Conductor Untrack
To run conductor untrack, remove the target item from your tracking index while keeping local files intact. This action stops your workspace tool from watching that file or task for future state changes. Engineering teams often use this workflow when local secret files or test outputs enter a shared workspace. If roles are too broad, anyone on the team can push sensitive state to shared repos. How the conductor untrack workflow operates Workspace orchestration tools and AI coding runners keep
Untrack: the complete guide
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To run conductor untrack, remove the target item from your tracking index while keeping local files intact. This action stops your workspace tool from watching that file or task for future state changes. Engineering teams often use this workflow when local secret files or test outputs enter a shared workspace. If roles are too broad, anyone on the team can push sensitive state to shared repos.
How the conductor untrack workflow operates
Workspace orchestration tools and AI coding runners keep an internal index of active files and tasks. The tool reads this index to decide what files to sync, watch, or send to models. When an engineer adds a directory, the runner tracks every file inside that folder by default. This often pulls in local settings, temporary data dumps, and scratch scripts that should stay private.
Running the conductor untrack action updates the workspace index and drops the link to the target path. The file remains on your local disk, so your app still runs without missing data errors. After you drop the item from the index, you must add the path to your ignore rules. Without an ignore rule, the next workspace scan will pick the file up and track it again.
Teams also use this pattern to detach background workers or stuck task runs from a parent workflow. Detaching the task lets the main workflow finish while engineers inspect the stuck worker on its own. You keep full local state for debugging, and the central runner stops waiting on a broken step.
What native workspace tracking solves and leaves open
Native tracking rules help developers keep their repos clean and stop accidental commits of local scratch files. They let you choose which folders join a workspace session and which folders stay on your disk. This basic setup controls what files enter version control and which tasks belong to a shared run.
Still, local ignore rules do not control what happens when an engineer runs live commands against databases. A developer or coding agent with valid database keys can still run broad queries during a session. Native file tracking only manages workspace state on disk, not the commands or queries sent in flight.
Untrack: architecture patterns and best practices
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When a live query runs, raw customer emails, phone numbers, and card numbers return to the client. If that output lands in an untracked local file, sensitive data still sits exposed on the laptop. Even when data stays out of git, broad database roles let risky commands run without review. Security teams need controls that check individual statements and mask sensitive fields in results before data lands locally.
Steps to keep untracked files out of shared sessions
Start by checking your active workspace status before you start a new task or merge a branch. Look for local test dumps, log files, or keys that the workspace runner picked up by mistake. Drop those items from the active index right away so they do not enter your next snapshot.
Next, update your project ignore list so the tool skips those file types on future workspace scans. Share this updated ignore list with your team so every developer follows the same clean workspace rules. Clear rules reduce noise in code reviews and keep local test files on local disks.
Check database and API queries on the wire
Identity tools, roles, and network rules decide who opens a session. Setup alone cannot check what each query does or mask sensitive values in a response once a session starts. When workflows touch Postgres, MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Kubernetes APIs, SSH, or internal HTTP APIs, hoop.dev sits inline in the wire protocol beside those services as an open-source proxy, a sidecar for your Postgres or API. On every query an AI agent or engineer runs against production, hoop.dev decides to pass, mask, block, or hold it for human review.
Your login details and client tools stay as they are while hoop.dev guardrails refuse bad deletes or drops before they run, and hoop.dev data masking rewrites matched sensitive values in responses in memory. Furthermore, hoop.dev holds SOC 2 Type II, is MIT licensed, and writes every query and decision to an audit trail that generates evidence for HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS. See the source on GitHub.
Frequently asked questions
Does conductor untrack delete my local files?
No, it only removes the file or task from the active tracking index in your workspace. Your local file stays on your disk untouched until you choose to delete it yourself.
Why do untracked files show up again in my workspace?
If you do not add the file path to your ignore rules, future scans will see it. Update your ignore file right after you drop the item so the workspace skips it next time.
Can untracked files still leak sensitive data to my laptop?
Yes, untracked files often hold raw query outputs with emails, phone numbers, or card numbers from production. Use data masking in flight to rewrite matched fields in results before they reach local storage.