Safe GitHub Copilot agent sandboxing for Android (Kotlin) and iOS (Swift) developers.

kote prep → isolated git worktree → agent works safely → kote cleanup --accept

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KoteGuard runs Copilot agents in isolated git worktrees so they can never accidentally commit secrets, break your main branch, or touch real signing credentials. Every session is planned, gated, validated, and audited.

Why KoteGuard?

Problem	Without KoteGuard	With KoteGuard
Agent pushes to main	💥 Happens	--deny-tool='shell(git push)' blocks it
Agent reads your .jks / .p12	💥 Full access	Replaced with stubs before session starts
No record of what the agent did	😬 Nothing	Per-session audit.jsonl + validation-report.md
Agent goes off-script	😬 No way to know	PLAN.md hard gate + change validation on cleanup
Context bloat across sessions	😬 Expensive	--compact accumulates knowledge into WORKSPACE.md

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Features

• 🔍 Smart project analysis — auto-detects Android/iOS, parses build.gradle + Info.plist, scans docs
• 📋 Interactive planning wizard — builds PLAN.md with a refine loop and a hard YES gate
• 🌿 Isolated git worktrees — agent works on a dedicated branch, never touches main
• 🔒 Sensitive file stubs — .jks, google-services.json, .p12, .env replaced with safe placeholders
• 🤖 Copilot CLI ready — generates the complete copilot --deny-tool=... command for you
• 📊 Session tracking — rich status table with plan title, age, Android CLI status, skills loaded, context pressure
• ✅ Auto-validation — validates PLAN.md + changed files on kote cleanup --accept
• 🧰 Android Skills — official guides synced nightly from github.com/android/skills; kote android update fetches the latest
• 🍎 iOS Skills — bundled SwiftUI, Swift Concurrency, and XCTest guides; auto-detected from your Swift source
• 🔧 Global config — kote init wizard sets agent mode, IDE, and worktrees directory
• 🗂️ Session hygiene — kote sessions prune removes stale session metadata on your schedule
• 🧠 Token hygiene — --compact saves session knowledge back into WORKSPACE.md

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Installation

pip install koteguard

Requires Python 3.12+

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/alisen/KoteGuard.git
cd KoteGuard
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Local install (no GitHub push needed — for testing before publishing):

# Using pipx (recommended for CLI tools)
brew install pipx && pipx ensurepath
pipx install /path/to/KoteGuard

# Or with pip directly
pip install /path/to/KoteGuard

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Quick Start

# One-time setup (optional — configure your defaults)
kote init

cd your-android-or-ios-project

# 1. Run the wizard — it detects your project, plans, creates the worktree
kote prep

# 2. See what it created
kote status

# 3. Copy the ready-to-run Copilot CLI command
kote cli

# 4. Inside the worktree, make sure the agent committed its changes
#    KoteGuard diffs branch commits — uncommitted changes will not be merged
#    cd /path/to/worktree && git add -A && git commit -m "agent: apply changes"

# 5. Back in your project root — validate + merge back
cd your-android-or-ios-project   # same dir as step 1
kote cleanup --accept

# 6. Or throw it away
kote cleanup --discard

Android-first (with skills wizard)

kote prep --android-first
# → detects Compose/Navigation/AGP usage
# → shows checkbox to select which skill guides to inject
# → pre-populates PLAN.md with selected skills

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How It Works

kote prep
  │
  ├── Phase 0: Scan project
  │     detect Android/iOS · parse build.gradle/Info.plist
  │     scan docs · detect Android CLI · suggest skills
  │
  ├── Phase 1: Interactive planning
  │     title · objectives · tasks · definition of done · risks
  │     ──── HARD GATE: type YES to proceed, refine to re-edit ────
  │
  └── Phase 2: Create worktree
        new git branch (kote/<session-id>-<slug>)
        writes: PLAN.md · TASK.md · AGENTS.md · WORKSPACE.md
                .github/copilot-instructions.md
                .github/instructions/security.instructions.md
        stubs:  google-services.json · *.jks · *.p12 · etc.
        logs:   sessions/<id>/context/ · logs/ · output/

kote cli
  └── prints: cd /worktree && COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS=... copilot --deny-tool=...

