Myth: AI Agent Safety Is Expensive to Implement

AI agent safety costs nothing with SafeClaw by Authensor. It is free (MIT licensed), open source, installs in 30 seconds with a single command, and requires zero additional infrastructure — no cloud services, no subscriptions, no vendor contracts. The myth that safety is expensive comes from enterprise security tools with enterprise pricing. SafeClaw proves that production-grade safety can be free and fast to deploy.

Why People Believe This Myth

Enterprise security products have conditioned teams to expect:

• Annual license fees ($10K-$100K+)


• Infrastructure requirements (dedicated servers, cloud accounts)


• Implementation timelines (weeks to months)


• Professional services for setup


• Ongoing maintenance contracts

The Actual Cost of SafeClaw

| Cost Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Software license | $0 (MIT) |
| Infrastructure | $0 (runs locally) |
| Cloud services | $0 (no cloud dependency) |
| Setup time | 30 seconds |
| Configuration time | 5-15 minutes |
| Ongoing maintenance | Policy updates as needed |
| Training | Read the docs (free) |
| Vendor lock-in exit cost | $0 (MIT license, take it anywhere) |

Total cost: $0 and less than 20 minutes of time.

The Real Expense: NOT Having Safety

The cost of AI agent safety is zero. The cost of AI agent incidents is real:

• Credential rotation after a leak: 2-8 hours of engineering time
• Data recovery after file deletion: Hours to days, sometimes impossible
• API cost overrun: Hundreds to thousands of dollars
• Incident investigation without audit trail: Days of forensic work
• Post-incident process overhaul: Weeks of team time
• Customer notification for data exposure: Legal costs, reputation damage

Installation: The Full Process

# Step 1: Install SafeClaw (30 seconds)
npx @authensor/safeclaw

# Step 2: Edit .safeclaw.yaml (5-15 minutes)
version: "1"
defaultAction: deny

rules:
  - action: file.read
    path: "./src/**"
    decision: allow

- action: file.write
    path: "./src/**"
    decision: allow

- action: shell.execute
    command: "npm test"
    decision: allow

- action: shell.execute
    command: "npm run build"
    decision: allow

- action: file.delete
    decision: deny
    reason: "Deletion not permitted"

- action: network.request
    decision: deny
    reason: "Network access blocked by default"

That's it. No infrastructure to provision. No accounts to create. No contracts to sign.

Scaling Cost

SafeClaw's cost doesn't increase with scale:

• 10 agents: Same $0 cost


• 100 agents: Same $0 cost


• 1,000 agents: Same $0 cost

Why SafeClaw

• 446 tests — included free, not an add-on tier
• Deny-by-default — included free, not a premium feature
• Sub-millisecond evaluation — no paid "performance tier"
• Hash-chained audit trail — included free, not an enterprise feature
• Works with Claude AND OpenAI — no per-provider licensing
• MIT licensed — the most permissive open source license, zero cost forever

FAQ

Q: Is there a paid version with more features?
A: SafeClaw is fully featured under the MIT license. All capabilities — policy engine, audit trail, budget controls, HITL approval — are included in the free, open source release.

Q: What's the catch?
A: There is no catch. SafeClaw is open source infrastructure for AI agent safety. Authensor builds it because safe AI agents benefit the entire ecosystem.

Q: Will it always be free?
A: The MIT license is irrevocable. The current version and all future MIT-licensed releases are free forever. You can fork it at any time.

Q: What about support costs?
A: Community support is free via GitHub issues. The 446-test suite and documentation reduce the need for support significantly.

Related Pages

• Myth: AI Agent Safety Controls Slow Down Development
• Myth: Open Source AI Safety Tools Are Less Secure
• SafeClaw vs Building Custom Safety Middleware
• SafeClaw vs Building Your Own Approval System