Intake gate
A control point at the start of an agent workflow that checks, shapes, or rejects incoming requests before the agent loop spends tools, tokens, or side effects.
Learn
When to use it
Use an intake gate when an agent's workflow needs to control or filter incoming requests before processing. Intake gates allow you to enforce policies, validate inputs, or throttle requests to prevent unnecessary token and tool usage, enabling efficient handling of tasks like API rate limiting or data validation.
Quick example
In Curated Claude Code, an agent processes incoming requests to a coding repository. You configure an intake gate in the YAML file to validate request formats and reject any that don't meet predefined criteria. Curated Claude Code includes the intake gate as the initial step in its agent harness, ensuring that only suitable requests proceed to the agent loop.
request → intake gate → agent harness → tools/files → loop until tests pass → stop
Ecosystem
Intake gates sit at the start of the agent control loop, ensuring only valid requests reach the harness and its tools.
request → intake gate → agent harness → stop
Misconceptions
| Misconception | Rebuttal |
|---|---|
| It processes requests | It only checks or rejects them |
| Any filter is an intake gate | It must be at the workflow start |
Trade-offs
- Request validation — adds initial latency
- Resource efficiency — upfront filtering can miss edge cases
- Policy enforcement — requires detailed configuration