Forge-tlp TLP

TLP file access control — RED/AMBER/GREEN/CLEAR classification, .tlp config, frontmatter overrides. USE WHEN accessing protected files or configuring file access policies.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/N4M3Z/forge-tlp

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/N4M3Z/forge-tlp "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/TLP" ~/.claude/skills/n4m3z-forge-tlp-tlp-d4c47c && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/TLP/SKILL.md

source content

Traffic Light Protocol (TLP)

TLP classifies files by sensitivity. A

.tlp

config at the directory root defines path-based defaults. First match wins. Unlisted files default to AMBER.

Levels

Level	Read	Edit/Write
`RED`	Blocked entirely	Blocked entirely
`AMBER`	Blocked — requires user approval, then use `safe-read`	Allowed (never output content verbatim). Edit/Write emit a warning.
`GREEN`	Allowed	Allowed
`CLEAR`	Allowed	Allowed

How It Works

The

tlp-guard

hook intercepts Read, Edit, and Write tool calls. It walks up from the file path to the nearest

.tlp

config, classifies the file, and enforces the level.

If the

.tlp

config file exists but cannot be read (e.g., corrupted or permission error), all files are treated as RED until fixed (fail-closed).

AMBER approval flow

You try to Read a file →
```
tlp-guard
```
blocks (exit 2)
The block message tells you to ask the user and provides a
```
safe-read
```
command
User approves → use the
```
safe-read
```
command via Bash (see
```
/SafeRead
```
skill)
```
safe-read
```
outputs the file with
```
#tlp/red
```
sections and secrets stripped
User declines → do not read the file

The

.tlp

Config File

Place a

.tlp

file at the root of any directory tree to protect it. Patterns are glob-style against relative paths in a .yaml file

RED:
  - "*.pdf"
  - "Resources/Contacts/**"

AMBER:
  - "Resources/Journals/**"

GREEN:
  - "Topics/**"
  - "Resources/Agents/**"

CLEAR:
  - ".tlp"
  - "CLAUDE.md"

Supported patterns:

```
*.ext
```
— match files by extension anywhere
```
dir/**
```
— match all files under a directory prefix
```
exact/path.md
```
— match a specific file

Frontmatter Override

Files can override their path-based classification with a

tlp:

field in YAML frontmatter:

---
tlp: RED
---

The effective level is the more restrictive of path-based and frontmatter-based classification. This means a file can escalate its protection (e.g.,

GREEN

path +

RED

frontmatter =

RED

), but never downgrade it (e.g.,

AMBER

path +

GREEN

frontmatter =

AMBER

Valid values:

RED

AMBER

GREEN

CLEAR

(case-insensitive). Unrecognized values are ignored.

Inline Redaction Markers

Within AMBER files,

#tlp/red

marks the start of redacted content. Processed by

safe-read

(see

/SafeRead

skill).

Block mode

#tlp/red

alone on a line starts a multi-line redacted section, ended by

#tlp/amber

#tlp/green

, or

#tlp/clear

alone on a line:

Normal content visible to the AI.

#tlp/red
Private content the AI must not see.
#tlp/amber

Back to normal content.

Output: the entire section between markers is replaced with a single

[REDACTED]

line.

Inline mode

#tlp/red

mid-line redacts from the marker to the next

#tlp/*

boundary tag on the same line, or to end of line:

Normal text #tlp/red secret text #tlp/amber more normal text.
Text with #tlp/red secret to end of line

Output:

Normal text [REDACTED] more normal text.
Text with [REDACTED]

Rules

Unterminated
```
#tlp/red
```
redacts to end of file (block mode) or end of line (inline mode) — fail-safe
Each block-mode redacted section is replaced with a single
```
[REDACTED]
```
line
Each inline redacted span is replaced with
```
[REDACTED]
```
in place

Related Skills

```
/SafeRead
```
— runtime redaction tools (
```
safe-read
```
,
```
blind-metadata
```
)
```
/SecretScan
```
— commit-time secret scanning with gitleaks

dispatch skill-load forge-tlp