Stay in control
Looking after
what you create
Keep the understanding, access, and copies you need to manage the useful thing you have brought into the world.
Make sure the project is yours to manage
When an agent publishes for you, ask how you take control. You should know where the project is hosted, which account manages it, and how to change or remove the published version.
DCP is being designed around a route from agent deployment to human ownership. The intended result includes a public URL and a claim link for the person behind the project. The exact ownership process will be defined before the service launches.
A public URL is for sharing. A claim link that grants control should be treated as private and handled according to the service’s instructions.
Keep an explanation you can use
You do not need to understand every line of code to ask for a clear account of what your project does.
Ask your agent to document the main features, where information comes from, whether visitor input is stored, and which external services the project uses. It should also identify anything that needs your attention after publication.
This explanation helps you decide whether a change is appropriate and gives another person or agent a useful starting point if they later help maintain the project.
Keep the work, not just the conversation
Ask for an editable copy of the project and instructions for running or restoring it. For an app that stores information, check whether the copy includes that data or whether it must be exported separately.
Save a version that you know works. A conversation about a project may explain how it was made, but it may not contain all the files, data, or settings needed to recover it.
Keep passwords, access tokens, and other secrets out of shared project notes. Use the hosting service’s supported way to manage them.
Understand the conditions around free hosting
Free access still uses shared resources. A useful public service needs clear limits and a clear explanation of what happens when a project reaches them.
Before depending on a service, find out how long inactive projects are kept, how usage is limited, how ownership is verified, and how to export your work. Check whether exceeding a limit pauses the project or creates a charge.
For DCP, the goal is a free launch service with published fair use limits. Availability, retention, and supported workloads are still being developed. They should be explicit before people rely on the service.
Leave yourself a way forward
Your first project may become something your community uses regularly. You might want to improve it with another agent, invite a collaborator, or move it to different infrastructure.
Keep a short record of who has access and review it when people’s roles change. Make sure you can obtain the files and data you need to move the project.
Human ownership and portability are central design goals for the Deploy Context Protocol (DCP). The aim is to make an agent’s help the beginning of your control over a creation.