explain command

explain shows, step by step, how CC Safety Net analyzes a command. Use it to learn why a command is blocked or allowed, or how a custom rule applies.

npx cc-safety-net explain "git reset --hard"
bunx cc-safety-net explain "git reset --hard"

explain options

Flag	Description
`--json`	Output the full analysis result as JSON
`--cwd <path>`	Analyze as if run from this working directory
`-h`, `--help`	Show help

npx cc-safety-net explain "rm -rf /"
npx cc-safety-net explain --json "git checkout -- file.txt"
npx cc-safety-net explain --cwd /tmp "git status"

See the Explain trace reference for the --json schema, the ExplainResult fields, and every TraceStep variant.

Explain a command that starts with a dash

-- ends option parsing, and everything after it is the command. So explain -- --help explains the literal command --help instead of printing help. Quote the command as one argument to keep shell operators such as | and && in it.

explain exit code

explain exits 0 for both blocked and allowed results, so read the result field instead of the exit code. It exits 1 on an option error, such as an unknown option or a --cwd path that does not exist, and on a command it refuses to analyze.

Commands explain refuses to analyze

explain refuses a command that exceeds CC Safety Net’s analysis limits, or whose syntax the parser rejects, such as echo ${. It exits 1 with a one-line error. With --json, stdout holds only an error object:

npx cc-safety-net explain --json 'echo ${'

{"error":"Command could not be safely analyzed (strict mode). Simplify the command and retry, or ask the user to verify."}

When an agent runs such a command, CC Safety Net blocks it with a fixed denial id.

Explain output can contain your command, its tokens, and absolute paths, including your home directory. Read Before you share a trace first.

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explain options

Explain a command that starts with a dash

explain exit code

Commands explain refuses to analyze

​explain options

​Explain a command that starts with a dash

​explain exit code

​Commands explain refuses to analyze

​Sharing explain output

explain options

Explain a command that starts with a dash

explain exit code

Commands explain refuses to analyze

Sharing explain output