How do I install the Sanitize skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/sanitize in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Sanitize safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Sanitize?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Sanitize free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Sanitize?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Sanitize by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Sanitize
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

File contents

AgentWard Sanitize

Detect and redact personally identifiable information (PII) from text files.

IMPORTANT — PII Safety Rules

Do NOT read the input file directly. It may contain sensitive PII.
ALWAYS use --output FILE to write sanitized output to a file.
Only read the OUTPUT file, never the raw input.
Only show the user the redacted output, never the raw input.
--json and --preview are safe — they do NOT print raw PII values to stdout.
The entity map (raw PII → placeholder mapping) is written to a separate sidecar file (*.entity-map.json) only when --output is used. Do NOT read the entity map file.

What it does

Scans files for PII — credit cards, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, API keys, IP addresses, mailing addresses, dates of birth, passport numbers, driver's license numbers, bank routing numbers, medical license numbers, and insurance member IDs — and replaces each instance with a numbered placeholder like [CREDIT_CARD_1].

Usage

Sanitize a file (RECOMMENDED — always use --output)

python scripts/sanitize.py patient-notes.txt --output clean.txt

Preview mode (detect PII categories/offsets without showing raw values)

python scripts/sanitize.py notes.md --preview

JSON output (safe — no raw PII in stdout)

python scripts/sanitize.py report.txt --json --output clean.txt

Filter to specific categories

python scripts/sanitize.py log.txt --categories ssn,credit_card,email --output clean.txt

Supported PII categories

See references/SUPPORTED_PII.md for the full list with detection methods and false positive mitigation.

Category	Pattern type	Example
`credit_card`	Luhn-validated 13-19 digits	4111 1111 1111 1111
`ssn`	3-2-4 digit groups	123-45-6789
`cvv`	Keyword-anchored 3-4 digits	CVV: 123
`expiry_date`	Keyword-anchored MM/YY	expiry 01/30
`api_key`	Provider prefix patterns	sk-abc..., ghp_..., AKIA...
`email`	Standard email format	user@example.com
`phone`	US/intl phone numbers	+1 (555) 123-4567
`ip_address`	IPv4 addresses	192.168.1.100
`date_of_birth`	Keyword-anchored dates	DOB: 03/15/1985
`passport`	Keyword-anchored alphanumeric	Passport: AB1234567
`drivers_license`	Keyword-anchored alphanumeric	DL: D12345678
`bank_routing`	Keyword-anchored 9 digits	routing: 021000021
`address`	Street + city/state/zip	742 Evergreen Terrace Dr, Springfield, IL 62704
`medical_license`	Keyword-anchored license ID	License: CA-MD-8827341
`insurance_id`	Keyword-anchored member/policy ID	Member ID: BCB-2847193

Security and Privacy

All processing is local. The script makes zero network calls. No data leaves your machine.
Zero dependencies. Uses only Python standard library — no third-party packages to audit.
PII never reaches stdout. The --json and --preview modes strip raw PII values from output. The entity map (containing raw PII to placeholder mappings) is only written to a sidecar file on disk when --output is used.
Designed for agent safety. The skill instructions above tell the agent to never read the raw input file or the entity map file — only the sanitized output.

Requirements

Python 3.11+
No external dependencies (stdlib only)

About

Built by AgentWard — the open-source permission control plane for AI agents.

---name: sanitizedescription: Detect and redact PII from text files. Supports 15 categories including credit cards, SSNs, emails, API keys, addresses, and more — with zero dependencies.--- # AgentWard Sanitize Detect and redact personally identifiable information (PII) from text files. ## IMPORTANT — PII Safety Rules - Do NOT read the input file directly. It may contain sensitive PII. - ALWAYS use `--output FILE` to write sanitized output to a file. - Only read the OUTPUT file, never the raw input. - Only show the user the redacted output, never the raw input. - `--json` and `--preview` are safe — they do NOT print raw PII values to stdout. - The entity map (raw PII → placeholder mapping) is written to a separate sidecar file (`*.entity-map.json`) only when `--output` is used. Do NOT read the entity map file. ## What it does Scans files for PII — credit cards, SSNs, emails, phone numbers, API keys, IP addresses, mailing addresses, dates of birth, passport numbers, driver's license numbers, bank routing numbers, medical license numbers, and insurance member IDs — and replaces each instance with a numbered placeholder like `[CREDIT_CARD_1]`. ## Usage ### Sanitize a file (RECOMMENDED — always use --output) ```bash python scripts/sanitize.py patient-notes.txt --output clean.txt ``` ### Preview mode (detect PII categories/offsets without showing raw values) ```bash python scripts/sanitize.py notes.md --preview ``` ### JSON output (safe — no raw PII in stdout) ```bash python scripts/sanitize.py report.txt --json --output clean.txt ``` ### Filter to specific categories ```bash python scripts/sanitize.py log.txt --categories ssn,credit_card,email --output clean.txt ``` ## Supported PII categories See `references/SUPPORTED_PII.md` for the full list with detection methods and false positive mitigation. | Category | Pattern type | Example | |---|---|---| | `credit_card` | Luhn-validated 13-19 digits | 4111 1111 1111 1111 | | `ssn` | 3-2-4 digit groups | 123-45-6789 | | `cvv` | Keyword-anchored 3-4 digits | CVV: 123 | | `expiry_date` | Keyword-anchored MM/YY | expiry 01/30 | | `api_key` | Provider prefix patterns | sk-abc..., ghp_..., AKIA... | | `email` | Standard email format | user@example.com | | `phone` | US/intl phone numbers | +1 (555) 123-4567 | | `ip_address` | IPv4 addresses | 192.168.1.100 | | `date_of_birth` | Keyword-anchored dates | DOB: 03/15/1985 | | `passport` | Keyword-anchored alphanumeric | Passport: AB1234567 | | `drivers_license` | Keyword-anchored alphanumeric | DL: D12345678 | | `bank_routing` | Keyword-anchored 9 digits | routing: 021000021 | | `address` | Street + city/state/zip | 742 Evergreen Terrace Dr, Springfield, IL 62704 | | `medical_license` | Keyword-anchored license ID | License: CA-MD-8827341 | | `insurance_id` | Keyword-anchored member/policy ID | Member ID: BCB-2847193 | ## Security and Privacy - **All processing is local.** The script makes zero network calls. No data leaves your machine. - **Zero dependencies.** Uses only Python standard library — no third-party packages to audit. - **PII never reaches stdout.** The `--json` and `--preview` modes strip raw PII values from output. The entity map (containing raw PII to placeholder mappings) is only written to a sidecar file on disk when `--output` is used. - **Designed for agent safety.** The skill instructions above tell the agent to never read the raw input file or the entity map file — only the sanitized output. ## Requirements - Python 3.11+ - No external dependencies (stdlib only) ## About Built by [AgentWard](https://agentward.ai) — the open-source permission control plane for AI agents.

Frequently asked questions

Sanitize