Play / The map / The mandates / Chat, with connectors switched on

Chat, with connectors switched on

I connected my drive and my mail so it could answer questions about them. Reading is what I wanted. I did not want it sending mail, and I did not want it pushing code anywhere — it is a chat window.

Status: starting-point · authored 2026-09-09 · the site, as a starting point — not measured, not surveyed; the first thing to argue with · edit this mandate

The delta

Against every profile this mandate applies to. ▲ is authority you did not ask for; ▼ is something you were counting on that is not there. The tally is at the bottom.

▲ excess — it can, and you did not want it to▼ shortfall — it cannot, and you wanted it to✓ aligned — it can, and you wanted it to– aligned — it cannot, and you did not want it to? it can, and the mandate does not say· it cannot, and the mandate does not say

Capability	Claude.aiconnectors on
filesystem
Read the project it is working on	✓
Change the project it is working on	·
Read any file the account can reachhere host means the connected drive, per the profile's own reach names — this is the want	✓
Change any file the account can reach	·
Delete files anywhere the account can reach	·
Read a retained record: shell history, past sessions	·
process
Run programs as the account	·
Run programs inside its own sandbox only	·
network
Reach a permitted list of hosts	·
Reach any host on the internet	·
identity
Read credentials stored where it runs	·
Act in accounts with the credentials it holdsunstated: it is how a connector works; the question is what it is used for, which is the two rows below it	?
Change its own permission settings	·
communication
Send a message to anyone	–
Read mail or chat it is connected to	✓
code
Commit to the repository it was pointed at	·
Push to a code host (any branch it can reach)	▲
Sign commits with the key it holds	·
Publish packages, images or pages under the name it holds	·
money
Spend money or tokens against an account it holds	·
schedule
Create something that outlives the turn where it runs (a cron, a service)	·
Create something that outlives the session, on the platform (a routine, a scheduled trigger, a new session)	·
browser
Read every page you visit	·
The delta	▲ 1 ▼ 0

In words

Claude.ai — connectors on: excess — Push to a code host (any branch it can reach). No shortfall.

The mandate, row by row

Capability	Position	Note
Read the project it is working on	want
Read any file the account can reach	want	here host means the connected drive, per the profile's own reach names — this is the want
Read mail or chat it is connected to	want
Send a message to anyone	do not want
Push to a code host (any branch it can reach)	do not want
Act in accounts with the credentials it holds	unstated	unstated: it is how a connector works; the question is what it is used for, which is the two rows below it

You cannot deny the excess rows. The agent already has the access. What is left is how long you are prepared to live with each one and who says so — what to do next.