pydantic-ai-blocking-approval 0.1.0

Synchronous, blocking approval system for PydanticAI agent tools

pydantic-ai-blocking-approval

Synchronous, blocking approval system for PydanticAI agent tools.

Status: This package is experimental. The core wrapper (ApprovalToolset, ApprovalController) is more mature, while pattern-based approval via needs_approval() is highly experimental and likely to change. See design motivation for details.

Why This Package?

PydanticAI provides DeferredToolRequests for human-in-the-loop approval, but it's designed for asynchronous, out-of-band approval flows. This package provides an alternative for synchronous, blocking approval - a fundamentally different pattern.

PydanticAI's Deferred Tools (async/out-of-band)

Agent Run → Returns with pending tools → [Time passes] → User approves via API/webhook → Resume agent

The deferred pattern is ideal when:

• User isn't present during execution (web apps, background jobs)
• Approval happens out-of-band (email links, admin dashboards, Slack buttons)
• Hours or days may pass between request and approval
• You need to serialize/persist the pending state

Blocking Approval (this package)

Agent Run → Tool needs approval → [Blocks] → User prompted immediately → [Decides] → Execution continues

The blocking pattern is ideal when:

• User is present at the terminal (CLI tools, interactive sessions)
• Approval must happen immediately, inline with execution
• The agent run should complete in one continuous session
• You want simple "approve and continue" UX without state management

Comparison

Aspect	Deferred (PydanticAI)	Blocking (this package)
Execution	Agent run completes, returns pending	Agent run pauses mid-execution
Timing	Minutes to days between request/approval	Immediate, synchronous
User presence	Not required during execution	Must be present
State	Must serialize/persist pending state	No state management needed
Resume	Explicit resume call with decisions	Automatic after user input
Best for	Web apps, APIs, async workflows	CLI tools, interactive sessions

Rejection and LLM Adjustment

A key advantage of blocking approval is the immediate feedback loop. When a user rejects a tool call, the rejection (and optional note) is returned to the LLM, which can adjust its approach within the same conversation:

def cli_prompt(request: ApprovalRequest) -> ApprovalDecision:
    print(f"Tool: {request.tool_name}")
    print(f"Args: {request.payload}")
    response = input("[y]es / [n]o: ")
    if response.lower() == "y":
        return ApprovalDecision(approved=True)
    # User provides feedback for the LLM to adjust
    reason = input("Why? ") or "User rejected"
    return ApprovalDecision(approved=False, note=reason)

Example conversation flow:

User: Delete the old log files

LLM: [calls delete_file(path="application.log")]
     → User rejects: "That's the current log, delete archived ones"

LLM: [calls delete_file(path="logs/archive/2024-01.log")]
     → User approves

LLM: [calls delete_file(path="logs/archive/2024-02.log")]
     → User approves for session

LLM: [remaining archive files auto-approved from session cache]

With deferred approval, the agent run terminates on rejection, requiring a new conversation to retry. With blocking approval, the LLM learns from rejection feedback and adjusts within the same run.

Architecture Overview

ApprovalToolset (wraps any toolset)
    ├── intercepts call_tool()
    ├── checks pre_approved list (which tools skip approval)
    ├── calls needs_approval() if toolset implements it (per-call decision)
    ├── consults ApprovalMemory for cached decisions
    ├── calls prompt_fn and BLOCKS until user decides
    └── proceeds or raises PermissionError

ApprovalController (manages modes)
    ├── interactive — prompts user via callback
    ├── approve_all — auto-approve (testing)
    └── strict — auto-deny (safety)

Secure by default: Tools not in the pre_approved list require approval. This ensures forgotten tools prompt rather than silently execute.

