writ amend

Change the bounds of a writ.

writ amend <file> [flags]

The command rewrites the bound terms in the file and keeps the comments of the file.

Flags

Flag	Purpose
--cost <amount>	Set the cost bound, such as $2.50.
--iterations <number>	Set the iteration bound.
--wall-clock <duration>	Set the time bound, such as 20m.
--max-files <number>	Set the changed files bound. A value of 0 removes the bound.
--max-changed-lines <number>	Set the changed lines bound. A value of 0 removes the bound.
--yes	Apply a widening amendment without a question.

Narrow and widen

The command treats the two directions differently.

Direction	Behaviour
Narrow	The command applies the change at once.
Widen	The command asks for confirmation first.

A narrower bound gives the agent less authority, so the change is safe. A wider bound gives the agent more authority, so a person must agree to it.

# Narrower. This applies at once.
writ amend bug-fixer.yaml --cost $1.00

# Wider. This asks first.
writ amend bug-fixer.yaml --cost $5.00

To answer the question in advance, add --yes:

writ amend bug-fixer.yaml --cost $5.00 --yes

Caution

Use --yes in a script only when the script itself is the authority for the wider bound. The question is the control that stops an agent from raising its own limits.

Change more than one bound

writ amend bug-fixer.yaml --iterations 60 --wall-clock 30m

The command examines each change. If one change widens a bound, the command asks about that change.

Remove a bound

Set the value to 0:

writ amend bug-fixer.yaml --max-files 0

This removes the limit on the number of changed files. Removal is a widening amendment, so the command asks first.

Why the command and not an editor

An editor works. The command is better for three reasons:

• The command validates the file, so a bad value cannot enter the file.
• The command knows the direction of each change, so a widening amendment needs a person.
• The file is the state of the writ at rest, and the amendment enters the record when detached runs exist.