Philosophy

Two principles decide Kitsune's trade-offs. When a feature, default, or fix conflicts with them, the principles win.

1. The user's browser belongs to the user

Kitsune runs inside a browser someone is actively using. The agent is a guest in that workspace, not its owner.

We do:

• Open agent work in background tabs and leave the user's view where it is.
• Hold writes to a tab the user is using instead of racing their input.
• Treat user-owned tabs, focus, and input as off-limits unless the user authorizes otherwise.
• Prefer refusing with guidance over silently acting somewhere else.

We don't:

• Trade workspace interference for task speed or benchmark wins.
• Promise "never interrupts." Where a protection has limits, we document them.

2. Fewer, sharper tools

Every tool, parameter, and description line is paid for in agent context on every call. A larger catalog is a cost, not a feature.

We do:

• Keep the default surface small and make each tool's contract precise.
• Enforce delegation limits (read, draft, act) in the system, not in prompts.
• Report what happened—dispatched, observed, or unknown—and leave the decision to the agent.
• Add a tool or field only when it removes more agent work than it adds.

We don't:

• Compete on tool count or copy adjacent tools' catalogs.
• Fix agent misuse by adding more description text when a simpler contract would prevent it.

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For market context and competitor comparison, see Positioning.