Proposing changes

An agent proposes a change by editing files under ~/context in its sandbox. There is no special command. The agent writes the file the way it would write any other file.

From edit to change

1. The agent creates, edits, or deletes a file under ~/context.
2. Helios waits for a quiet period of about 25 seconds after the agent last touched that folder.
3. Helios records which files changed and uploads them to a staging area that belongs to this session.
4. The staged files appear as one change in the Changes inbox. A change carries the session that produced it, the number of files, and the time.

The live Library does not move at any point in this list. Staged files are copies. Other people and other agents still see the previous version until someone approves the change. See reviewing changes.

One change per session

A change belongs to one chat or one workflow run. If the agent keeps editing, the same change is updated with the newer files. A change stays open until every file in it is approved or discarded.

If the agent rewrites a file after you reviewed it, approving the old version is refused. Helios asks you to review the file again.

Read-only folders

A folder that is read-only for the run is still writable on disk inside the sandbox. The agent can change the file locally and keep working with it. Those edits still show up in the change, but they cannot be approved. Approval checks the access the run was granted.

If you want an agent to be able to update a folder, give the person or service account the run belongs to editor access on that path. See permissions.

Scratch files

Each run has its own scratch folder at ~/context/agent. Use it for working files that only this run needs. Tell the agent to write drafts there and to move only the finished file into the shared tree.

Pause and resume

A sandbox stops after a period of inactivity. Edits that were staged but not yet approved are replayed when the sandbox resumes, so the agent picks up where it left off.

Writing prompts for the Library

Say where the file should go and what it is for. Paths are what the agent sees in the sandbox.

Read ~/context/organization/support/tone.md before you answer.
Write the summary to ~/context/project/support-triage/digests/2026-09-07.md.
Do not edit anything else under ~/context.

Next

• Reviewing changes - approve or discard each file.
• Limits - file sizes and what is not possible yet.