# Revoke before you debug

Disconnect → lock → empty the sleeve → revoke or rotate — then dig into the bad prompt. The incident checklist before you debug a live agent spend path. Pairs with review-before-place, spend caps, and a dedicated wallet. Agent Lane does not place trades or hold wallets.

Canonical HTML: https://agentlane.net/guides/revoke-before-debug/

## Answer first

Before you raise a cap, paste a “fix” prompt, or reconnect a brokerage or payer MCP: disconnect live connectors, lock or sign out of agent apps, empty or move the spend sleeve, revoke grants and rotate tokens — then dig into the bad prompt.

## Why live debug is the failure mode

- **Second fill during the fix** — retry / “try again” / handoff re-fires place, pay, or sign while you read logs.
- **Raised ceiling, open pipe** — bumping a session or daily max while connectors are live turns debug into a larger spend.
- **Shared box, open session** — another user, unlocked app, or leftover token spends from the same sleeve.

Caps still let a second fill inside the ceiling. A separate wallet still funds that fill. Closing the pipe first stops the next spend.

## What it means

1. Disconnect — live brokerage, payment, and payer MCP connectors off Cursor and Grok.
2. Lock — lock or sign out of agent apps on that computer.
3. Empty the sleeve — move leftover funds off the dedicated spend wallet or Agentic sleeve, or empty it.
4. Revoke or rotate — login grants, API tokens, OAuth sessions beside those connectors.
5. Then debug — logs, standing rules, lower caps if needed — without live spend tools.

## Shield stack

1. [dedicated-agent-wallet.md](./dedicated-agent-wallet.md) — money the bot can reach.
2. [agent-spend-caps.md](./agent-spend-caps.md) — how much.
3. [review-before-place.md](./review-before-place.md) — human gate.
4. Venue — brokerage, on-chain pay, or other rail.
5. Revoke before you debug — kill-and-isolate before you change prompts or raise ceilings.

## How to revoke before you debug

1. Disconnect live connectors (brokerage, payment, payer MCP).
2. Lock or sign out of agent apps.
3. Empty or move the spend sleeve.
4. Revoke grants and rotate tokens.
5. Then dig into the bad prompt (no live place/pay/sign).
6. Re-enable only what you need — [one connector at a time](./one-connector-at-a-time.md), fund only the ceiling ([fund-session-ceiling.md](./fund-session-ceiling.md), [empty-sleeve-overnight.md](./empty-sleeve-overnight.md)), keep review before place.

## Practical checklist

- Kill order: disconnect → lock → empty sleeve → revoke/rotate → then dig.
- No raise while open — [agent-spend-caps.md](./agent-spend-caps.md).
- Sleeve empty first — [dedicated-agent-wallet.md](./dedicated-agent-wallet.md).
- Shared-box pass — [shared-box.md](./shared-box.md).

Related: [Flatten all before connector revoke](./flatten-all-before-connector-revoke.md), [receipt-log-after-session.md](./receipt-log-after-session.md), [review-before-place.md](./review-before-place.md), [shield-brokerage.md](./shield-brokerage.md), [shield-crypto.md](./shield-crypto.md), [x402-buyer-basics.md](./x402-buyer-basics.md).

## FAQ

**What does revoke before you debug mean?**
Disconnect → lock → empty sleeve → revoke/rotate → then dig. Debugging while the pipe is open is how a second spend lands.

**Why is live debug the failure mode?**
Second fill during the fix; raised ceiling with open pipe; shared box with open session. Caps and a separate wallet do not stop that alone.

**Where in the shield stack?**
Healthy run: dedicated wallet → spend caps → review before place → venue. Incident: revoke before you debug before you change prompts or raise ceilings.

**Minimum kill order?**
Disconnect → lock → empty sleeve → revoke or rotate → then debug.

**Replace caps, wallet, or review?**
No — you need the full stack.

**Revoke when nothing failed?**
After the session, before raising caps, before handing the computer off, before leaving a live connector overnight.

## Sources

- Canonical HTML: https://agentlane.net/guides/revoke-before-debug/
- Related shelf: https://agentlane.net/resources/
- Site index for bots: https://agentlane.net/llms.txt

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