[agent works here]

kote cleanup --accept
  ├── auto-validates PLAN.md + changed files
  ├── generates sessions/<id>/output/validation-report.md
  ├── merges branch back
  └── archives PLAN · TASK · diff · audit · report → .kote/history/

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Command Reference

Command	Description
kote prep	Full wizard: analyse → plan → worktree → IDE
kote prep --android-first	Wizard with Android skills selection
kote prep --agent-mode <mode>	Override agent mode: copilot-cli | copilot-plugin | none
kote prep --dry-run	Simulate without creating a worktree
kote ide [session]	Launch Android Studio or Xcode for a session
kote cli [session]	Print complete copilot command + open terminal
kote status	Rich table: all sessions with age, skills, context pressure
kote cleanup --accept	Run from the original project root. Validate → merge → archive history. Auto-picks most recent active session.
kote cleanup <session-id> --accept	Target a specific session by ID (find IDs with kote status)
kote cleanup --discard	Throw away changes, preserve audit trail
kote cleanup --accept --force	Accept even when validation has errors or uncommitted changes are detected
kote cleanup --accept --compact	Accept + save session summary to WORKSPACE.md
kote validate [plan.md]	Validate PLAN.md against schema
kote validate -w WORKSPACE.md	Also validate WORKSPACE.md
kote android skills	List all skills (cached + bundled) + suggest for current project
kote android update	Sync latest skill guides from github.com/android/skills
kote android update --token <PAT>	Same, with a GitHub token to avoid rate limits
kote android docs	Android KB links + worktree status
kote ios skills	List bundled iOS skill guides + suggest for current project
kote sessions prune	Remove completed/discarded session metadata older than 30 days
kote sessions prune --days N	Prune sessions older than N days
kote sessions prune --dry-run	Preview which sessions would be pruned
kote init	Interactively configure global defaults (agent mode, IDE, worktrees dir)
kote version	Print version

Tips & Gotchas

• Run kote cleanup from the project root — the same directory where you ran kote prep. Running it from a different directory causes git operations (diff, merge, branch deletion) to target the wrong repository.

• The agent must commit its changes — KoteGuard detects what changed by diffing branch commits against main. If the agent modifies files but never runs git commit, those changes do not exist as commits and will not be merged. KoteGuard will block cleanup with a clear error and recovery instructions when this is detected. Use --force to skip the block and proceed (the uncommitted changes will not be merged).

• "No changed files detected" warning — means the agent branch has no new commits relative to main. Check the worktree for uncommitted files before accepting. If the session was already committed and merged manually, this is expected.

• Find session IDs — run kote status to see all sessions, their IDs, age, and whether the worktree still exists.

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Android Skills

KoteGuard bundles best-practice SKILL.md guides that get injected into the agent's context. The scanner auto-detects which ones are relevant based on your build.gradle.

Skill	Triggered by	Guide covers
navigation3	androidx.navigation dependency	Type-safe NavHost, @Serializable routes, no string routes
edge-to-edge	enableEdgeToEdge / API 35 target	windowInsetsPadding, Scaffold insets, API 35 enforcement
agp9	AGP 9.x in libs.versions.toml	JDK 21 requirement, namespace, declarative Kotlin DSL
compose-migration	androidx.compose dependency	State hoisting, collectAsStateWithLifecycle, LazyColumn keys

kote android update   # sync latest skill guides from github.com/android/skills
kote android skills   # see all skills (official + bundled) + what's suggested
kote android docs     # Android developer documentation links

KoteGuard also runs a nightly GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/sync-android-skills.yml) that automatically checks github.com/android/skills for updates and opens a PR against main whenever skill content changes — so bundled guides stay up to date without any manual work.

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iOS Skills

KoteGuard also bundles best-practice guides for iOS/Swift developers. The scanner auto-detects relevant guides based on your Swift source files.

Skill	Triggered by	Guide covers
swiftui-patterns	import SwiftUI / @Observable	State management, NavigationStack, scene lifecycle, performance rules
swift-concurrency	async/await/actor usage	Structured concurrency, AsyncStream, cancellation, @MainActor
xctest	import XCTest / SnapshotTesting	Async tests, protocol mocking, snapshot testing, performance tests

kote ios skills   # see what's available + what's suggested for your project

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Spec-Driven Development

Every PLAN.md KoteGuard creates has a machine-readable YAML block at the top. This is the source of truth — not just documentation.

