What each gate level (strict, standard, light) switches on and off, and what never relaxes at any level. Use when setup asks the founder to choose a level, when the level changes, and whenever an agent is unsure whether a step is required.
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---
name: gates
description: What each gate level (strict, standard, light) switches on and off, and what never relaxes at any level. Use when setup asks the founder to choose a level, when the level changes, and whenever an agent is unsure whether a step is required.
---
# Gate levels
`project.toml [gates] level` is one of three values. Explain them to the founder in these
words, not in your own; a level is what this file says it is.
## Never relaxed, at any level
- Outward steps (deploy, merge, push, publish, send, pay, delete, real data writes) wait for the
founder's go, one step at a time (`skills/ordered-steps/`).
- Data writes prove themselves and can be undone (`skills/safe-data-write/`).
- The commit-msg hook: the founder is the only author, no tool credited, banned characters
refused (`skills/commit/`).
- No unconfirmed assumptions (rule 11), and every rejected idea is recorded (rule 13).
- Free tiers are strict, with tested caps before release.
## What changes
| | strict | standard | light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirement row before a change | always, new or cited | always for features; a copy or style fix may skip it, noted in `docs/HISTORY.md` | optional |
| Grilling and readiness gate | every feature | every feature | none |
| Spec audit (`skills/spec-audit/`) | every feature | features touching existing code | none |
| Security and legal review | every feature touching data, money, AI output or claims | only where the feature's spec flags them | before any real user or real data |
| Full sweep | before every hand-off and every commit | before every commit | before every commit |
| QA report | every change | every feature | before any real user |
**Light is for throwaway prototypes only:** no real users, no real personal data, no payments.
Moving from light to anything else means writing the missing requirement rows first.
## Recommending
Setup always recommends strict and says what it buys, using the table above. If the founder
chooses another level, record the level, the reason and when to revisit it in
`p1-closed-decisions.md`, and the declined recommendation in `p1-rejected.md`.
