Package Installation Controls for Coding Agents

The problem

• Agents install dependencies on their own to finish a task.
• Any package can bring malware, sabotage or an unapproved licence. Here, one published 36 seconds earlier.

What MACAW does

• An admin rule refuses npm install in the agent’s session.
• The agent explains why the tests still fail and leaves the install for a person.
• The refused command is signed onto the record.

What’s different

• An enforceable gate before anything enters the build.
• Wanting a package is not permission to install it.
• Evidence of every refused install.

Policy and deployment

Policy

Deny any command that runs npm install.

Deploy

The MACAW plugin and sidecar beside Claude Code or Codex. npm install -g macaw-ai, then macaw-ai install.