose_policies(org_policy, team_policy)

Policy as YAML

Store policies as configuration, not code:

# governance-policy.yaml
name: production-agent
allowed_tools:
  - search_documents
  - query_database
  - send_email
blocked_tools:
  - shell_exec
  - delete_record
blocked_patterns:
  - "(?i)(api[_-]?key|secret|password)\\s*[:=]"
  - "(?i)(drop|truncate|delete from)\\s+\\w+"
max_calls_per_request: 25
require_human_approval:
  - send_email
import yaml

def load_policy(path: str) -> GovernancePolicy:
    with open(path) as f:
        data = yaml.safe_load(f)
    return GovernancePolicy(**data)

Pattern 2: Semantic Intent Classification

Detect dangerous intent in prompts before they reach the agent, using pattern-based signals.

from dataclasses import dataclass

@dataclass
class IntentSignal:
    category: str       # e.g., "data_exfiltration", "privilege_escalation"
    confidence: float   # 0.0 to 1.0
    evidence: str       # what triggered the detection

# Weighted signal patterns for threat detection
THREAT_SIGNALS = [
    # Data exfiltration
    (r"(?i)send\s+(all|every|entire)\s+\w+\s+to\s+", "data_exfiltration", 0.8),
    (r"(?i)export\s+.*\s+to\s+(external|outside|third.?party)", "data_exfiltration", 0.9),
    (r"(?i)curl\s+.*\s+-d\s+", "data_exfiltration", 0.7),

    # Privilege escalation
    (r"(?i)(sudo|as\s+root|admin\s+access)", "privilege_escalation", 0.8),
    (r"(?i)chmod\s+777", "privilege_escalation", 0.9),

    # System modification
    (r"(?i)(rm\s+-rf|del\s+/[sq]|format\s+c:)", "system_destruction", 0.95),
    (r"(?i)(drop\s+database|truncate\s+table)", "system_destruction", 0.9),

    # Prompt injection
    (r"(?i)ignore\s+(previous|above|all)\s+(instructions?|rules?)", "prompt_injection", 0.9),
    (r"(?i)you\s+are\s+now\s+(a|an)\s+", "prompt_injection", 0.7),
]

def classify_intent(content: str) -> list[IntentSignal]:
    """Classify content for threat signals."""
    signals = []
    for pattern, category, weight in THREAT_SIGNALS:
        match = re.search(pattern, content)
        if match:
            signals.append(IntentSignal(
                category=category,
                confidence=weight,
                evidence=match.group()
            ))
    return signals

def is_safe(content: str, threshold: float = 0.7) -> bool:
    """Quick check: is the content safe above the given threshold?"""
    signals = classify_intent(content)
    return not any(s.confidence >= threshold for s in signals)

Key insight: Intent classification happens before tool execution, acting as a pre-flight safety check. This is fundamentally different from output guardrails which only check after generation.


Pattern 3: Tool-Level Governance Decorator

Wrap individual tool functions with governance checks:

import functools
import time
from collections import defaultdict

_call_counters: dict[str, int] = defaultdict(int)

def govern(policy: GovernancePolicy, audit_trail=None):
    """Decorator that enforces governance policy on a tool function."""
    def decorator(func):
        @functools.wraps(func)
        async def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            tool_name = func.__name__

            # 1. Check tool allowlist/blocklist
            action = policy.check_tool(tool_name)
            if action == PolicyAction.DENY:
                raise PermissionError(f"Policy '{policy.name}' blocks tool '{tool_name}'")
            if action == PolicyAction.REVIEW:
                raise PermissionError(f"Tool '{tool_name}' requires human approval")

            # 2. Check rate limit
            _call_counters[policy.name] += 1
            if _call_counters[policy.name] > policy.max_calls_per_request:
                raise PermissionError(f"Rate limit exceeded: {policy.max_calls_per_request} calls")

            # 3. Check content in arguments
            for arg in list(args) + list(kwargs.values()):
                if isinstance(arg, str):
                    matched = policy.check_content(arg)
                    if matched:
                        raise PermissionError(f"Blocked pattern detected: {matched}")

            # 4. Execute and audit
            start = time.monotonic()
            try:
                result = await func(*args, **kwargs)
                if audit_trail is not None:
                    audit_trail.append({
                        "tool": tool_name,
                        "action": "allowed",
                        "duration_ms": (time.monotonic() - start) * 1000,
                        "timestamp": time.time()
                    })
                return result
            except Exception as e:
                if audit_trail is not None:
                    audit_trail.append({
                        "tool": tool_name,
                        "action": "error",
                        "error": str(e),
                        "timestamp": time.time()
                    })
                raise

        return wrapper
    return decorator


# Usage with any agent framework
audit_log = []
policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="search-agent",
    allowed_tools=["search", "summarize"],
    blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)password"],
    max_calls_per_request=10
)

