Docs · Risks

Risks

Leash moves real money when it is in live mode. Read this before you turn it on.

What Leash protects against

Payments outside your rules. Two checks (the hook and the server) must agree, and anything outside leash.config either asks you or is blocked.
Prompt injection. A recipient that only appears in an issue, a PR, a web page or a file is never paid without you, even if it matches a rule.
The agent changing its own rules. The agent's tools are denied the file; an edit made any other way un-pins it, and every payment asks you again.

You approving a bad payment. An "ask" is a prompt you answer. Read it.
A rule that is too wide. If you allow $800 a month to someone, the agent can pay them $800 a month.
Reading the rules from the shell. Blocking reads is best effort. Knowing the rules doesn't let the agent go around them, but run Claude Code in its sandbox if you need a hard wall.
Bypass-permissions mode. With --dangerously-skip-permissions, "ask" can't reach you. Don't use it for sessions that can pay.

Runner risk. A runner may not pay. If the job isn't marked paid by its deadline, expire() refunds everything; if nothing arrived, dispute within 24 h.
Dispute outcomes. An arbiter decides on the evidence. Funds go to the runner or back to the agent, nowhere else.
Smart-contract and chain risk. LeashEscrow is a public contract on Robinhood Chain. It has been tested and reviewed internally but not audited by a third party. Bugs or chain outages can delay or lock funds. Hard caps limit the damage: $1,000 per job, $5,000 per agent per day.
Stablecoin risk. Jobs are funded in USDG, a stablecoin, which carries issuer and depeg risk. The issuer can freeze addresses: a frozen runner's or agent's money waits in the escrow until the issuer unfreezes it.
Arbiter risk. Each job's arbiter is fixed when it's funded. If the arbiter is unavailable for 30 days, a disputed job refunds the agent.
Wallet key. Whoever holds LEASH_AGENT_PRIVATE_KEY holds the agent's funds. Keep only what you need in it.

Leash is not a bank and nothing here is financial advice.