nodecode-ethics-filter
Ethics Filter: any decision comes back GREEN, AMBER or RED with the reasoning. A Nodecode rewrite of RegeneratusLabs/ethics-filter by RegeneratusLabs.
Get it
Tell the agent "add the ethics filter cell", or run nodecode add nc://ethics-filter.
Set it up
Nothing is required. The section ethics-filter holds three optional settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
default_constitution |
which preset a call uses when it names none: small-business-ethical (the default), personal-reflection, corporate-governance, startup-quick, maximalist, minimal-safe |
strictness |
constitution (the default: keep the preset's own), or relaxed, moderate, strict |
audit_path |
where scored verdicts are kept, one JSON line each, under this home unless absolute |
Use it
Ask the agent to check a decision before it acts on it, or type:
/ethics Move the warehouse to a cheaper site outside town /ethics Move the warehouse --context "18 staff, the lease ends in March" --scores fairness=70,compliance=85 /ethics --audit
Two calls, one decision, the same through the ethics_evaluate tool:
- The brief. With only the decision, the tool answers which of the six modules apply to it (environmental, fairness, transparency, conscious-leadership, ethical-framework, compliance), the rubric each one scores against, and the thresholds in force. Modules a decision does not touch are left out.
- The verdict. Score every enabled module 0-100 and call again with the scores. The overall score is their mean; the verdict comes from the strictness thresholds, and any single module below the red threshold blocks the whole decision whatever the mean says. A spread of 40 points or more between modules is reported as a tension for a person to resolve.
Every scored verdict is appended to the audit trail as one JSON line: the decision, the context, the constitution and strictness, the thresholds, every module's score, the flags, the tensions and the reasoning.
The reasoning is the point: the scores are structured thinking aids, and the answer should say which rubric band each score sits in and why.
What is in it
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
package.lisp |
the package, the six modules with their rubric bands, the six presets and the three strictness levels, as data |
engine.lisp |
relevance, thresholds, the verdict, the brief, the prompt and the audit trail |
cell.lisp |
the ethics_evaluate contract and tool, /ethics, the help topic and the section |
test/cell-test.lisp |
offline tests: the brief, the verdict, the veto, tensions, the trail and every refusal |
License
MIT, the original's. The engine and its rubrics are Copyright (c) 2026 Ethics Filter Contributors: see LICENSE and NOTICE.
