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.

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 ModelFree, Custom PricingFree, FreemiumFreeFree
Free Credits
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
  • Multi-agent workflow with verification and self-healing
  • 50+ AI models auto-routed per agent
  • 1000+ OAuth2 app integrations
  • Seven breakable boxes covering OWASP Agentic Top-10 vulnerabilities
  • Three guided simulations for cascading failures, human-agent trust, and rogue agents
  • Network-isolated Docker containers for safe execution
  • Code-to-runtime reasoning across cloud, Git, and Kubernetes
  • Action-gate enforces read-only policy on every API call
  • Sandboxed JavaScript execution for concurrent research
Pros
  • Prevents runaway costs and infinite loops in AI agents
  • Easy one-line integration with popular frameworks
  • Replaces 10+ separate tools with one platform
  • Multi-agent orchestration saves time and context switching
  • Covers full OWASP Agentic Top-10 in a realistic manner
  • Docker isolation prevents accidental damage
  • Read-only by construction prevents accidental writes
  • Evidence-backed verification cross-checks every finding
Cons
  • AGPLv3 license requires open-sourcing for closed-source use
  • HITL console not suitable for headless production APIs
  • Free tier limited to 5,000 credits per month
  • May have a learning curve for complex workflows
  • Requires Docker and technical setup
  • Not for production use; only for lab environments
  • Requires an LLM API key, incurring token costs
  • Limited to read-only operations, cannot remediate
Best For
  • Developers building autonomous AI agents
  • Teams needing runtime safety and cost controls
  • Marketing teams
  • Content creators
  • Security researchers focusing on AI agent vulnerabilities
  • Developers building MCP-based applications
  • Security engineers
  • DevOps teams

How to use SHACKLE?

  1. 1Install via pip install pyshackle or clone from source.
  2. 2Import from shackle import Guard.
  3. 3Decorate your agent workflow function with @Guard(budget=0.25, max_repeat_calls=3, timeout_seconds=180).
  4. 4Run the function as usual; SHACKLE automatically hooks into the underlying framework (CrewAI, LangGraph, AutoGen, etc.).
  5. 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.

AGPLv3 (Free)

Free

Open-source license for individual developers, hobbyists, and open-source projects. V1 includes all core features.

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

SHACKLE FAQ

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