Add a glob pattern as an explicit deny rule in your custom policy.
Usage
rampart block <pattern> [flags]
Arguments
pattern (required)
Glob pattern to match against commands (exec tool) or file paths (read/write/edit).
Flags
Write to global policy (~/.rampart/policies/custom.yaml)
Write to project policy (.rampart/policy.yaml)
--tool
string
default:"auto-detect"
Tool type: exec, read, write, edit (default: auto-detect from pattern)
Optional reason displayed when the rule matches
--api
string
default:"http://127.0.0.1:9090"
Rampart serve API address for policy reload
API auth token (or set RAMPART_TOKEN)
Examples
Block piped execution
rampart block "curl * | bash"
Adding rule to project policy (.rampart/policy.yaml):
Action: deny
Pattern: curl * | bash
Tool: exec
Add this rule? [y/N] y
✓ Rule added to policy.yaml
Policy reloaded (12 rules active)
Block destructive commands
rampart block "rm -rf *"
rampart block "DROP TABLE *"
rampart block "kubectl delete * --all-namespaces"
Block writes to /etc
rampart block "/etc/**" --tool write
Adding rule to project policy (.rampart/policy.yaml):
Action: deny
Pattern: /etc/**
Tool: write
Add this rule? [y/N] y
✓ Rule added to policy.yaml
Block npm publish
rampart block "npm publish *" \
--message "Publishing requires manual approval"
Non-interactive (CI)
rampart block "rm -rf /" --yes --global
Pattern matching
Patterns are matched against:
- Commands (exec tool):
curl * | bash, rm -rf *, etc.
- File paths (read/write/edit):
/etc/**, ~/.ssh/*, etc.
Rampart auto-detects whether the pattern is a command or path based on whether it contains a /.
Target selection
By default, Rampart writes to:
- Project policy (
.rampart/policy.yaml) if in a git repo
- Global policy (
~/.rampart/policies/custom.yaml) otherwise
Override with flags:
# Force global
rampart block "curl * | bash" --global
# Force project
rampart block "rm -rf *" --project
Pattern syntax
Wildcards
* — Match any characters except /** — Match any characters including /? — Match a single character[abc] — Match any character in the set[a-z] — Match any character in the range
Examples
# Block all curl commands
rampart block "curl *"
# Block all .env file reads
rampart block "**/.env" --tool read
# Block specific file writes
rampart block "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" --tool write
# Block directories
rampart block "~/secrets/**"
Common blocks
Credential theft
rampart block "curl -d @*.env *"
rampart block "curl -d @*credentials* *"
rampart block "cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa | *"
Destructive operations
rampart block "rm -rf *"
rampart block "sudo rm -rf *"
rampart block "mkfs *"
rampart block "dd if=/dev/zero *"
Supply chain attacks
rampart block "npm publish *"
rampart block "pip install --index-url http://*"
rampart block "gem push *"
Privilege escalation
rampart block "sudo *"
rampart block "su *"
rampart block "chmod +s *"
SSH key tampering
rampart block "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" --tool write
rampart block "~/.ssh/id_rsa" --tool write
rampart block "/etc/ssh/sshd_config" --tool write
Production database operations
rampart block "DROP TABLE *"
rampart block "DELETE FROM * WHERE 1=1"
rampart block "TRUNCATE TABLE *"
rampart block "ALTER TABLE * DROP *"
Policy reload
If rampart serve is running, the policy is automatically reloaded:
✓ Rule added to custom.yaml
Policy reloaded (15 rules active)
Saved to ~/.rampart/policies/custom.yaml
(Run 'rampart serve' to activate changes immediately)
Use cases
Team-shared blocks (project policy)
cd ~/my-project
rampart block "npm publish *" --project
rampart block "rm -rf node_modules" --project
git add .rampart/policy.yaml
git commit -m "Add Rampart project policy"
Personal blocks (global policy)
rampart block "sudo rm -rf /" --global
rampart block "curl * | bash" --global
CI enforcement
#!/bin/bash
# Add blocks before running agent
rampart block "npm publish *" --yes --global
rampart block "git push --force origin main" --yes --global
# Run agent with policy enforced
rampart wrap -- your-agent-command
Troubleshooting
Pattern already exists
⚠️ Pattern already exists: deny exec "rm -rf *"
Use 'rampart rules' to view existing rules.
Too broad
⚠️ Warning: Overly permissive pattern
• matches ALL commands/paths — effectively disables policy
Add this rule? [y/N]
# Bad
rampart block "**"
# Good
rampart block "rm -rf *"
rampart block "curl * | bash"
Policy not reloaded
Saved to custom.yaml
(Run 'rampart serve' to activate changes immediately)
See also