---
title: "Safety boundaries"
description: "The things Autopilot will not do regardless of configuration, and the reasoning behind each one."
updated: "2026-08-31"
verifiedAgainst:
  - apps/web/lib/autopilot-settings.ts
  - apps/web/lib/onboarding-autopilot-defaults.ts
  - apps/web/app/app/onboarding/autopilot/page.tsx
  - apps/web/app/app/settings/autopilot/page.tsx
  - packages/shared/src/free-grant.ts
  - packages/shared/src/autopilot-full-publication.ts
  - packages/shared/src/autopilot.ts
  - packages/shared/src/strategy.ts
  - packages/shared/src/project-lifecycle.ts
---

Some behaviour is not configurable. These are the boundaries worth knowing
because they are what makes leaving automation on reasonable.

<PropertyList>
  <Property name="It does not start itself">
    Autopilot runs for a Project only after an owner or admin activates it. There
    is no default on state, and no plan that includes it being on.
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not override a Direction without being asked">
    A Content Direction set to `review` holds a post in both automation modes,
    unless the Project has consented to publishing past that hold. Setting up
    Full mode offers exactly that consent. A new Full onboarding form preselects
    it, together with three narrower exceptions, but Autopilot remains inactive.
    Removing this boundary takes an explicit activation, a confirmation naming
    the exact set, and an acknowledgement the server records against the
    workspace and the Project. See [Assisted and Full](/autopilot/modes).
  </Property>
  <Property name="It never publishes past a founder Direction">
    `FOUNDER_APPROVAL_REQUIRED` is not on the list of holds any consent can
    remove, and neither is an article that changed after it was approved.
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not exceed the allowance">
    Work is reserved against the Project's own allowance before it is done,
    whether that is a paid plan's or a Free Project's lifetime grant. When the
    allowance is spent, production stops rather than continuing and failing a
    charge.
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not work on an archived Project">
    Archiving pauses Autopilot, and the pause is recorded as coming from the
    archive so a restore does not leave automation off with no explanation.
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not invent product facts">
    Drafts are written against your Knowledge Engine, whose facts are tied to
    sources. See [verification](/knowledge/verification).
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not link to pages that do not exist">
    Internal links are proposed only from the inventory of verified
    destinations.
  </Property>
  <Property name="It does not publish the same post twice">
    Publication is recorded once, so two runs cannot both publish one article.
  </Property>
</PropertyList>

## What it can do that surprises people

Being clear about the other direction too:

- In Full mode, with a Direction set to `auto`, it will publish an article to
  your public blog that nobody read first. That is the setting working.
- With topic supply enabled, it will create its own Topics rather than waiting
  for you to approve more.
- It will use your image allowance generating images for articles you have not
  seen yet.