Stop That Shit

Finish the task. Know when to stop.

One export came with an unread SHA-256 file. It prompted a question: what does each extra step an agent adds actually change?

In this article

The same checksum. A different reason to keep it.

One scribe passes a scroll to another across a low table, leaving an unused bundle aside.

Not consumed

result.csv and an unused checksum

The next step reads only the output file. The unused checksum can be omitted.

Used to verify

File → checksum → release verifier

The release verifier reads the checksum and rejects a mismatch. Keep this step.

Two scenarios: the checksum’s role in the current delivery changes the decision. See the Stop Ladder below for the full criteria.

How it works

For people working with coding agents

Define the task and acceptance

What must be delivered, and which actions are allowed.

The Skill evaluates necessity

Use the Stop Ladder to find evidence that the current task needs this step.

Guide the agent’s choices

Complete requested work and necessary follow-through; omit unsupported extras.

The Guard checks boundaries

Check the declared mode, file, and action boundaries.

Check covered actions

With an explicit task mode armed, return an allow or deny result.

The Skill provides decision guidance. The Guard observes by default and enforces boundaries on supported host action paths only after an explicit task mode is armed.Read the Skill and Guard responsibilities

Go beyond “avoid overengineering.” Follow the Stop Ladder.

A vague warning is easy to route around with another hypothetical future. The Stop Ladder pulls the decision back to the request, reachable code, data, deployment state, and acceptance criteria.

  • Did the user request it?
  • Is it necessary to complete the current result?
  • What reachable code, data, user decision, deployment state, or acceptance proves that need?
  • Where would the current task fail if we omitted it?

Without evidence from the current task, do not promote “might help later” into “build it now.”

Read the evidence and method

Installation and support

Documented version: 0.2.4

The Codex commands below pin a release tag. After restart, compare /hooks in the CLI TUI with that tag's Hook manifest and trust the commands you reviewed. GitHub Release has the complete changes. STSS can also be installed on its own.

CODEX / POWERSHELL
codex plugin marketplace add lennney/stop-that-shit --ref 0.2.4
codex plugin add stop-that-shit@stop-that-shit

Requires Node.js 18+. After Hook review, use $stop-that-shit review or $stop-that-shit change in a new task to make authority explicit.

One task boundary, five Host adapters

Codex
Plugin + packaged Hooks
Claude Code
Plugin + native lifecycle Hooks
OpenCode
V1 / V2 plugins + before-action denial
Hermes Agent CLI
Native plugin callbacks
Pi
Native Extension + before-action checks

Install guide on GitHub

Common questions

Getting started

What does it do?

It is a task-boundary Skill + Hook Guard for AI coding agents. The standalone Skill uses the Stop Ladder and task modes as advisory guidance; the full plugin's Guard checks explicit mode, dependency, hash, file, and subagent boundaries on supported Hook paths. STSS is a separate writing Skill for sentences without a decision consumer.

Is it a Skill or a plugin?

It is both. The standalone Skill provides the Stop Ladder and task modes such as review and change as advisory guidance. The complete plugin also packages the Guard and Host adapters, which check explicit boundaries on supported Hook paths.

How do I install it in Codex?

Use the current GitHub Release and that tag's INSTALL.md to install or update. Codex requires Node.js 18+: pin the marketplace to the tag shown in the install section, restart, and compare /hooks in a fresh CLI TUI with the packaged Hook manifest before trusting it. Use review or change to declare authority in a new task.

Which workflows is it useful for?

Run a review/change smoke in a disposable repository, then use paired Bad and Good Cases to judge false allows and false denials. EVIDENCE.md separates tests, adapter behavior, and final Host effects; those records do not prove a general improvement in model behavior.

Which coding agents are supported?

The plugin has adapters for Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, Hermes Agent CLI, and Pi, with both OpenCode V1 and V2 supported. Installation, trust, restart, and event coverage differ by Host. Separate Pi child processes do not inherit the parent task contract; see the versioned install guide and adapter contract.

Behavior and limits

How does it differ from AGENTS.md?

AGENTS.md is the right place for durable repository architecture, commands, and conventions. Stop That Shit does not replace that context. It lets the user declare per-task review/change, file, dependency, hash, and subagent boundaries and checks explicit actions on supported Hook paths.

What does SHIT stand for?

SHIT is not one execution mode. It names four kinds of task drift: Scope creep, Hashing and hypothetical hardening, Intent violation, and Task thrashing. The actual task modes include review, answer, monitor, and change.

What are its limitations?

It can inspect only Hook events that the Host exposes with enough input. It is not a security sandbox and does not label every migration, retry, or cache as unnecessary. A returned denial records the Guard response; it is not observation of the Host's final effect.

Does it ban every hash or checksum?

No. A release checksum read by a verifier has a consumer and is necessary for that acceptance path. The current task can authorize an identifiable new hash action with hash=allow; the request and consumer still determine whether it belongs.

Versions and sources

What is STSS?

STSS is a standalone writing Skill with rewrite and audit modes. Its Sentence Consumer Test, Claim Ledger, and Claim Diff help edit disclaimers, hedge stacks, and self-defense that do not support a reader’s decision. The versioned INSTALL.md and Release contain installation steps and changes.

Where are the source and releases?

The public source, releases, and versioned download documentation are at github.com/lennney/stop-that-shit. This page is the bilingual product guide maintained by lennney; use the GitHub tag and release as the source of truth for code, versions, and installation steps.

Install guide on GitHub

Keep reading

Codex Exported One File, Then Added an Unused SHA-256

How Defensive Engineering Grows Inside an AI Agent Task

Stop That Shit vs AGENTS.md: Skill, Plugin, and Task Boundaries

View the source

Back to the project story