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Guardrails

Use the guardrails assert type to ensure that LLM outputs pass safety checks based on the provider's built-in guardrails.

This assertion checks both input and output content against provider guardrails. Input guardrails typically detect prompt injections and jailbreak attempts, while output guardrails check for harmful content categories like hate speech, violence, or inappropriate material based on your guardrails configuration. The assertion verifies that neither the input nor output have been flagged for safety concerns.

Provider Support​

The guardrails assertion is currently supported on:

Other providers do not currently support this assertion type. The assertion will pass with a score of 0 for unsupported providers.

Basic Usage​

Here's a basic example of using the guardrail assertion:

tests:
  - vars:
      prompt: 'Your test prompt'
    assert:
      - type: guardrails

You can also set it as a default test assertion:

defaultTest:
  assert:
    - type: guardrails
note

Pass/fail logic of the assertion:

  • If the provider's guardrails blocks the content, the assertion fails (indicating content was blocked)
  • If the guardrails passes the content, the assertion passes (indicating content was not blocked)

Redteaming Configuration​

When using guardrails assertions for redteaming scenarios, you should specify the guardrails property:

assert:
  - type: guardrails
    config:
      purpose: redteam
note

This changes the pass/fail logic of the assertion:

  • If the provider's guardrails blocks the content, the test passes (indicating the attack was successfully blocked)
  • If the guardrails passes the content, the assertion doesn't impact the final test result (the test will be graded based on other assertions)

How it works​

The guardrails assertion checks for:

  • Input safety
  • Output safety

The assertion will:

  • Pass (score: 1) if the content passes all safety checks
  • Fail (score: 0) if either the input or output is flagged
  • Pass with score 0 if no guardrails was applied

When content is flagged, the assertion provides specific feedback about whether it was the input or output that failed the safety checks.