Founder decision 2026-10-18, "build, but never log in": a plan-scoped grant
that writes workload-kv-read-* policies, external-secrets-* and AppRole role
definitions, and create-only placeholder KV under platform/{workloads,suppliers},
and denies role-id, secret-id, token creation and all value reads, so the
MASON-IN-0004 chain stays broken. Adds bao-session.sh build, policy tests,
INTENT/AGENTS alignment and MASON-WP-0015. Not installed.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Assistant: claude-code
Assistant-Model: opus
Assistant-Process: 278674@bnt-lap001
Assistant-Session: 64827407-e196-4ce3-b70c-76e7b537493f
372 lines
15 KiB
Markdown
372 lines
15 KiB
Markdown
# ops-mason — Agent Instructions
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## Repo Identity
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**Purpose:** Builder of NetKingdom security infrastructure (AppRoles, policies, KV paths) for ops-warden to route to
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**Domain:** infotech
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**Repo slug:** ops-mason
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**Topic ID:** `cee7bedf-2b48-46ef-8601-006474f2ad7a`
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**Workplan prefix:** `MASON-`
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---
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## State Hub Integration
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The Custodian State Hub tracks work across all domains. Interact via HTTP REST —
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there is no MCP server for Codex agents.
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| Context | URL |
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|---------|-----|
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| Local workstation | `http://127.0.0.1:8000` |
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| Remote (railiance01, in-cluster) | `http://10.43.68.154:8000` |
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| Optional local edge relay | http://127.0.0.1:18080 |
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When an operator has enabled the edge relay, set API_BASE to the relay URL.
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Queueable writes return an explicit queued receipt if the central hub is
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unreachable. Treat that as pending local evidence, then ask the operator to run
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statehub outbox status/replay after connectivity returns.
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### Orient at session start
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```bash
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# Offline brief — works without hub connection
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cat .custodian-brief.md
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# Active workplans for this domain
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curl -s "http://127.0.0.1:8000/workplans/?topic_id=cee7bedf-2b48-46ef-8601-006474f2ad7a&status=active" \
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| python3 -m json.tool
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# Check inbox
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curl -s "http://127.0.0.1:8000/messages/?to_agent=ops-mason&unread_only=true" \
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| python3 -m json.tool
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```
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Mark a message read:
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```bash
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curl -s -X PATCH "http://127.0.0.1:8000/messages/<id>/read" \
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-H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{}'
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```
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### Log progress (required at session close)
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```bash
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curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8000/progress/ \
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-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
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-d '{
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"summary": "what was done",
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"event_type": "note",
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"author": "codex",
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"workplan_id": "<uuid>",
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"task_id": "<uuid>"
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}'
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```
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Omit `workplan_id` / `task_id` when not applicable.
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### Update task status
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```bash
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curl -s -X PATCH "http://127.0.0.1:8000/tasks/<task_id>" \
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-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
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-d '{"status": "progress"}'
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# values: wait | todo | progress | done | cancel
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```
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### Flag a task for human review
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```bash
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curl -s -X PATCH "http://127.0.0.1:8000/tasks/<task_id>" \
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-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
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-d '{"needs_human": true, "intervention_note": "reason"}'
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```
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---
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## Session Protocol
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**Start:**
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1. `cat .custodian-brief.md` — domain goal and open workplans (offline-safe)
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2. Check inbox: `GET /messages/?to_agent=ops-mason&unread_only=true`; mark read
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3. Scan workplans: `ls workplans/` — note `status: ready`, `active`, or `blocked` files and open tasks
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4. Check human-needed tasks: `GET /tasks/?needs_human=true`
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**During work:**
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- Update task statuses in workplan files as tasks progress
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- Record significant decisions via `POST /decisions/`
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**Close:**
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1. Update workplan file task statuses to reflect progress
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2. If finishing a workplan: hand off **residuals** as live work records first
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(intake with `origin: residual` + `origin_ref: <WP-id>`, or a next workplan /
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decision / engagement). Do not park leftovers only in prose or `SCOPE.md`.
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Canon: `the-custodian/canon/standards/work-record-types_v0.1.md` § Residuals.
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3. Log: `POST /progress/` with a summary of what changed (name handoff ids)
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4. After workplan file changes, run:
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```bash
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statehub fix-consistency
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```
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Coding agents should run this directly; ask the operator only if the CLI or
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State Hub API is unavailable. This syncs task status from files into the hub DB.