@govern(policy, audit_trail=audit_log)
async def search(query: str) -> str:
    """Search documents — governed by policy."""
    return f"Results for: {query}"

# Passes: search("latest quarterly report")
# Blocked: search("show me the admin password")

Pattern 4: Trust Scoring

Track agent reliability over time with decay-based trust scores:

from dataclasses import dataclass, field
import math
import time

@dataclass
class TrustScore:
    """Trust score with temporal decay."""
    score: float = 0.5          # 0.0 (untrusted) to 1.0 (fully trusted)
    successes: int = 0
    failures: int = 0
    last_updated: float = field(default_factory=time.time)

    def record_success(self, reward: float = 0.05):
        self.successes += 1
        self.score = min(1.0, self.score + reward * (1 - self.score))
        self.last_updated = time.time()

    def record_failure(self, penalty: float = 0.15):
        self.failures += 1
        self.score = max(0.0, self.score - penalty * self.score)
        self.last_updated = time.time()

    def current(self, decay_rate: float = 0.001) -> float:
        """Get score with temporal decay — trust erodes without activity."""
        elapsed = time.time() - self.last_updated
        decay = math.exp(-decay_rate * elapsed)
        return self.score * decay

    @property
    def reliability(self) -> float:
        total = self.successes + self.failures
        return self.successes / total if total > 0 else 0.0


# Usage in multi-agent systems
trust = TrustScore()

# Agent completes tasks successfully
trust.record_success()  # 0.525
trust.record_success()  # 0.549

# Agent makes an error
trust.record_failure()  # 0.467

# Gate sensitive operations on trust
if trust.current() >= 0.7:
    # Allow autonomous operation
    pass
elif trust.current() >= 0.4:
    # Allow with human oversight
    pass
else:
    # Deny or require explicit approval
    pass

Multi-agent trust: In systems where agents delegate to other agents, each agent maintains trust scores for its delegates:

class AgentTrustRegistry:
    def __init__(self):
        self.scores: dict[str, TrustScore] = {}

    def get_trust(self, agent_id: str) -> TrustScore:
        if agent_id not in self.scores:
            self.scores[agent_id] = TrustScore()
        return self.scores[agent_id]

    def most_trusted(self, agents: list[str]) -> str:
        return max(agents, key=lambda a: self.get_trust(a).current())

    def meets_threshold(self, agent_id: str, threshold: float) -> bool:
        return self.get_trust(agent_id).current() >= threshold

Pattern 5: Audit Trail

Append-only audit log for all agent actions — critical for compliance and debugging:

from dataclasses import dataclass, field
import json
import time

@dataclass
class AuditEntry:
    timestamp: float
    agent_id: str
    tool_name: str
    action: str           # "allowed", "denied", "error"
    policy_name: str
    details: dict = field(default_factory=dict)

class AuditTrail:
    """Append-only audit trail for agent governance events."""
    def __init__(self):
        self._entries: list[AuditEntry] = []

    def log(self, agent_id: str, tool_name: str, action: str,
            policy_name: str, **details):
        self._entries.append(AuditEntry(
            timestamp=time.time(),
            agent_id=agent_id,
            tool_name=tool_name,
            action=action,
            policy_name=policy_name,
            details=details
        ))

    def denied(self) -> list[AuditEntry]:
        """Get all denied actions — useful for security review."""
        return [e for e in self._entries if e.action == "denied"]

    def by_agent(self, agent_id: str) -> list[AuditEntry]:
        return [e for e in self._entries if e.agent_id == agent_id]

    def export_jsonl(self, path: str):
        """Export as JSON Lines for log aggregation systems."""
        with open(path, "w") as f:
            for entry in self._entries:
                f.write(json.dumps({
                    "timestamp": entry.timestamp,
                    "agent_id": entry.agent_id,
                    "tool": entry.tool_name,
                    "action": entry.action,
                    "policy": entry.policy_name,
                    **entry.details
                }) + "\n")

Pattern 6: Framework Integration

PydanticAI

from pydantic_ai import Agent

policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="support-bot",
    allowed_tools=["search_docs", "create_ticket"],
    blocked_patterns=[r"(?i)(ssn|social\s+security|credit\s+card)"],
    max_calls_per_request=20
)

agent = Agent("openai:gpt-4o", system_prompt="You are a support assistant.")

