> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.agen.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Enforcement Paused
> What it means when AgenShield reports that enforcement is paused or that the Endpoint Security extension stood itself down, how to confirm it, and how to restore protection.
AgenShield's Endpoint Security extension carries a safety circuit-breaker. If it
restarts several times in a short window, it stands **itself** down rather than
risk making the Mac unusable, and shows:
> Enforcement paused — protection is OFF
>
> The Endpoint Security extension stood itself down after restarting several
> times…
On **2026.7.23 and earlier** the same situation was reported as "The Endpoint
Security extension self-disabled after repeated crashes (safety
circuit-breaker). Reopen AgenShield; if it persists on this build, reinstall."
That wording was misleading: the extension has usually not crashed at all, and
neither reopening nor reinstalling the app clears the breaker. Follow this page
instead.
## What this actually means
While the breaker is engaged, AgenShield is **installed and running but not
enforcing**. Both halves stand down together:
| Layer | Behaviour while the breaker is engaged |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| Process enforcement | Every process launch is allowed |
| Network enforcement | Every network flow is allowed |
| Monitoring and telemetry | Continue normally |
This is deliberate. The breaker exists so a misbehaving extension can never lock
a person out of their own Mac — it fails **open**, never closed. Nothing is
blocked or quarantined while it is engaged.
A machine in this state looks healthy in most places — the extensions show as
active, the background service is running, the dashboard is green. Only `agenshield
status` and `agenshield doctor` report that enforcement is suspended. Treat
the banner as authoritative.
## Confirm it
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"snazzy-light","dark":"dark-plus"}}
agenshield doctor
```
Look for `emergency-disabled` in the enforcement section. `agenshield status`
shows the same posture: a `⚠ Degraded` verdict with `emergency-disabled` among
its reasons.
## Restore enforcement
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"snazzy-light","dark":"dark-plus"}}
agenshield doctor --fix
```
This clears the breaker and restarts the extension's enforcement path. It takes
a few seconds; re-run `agenshield doctor` to confirm `Enforceable: YES`.
From **2026.7.24** onward the background service also clears the breaker on its own once the
extension has run for ten minutes without restarting, so an isolated glitch
recovers without anyone intervening. `doctor --fix` is still the way to recover
immediately.
Reopening or reinstalling the AgenShield app does **not** clear the breaker —
it is a separate, system-level safety flag. Use `doctor --fix`, or simply wait
for the automatic recovery.
## If it comes back
A breaker that re-engages within seconds of being cleared means the underlying
fault is still present. AgenShield deliberately stops retrying at that point
rather than restarting the extension in a loop.
Most commonly this is one of:
* **An outdated build.** Upgrade first — a known issue in **2026.7.23 and
earlier** could trip the breaker during a routine upgrade on Macs running
other endpoint-security products alongside AgenShield. Fixed in **2026.7.24**.
* **Heavy contention on the Mac.** Very low free memory or several security
products competing for macOS's signature-validation service can slow the
extension's startup enough to trip the breaker.
Upgrade to the current release, then:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"snazzy-light","dark":"dark-plus"}}
agenshield doctor --fix
```
If it still re-engages, [collect a diagnostics
bundle](../troubleshoot/collecting-diagnostics.mdx) and contact support. The bundle
records why the breaker tripped and what the extension was doing at the time.
## What support will look at
You do not need to gather these yourself — the diagnostics bundle includes them
— but they are what determines the answer:
| Signal | Tells us |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Whether any crash reports exist | Whether the extension truly crashed or shut itself down on purpose |
| How many times it restarted, and how fast | A genuine fault versus a one-off glitch |
| Whether other security products are installed | Whether contention for macOS services is a factor |
| Free memory and system load at the time | Whether the Mac was under pressure |