---
title: "Firewall rules: the built-in rules and what Off, Record only and Enforce do"
description: "What are ToolPiper's built-in firewall rules, and what do Off, Record only and Enforce mean for each one?"
date: 2026-10-11
author: "ModelPiper"
tags: ["Security", "Firewall", "Rules", "Agents"]
type: "faq"
canonical: "https://modelpiper.com/help/firewall-rules"
---

# Firewall rules: the built-in rules and what Off, Record only and Enforce do

> What are ToolPiper's built-in firewall rules, and what do Off, Record only and Enforce mean for each one?

ToolPiper has four built-in firewall rules that look at what an agent's session has already done and stop a later call that is risky because of it, such as running a command after reading a web page. Each rule is set to Off, Record only or Enforce. The rules follow your Security level until you change one: off at Disabled and Default, record only at Balanced, and enforce at Strict. Open **Security** in ToolPiper and choose the **Firewall rules** tab to see and change them.

## The four built-in rules

-   After a session reads content from outside this Mac, such as a web page, the rule stops its tools that run commands or change files.
-   After a session reads outside content and then your private data, the rule stops its tools that send or save anything outside ToolPiper.
-   After a session has sent or saved something outside ToolPiper more times than its per-session limit, the rule stops it from doing so again.
-   When ToolPiper cannot follow a caller's session, the rule stops its tools that send or save outside ToolPiper, run commands or change files.

## Off, Record only and Enforce

-   **Off:** the rule does nothing.
-   **Record only:** a call the rule matches still runs, and the match is recorded, so you can see what the rule would have stopped before you enforce it.
-   **Enforce:** a call the rule matches is refused.

## Changing a rule

Each rule has its own three-way switch and a line saying whether it follows the level or you changed it. Choosing the state the level already sets makes the rule follow the level again.

Setting a rule to do less, toward Off or Record only, asks for your password or Touch ID. Setting it toward Enforce asks for nothing. The row says so before you click.

## During a pause

While a pause is on, a rule the level sets to Enforce only records until the pause ends. A rule you switched to Enforce yourself still enforces, because it is your own choice.

## Rules you wrote

Below the built-in rules, the tab lists the rules you wrote. A rule you wrote can refuse a call or ask before it, and it applies at every Security level. One that asks is answered with a click, and with your password or Touch ID at Strict. A rule you wrote with the same id as a built-in rule replaces that built-in rule, and its row says so.

**Replay against the trail** runs every rule on the tab against your recent calls and shows what each would have matched. It changes nothing. A rule that is still being tried out has **Promote to enforcing** when you are ready for it to take effect.

## Resetting to the level

On the Security Overview, **Reset** beside Firewall rules clears every switch you changed so all four rules follow the level again. It shows the exact list first and writes nothing until you confirm. Clearing a switch so that a rule does less asks for your password or Touch ID.