Freeze Mode

Session-scoped directory restriction that blocks file edits outside a specified directory. Activate when debugging to prevent accidentally "fixing" unrelated code.

Announce at start: "Freeze mode ACTIVATED. File edits restricted to: [directory]. Changes outside this directory will be blocked."

Setup

When invoked, ask the user which directory to restrict to:

1. Auto-detect: If in a worktree, suggest the worktree path
2. Ask user: "Which directory should I restrict edits to? (default: current working directory)"
3. Store: Save the freeze directory for the session

What Gets Blocked

Any Edit, Write, or NotebookEdit tool call where the target file path is NOT under the frozen directory.

Tool	Blocked When
Edit	file_path is outside freeze directory
Write	file_path is outside freeze directory
NotebookEdit	notebook_path is outside freeze directory
Bash with redirect	Command contains > or >> to a path outside freeze directory

What Is Allowed

• Reading any file (Read, Grep, Glob) — unrestricted
• Editing files inside the freeze directory — unrestricted
• Running commands that don't write outside the directory
• Creating new files inside the freeze directory

Behavior

When a blocked edit is detected:

1. STOP — Do not execute the edit
2. WARN — Display: "BLOCKED by freeze mode: Cannot edit [file_path]. Only edits in [freeze_directory] are allowed."
3. ASK — "Do you want to override freeze mode for this specific file? (yes/no)"

Common Use Cases

• Debugging: "I want to add logs but keep accidentally 'fixing' unrelated code"
• Feature isolation: "Only touch files in src/feature-x/"
• Review mode: "Read anything, but don't change code outside my PR's scope"
• Worktree safety: "Only edit inside the current worktree"

Gotchas

• Config files: Freeze mode may block edits to config files (package.json, tsconfig.json) that live outside the feature directory. Override when needed.
• Test files: Tests may live in a separate tests/ directory. Consider freezing at a higher level or overriding for test files.
• Build artifacts: Freeze mode doesn't block build tools from writing outside the directory — it only blocks Claude's direct edits.

Deactivation

Freeze mode lasts for the entire session. To deactivate:

• End the session and start a new one
• Or explicitly say "deactivate freeze mode" or "unfreeze"