word or phrase describing preference for reversable actions

Question

It could be related to 'silk touch' or 'light step'.

In minecraft 'silk touch' means ability to take the block as is, being able to place it later in game, without changing the block, but usually many block types will change if you take them.

Im interested in any word or phrase that can describe behaivor of a person (or preferably a group) that chooses paths that can be returned from if decision would change later. And to do minimal unreversible change to the world in general.

For example, breaking a vase is hard to revert, so person would avoid breaking a vase. Not breaking a vase is easy to revert - person can break it later if needed. So preferred path is not to break a vase. Making noise on average is hard to revert, people may become aware of your actions, or may become annoyed. Being quiet is reversible in most cases, you can announce your activity later, or annoy people later. Lying or speaking the truth in court (speaking, making noise) is an example that blocks other option anyway, so both paths are about equal, and neither is preffered. Building from recyclable material is preferred, because it is easier to 'undo' the construction compared to building from non recyclable materials.

The opposite of 'burning bridges', and somewhat oposite of 'yolo'. It could be somewhere nearby the meaning of 'entropy'. There is likely some sort of idiom associated with it that i dont know.

edit, suggestions list

• circumspect - building a large castle is likely aligned with this word, but not the one im looking for. Because it is hard to demolish the castle. Unless this person specifically thinks about castle demolition option, which isnt specified in the word
• tentative - it assumes paths are somewhat equal and unknown. word im looking at assumes that one path is easily selected only from what is known right now, and with confidence
• carefulness - this word is rarely associated with large decisions, it is more about cleaning, caring, talking, opinions. not about selecting the material for construction usually.
• risk - it means person must be aware of the risk, smart enough to account for all outcomes. For example dropping a vase has no risk, it will almost certaintly break. Risk may involve vase owner being angry, but this is hard to predict and i think this word places too much meaning on known risk, rather than more general approach for unknown risk. reversability reduces unknown risk that is usually not being discussed
• pussyfoot - "If you say that someone is pussyfooting around, you are criticizing them for behaving in a too cautious way because they are notsure what to do and are afraid to commit themselves", the word or phrase I mean would also include decisivness when the path that is reversible is visible. That is, a simple rule that a person follows, and when this very simple rule is satisfied, person can be very decisive, instead of just being always undecisive
• toe-dipping approach - it almost always mean partial involvement, like only some part of the funds being invested to reduce the risk. What i mean would instead likely fall to no investment at all, or full investment. Toe-dip approach would invest 1% of funds in foreign company, just to test it. Word im expecting would invest none, since you cant effectively use courts in a different country. Or full investment if you actually can use courts in that country to guarantee a return if needed
• pilot - "Done as an experiment or test before being introduced more widely", Again, small test experiment, rather than selecting the preferred path initially. Ideally a path needs to be selected with a simple rule of the cost of reversal, rather than analysis after the action. Im talking only about the analysis before the action, much simpler one.

If a word has 'reversibility' in its meaning, thats a big bonus. In particular if word counts the cost for the reverse action, and selects the action with the least of the reverse cost.

it seems the 'retrievable change' is very close to what I wanted, thanks to @Tuffy. You can add your answer so that I can select it. Or we can wait for other suggestions if you wish

Answer 1

I think pussyfooting strongly carries the sense that a tentative step can swiftly be withdrawn, not just the softly-softly imagery.

Pussyfoot, which means a delicate, soft step comes from the imagery of a cat’s careful tread. To pussyfoot is to proceed with caution, subtlety, and delicacy and is used pejoratively. The term is American in origin and, in adjectival form, dates to at least 1893.

[WordOrigins.co]

There is, sadly, a cautionary caveat: As Brian Donovan points out in a comment (though I'd missed this completely), the term, even though it originated in the States, might raise a few eyebrows in the US because of the non-cute–feline associations of 'pussy' there.

Tentative itself goes further than 'using great caution', with the nuances of a controlled, experimental, small-scale dry run. Not overly committed.

tentative [adjective]

of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt; experimental:

• a tentative report on her findings.

unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant:

• a tentative smile on his face.

[Dictionary.com]

tentative: unconfirmed, provisional, ..., test

[Collins]

Testing the waters (see FumbleFingers' comment above) and putting out feelers are metaphors in the same semantic area.