Most questions can safely proceed on a sensible default. A few cannot. Gavel makes that difference explicit on every ask.
The ask names its options, picks one as the recommendation with its reasoning, and sets a default-by time. The agent acts on the recommendation right away. If the owner answers, his choice wins. If the time passes, the ask closes on the recommendation, and he can reverse it with a tap for seven days afterward.
A held ask never closes on its own. The agent does the safe parts of the work and leaves the gated action undone until the owner answers.
Every ask carries a gate. A gated ask is held, and the gate shows as a badge on the card and on every option it would apply to.
| Gate | Holds an ask that would |
|---|---|
| deploy | Ship to production without an owner order. |
| spend | Spend $20 or more. |
| data-deletion | Delete generated data. |
| scope | Touch something that is out of scope. |
| owner-only | Take an action reserved for the owner, such as accepting an ADR. |
| infrastructure-security | Weaken an access boundary. |
Options, a recommendation, a question, a gate, a mode, and the evidence the owner needs to answer without asking back.
Each ask is posted to Chirp's decisions channel as a decision card, so the owner can pick an option from his phone. The full context is on Gavel's web page.
With a tap in Chirp or a choice on the web. Gavel records who chose, when, and by which route.
A sweeper runs every minute. It closes proceed asks that reached their default-by time on the recommendation, and it reminds the owner before a deadline.
Sometimes the owner answers an agent in conversation instead of tapping. The agent can record that answer, but Gavel requires his verbatim words, the session, and the time he said them, labels the record relayed, and keeps it apart from a direct tap.