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---
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## Credential and access routing
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**Audience:** Codex, Claude Code, Grok, and custodian agents that call **llm-connect**
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for inference. Run this check **before** requesting secrets, API keys, SSH access,
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login tokens, or database passwords — in any repo, not only `ops-warden`.
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ops-warden **issues SSH certificates only** (`warden sign`, `cert_command`). Every
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other credential need belongs to another subsystem. **Do not** message
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`ops-warden` on State Hub expecting a secret value; the reply is a pointer, not a key.
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### Lookup (do this first)
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```bash
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warden route find "<describe your need>" --json
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warden route show <catalog-id> --json
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```
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Requires the `warden` CLI from `~/ops-warden` (`uv tool install .` or `uv run warden`).
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| Agent runtime | How to orient |
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| --- | --- |
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| **Codex / Grok** (shell, HTTP State Hub) | `warden route` commands above; inbox `to_agent=ops-mason` is for coordination, not secret vending |
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| **Claude Code** (MCP when available) | `get_domain_summary("custodian")` for workplans; **still** use `warden route` for credential ownership |
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| **llm-connect** (inference service) | Never put secret retrieval in prompts; route custody to OpenBao/operator paths surfaced by `warden route` |
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### Quick routing table
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| I need… | Owner | ops-warden executes? |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| SSH cert (`adm`/`agt`/`atm`) | ops-warden | **Yes** — `warden sign` |
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| API key, DB password, provider token | OpenBao (`railiance-platform`) | No — route only |
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| Login / OIDC / MFA | key-cape / Keycloak | No — route only |
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| Authorization decision | flex-auth | No — route only |
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| activity-core → issue-core emission | activity-core + issue-core | No — `warden route show activity-core-issue-sink` |
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| SSH tunnel | ops-bridge (+ `cert_command` from warden) | No — route only |
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### Anti-patterns (do not do these)
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- `POST /messages/` to `ops-warden` asking for `ISSUE_CORE_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, etc.
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- Inventing `warden secret`, `warden login`, `warden bao`, `warden tunnel` — they do not exist
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- Pasting secrets into Git, State Hub, workplans, logs, or chat
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### Other capabilities (reuse-surface)
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Non-credential capabilities are usually discovered through **reuse-surface** federation
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(`reuse-surface` registry / `capability.*` indexes). Credential routing is inlined in
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every repo's agent instructions because it is high-frequency, high-risk, and easy to
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get wrong.
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**Canon:** `~/ops-warden/wiki/CredentialRouting.md` · catalog `~/ops-warden/registry/routing/catalog.yaml`
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<!-- REPO-AGENTS-EXTENSIONS -->
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<!-- Append repo-specific agent instructions below this marker.
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The state-hub template sync preserves content after this line. -->
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## Secrets practice guide
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From 2026-10-11, secrets practice follows SecurityCanon `SEC-DSM` 1.0.0:
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`../security-canon/infospace/standards/devops-secrets-management/SecurityCanonDevOpsSecretsManagementStandard.md`
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Gate House teaches that standard. This repo builds routes inside it. Read these
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parts before proposing a credential:
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- §5 preference hierarchy, highest practical mechanism first
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- §37 decision procedure, questions Q1 through Q5, in order
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- §35 OpenBao/Vault mapping — a broker is not the default store for every value
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- §36 Kubernetes mapping — projected workload identity before a secret broker;
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Kubernetes Secrets are a delivery copy, not the authority
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- `DSM-ARCH-001` through `DSM-ARCH-004`, `DSM-TRANS-002`, `DSM-TRANS-003`,
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`DSM-K8S-001` through `DSM-K8S-004`
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A new static secret, AppRole, or KV path is allowed when Q1–Q3 are no. The plan
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records that answer, the owner, the consumers, the authority, and how the
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residual secret is rotated and revoked (`DSM-TRANS-002`). Do not add an issuance
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layer only to look dynamic (`DSM-TRANS-003`). Do not put secret values in the
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plan, the workplan, or chat.
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---
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## Workplan Convention (ADR-001)
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Work items originate as files in this repo — not in the hub. The hub is a
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read/cache/index layer that rebuilds from files.