Installation

pip install pydantic-ai-blocking-approval

Quick Start

from pydantic_ai import Agent
from pydantic_ai_blocking_approval import (
    ApprovalController,
    ApprovalDecision,
    ApprovalRequest,
    ApprovalToolset,
)

# Create a prompt function for interactive approval
def cli_prompt(request: ApprovalRequest) -> ApprovalDecision:
    print(f"Approve {request.tool_name}? {request.description}")
    response = input("[y/n/s(ession)]: ")
    if response == "s":
        return ApprovalDecision(approved=True, remember="session")
    return ApprovalDecision(approved=response.lower() == "y")

# Wrap your toolset with approval
controller = ApprovalController(mode="interactive", approval_callback=cli_prompt)
approved_toolset = ApprovalToolset(
    inner=my_toolset,
    prompt_fn=controller.approval_callback,
    memory=controller.memory,
)

# Use with PydanticAI agent
agent = Agent(..., toolsets=[approved_toolset])

Approval Modes

The ApprovalController supports three modes:

Mode	Behavior	Use Case
interactive	Prompts user via callback	CLI with user present
approve_all	Auto-approves all requests	Testing, CI
strict	Auto-denies all requests	Production safety

# For testing - auto-approve everything
controller = ApprovalController(mode="approve_all")

# For CI/production - reject all approval-required operations
controller = ApprovalController(mode="strict")

Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: @requires_approval Decorator

Mark individual functions as requiring approval:

from pydantic_ai_blocking_approval import requires_approval

@requires_approval
def send_email(to: str, subject: str, body: str) -> str:
    """Send an email - requires user approval."""
    return f"Email sent to {to}"

Pattern 2: pre_approved List

Specify which tools skip approval via the pre_approved parameter:

approved_toolset = ApprovalToolset(
    inner=my_toolset,
    prompt_fn=cli_prompt,
    pre_approved=["get_time", "list_files", "get_weather"],
)

Tools in the list skip approval. Tools not in the list require approval by default (secure by default).

Pattern 3: Custom Approval Logic (Highly Experimental)

Note: This pattern is highly experimental and likely to change significantly as we build production toolsets.

For complex tools (like file sandboxes or shell executors), implement needs_approval() to decide per-call:

class MyToolset:
    def needs_approval(self, tool_name: str, args: dict) -> bool | dict:
        """Decide if approval is needed and customize presentation.

        Returns:
            - False: no approval needed
            - True: approval needed with default presentation
            - dict: approval needed with custom presentation
        """
        if tool_name != "shell_exec":
            return False

        command = args["command"]
        if self._is_safe_command(command):
            return False

        # Dangerous command - require approval with custom presentation
        return {
            "description": f"Execute: {command[:50]}...",
            "payload": {"command": command},
        }

See tests/test_integration.py for a complete ShellToolset example with pattern matching.

Session Approval Caching

When users approve with remember="session", subsequent identical requests are auto-approved:

# First call - prompts user
# User selects "approve for session"
decision = ApprovalDecision(approved=True, remember="session")

# Subsequent identical calls - auto-approved from cache
# (same tool_name + payload)

The cache key is (tool_name, payload), so tools control matching granularity via their payload design.

Rich Presentation (Highly Experimental)

Note: This feature is highly experimental. The ApprovalPresentation structure will likely change.

Tools can provide enhanced UI hints via ApprovalPresentation:

from pydantic_ai_blocking_approval import ApprovalPresentation, ApprovalRequest

request = ApprovalRequest(
    tool_name="write_file",
    description="Write to config.json",
    payload={"path": "config.json"},
    presentation=ApprovalPresentation(
        type="diff",
        content="- old value\n+ new value",
        language="json",
    ),
)

Supported presentation types:

• text - Plain text
• diff - Side-by-side diff
• file_content - Syntax-highlighted code
• command - Shell command
• structured - Tabular/tree data

API Reference

Types

• ApprovalRequest - Request object when approval is needed
• ApprovalDecision - User's decision (approved, note, remember)
• ApprovalPresentation - Rich UI hints for display

Classes

• ApprovalMemory - Session cache for "approve for session"
• ApprovalToolset - Wrapper that intercepts tool calls
• ApprovalController - Mode-based controller

Protocols

• ApprovalConfigurable - Protocol for toolsets with needs_approval() -> bool | dict

Decorators

• @requires_approval - Mark functions as needing approval

License

MIT