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freeze

Category: drafting
Field: —
License: none declared
Updated: 2026-05-11
Stages: paper-drafting

Freeze -- Session-Scoped Edit Guard

Blocks Write and Edit operations on files outside the specified directories. Use when reviewing code (freeze everything except notes), when writing (freeze scripts), or when editing data pipelines (freeze paper/).

Usage

Text Only
/freeze paper/          # Only allow edits in paper/
/freeze scripts/ data/  # Only allow edits in scripts/ and data/
/freeze off             # Deactivate all freeze guards

How It Works

  1. Parse the directory arguments from the user's input
  2. Write the guard configuration to .claude/state/session-guards.json
  3. The session-guard PreToolUse hook reads this file and blocks Edit/Write operations on files outside the allowed directories
  4. Report what's frozen and what's editable

Activation

When the user invokes /freeze [dirs]:

  1. Read the current .claude/state/session-guards.json (create if it doesn't exist)
  2. Set the freeze guard:
    JSON
    {
  "freeze": {
    "active": true,
    "allowed_paths": ["paper/", "scripts/"],
    "activated_at": "2026-05-09T14:30:00",
    "reason": "User invoked /freeze"
  }
}
  3. Confirm: "Freeze active. Edits allowed only in: [dirs]. Run /freeze off to deactivate."

Deactivation

When the user invokes /freeze off:

  1. Read .claude/state/session-guards.json
  2. Set freeze.active to false
  3. Confirm: "Freeze deactivated. All paths editable."

Gotchas

  • Freeze is session-scoped -- it resets when the conversation ends
  • The guard file persists on disk but the hook checks a session flag
  • .claude/ is always editable (can't freeze yourself out of config changes)
  • Paths are relative to the project root