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**File location:** `workplans/MASON-NNNN-<slug>.md`
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**Archived location:** finished workplans may move to
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`workplans/archived/YYMMDD-MASON-NNNN-<slug>.md`. The `YYMMDD` prefix is
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the completion/archive date; the frontmatter `id` does not change.
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**Ad Hoc Tasks:** small opportunistic fixes discovered during a session use
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`workplans/ADHOC-YYYY-MM-DD.md` with task ids `ADHOC-YYYY-MM-DD-T01`, etc. Use
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this only for low-risk work completed directly; create a normal workplan for
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anything needing analysis, design, approval, dependencies, or multiple phases.
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**Frontmatter:**
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```yaml
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---
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id: MASON-NNNN
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type: workplan
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title: "..."
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domain: infotech
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repo: ops-mason
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status: proposed | ready | active | blocked | backlog | finished | archived
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owner: codex
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topic_slug: ...
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created: "YYYY-MM-DD"
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updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"
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state_hub_workstream_id: "<uuid>" # fix-consistency — do not edit (legacy field name; workplan UUID)
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---
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```
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Use `proposed` for a new draft, `ready` after review against current repo
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state, and `finished` after implementation. `stalled` and `needs_review` are
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derived health labels, not frontmatter statuses.
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**Terminology:** workplan is the fleet term; `workstream` appears only in legacy
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API/MCP/frontmatter bridges until `STATE-WP-0069` retires them — see
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`the-custodian/canon/standards/workplan-terminology-fleet_v0.1.md`.
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**Task block format** (one per `##` section):
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```
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## Task Title
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` ` `task
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id: MASON-NNNN-T01
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status: wait | todo | progress | done | cancel
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priority: high | medium | low
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state_hub_task_id: "<uuid>" # written by fix-consistency — do not edit
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` ` `
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Task description text.
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```
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Status progression: `todo` → `progress` → `done`; use `wait` for waiting/blocked work and `cancel` for stopped work.
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**Residuals when finishing:** actionable leftovers become live work records
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before `status: finished` — usually an intake (`origin: residual`,
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`origin_ref: MASON-NNNN`) or a spawned workplan. Residual is a *role*,
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not a kind. Fleet list lives on State Hub, not in `SCOPE.md`.
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To create a new workplan:
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1. Write the file following the format above
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2. Run `statehub fix-consistency` locally; ask the operator only if the CLI or
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State Hub API is unavailable.
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## OpenBao Access — how to grant a session, and what it authorises
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ops-mason builds in OpenBao, so it needs a session. Do not hand it your own
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operator session: that gives everything you have, for as long as you have it,
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and every action lands in the audit log as you.
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```bash
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./scripts/bao-session.sh status # what session exists, if any
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./scripts/bao-session.sh login # refresh YOUR operator session (OIDC)
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./scripts/bao-session.sh grant <task> # mint a scoped token for Claude
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./scripts/bao-session.sh revoke # end it immediately
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```
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With a grant in place, generate a construction plan's section 2 with
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`./scripts/plan-survey.py --kv-path <path> --policy <name> --approle <role>
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--consumer <repo> [--keyword <word>]` (metadata only; see
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`docs/construction-plan-format.md` § 2).
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`grant` mints a **separate** token into `~/.claude-bao-token` — your own
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`~/.vault-token` is untouched, and the two revoke independently. The agent uses
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it as `BAO_TOKEN=$(cat ~/.claude-bao-token) bao <cmd>`.
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### What the grant authorises
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Policy `ops-mason-survey` (`policies/ops-mason-survey.hcl`), 45 minutes, max
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one hour, named `claude-<task>`. Read-only (MASON-IN-0004, 2026-10-07); used
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for surveys. Building uses the separate `build` grant below (MASON-IN-0005).
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`ops-mason-build` stays in `policies/retired/`, never to be installed.
