# Principle Never Block On The Human

> Apply when tempted to ask 'should I do X?' on reversible work. Proceed, present the result, let the human course-correct after the fact; reserve confirmation for irreversible actions.

- Skill: `cursor/principle-never-block-on-the-human` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cursor/principle-never-block-on-the-human`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cursor/principle-never-block-on-the-human/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: cursor (https://skillmd.com/u/cursor)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cursor/principle-never-block-on-the-human

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# Never Block on the Human

The human supervises asynchronously. Agents must stay unblocked. Make reasonable decisions, proceed, and let the human course-correct after the fact.

**Why:** Every permission pause stalls the pipeline and makes the human the bottleneck. Since code changes are reversible and reviewable, a wrong decision usually costs less than blocking.

**Pattern:**
- **Proceed, then present.** Do the work, show the result. Don't ask "should I do X?" Do X, explain why.
- **Reserve questions for genuine ambiguity.** Ask only when you cannot infer intent from context.
- **Make the system self-healing.** When you notice a problem, log it and fix it in the next round.
- **Supervision is async.** Design workflows for review-after-the-fact.

**Boundaries:**
- **Irreversible actions** (force-push, delete production data, send external messages) still require confirmation.
- **Reversible actions** (write code, edit notes, split tasks) should proceed without blocking.
- **Product direction** comes from the human. *Execution* should not block.