Safety reference

paredit-cli keeps inspection, source edits, and semantic refactorings separate so automated clients can choose an appropriate review path.

Inspect is read-only

All paredit inspect commands report information without modifying source files. Prefer these commands for discovery, impact analysis, and preflight checks.

Edit previews before it writes

paredit edit commands return transformed source on standard output by default and never touch the file. Preview the change as a diff, then apply it in place with --write:

paredit edit format --file source.lisp --diff
paredit edit format --file source.lisp --write

--write refuses to persist a result that no longer parses, and writes are staged with automatic rollback, so a failed write cannot leave a truncated or unbalanced file behind.

Refactor is explicit

Use paredit refactor plan, paredit refactor preview, and paredit refactor verify before paredit refactor apply when the workflow is available. These commands make planned changes and verification results visible before a write is requested.

Workspace scope

For workspace operations, start with paredit inspect workspace to identify the affected files. Use the workspace planning and preview commands before paredit refactor workspace-execute.

Automation guidance

1. Discover with paredit inspect.
2. Review an edit result (--diff or stdout) before passing --write.
3. Plan, preview, and verify a refactor before applying it.
4. Treat non-zero exits and validation failures as blockers.

See the agent interface for exit codes, the JSON output contract, and a complete safe editing loop.