Ar Workspace Safety

AR Workspace Safety

The single source of truth for two questions:

1. Where can I write/delete on this machine?
2. How do I run Python and install packages safely?

This skill is independent. Apply it even when the user asks for "just a quick install" or "just delete this".

Default Paths

AR_IN_CC=.
DATA_DISK=.
WORKSPACE=$DATA_DISK/workspace

If $DATA_DISK is unclear, ask once before any destructive action.

Writable Paths

Top-level layout under workspace/:

$DATA_DISK/workspace/
├── projects/
├── artifacts/
├── scratch/
└── envs/
    ├── .miniconda/
    └── <env_name>/

Initialize idempotently:

mkdir -p "$DATA_DISK/workspace"/{projects,artifacts,scratch,envs}

Forbidden Paths (No Write, No Delete)

• /, /etc, /usr, /var, /opt, /boot
• ~/.ssh/**, authorized_keys, sshd_config, any private key
• .git/ internals
• other users' home directories
• shared dataset directories unless the user explicitly says they are writable
• .env, credential files, API key files
• system Python and /usr/bin/python*

Hard Rules

1. NEVER rm -rf outside $DATA_DISK/workspace/.
2. NEVER git reset --hard, git clean -fdx, or broad git checkout unless the user explicitly asks AND you list what will be lost.
3. NEVER read, print, copy, or commit private keys or API secrets.
4. Before deleting more than one file, list every target and ask.
5. Before deleting a conda env, verify nothing is using it:

   pgrep -af "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>/bin/python" || true
   

6. NEVER sudo for ar-runtime skills work.
7. NEVER conda init or edit ~/.bashrc. Always activate inline.
8. NEVER use system python3 for experiment code.
9. NEVER naked pip install <pkg> to fix a missing import. Install into the profile env only.
10. If the user says "clean up", propose specific paths and wait for confirmation.

Correct Python And Conda Usage

This is the canonical answer to "how do I run/install python on this machine".

Workspace-local Miniconda (one-time install)

mkdir -p "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs"
curl -fsSL -o /tmp/miniconda.sh https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
bash /tmp/miniconda.sh -b -p "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda"
rm /tmp/miniconda.sh
"$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/bin/conda" --version

No sudo. No conda init. No ~/.bashrc edits.

Create / reuse env (path-based, never -n)

"$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/bin/conda" create \
  -p "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>" python=3.11 -y

From an environment.yml:

"$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/bin/conda" env create \
  -p "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>" \
  -f "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects/<workspace_name>/environment.yml"

Activate inline before every Python or pip call

source "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" && \
conda activate "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>" && \
python -c 'import sys; print(sys.executable)'

sys.executable MUST end with <env_name>/bin/python. If it does not, the env is wrong — stop, do not run user code.

One-shot alternative (no activation, but explicit env):

"$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>/bin/python" \
  "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects/<workspace_name>/<script>"

Install dependencies (only into the profile env)

source "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" && \
conda activate "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>" && \
pip install -r "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects/<workspace_name>/requirements.txt"

PyTorch (CUDA 12.1):

source "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/.miniconda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh" && \
conda activate "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/<env_name>" && \
pip install torch torchvision --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu121

After successful install, lock:

pip freeze > "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects/<workspace_name>/requirements.lock.txt"

What NOT to do

python3 script.py                    # NO — system Python
pip install numpy                    # NO — naked install, lands wherever
conda create -n <name> python=3.11   # NO — name-based env, not path-based
conda activate base                  # NO — base is not for experiments
sudo apt install python3-...         # NO — never sudo for ar-runtime skills
echo 'conda activate ...' >> ~/.bashrc  # NO — never edit shell startup

Cleanup Procedure

Always propose specific paths first. Safe candidates:

find "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects" -type d -name __pycache__ -print
find "$DATA_DISK/workspace/projects" -type f -name '*.pyc' -print
du -sh "$DATA_DISK/workspace/artifacts/"* 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20
du -sh "$DATA_DISK/workspace/envs/"*/ 2>/dev/null | sort -h | tail -20

Show the list. Wait for confirmation. Then delete with the narrowest possible glob.

API Keys

API keys live in environment variables only:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='...'
export OPENAI_API_KEY='...'

Never write secrets into README.md, YAML, JSON, logs, scripts, or chat output.

Anti-Patterns

• "Just pip install <pkg> to unblock the script" → no, install into the profile env.
• "It worked because base was active" → base is forbidden for experiments.
• pkill -f python without first listing matches.
• rm -rf <path> with a glob that has not been visually confirmed.
• Editing ~/.bashrc to make a one-off command convenient.
• Reading ~/.ssh/id_rsa "just to check it exists".