Runtime control

Govern every action an agent can take.

Control tools, skills, models, secrets, approvals, environments, knowledge access, and execution boundaries at runtime — not only in prompts.

Agent decision
Runtime policy check
Allowed action
Observed result
tool policy
skill policy
knowledge scope
model policy
approval rule
environment boundary

Control cannot live only in the prompt.

Prompts can guide behavior, but they are not enforcement boundaries. When agents call tools, activate skills, query knowledge, access secrets, or create side effects, the runtime needs to understand what is allowed before the action happens.

Prompt instruction
→ asks the agent to behave
Runtime control
→ validates and enforces actions
prompts can be ignored or misinterpreted
tool calls create real side effects
permissions vary by environment and customer
sensitive actions may need approval
every action should be recorded after execution

Control the surfaces where agents create risk.

sypho treats runtime behavior as something that can be configured, enforced, and observed. Policies attach to deployments and apply during execution.

Deployment policy
├─ tools
├─ skills
├─ knowledge
├─ models
├─ secrets
├─ approvals
└─ environment
Tool policy
which tools can be called and with what constraints
Skill policy
which reusable capabilities an agent can activate
Knowledge policy
which scoped context the agent can access
Model policy
which models can be used in each environment
Secrets policy
which credentials are injected at runtime
Approval policy
which actions require human review
Environment policy
where the agent is allowed to execute

Every tool call is a runtime event.

Tool calls are where agent behavior becomes system behavior. sypho validates tool usage against schemas, permissions, environment rules, and approval policies before recording the result in the trace.

{
  "tool": "refund_payment",
  "args": {
    "order_id": "ord_2481",
    "amount": 120
  },
  "policy": "approval_required_over_100",
  "status": "waiting_for_approval"
}
validate required arguments
reject unexpected inputs
enforce allowed tools
gate sensitive actions
record tool calls in run traces

Control reusable capabilities and context.

Agents should only activate the skills and access the knowledge they are allowed to use for a given deployment, environment, and customer. sypho makes skills and knowledge part of the runtime contract.

Skills

Skills package reusable instructions, resources, and executable workflows. sypho controls which skills are available to each deployment and records when they are activated.

Knowledge

Knowledge scopes define which vector collections and graph context an agent can access. sypho keeps context explicit, scoped, and observable.

Different environments need different rules.

A tool might be safe in staging but restricted in production. A skill might be available internally but not in a customer deployment. A model might be allowed for one environment and blocked in another. sypho keeps those boundaries explicit.

staging
production
customer-cloud
refund_tool
allow
approval
approval
debug_skill
allow
block
block
support_docs
read
read
customer-scoped
model_policy
flexible
approved
approved

Why teams control agents through sypho.

Enforceable boundaries

Move critical controls out of prompts and into runtime policy.

Safer tool usage

Validate arguments, permissions, and approval requirements before actions execute.

Scoped context

Limit skills and knowledge access by deployment, environment, or customer.

Operational accountability

Record actions, decisions, approvals, and results in the run trace.

Environment-aware governance

Apply different controls for local, staging, production, customer cloud, and on-prem environments.

Control agents before they touch real systems.

Join the sypho waitlist and help shape runtime control for production agents.

Join waitlist