Limit AI edits with Add to Chat

Sharing and editing are different permissions#

Document chips select source to send. Add to Chat creates a target-marked scope chip defining what may change. With a nonempty scope, the toolchain checks Build, Fix, Apply selected and plan-stage proposals against it. More context does not silently widen that scope. An empty scope is not a read-only mode: choose Ask, Plan or Explain when no editing is intended.

Add the smallest useful target#

Supporting declarations and called-procedure signatures can be read-only context. Nonvisual components have no canvas context menu; use the owning Form. A chat supports up to 32 scope items.

Treat a property accessor as its own item#

Property Get, Let and Set are separate scope items. The current change mechanism cannot replace a single property accessor in isolation: rewriting the containing document requires the corresponding permission card. Do not assume selecting Get automatically permits changing Let or a WithEvents subscriber.

Decide whether a proposal may cross the boundary#

A new control outside the selected controls, a second document or a new dependency needs a decision. Dependency approval and the apply policy remain separate gates. Sending another message while a permission card waits sets that proposal aside.

Keep the boundary current#

Control scope chips track object identity through renames. A control-array chip instead follows the array name: after renaming the array, add it again with Add Array to Chat. If an item is deleted, McBasic™ stops before the next send so you can review the removal. A plan can pause if its entire scope disappears. Removing a chip changes what later requests may modify, not changes already applied.

Scope and its permission decisions are stored locally with the chat. A conversation imported from another Mac does not import those grants, even when its questions and approved plan remain readable.

Test a narrow edit and its recovery#

Use the scoped greeting exercise for exact settings, prompts, complete expected handler code and a diff checklist. Reject unrelated edits, inspect the checked result, then Run the normal and empty-input cases.