> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.abliteration.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Policies

> Create policies that monitor or block matching requests and model responses.

Policies evaluate model traffic against questions you write. A policy can record a match without changing traffic, or block matching content. Create and manage policies in [Console → Policies](https://abliteration.ai/console/policies).

Policies run on the standard `/v1/chat/completions`, `/v1/responses`, and `/v1/messages` endpoints. You do not need a separate API base URL.

## How a policy works

Each policy has a yes-or-no question and four settings:

| Setting | What it controls |
| - | - |
| Evaluates | Requests before model generation, responses after generation, or both. Response checks also cover tool calls. |
| Applies to | All projects, selected projects, or only requests where you explicitly select the policy. |
| Mode | **Monitor** records matches without interrupting traffic. **Block** stops a matching request or withholds a matching response. |
| Sensitivity | How readily content matches the question. Lower values flag more borderline content; higher values require a stronger signal. |

You can have multiple policies affecting one request. Published policies scoped to a project apply automatically. Policies set to **Only when selected** apply when you add them to a Playground run or include their IDs in `policy_ids` on an API request. The platform's baseline protections are separate from policies you configure.

## Policy states

| State | Effect |
| - | - |
| Draft | Not applied to traffic. |
| Monitoring | Published and active in Monitor mode. |
| Enforcing | Published and active in Block mode. |
| Paused | Temporarily inactive. |

Publishing makes the current settings active. Saving edits as a draft does not change an existing published version. Pausing an active policy stops it from applying to new API requests.

## Start here

* [Create a policy](/policy-gateway/onboarding) in Console.
* [Write a focused policy question](/policy-gateway/best-practices) and test it before blocking traffic.
* [Use policies in Playground or the API](/policy-gateway/integration).
* [Review decisions](/policy-gateway/decisions) to see matches and failed checks.


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