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Python SDK for Sentinel human-in-the-loop oversight

Project description

Sentinel SDK

License: MIT PyPI version

Oversight infrastructure for AI agents.

Sentinel adds human-in-the-loop approval to any Python function your agent calls. Wrap the function with @oversight, and the SDK pauses execution, requests approval, and only runs once a human approves.

Install

pip install sentinel-oversight

Quick start

# 1. Create an account at https://app.pauseapi.app/signup
#    Copy the API key it returns.

# 2. Wrap your function:
from sentinel import configure, oversight

configure(api_key="sk_live_…")

@oversight(
    risk_level="high",
    approvers=["alice@acme.com", "slack://channel/C0AB123CDEF"],
    timeout_seconds=300,
)
def transfer_funds(amount: int, recipient: str):
    return stripe.transfers.create(amount=amount, destination=recipient)

When your agent calls transfer_funds(1000, "acct_xyz"):

  1. Sentinel pauses execution and creates an approval on the backend.
  2. Notifications fire to every approver in the list (rules below).
  3. A human clicks Approve (Slack button, dashboard, or signed email link).
  4. The wrapped function runs, and its return value flows back to the caller.

If rejected → ApprovalRejected(reason) is raised. If no response within timeout_secondsApprovalTimeout is raised (unless fallback="execute").

Approver formats

Each entry in approvers=[...] is a string. The format determines the channel.

Format Channel Example
name@company.com Email alice@acme.com
mailto:name@company.com Email (explicit) mailto:alice@acme.com
slack://channel/CXXXXXXXX Slack slack://channel/C0AB123CDEF
sms:+15551234567 SMS (Twilio) sms:+14155550123

You can mix formats — every approver receives a notification, the first decision wins.

Notification routing

  • Slack — fires if SLACK_BOT_TOKEN is set on the backend AND either the account-default SLACK_CHANNEL is configured or an approver is slack://channel/.... Posts a Block Kit message with Approve/Reject buttons.
  • Email — fires if RESEND_API_KEY is set AND any approver looks like an email address. Email contains signed approve/reject links (HMAC-SHA256, scoped to that action_id and timeout window).
  • SMS — fires if Twilio credentials are set AND an approver uses sms:.

By default, Slack messages send from Sentinel and emails send from onboarding@resend.dev. To get branded approvals@yourdomain.app email, verify your domain in Resend (Pro plan).

Risk levels

risk_level is a string the dashboard uses for prioritization. Allowed values: low, medium, high, critical. Required.

Configuration

Set via configure(...) or environment variables:

Variable Default Description
SENTINEL_API_URL https://api.pauseapi.app Base URL of the Sentinel backend
SENTINEL_API_KEY required Your tenant API key
SENTINEL_TIMEOUT 300 Default timeout_seconds
SENTINEL_POLL_INTERVAL 2 Seconds between status polls
SENTINEL_FALLBACK reject reject or execute on timeout

Exceptions

  • SentinelError — base class for all Sentinel errors.
  • SentinelConfigError — SDK was used without an api_key.
  • SentinelAPIError(status_code, message, url) — backend returned a non-2xx.
  • ApprovalRejected(reason, action_id) — a human rejected the request.
  • ApprovalTimeout(action_id, timeout_seconds) — no decision before deadline.

Async

The decorator transparently supports async def functions:

@oversight(risk_level="medium", approvers=["alice@acme.com"])
async def send_email(to, body):
    await mailgun.send(to=to, body=body)

Audit log

Every approval creates a hash-chained audit trail. Fetch it:

from sentinel import SentinelClient
client = SentinelClient()
events = client.list_audit_events(action_id="act_…")  # or omit for full log

Each event has prev_hash and event_hash (SHA-256). Chain integrity can be verified by recomputing sha256(prev_hash + json(payload)).

LangChain

from sentinel.adapters.langchain import SentinelCallbackHandler

agent.run("…", callbacks=[SentinelCallbackHandler(risk_level="high")])

Install with pip install sentinel-oversight[langchain].

Links

License

MIT

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