---
spec_version: '1.0'
title: Implement login screen
tasks:
- id: t1
  description: Create LoginViewModel
  done: false
- id: t2
  description: Wire up UI
  done: false
definition_of_done:
- All tests pass
- Reviewed
---

# Implement login screen
...

The agent is instructed to update done: true for each task it completes, directly inside that YAML block. When you run kote cleanup --accept, KoteGuard:

1. Parses the YAML — reads exactly which tasks were marked done
2. Validates semantically — checks that changed files actually match each task's keywords (CamelCase-aware: NavGraph → searches for nav, graph in file paths)
3. Warns if tasks are undone — if files changed but all tasks are still done: false, it flags it
4. Survives corruption — if the agent breaks the YAML, a regex fallback recovers the plan silently

This is why PLAN.md is not just a text document — it's a live spec the agent writes back to.

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Security Model

KoteGuard is designed so that even a misbehaving agent can't cause lasting damage.

Layer	Mechanism
Planning gate	Must type YES (or refine) — no accidental starts
Branch isolation	Agent never touches main — always a kote/<id> branch
Secret stubs	google-services.json, .jks, .p12 etc. swapped for placeholders before the session
Deny-tool flags	git push, git clone, git remote add/set-url are CLI-level blocked
Dual instructions	Agent gets both a task brief and a security rules file
Validation on accept	PLAN.md compliance + file change analysis before any merge
Audit trail	Every event written to sessions/<id>/logs/audit.jsonl + global ~/.kote/audit.jsonl
History archival	PLAN, TASK, diff, audit, report copied to .kote/history/ on every accept or discard

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Generated Copilot CLI Command

kote cli prints this — ready to paste:

cd /path/to/worktree && \
  COPILOT_CUSTOM_INSTRUCTIONS_DIRS=".github/instructions" \
  copilot \
    --deny-tool='shell(git push)' \
    --deny-tool='shell(git remote add)' \
    --deny-tool='shell(git remote set-url)' \
    --deny-tool='shell(git clone)'

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Project Structure

src/koteguard/
├── cli.py              # Typer CLI (kote + kote android subgroup)
├── models.py           # Pydantic v2 models + Android v1.1 skill models
├── config.py           # TOML config · session audit · worktree context check
├── project_scanner.py  # Phase 0: file-signature detection + gradle parsing + doc analysis
├── worktree.py         # Git worktree engine · session subdirs · history archival
├── sensitive_files.py  # Sensitive file stub injection
├── planning.py         # PLAN.md · WORKSPACE.md · Copilot instructions rendering
├── launcher.py         # IDE launcher · build_copilot_cli_command()
├── validation.py       # Plan/change/skills validation · report generation
└── templates.py        # Template file management

templates/
├── PLAN.md                          # Includes Token & Context Rules section
├── WORKSPACE.md                     # Includes Android Agent Stack section
├── TASK.md
├── instructions.md                  # Includes model selection guidance
├── security.instructions.md         # applyTo: "**/*" · Android + iOS deny rules
├── AGENTS.md
├── config.toml
├── android-skills/
│   ├── navigation3.skill.md
│   ├── edge-to-edge.skill.md
│   ├── agp9.skill.md
│   └── compose-migration.skill.md
└── ios-skills/
    ├── swiftui-patterns.skill.md
    ├── swift-concurrency.skill.md
    └── xctest.skill.md

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Requirements

• Python 3.12+
• Git 2.5+ (for worktree support)
• GitHub Copilot CLI (copilot binary) for the terminal workflow
• Android Studio or Xcode (optional, for IDE auto-launch)

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Agent Modes

KoteGuard supports three ways to run the Copilot agent. Set the default in ~/.kote/config.toml or override per session with kote prep --agent-mode.

Mode	How it runs	kote cli output
copilot-cli (default)	Terminal binary with --deny-tool security flags	Full copy-pasteable command
copilot-plugin	IDE chat panel (Android Studio, VS Code)	Open IDE at worktree path
none	Instructions injected only — bring your own agent	cd <worktree>

Set defaults interactively:

kote init   # guided wizard — sets all fields below

Or edit ~/.kote/config.toml directly:

agent_mode = "copilot-cli"   # copilot-cli | copilot-plugin | none
default_ide = "auto"         # auto | android | ios
android_cli_enabled = true
worktrees_dir = "~/.kote/worktrees"

Override per session:

kote prep --agent-mode copilot-plugin

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Contributing

git clone https://github.com/alisen/KoteGuard.git
cd KoteGuard
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest

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License

MIT © Alishen