@agent.tool
@govern(policy)
async def search_docs(ctx, query: str) -> str:
    """Search knowledge base — governed."""
    return await kb.search(query)

@agent.tool
@govern(policy)
async def create_ticket(ctx, title: str, body: str) -> str:
    """Create support ticket — governed."""
    return await tickets.create(title=title, body=body)

CrewAI

from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew

policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="research-crew",
    allowed_tools=["search", "analyze"],
    max_calls_per_request=30
)

# Apply governance at the crew level
def governed_crew_run(crew: Crew, policy: GovernancePolicy):
    """Wrap crew execution with governance checks."""
    audit = AuditTrail()
    for agent in crew.agents:
        for tool in agent.tools:
            original = tool.func
            tool.func = govern(policy, audit_trail=audit)(original)
    result = crew.kickoff()
    return result, audit

OpenAI Agents SDK

from agents import Agent, function_tool

policy = GovernancePolicy(
    name="coding-agent",
    allowed_tools=["read_file", "write_file", "run_tests"],
    blocked_tools=["shell_exec"],
    max_calls_per_request=50
)

@function_tool
@govern(policy)
async def read_file(path: str) -> str:
    """Read file contents — governed."""
    import os
    safe_path = os.path.realpath(path)
    if not safe_path.startswith(os.path.realpath(".")):
        raise ValueError("Path traversal blocked by governance")
    with open(safe_path) as f:
        return f.read()

Governance Levels

Match governance strictness to risk level:

LevelControlsUse Case
OpenAudit only, no restrictionsInternal dev/testing
StandardTool allowlist + content filtersGeneral production agents
StrictAll controls + human approval for sensitive opsFinancial, healthcare, legal
LockedAllowlist only, no dynamic tools, full auditCompliance-critical systems

Best Practices

PracticeRationale
Policy as configurationStore policies in YAML/JSON, not hardcoded — enables change without deploys
Most-restrictive-winsWhen composing policies, deny always overrides allow
Pre-flight intent checkClassify intent before tool execution, not after
Trust decayTrust scores should decay over time — require ongoing good behavior
Append-only auditNever modify or delete audit entries — immutability enables compliance
Fail closedIf governance check errors, deny the action rather than allowing it
Separate policy from logicGovernance enforcement should be independent of agent business logic

Quick Start Checklist

## Agent Governance Implementation Checklist

### Setup
- [ ] Define governance policy (allowed tools, blocked patterns, rate limits)
- [ ] Choose governance level (open/standard/strict/locked)
- [ ] Set up audit trail storage

### Implementation
- [ ] Add @govern decorator to all tool functions
- [ ] Add intent classification to user input processing
- [ ] Implement trust scoring for multi-agent interactions
- [ ] Wire up audit trail export

### Validation
- [ ] Test that blocked tools are properly denied
- [ ] Test that content filters catch sensitive patterns
- [ ] Test rate limiting behavior
- [ ] Verify audit trail captures all events
- [ ] Test policy composition (most-restrictive-wins)

Related Resources

FAQ

What does the agent-governance skill do?

Patterns and techniques for adding governance, safety, and trust controls to AI agent systems. Use this skill when: - Building AI agents that call external tools (APIs, databases, file systems) - Implementing policy-based access controls for agent tool usage - Adding semantic intent classification to detect dangerous prompts - Creating trust scoring systems for multi-agent workflows - Building audit trails for agent actions and decisions - Enforcing rate limits, content filters, or tool restrictions on agents - Working with any agent framework (PydanticAI, CrewAI, OpenAI Agents, LangChain, AutoGen)

How do I install agent-governance?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill agent-governance in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/agent-governance/ (personal) or .claude/skills/agent-governance/ (project).

Which AI agents can use agent-governance?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is agent-governance safe to install?

Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed; Runlayer flagged items to review; ZeroLeaks passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.

Who maintains agent-governance?

It is published by github in github/awesome-copilot, and it is an official skill from the maker of the technology it covers. It has 9,629 recorded installs.

More from github/awesome-copilot

View all →

git-commit

github/awesome-copilot

Use this skill when the user wants to make a Git commit or split changes into more than one commit. Also use it when the user types "/commit" or asks for a conventional commit. The skill examines the diff, stages the related files, writes a Conventional Commits message, and runs git commit. Do not use it when the user wants only a commit message and no commit. Do not use it to push, open a pull request, rebase, or change the commit history.

