ops-warden/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0029-policy-front-door-and-founder-surface.md

---
id: WARDEN-WP-0029
type: workplan
title: "Policy front door: posture-aware access planning + founder interaction surface"
domain: infotech
repo: ops-warden
status: active
owner: codex
topic_slug: custodian
planning_priority: high
planning_order: 29
created: "2026-07-18"
updated: "2026-07-18"
state_hub_workstream_id: "6e396e7e-99c5-43aa-98a0-27f157de12a3"
---

# WARDEN-WP-0029 — Policy front door + founder interaction surface

## Origin

Founder directive 2026-07-18 (binky-control cutover prep): agents proposed
raw credential mechanics to the founder ("attach the deploy key in the
forgejo UI", "save the PAT to /tmp/...") although a catalogued lane
(`forgejo-admin-api-token`, WARDEN-WP-0025) already covered the need — the
installed CLI's catalog was stale, and nothing forced the ask-warden-first
step. Directive: **ops-warden is the service to ask what can and needs to be
done** per NetKingdom policy; the founder is bothered only when policy makes
it absolutely necessary, and then preferably via a purpose-built interaction
surface, not CLI/file handoffs. The organization is in **build phase** and
ops-warden must know that posture. INTENT.md principles 7 and 8 (added with
this workplan) capture the direction.

## Goal

1. `warden plan "<need>"` — a policy decision front door: given a need, answer
   *autonomous / founder-act-required / unroutable*, with the exact commands
   or the exact founder act, posture-stated.
2. Declared **organization posture** (`build`) as a **third axis** beside env
   posture (dev/test/prod) and workload maturity (M0–M3).
3. A **founder interaction surface**: local web page for the rare founder
   acts (approve, OIDC-login prompt, paste-once secret capture straight into
   OpenBao) — no values through CLI history or files.
4. Catalog freshness + agent guidance so ask-warden-first is the enforced
   default.

## Design constraints (optimized 2026-07-18)

- **Compose, do not fork:** `warden plan` must call the routing catalog +
  `expand_handoff` / `resolvable`; it must not re-implement keyword matching
  or invent a second catalog.
- **Org posture is a third axis:** do not overload env posture or maturity.
- **Desk MVP is build-phase only:** localhost, OS-session trust, stdlib HTTP
  server (pattern: net-kingdom `security-bootstrap-console`). No core-hub /
  whynot dependency for v1.
- **Reuse map (reuse.coulomb.social):** flex-auth (policy-evaluate), key-cape
  (OIDC act), net-kingdom bootstrap console (localhost desk shape),
  railiance-platform (OpenBao custody). Do not rebuild those owners.

## Delivery sequence

```text
T02 (org posture)  ─┐
T05 (catalog freshness) ─┼─→ T01 (warden plan composes both)
T04 (playbook sweep) ───┘   (parallel once plan shape known)
T03 (desk)  ← after T01 can emit founder_required with a typed act
```

T05 is high priority: catalog staleness was the incident root cause.

## Tasks

### T02 — Declared organization posture (build phase)

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0029-T02
status: todo
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "73ae528c-384d-43dd-a62a-455a32ec1ea5"
```

Add `organization_posture: build` as a **third axis** in registry policy
configuration (alongside env posture dev/test/prod and workload maturity
M0–M3 — do not overload those axes), with build-phase policy relaxations
spelled out (workstation OIDC acceptable, per-repo deploy keys, advisory
flex-auth) and the graduation triggers (first customer data, first
non-founder operator, prod tier). `warden plan`, `warden policy`, and
scorecard must state the posture in their output.

### T05 — Catalog freshness + agent guidance

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0029-T05
status: todo
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "2121d102-806a-424a-8b62-bd25d7a9324e"
```

The stale-CLI failure mode: `warden` resolved an old **bundled** catalog and
hid an existing lane. Add a catalog version/freshness check (source path,
content hash or mtime, package version, warn when using bundled fallback or
when reviewed entries are stale; `warden route list` shows catalog date) and
update AGENTS/CLAUDE guidance in ops-warden: agents must run `warden plan`
before ever drafting a founder credential step. (Consuming-repo snippets are
out of band — pointer only.)

### T01 — `warden plan` decision front door

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0029-T01
status: todo
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "32e4a755-fb74-4979-920f-32d44888df9d"
```

New command: `warden plan "<need>" [--actor agt-...] [--domain ...]`.
**Composes** routing catalog (`find` / `RouteEntry`) + `expand_handoff` +
`resolvable` + organization posture + policy gate status. Returns a typed
verdict: `autonomous` (with the exec-capable command sequence),
`founder_required` (with a typed founder act: `oidc_login` | `approve` |
`paste_once_provision`), or `unroutable` (with a CCR proposal stub). JSON
output for agents. Every plan call audited (metadata only). Does **not**
duplicate keyword matching or hold secret values.

### T04 — Retire file-drop patterns from playbooks

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0029-T04
status: todo
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "61d25118-14ec-4846-8d53-3e09d437cac3"
```

Sweep wiki/playbooks (starting with
`forgejo-admin-api-token.md` `/tmp/forgejo-tegwick-api-token` steady-state
remnants) and replace file drops with `warden access --exec` / `--out` /
`--wrap` lanes or T03 paste-once capture. Document consumer follow-ups
(railiance-platform `forgejo_package_prune`, binky-control cutover) as
pointers — in-repo playbooks must not instruct founder file drops.

### T03 — Founder interaction surface (local web approval page)

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0029-T03
status: todo
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "2ea768b7-d756-4c45-ac65-1670e069fafb"
```

`warden desk`: serves a localhost, short-lived page when a plan needs a
founder act — renders the exact action in plain language (approve/deny,
launch OIDC login, or paste-once secret capture that writes straight to the
OpenBao path and never echoes). No values in terminal scrollback, shell
history, or durable files. Metadata-only audit per interaction.

**Build-phase non-goals:** multi-user auth, remote bind, core-hub / whynot
UI stack. Pattern: stdlib `ThreadingHTTPServer` on `127.0.0.1` only (see
net-kingdom security-bootstrap-console). Hardening graduates with org
posture.

## Acceptance

- `warden plan "forgejo deploy key for binky-control"` returns `autonomous`
  with the admin-lane command sequence; `warden plan` for a need that only
  matches a non-resolvable / provision-needed path returns `founder_required`
  with exactly one typed founder act.
- Posture `build` visible in plan output and scorecard.
- `warden desk` can complete one founder act (approve or paste-once) with
  zero secret values in CLI/files/audit payload.
- No in-repo playbook instructs a founder file drop as steady state.
- Catalog freshness is visible on `warden route list` / plan JSON.

## See also

- INTENT.md §7 (founder escalated, never tasked) and §8 (build-phase posture)
- WARDEN-WP-0025 (forgejo admin token lane), WARDEN-WP-0026/0027 (disclosure
  hygiene, governance lockdown)
- reuse.coulomb.social: `capability.authorization.policy-evaluate`,
  `capability.iam.key-cape`, `capability.security.iam-tooling-suite`
- binky-control DEC-2026-003 (first consumer: cutover without founder
  mechanics)