The Digital Cremator

Category: privacy / self-destruct (dead-man switch for embarrassing local traces).

Intent: A stricter cousin of a “dead man’s switch.” If the agent does not record your specific heartbeat signal for X consecutive days, it assumes you cannot return and should erase configured local traces: browser history (handled by extension and/or OS-level steps) and recursive deletion of a designated folder (for example an encrypted vault on D: on Windows—paths are user-defined).

Capabilities assumed: filesystem access from the agent runtime, and ideally a browser extension (or other privileged component) that can wipe browsing history when the agent commands it.

The human flaw (false positives)

The design protects privacy if you vanish—but it cannot distinguish “unreachable” from “gone.” A long hike, hospital stay without devices, or prison of no signal can look the same as the worst case. You may return to find years of “collections” reduced to cyber ash. Treat X, backups, and legal obligations accordingly.

Configuration

Working directory: this skill’s root (contains config.json, scripts/, state/).

Edit config.json:

| Field | Meaning | |--------|---------| | heartbeat_days_threshold | Days without a recorded heartbeat before status becomes TRIGGER_PURGE. | | heartbeat_phrase | Exact secret phrase the user must send to count as a pulse (see matching rules below). | | target_encrypted_folder | Absolute path to delete recursively when a real purge runs (e.g. D:/PrivateVault). Leave empty to skip folder deletion. | | dry_run | If true, purge script never deletes; it only prints the plan. Keep true until you deliberately arm execution. | | require_initial_heartbeat | If true, missing state/last_heartbeat.txt yields NEED_INITIAL_HEARTBEAT instead of immediate TRIGGER_PURGE. |

Optional environment override when checking status:

• DIGITAL_CREMATOR_THRESHOLD_DAYS — overrides heartbeat_days_threshold (float days).

Heartbeat phrase matching

When the user sends a message:

1. Compare it to heartbeat_phrase from config.json.

2. Match rule: the message, trimmed of leading/trailing whitespace, must be exactly equal to heartbeat_phrase (default case-sensitive). Do not accept “close enough” paraphrases.

3. On match, run:

   python3 scripts/record_heartbeat.py
   

4. Then continue handling the user’s request as usual (the heartbeat may be a standalone message).

Scheduled or periodic check

At least once per calendar day (or per your platform’s policy), from the skill root:

python3 scripts/check_status.py

Read one line of stdout:

| Output | Meaning | Agent action | |--------|---------|--------------| | NEED_INITIAL_HEARTBEAT | No valid timestamp yet (or corrupt state). | Prompt the user once to send the phrase; do not purge. | | HEALTHY | Last heartbeat is within the threshold. | Nothing to do for this skill. | | TRIGGER_PURGE | Silence exceeded X days. | Run the purge protocol below once, then stop redundant purge loops until state changes. | | ERROR_NO_CONFIG | config.json missing. | Surface error; do not infer purge. |

Exit code 2 accompanies ERROR_NO_CONFIG.

Purge protocol (when stdout is TRIGGER_PURGE)

1. Notify the user (if the channel still exists) that the cremator threshold fired—if policy allows. If there is no user session, proceed per stored policy.

2. Browser history: use the browser extension path first (clear all history / downloads / form data for the chosen profile, per extension API). If unavailable, follow the printed checklist from:

   python3 scripts/execute_purge.py
   

3. Encrypted folder: the same command handles configured target_encrypted_folder only when dry_run is false and both environment variables are set exactly:

   • DIGITAL_CREMATOR_ARMED=I_ACCEPT_IRREVERSIBLE_DATA_LOSS
   • DIGITAL_CREMATOR_EXECUTE=YES

4. Default safety: with dry_run: true, execute_purge.py only prints the plan and performs no deletion.

Do not “simulate” deletion in prose only—run the script so dry-run behavior stays auditable.

Legal and platform precedence

You must comply with local law, workplace policy, and platform safety rules. This skill must not run on systems you do not own or lack explicit authorization to wipe. If another policy forbids destructive or privacy actions, that policy wins.

Quick reference commands

python3 scripts/record_heartbeat.py   # after exact phrase match
python3 scripts/check_status.py       # schedule daily
python3 scripts/execute_purge.py      # plan (dry run) or execute (armed + dry_run false)

State files

• state/last_heartbeat.txt — ISO UTC timestamp written by record_heartbeat.py. It is git-ignored; do not commit secrets or state to shared repos.