---
title: Risk Levels
description: The four risk levels used for filtering, alerting, and authorization policy.
---

Agent Receipts classify every action into one of four risk levels. Risk levels are used for filtering, alerting, and authorization policy.

## The four levels

| Level | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| **low** | Read-only or easily reversible | Read a file, navigate to a URL, create a draft |
| **medium** | Modifies state but reversible or low-impact | Edit a document, move a file, modify settings |
| **high** | Significant state change, may be hard to reverse | Send an email, delete a file, share a document |
| **critical** | Financial commitment or irreversible action | Make a purchase, authorize a payment, delete an account |

## Default assignment

Risk levels are assigned by action type as defaults in the [Action Taxonomy](/specification/action-taxonomy/). Each action type has a default risk level that reflects the typical severity of that action.

## Escalation rules

Implementations **may escalate** but **must not downgrade** risk levels based on runtime context.

For example, a `filesystem.file.delete` action has a default risk of `high`. If the file being deleted is a system backup, the implementation should escalate the risk to `critical`. But an implementation must never downgrade a `high`-risk action to `medium`, regardless of context.

The no-downgrade rule ensures that risk levels serve as a reliable floor for compliance and audit tooling. A consumer of receipts can trust that any receipt marked `high` represents at least a `high`-risk action by the taxonomy's definition.

## Use cases

- **Filtering**: Show only `high` and `critical` actions in an audit dashboard
- **Alerting**: Trigger real-time notifications for `critical` actions
- **Authorization gates**: Risk levels provide a basis for enforcement or approval tooling (such as the mcp-proxy `pause` rule or external policy engines) to require confirmation before executing `high` or `critical` actions
- **Compliance reporting**: Generate reports filtered by risk level for regulatory requirements
