# tlp

> Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) file access control. This skill should be used when the user asks about TLP levels (RED, AMBER, GREEN, CLEAR), file classification, reading protected files, safe-read, blind-metadata, redacted reading, inline redaction markers, secret detection, .tlp configuration, file access policies, or frontmatter TLP overrides.

- Author: Martin Zeman
- Repository: N4M3Z/context-tlp
- Version: 20260203014955
- Stars: 1
- Forks: 0
- Last Updated: 2026-02-06
- Source: https://github.com/N4M3Z/context-tlp
- Web: https://mule.run/skillshub/@@N4M3Z/context-tlp~tlp:20260203014955

---

---
name: tlp
description: Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) file access control. This skill should be used when the user asks about TLP levels (RED, AMBER, GREEN, CLEAR), file classification, reading protected files, safe-read, blind-metadata, redacted reading, inline redaction markers, secret detection, .tlp configuration, file access policies, or frontmatter TLP overrides.
version: 0.2.0
---

# 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

1. You try to Read a file → `tlp-guard` blocks (exit 2)
2. The block message tells you to ask the user and provides a `safe-read` command
3. User approves → use the `safe-read` command via Bash
4. `safe-read` outputs the file with redacted sections marked by inline tags `#tlp/red` (resulting in secrets stripped)
5. 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

```yaml
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:

```yaml
---
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. It works in two modes:

### 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:

```markdown
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:

```markdown
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

## CLI Tools

### safe-read

Read a file with inline `#tlp/red` sections stripped and secrets redacted:

```bash
Plugins/context-tlp/bin/safe-read "/path/to/file.md"
```

**Secret detection**: `safe-read` automatically scans for known API key and credential patterns (sourced from [gitleaks](https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks)) and replaces them with `[SECRET REDACTED]`. Coverage includes 45+ services: Anthropic, OpenAI, AWS, GCP, GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Stripe, npm, SendGrid, Twilio, MongoDB connection strings, PEM private keys, and many more.

A warning is emitted to stderr when secrets are found.

`RED` files are refused entirely — safe-read only handles AMBER and below.

### blind-metadata

Bulk YAML frontmatter operations. Useful for managing `tlp:` fields across files without reading content:

```bash
# Set a key on all .md files in a directory
Plugins/context-tlp/bin/blind-metadata set <directory> <key> <value>

# Get a key from all .md files
Plugins/context-tlp/bin/blind-metadata get <directory> <key>

# List files missing a key
Plugins/context-tlp/bin/blind-metadata has <directory> <key>
```

Supports absolute paths and vault-relative paths (walks up to find `.tlp` root).