#Permissions & control

You decide how much freedom Nourva has for any task — and stopping always works, instantly, at every level.

#Overview

Nourva does real work on your behalf, so you stay in charge of how much it is allowed to do. Before and during any task, you choose a permission level that sets the boundary: from watching Nourva read without touching anything, all the way to letting it carry a whole task through on its own.

This is the heart of staying in control. The right level depends on the task and how much you trust it: start cautious when you are exploring something new, and give more freedom for long, well-understood work you have seen before. You can change the level at any moment, and you can stop at any moment.

#The five levels

Every surface in Nourva — Chat, Arachne, the Shell, and the rest — uses the same five permission levels. They run from most cautious to most autonomous.

Level	What Nourva does
Look only	Reads and inspects, but never changes anything.
Plan first	Proposes a plan and waits for your approval before acting.
Ask before acting	Pauses for your permission before each change.
Work in your workspace	Acts freely inside your project or workspace, and nothing outside it.
Act automatically	Carries the whole task through on its own.

#Look only

Nourva reads, inspects, and reports — and changes nothing at all. This is the safest level: a good way to have Nourva survey a situation, gather information, or show you what it sees before any action is on the table. Use it whenever you want understanding without consequences.

#Plan first

Nourva works out an approach and shows it to you as a plan, then waits. Nothing happens until you approve. This level is ideal when the goal is clear but you want to see and agree with the route before Nourva sets off — you read the plan, adjust if needed, and give the go-ahead.

#Ask before acting

Nourva moves forward one change at a time, pausing for your permission before each one. You stay in the loop at every step, approving as you go. This is the level for delicate or unfamiliar work where you want a hand on each decision without writing out the steps yourself.

#Work in your workspace

Nourva acts freely, but only inside the project or workspace you are working in — and never beyond that boundary. Within those walls the work flows without stopping for each change; outside them, nothing is touched. This is the natural level for focused project work: contained, safe, and unhindered.

#Act automatically

Nourva takes the whole task from start to finish on its own. You describe the outcome and let Nourva reach it without pausing for each step. Reserve this level for long, well-understood tasks you trust — work you have watched Nourva do before and are comfortable handing over completely.

#How to choose

A good level matches both the task and your confidence in it.

Start cautious when you are exploring. Look only and Plan first let you understand a task and see Nourva's approach before anything changes.
Step up as trust grows. Once you have watched a kind of work succeed, Ask before acting and Work in your workspace let it move faster while keeping a boundary you are comfortable with.
Give full freedom for known, lengthy work. Act automatically suits long tasks you understand well and want carried through without interruption.
Match the boundary to the blast radius. When work should stay inside one project, Work in your workspace guarantees it never reaches outside.

Note

The level you set holds for the whole task. When you watch the first run of something new, you see exactly what a higher level would let Nourva do unattended — which is the best way to decide whether to grant it.

#Stopping always works

Whatever level you have chosen, you can stop at any moment, and stopping takes effect immediately. There is no level so autonomous that you lose the ability to halt it. You can also change the level mid-task — tightening it to regain a hand on each change, or loosening it to let well-going work flow — and the new level applies from that point on.

Important

Stopping is always immediate, at every level, on every surface. You are never locked into a running task.

#Examples

You ask:
text
Look through my project and tell me what's there, but don't change anything yet.
What you see: Nourva works at Look only — it surveys your project and reports what it finds, with nothing altered. You decide what to do next.

You ask:
text
Plan how you'd reorganize this before you touch anything.
What you see: Nourva works at Plan first — it presents a plan and waits. Nothing happens until you approve, and you can adjust the plan before giving the go-ahead.

You ask:
text
Go ahead and finish this end to end on your own.
What you see: Nourva works at Act automatically — it carries the task through to a verified result and reports back. You can watch it happen live and stop at any moment.

#Tips

Begin cautious, then loosen. Look only and Plan first cost you nothing and teach you how a task will go; raise the level once you trust it.
Watch the first run. Seeing a new kind of work happen live is the fastest way to know whether you are comfortable handing it to a higher level.
Use Work in your workspace to draw a hard boundary. When you want freedom inside a project and absolute safety outside it, this level gives you both.
Remember stopping is always there. Because you can halt immediately at any level, you can grant more freedom without feeling you have given up control.