# Sanctuary

> Use Sanctuary when you need to convert part of the board into a protected work zone for stabilization, care, or careful execution.

- Skill: `hmbown/sanctuary-2` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add hmbown/sanctuary-2`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/hmbown/sanctuary-2/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: CC0-1.0
- Author: Hmbown (https://skillmd.com/u/hmbown)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/hmbown/sanctuary-2

---

# Sanctuary
Create a patch of field where recovery and precise work become safe.
## What This Skill Does
Use Sanctuary when you need to convert part of the board into a protected work zone for stabilization, care, or careful execution.
In this chip pack, Sanctuary is treated as a hybrid battle-chip procedure with a shipping-now delivery profile.
Canonical reference input: Sanctuary.
Hermes shelf: [Defense and Recovery](../DESCRIPTION.md).
## When To Use

- A task needs a clearly marked safe operating area.
- The room is too hostile for recovery without changing the terrain first.
- You want to protect the next few moves instead of only one hit.

## Prerequisites

- Name which part of this move is real tool use versus battle-chip framing before you act.
- These procedures rely on the normal tools already present in the active Hermes runtime; this repo does not ship a separate integration layer.

## Operator Inputs

- Name the exact zone, branch, or sequence of moves that needs protected operating space.
- Say what work you intend to do inside the sanctuary: recovery, validation, repair, or precision execution.
- State how large the safe zone can be before it becomes hard to maintain.
- Name what threats remain in scope even after the terrain is improved.

## Procedure

1. Restate the target, success condition, and no-touch boundaries before you spend the chip.
2. Collect the operator inputs below so the chip lands on the right panel.
3. Define the exact work zone that needs protection.
4. Change the field so that zone becomes favorable.
5. Spend the sanctuary on meaningful recovery or precise work.
6. Package the result with concrete evidence, what stayed untouched, and the next recommended chip only if follow-up is truly needed.

## Deliverables

- A defined safe work zone, checklist, or protected branch of execution.
- A note on how long the sanctuary should be trusted.

## Output Contract

- A bounded safe operating zone rather than a vague promise of safety.
- A clear statement of what work is authorized inside that zone.
- Limits on size and duration so the sanctuary stays believable and maintainable.
- An explicit boundary showing where protection ends.

## Do Not Use For

- Global safety claims over a chaotic system.
- Indefinite retreat spaces with no planned work inside them.
- Single-hit protection problems better handled by Barrier or Invisible.

## Pair With

- Sanctuary + Repair: secure the work zone, then rebuild the damaged surface inside it.
- Sanctuary + Recovery: create room to heal or stabilize without eating immediate pressure.
- Sanctuary + Barrier: establish a safe zone, then add a small absorb layer at its boundary.

## Pitfalls / Guardrails

- Keep the theatrical framing, but name the concrete mechanism that makes the chip useful right now.
- Do not confuse sanctuary with invulnerability.
- Keep the protected zone small enough to maintain.
- Keep the chip metaphor anchored to a real operating move; do not let flavor substitute for procedure.

## Verification

- Check that the response includes every promised deliverable and leaves an inspectable audit trail.
- Check that confirmed facts, assumptions, and proposed follow-up are visibly separated.
- Confirm the sanctuary has clear boundaries, not just a mood of safety.
- Confirm the protected zone is sized to the next sequence of work rather than the whole battlefield.
- Confirm the response names both the benefits and the remaining threats.
- Check which parts are concrete actions versus framing, so the operator can tell what is real now.

## Example Invocation
```text
Use Sanctuary to define a small safe operating zone for the next repair-and-verify sequence, and explain its limits.
Use Sanctuary here so we can stabilize this branch of work without pretending the whole system is safe.
```