Permanently Shielded Protected Paths

Certain directories in your Unity project are critical to the engine’s operation and should never be modified by AI. GameCatalyst permanently shields these paths from all AI access.

The protected paths:

• .git — Your Git version control directory. AI cannot read, modify, or delete anything in .git
• Library — Unity’s internal cache and metadata. Modifying this can corrupt your project
• Temp — Unity’s temporary files. These are regenerated automatically
• Logs — Unity’s log files. AI should not modify these

These paths are protected by glob patterns in the GameCatalyst configuration: **/.git/**, **/Library/**, **/Temp/**, **/Logs/**

What happens if AI tries to access a protected path:

If the AI attempts any operation on a protected path, the command fails immediately with a clear error:

Error: Path 'Library/ScriptAssemblies/Assembly-CSharp.dll' is in a protected directory. Access denied.

The AI receives this error before any operation is attempted. No dry-run, no simulation — just an immediate rejection.

Why these paths are protected:

• .git — Modifying Git internals can corrupt your repository history, break branches, or cause merge conflicts
• Library — Unity regenerates this directory automatically. Manual changes are overwritten and can cause editor crashes
• Temp — These are temporary files Unity creates during builds and play mode. They’re deleted and recreated constantly
• Logs — Log files are for reading and debugging, not modification. Changing them provides no benefit and can confuse troubleshooting

Can you disable protected paths?

No. Protected paths are permanently shielded and cannot be disabled through the Dashboard or configuration files. This is a core safety feature.

If you need to modify files in these directories (for example, advanced Git operations), you must do so manually outside of GameCatalyst. The AI will never have access to these paths.

Adding custom protected paths:

You can add your own protected paths by editing the GameCatalyst configuration file:

1. Navigate to the central installation directory (e.g., %LocalAppData%\Vexstorm Studios\GameCatalyst\Core\Server\)
2. Open gamecatalyst-config.json
3. Find the file_system.safety.protected_globs array
4. Add your custom glob patterns (e.g., "**/SecretFiles/**")
5. Save the file and restart the GameCatalyst servers

Your custom protected paths now work exactly like the built-in ones — completely inaccessible to AI.