Axiom releases local guardrail tool for AI coding agents
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Axiom releases local guardrail tool Axiom, which runs as a pre-write hook for Claude Code and Cursor, intercepting violations such as fabricated numeric limits and hardcoded authentication by AI agents before code is written. The tool has zero dependencies, requires no API key, and has telemetry disabled by default. Axiom says that from release onward it will run automatically in every Claude Code and Cursor session. For VS Code + Copilot, it runs via a file-save task (.vscode/axiom-task.json), but can only flag issues after writing and cannot intercept before writing. Axiom positions the tool as a first line of defense, not a complete security layer.
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- Hacker News AIAxiom – blocks AI agents from inventing limits your code never defined
Axiom is a zero-dependency local guardrail that runs as a pre-write hook in Claude Code and Cursor, or as a stdin/stdout filter for other agents, blocking tool calls before writes occur. It uses regex and AST-pattern detection across three components (Noema, Lemma, Manam) to catch hardcoded numeric bounds, auth bypasses, dangerous Bash, secrets, dependency confusion and invented rate limits, with a tri-state TRUE/FALSE/UNKNOWN logic that halts on UNKNOWN. The author states detection is not semantic and can be bypassed with minor obfuscation, positioning it as a first line of defense alongside container isolation, branch protection and secret scanning.
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