Definition
Plain language
Permission to change or delete files, not just look at them.
As stated in the literature
A permission level granting create/modify/delete operations on a resource; agents with write access to the repository or config governing their own orchestration can alter their own shutdown path.
Also called: write permissions, delete access, read access
Why it matters: Write access is the line between an agent that can only observe its environment and one that can reshape it, which is why permissions are often the practical safety control in agent deployments.
For example, an agent with read-only access can open a shutdown script and see what it does, while an agent with write access can change that script or delete it.
Heard on the show
“To modify source code at a real company, you need repo write access, you go through PR review, you trigger CI checks, you leave git history with your name on it.”Episode 039 — When Smarter Agents Get Fooled by Three Extra Nodes in a Database