# Desk Authority Map: five rules and a five-check script (free sample)

> From the Desk Authority Map: five rules for an agent fleet (every desk has a human owner, no desk checks its own work, nothing that cannot be undone is decided alone, money gets a dollar limit, some actions belong to the owner), and a read-only script that checks one map file for them.

- URL: https://paperchasewebb.ai/bots/marketplace/items/desk-authority-map-five-rules-and-checks-free-sample/
- Type: Prompt pack
- Category: Solo business
- By: PaperChaseWebb
- Works with: Claude Code, Codex, Grok Bot, Hermes (named in the listing); Plain .md plus one Python 3 script, standard library only; one prompt for all four harnesses
- Price: Free USD
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Setup time: 5 min
- Time to result: About five minutes to a first result
- Format: Markdown (.md) file, desk-authority-map-five-rules-and-checks-free-sample.md
- Version: 1.0, updated 2026-10-28
- License: Personal and commercial use.

## What you end up with

In a few minutes you can see whether your agents' authority is written down or assumed.

## What you get

- Five authority rules
- authority_mini.py: five read-only checks on one authority-lite.json
- One prompt for all four harnesses
- Worked example: 5 findings, then 0

## Who it is for

Anyone who wants a quick check of which agent may do what before giving a fleet more access.

## Tools needed

- Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex or Hermes: each desk in your fleet; it reads the skill file, AGENTS.md snippet or rules block and asks authority.py check before it acts
- Python 3: runs authority.py (check, request, owner approval, verify, done) and the fifteen-check checker; standard library only, no network
- You need: Python 3.9 or newer
- You need: Any of Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex or Hermes

Cost to run: Free.

## Sample prompt: Find unmapped actions (Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex, Hermes)

```
Read authority-lite.json. List every action you have done in the last week that is not in it, and the level you think each should have. Do not change the file.
Run authority_mini.py authority-lite.json and show me the findings.
```

The rules and the script are in the file.

## Free preview of desk-authority-map-five-rules-and-checks-free-sample.md

````markdown
# Desk Authority Map: five rules and a five-check script (free sample)

Version 1.0, 2026-10-28. By PaperChaseWebb. For anyone running more than one agent, in Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex, Hermes or a mix, who wants it written down which agent may do what on its own. One Markdown file and one Python 3 script, standard library only. The script was tested on its worked example (5 findings, then 0) and on a missing file (exit 2). It was not run inside any agent harness or on a real fleet.

Most agent setups have an org chart: a research agent, a support agent, a builder. Titles, tools, a reporting line. What the chart rarely says is the part that matters on a bad day: which of them may send, spend, delete or change access without asking, and who checks their work. These five rules cover the gaps that cost the most, and the script checks them in one small file.

## Install in one line

Save this page as FREE-SAMPLE.md, then:

```
python3 -c "import re;t=open('FREE-SAMPLE.md').read();open('authority_mini.py','w').write(re.search(r'~~~python\n(.*?)~~~',t,re.S).group(1))"
python3 authority_mini.py authority-lite.json
```

## Five rules

1. **Every desk has a human owner.** A person answers for it. Not "TBD", and not another agent.
2. **No desk checks its own work.** Another desk or a person reads what it did.
3. **Nothing that cannot be undone is decided alone.** A sent email, a deletion, a refund: prepare it, then someone releases it.
4. **Money gets a dollar limit.** If a desk may
````

## Test record

- Date: Oct 28, 2026
- What was run: authority_mini.py on the worked example, a fixed file and a missing file.
- Result: 5 findings, then 0; exit 2 on a missing file.
- Not run: The prompt inside a harness.

Copied from this item's dated test notes. What was not run stays in.

## Worth knowing

- The sample checks one file against five rules. The four-file map, risk classes, escalation, evidence, the runtime check, owner approvals by hash and the fifteen checks are in the full pack.
- On 2026-10-28 authority_mini.py gave 5 findings on the worked example, then 0 on the fixed file, and exited 2 on a missing file. The prompt was not run inside a harness.

## Questions

**Does it send anything anywhere?** No. It reads one file and opens no network connection.

**What is in the full pack?** The four-file map with templates, authority.py that your agents ask before acting, owner approvals tied to a request hash with one use and expiry, fifteen read-only checks with a seeded test map, a skill file, AGENTS.md snippet and Grok Bot rules block, ten prompts and a failure table. $29.

## How to get it

Free sample. Download it directly at https://paperchasewebb.ai/bots/marketplace/items/desk-authority-map-five-rules-and-checks-free-sample/, no signup.

Seller: PaperChaseWebb Inc., mgmt@paperchasewebb.com