AI Agent
SHACKLE
SHACKLE is a runtime governance layer and conformance standard for autonomous AI agents, enforcing guardrails, budget/loop limits, and policy constraints in real time.
SHACKLE
What is SHACKLE?
SHACKLE (SHACKLE Protocol 1.0) is an open-source governance protocol and policy-decision daemon for autonomous AI agents. It mediates every agent tool call in real time, enforcing circuit breakers for budget, repetitive calls, timeouts, and tool call limits, and provides a verifiable conformance standard (SP/1.0) with hash-checked fixtures. It includes a human-in-the-loop (HITL) console for interactive control.
SHACKLE vs Similar AI Tools
| Pricing Model | Free, Custom Pricing | Custom Pricing | Free, Free Trial, Paid | Free |
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How to use SHACKLE?
- 1Install via pip install pyshackle or clone from source.
- 2Import from shackle import Guard.
- 3Decorate your agent workflow function with @Guard(budget=0.25, max_repeat_calls=3, timeout_seconds=180).
- 4Run the function as usual; SHACKLE automatically hooks into the underlying framework (CrewAI, LangGraph, AutoGen, etc.).
- 5When a circuit breaker trips, an interactive HITL console appears with Resume/Skip/Abort options.
SHACKLE Key Features
- Loop of Death prevention via identical sequential tool call detection
- Real-time budget enforcement with client-side token tracking
- Execution timeouts to prevent hung threads on dead APIs
- Human-in-the-loop (HITL) interactive terminal console
- Verifiable conformance standard (SP/1.0) with 15 hash-checked fixtures
- First-class integrations with LiteLLM and AutoGen
- 100% client-side, no telemetry or phone-home
- One-line installation with no refactoring of agent topology
SHACKLE Use Cases
- Local development and debugging of AI agents
- CLI agents and supervised workflows with HITL control
- Cross-framework governance across CrewAI, LangGraph, and AutoGen
- Budget enforcement to prevent runaway API costs
- Iterative testing and catching loops early in development
SHACKLE Pricing & Free Credits
SHACKLE currently operates on a Free, Custom Pricing model.
Free Tier
AGPLv3 (Free)
Free
Open-source license for individual developers, hobbyists, and open-source projects. V1 includes all core features.
Paid Plans
Commercial License
Contact for Pricing
For closed-source commercial products, SaaS, or enterprise deployments. Includes white-labeling, priority support, and custom integration assistance.
V2 Enterprise (Optional)
Contact for Pricing
Adds distributed state, Postgres audit logs, remote HITL control, and commercial licensing for production deployments.
SHACKLE Pros & Cons
Pros
- Prevents runaway costs and infinite loops in AI agents
- Easy one-line integration with popular frameworks
- Open standard with verifiable conformance testing
- Fully client-side with no external dependencies or telemetry
Cons
- AGPLv3 license requires open-sourcing for closed-source use
- HITL console not suitable for headless production APIs
- V2 enterprise features require separate contact for pricing
What is SHACKLE best for?
- Developers building autonomous AI agents
- Teams needing runtime safety and cost controls
- Organizations seeking verifiable governance for compliance