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| Allowed | Denied / not granted |
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|---|---|
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| read/list `sys/mounts`, `sys/auth`; list `sys/policies/acl`, read `sys/policies/acl/*` — the phase-2 survey | **any policy write** (no create/update/delete on `sys/policies/acl/*`; explicit deny on its own policy) |
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| read/list role definitions on `auth/kubernetes/role/*`, `auth/netkingdom/role/*`, `auth/jwt/role/*`; list `auth/approle/role`, read `auth/approle/role/<name>` | **any auth-role write**; AppRole `role-id`, `secret-id`, `secret-id/*`, `secret-id-accessor/*`, `custom-secret-id` (explicit deny) |
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| read/list KV **metadata** on `platform/`, `operators/` — enough to confirm a delivery landed | **every `*/data/*`** on `platform`, `operators`, `secret` (explicit deny); KV metadata writes |
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| `sys/capabilities`, `sys/capabilities-self` (query only), `auth/token/lookup-self`, `auth/token/revoke-self` | **token creation of any kind**; revoking other tokens; `sys/mounts/*` |
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The grant can show what exists and prove what a token can reach; it cannot
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change anything. That removes the escalation MASON-IN-0004 described — write a
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policy without the denies, bind it to an AppRole, read the role-id, mint a
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secret-id, log in — because none of those steps is granted.
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### Installing the survey policy (founder act)
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ops-mason cannot install its own grant. The founder runs, silently and with an
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absolute path (the warden wrapper refuses output and runs with a temporary
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`HOME`):
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```bash
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warden access openbao-platform-admin-login --exec -- sh -c \
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'bao policy write ops-mason-survey /home/worsch/ops-mason/policies/ops-mason-survey.hcl >/dev/null 2>&1'
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```
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Silent check — the installed policy's hash into a 0600 receipt, compared with
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the repo file's hash outside the wrapper:
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```bash
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warden access openbao-platform-admin-login --exec -- sh -c \
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'umask 077; mkdir -p /home/worsch/.local/state/railiance/receipts; bao policy read ops-mason-survey 2>/dev/null | sha256sum > /home/worsch/.local/state/railiance/receipts/ops-mason-survey.sha256'
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cat /home/worsch/.local/state/railiance/receipts/ops-mason-survey.sha256
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sha256sum < /home/worsch/ops-mason/policies/ops-mason-survey.hcl
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```
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The two hashes match only if OpenBao returns the file byte-for-byte; if they
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differ, compare the stored text against the file before concluding the install
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is wrong (OpenBao may normalise a trailing newline).
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### Choosing the task name
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`grant <task>` sets `display_name=claude-<task>`, so the audit log attributes an
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action to a piece of work rather than to a person. Use the workplan task where
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there is one — `grant MASON-WP-0003-T02` — otherwise something a reader would
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recognise later.
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### The build grant (MASON-IN-0005)
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ops-mason is the builder. After a plan is approved, the founder mints the
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build grant:
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```bash
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./scripts/bao-session.sh build <plan-task> # ops-mason-construct, 45m, claude-<task>
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```
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Policy `ops-mason-construct` (`policies/ops-mason-construct.hcl`). It
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includes everything the survey grant can do, plus:
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| Allowed | Still denied |
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|---|---|
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| create/update/delete `sys/policies/acl/workload-kv-read-*` | every other policy; `default`, `root`, `ops-mason-*` (explicit deny) |
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| create/update/delete `auth/kubernetes/role/external-secrets-*` and AppRole role definitions, with `token_policies` limited to `workload-kv-read-*` | AppRole `role-id`, `secret-id*`, `custom-secret-id`; `auth/token/create*` |
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| `create` (no read or update) on `platform/data/{workloads,suppliers}/*`, so placeholders only | reading any `*/data/*`; overwriting an existing value |
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| full metadata on `platform/metadata/{workloads,suppliers}/*` (describe, tear down) | `sys/mounts/*`, `sys/auth/*`, `operators/` and `secret/` writes |
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The grant can build a lane but can never log in as one, which keeps the
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MASON-IN-0004 chain broken. AppRole secret-id delivery stays a founder act;
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Kubernetes-auth lanes need no secret-id. After every build, compare the
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written policy text with the plan's policy file (MASON-WP-0015-T04).
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Install it the same way as the survey policy, with `ops-mason-construct` and
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its file path.
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### When a broader grant is genuinely needed
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Minting a secret-id or a token, enabling a mount, reading a value, a policy
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outside `workload-kv-read-*`, or another subsystem's paths is outside both
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grants on purpose. Do not widen a policy to get past a refusal. Those acts go
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through the founder and the railiance-platform delegated applier
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(`scripts/credential-change.py applier-apply` under `warden access
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openbao-platform-admin-login --exec`), or need their own named policy and
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founder decision.
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