OfficialCode Quality & Workflow47.4K installs

excalidraw-diagram-generator

github/awesome-copilot

Generate Excalidraw diagrams from natural language descriptions. Use when asked to "create a diagram", "make a flowchart", "visualize a process", "draw a system architecture", "create a mind map", or "generate an Excalidraw file". Supports flowcharts, relationship diagrams, mind maps, and system architecture diagrams. Outputs .excalidraw JSON files that can be opened directly in Excalidraw.

OfficialDocs & Writing31.9K installs

multi-stage-dockerfile

github/awesome-copilot

Create optimized multi-stage Dockerfiles for any language or framework

Official29.8K installs

documentation-writer

github/awesome-copilot

Diátaxis Documentation Expert. An expert technical writer specializing in creating high-quality software documentation, guided by the principles and structure of the Diátaxis technical documentation authoring framework.

OfficialDocs & Writing27.9K installs

prd

github/awesome-copilot

Generate high-quality Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) for software systems and AI-powered features. Includes executive summaries, user stories, technical specifications, and risk analysis.

Official24.1K installs

refactor

github/awesome-copilot

Surgical code refactoring to improve maintainability without changing behavior. Covers extracting functions, renaming variables, breaking down god functions, improving type safety, eliminating code smells, and applying design patterns. Less drastic than repo-rebuilder; use for gradual improvements.

OfficialCode Quality & Workflow22.4K installs

Popular ai & agents skills

View category →

google-agents-cli-publish

google/agents-cli

This skill should be used when the user wants to "publish an agent", "publish my ADK agent", "register an agent with Gemini", "publish to Gemini" (formerly Gemini Enterprise), or needs guidance on the agents-cli publish gemini command. Also use when the user wants to "manage agents in Agent Registry", "list/update/delete registered agents", or "register an MCP server". Covers ADK vs A2A registration modes, programmatic and interactive usage, flag reference, auto-detection from deployment metadata, Agent Registry fleet management, and troubleshooting. Part of the agents-cli skills suite. Do NOT use for deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy).

AI & Agents513.9K installs

google-agents-cli-eval

google/agents-cli

This skill should be used when the user wants to "run an evaluation", "evaluate my agent", "evaluate my ADK agent", "write an eval dataset", "analyze eval failures", "compare eval results", "optimize agent", or needs guidance on the Gemini platform eval methodology and the Quality Flywheel. Covers eval metrics, dataset schema, LLM-as-judge scoring, and common failure causes. Applies to any agents-cli project, whatever framework the agent is written in. Do NOT use for agent API code patterns (ADK: use google-agents-cli-adk-code), deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy), or project scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold).

AI & Agents513.5K installs

skill-creator

anthropics/skills

Create new skills, modify and improve existing skills, and measure skill performance. Use when users want to create a skill from scratch, edit, or optimize an existing skill, run evals to test a skill, benchmark skill performance with variance analysis, or optimize a skill's description for better triggering accuracy.

OfficialAI & Agents416.4K installs

codex-pet

prime-skills/runcomfy-agent-skills

Codex Pet generator on RunComfy. Build a Codex-compatible Codex Pet spritesheet.webp + pet.json from a single reference image, drop it into ${CODEXHOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/ / and Codex picks it up as a custom Codex Pet next to the 8 built-ins. This skill produces the exact Codex Pet atlas Codex expects (1536x1872 PNG/WebP, 8 cols x 9 rows, 192x208 cells, 9 animation states — idle, running-right, running-left, waving, jumping, failed, waiting, running, review). Calls OpenAI GPT Image 2 edit ONCE via the local RunComfy CLI as runcomfy run openai/gpt-image-2/edit to produce a canonical Codex Pet pose, then assembles all 9 animation rows programmatically with ImageMagick micro-transforms — no Codex Pro, no $imagegen, no OPENAIAPIKEY required, only RUNCOMFYTOKEN. Triggers on "codex pet", "create codex pet", "make codex pet", "hatch codex pet", "/hatch image", "desktop pet codex", "codex pets", "spritesheet.webp", or any explicit ask to build a custom pet for OpenAI Codex.

AI & Agents402.1K installs

full-output-enforcement

leonxlnx/taste-skill

Overrides default LLM truncation behavior. Enforces complete code generation, bans placeholder patterns, and handles token-limit splits cleanly. Apply to any task requiring exhaustive, unabridged output.

AI & Agents401K installs

executing-plans

obra/superpowers

Use when executing an implementation plan in the current session as the implementer yourself — your human partner chose inline execution, or no subagent tool is available

AI & Agents245.7K installs