--- id: WARDEN-WP-0001 type: workplan title: "OpsWarden Initial Implementation" domain: custodian repo: ops-warden status: active owner: Bernd topic_slug: custodian created: "2026-03-28" updated: "2026-03-28" state_hub_workstream_id: "c3118cc6-adfb-428c-a9c6-edd0ee152ae6" --- # WARDEN-WP-0001 — OpsWarden Initial Implementation > **Note:** This workplan is authored in `ops-bridge` because `ops-warden` does not yet exist. > Move it to `workplans/WARDEN-WP-0001-initial-implementation.md` in the new repo as the > first commit action. **Scope:** Bootstrap the `ops-warden` repository and deliver a working `warden` CLI that implements the SSH CA and certificate lifecycle defined in `wiki/AccessManagementDirective.md`. **Out of scope:** Vault HA/cluster setup, Ansible playbooks for host principal deployment (those live in `railiance-infra`), session recording, and SSO integration (trigger §6.2 of the directive when scale requires it). --- ## Goal Create a new `ops-warden` repository that owns **credential issuance only** — the CA, certificate signing, actor identity registry, and scorecard tooling. Its sole public surface to sibling repos is a well-defined `cert_command` interface that any tool (principally `ops-bridge`) can call to obtain a short-lived, CA-signed SSH certificate for a named actor. --- ## Reference Documents | Document | Location | |---|---| | AccessManagementDirective | `ops-bridge/wiki/AccessManagementDirective.md` | | ops-bridge SCOPE.md | `ops-bridge/SCOPE.md` | --- ## Architecture ``` ops-warden/ ├── SCOPE.md ├── CLAUDE.md ├── pyproject.toml ├── src/warden/ │ ├── cli.py # Typer CLI: sign / issue / status / inventory / scorecard │ ├── models.py # ActorType enum, CertSpec, CertRecord, PrincipalsInventory │ ├── ca.py # LocalCA backend (file-based, for dev / non-Vault) │ ├── vault.py # VaultCA backend (Vault SSH engine, for production) │ ├── inventory.py # YAML principals inventory read/write │ ├── scorecard.py # §5 compliance checks │ └── config.py # ~/.config/warden/warden.yaml loader ├── tests/ └── wiki/ # (symlink or copy of AccessManagementDirective.md) ``` **Backends are swappable.** Config key `backend: local | vault` selects which CA implementation is used. This means the tool is fully functional without Vault for local lab use, and production-grade with Vault — the same CLI surface, the same `cert_command` interface, the same principals inventory format. **cert_command interface contract:** ``` warden sign --pubkey ``` Writes the signed certificate to stdout (the cert text). Exits non-zero on failure. `ops-bridge` calls this verbatim via `cert_command` in `tunnels.yaml`. --- ## Stack - **Language:** Python 3.11+ - **CLI framework:** Typer - **Dependencies:** typer, pyyaml, httpx, cryptography (for cert parsing / TTL reading) - **Vault SDK:** `hvac` (optional; only required for vault backend) - **Packaging:** `uv tool install` --- ## Tasks ### T1 — Repository bootstrap ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T1 state_hub_task_id: 6d643e9d-5e97-4224-9d82-87267b5ba6bc status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] Create `ops-warden` repo; copy CLAUDE.md template from `ops-bridge`; add `workplans/WARDEN-WP-0001-initial-implementation.md` (this file) - [ ] Write `SCOPE.md` (see template in §SCOPE below) - [ ] `pyproject.toml`: `[project.scripts] warden = "warden.cli:app"` - [ ] Register repo with state-hub (`register_repo`) - [ ] Create state-hub workstream for this workplan ### T2 — Models and config ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T2 state_hub_task_id: c66fc65a-0b16-4ba2-9e70-a83d875572ec status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] `models.py`: `ActorType` enum (`adm | agt | atm`); `CertSpec` (actor_name, pubkey_path, ttl_hours, principals); `CertRecord` (identity, valid_before, cert_path, signed_at) - [ ] `config.py`: load `~/.config/warden/warden.yaml`; required fields: `backend`, `ca_key` (local) or `vault_addr` + `vault_role_map` (vault); optional: `inventory_path`, `state_dir` - [ ] Validate actor name prefix matches `ActorType` (`adm-*`, `agt-*`, `atm-*`) ### T3 — LocalCA backend ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T3 state_hub_task_id: a5a41e58-1c6d-42a9-9b11-2088f17c29b5 status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] `ca.py`: `LocalCA.sign(spec: CertSpec) -> CertRecord` - Calls `ssh-keygen -s -I -n -V +h ` - Parses `ssh-keygen -L -f ` output to extract `Valid before`, `Key ID`, `Principals` - Returns `CertRecord`; writes cert to `~/.local/state/warden/.cert.pub` - [ ] Default TTLs enforced per `ActorType`: adm → 48 h, agt → 24 h, atm → 8 h (overridable per actor in inventory) - [ ] `LocalCA.generate_keypair(actor_name) -> (privkey_path, pubkey_path)` — for agt/atm actors that do not bring their own key ### T4 — VaultCA backend ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T4 state_hub_task_id: b2067ee6-c9ce-423b-9d60-0d28069fb304 status: todo priority: medium ``` - [ ] `vault.py`: `VaultCA.sign(spec: CertSpec) -> CertRecord` - `POST /v1/ssh/sign/` with `public_key`, `valid_principals`, `ttl` - Parse response `signed_key` field; write to state dir; extract metadata via `ssh-keygen -L` - [ ] Role map in config: `vault_role_map: {adm: adm-role, agt: agt-role, atm: atm-role}` - [ ] Graceful error message when Vault is unreachable (with `--backend local` fallback hint) ### T5 — Principals inventory ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T5 state_hub_task_id: 6d13f8cd-1850-44c9-b769-b21250348319 status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] `inventory.py`: load/save `inventory.yaml` (format mirrors §4.1 of directive): ```yaml actors: agt-state-hub-bridge: type: agt principals: [agt-task-bridge] ttl_hours: 24 description: "ops-bridge tunnel actor" hosts: coulombcore: allowed_principals: agt: [agt-task-bridge] atm: [atm-backup-daily] ``` - [ ] `warden inventory list` — print table - [ ] `warden inventory add --type --principals <...>` - [ ] `warden inventory remove ` ### T6 — CLI commands ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T6 state_hub_task_id: 656a4615-92bb-4b5d-9406-e86d24fa15d0 status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] `warden sign --pubkey ` — sign existing pubkey; write cert to stdout (the `cert_command` interface for ops-bridge) - [ ] `warden issue ` — generate keypair + sign; output JSON with `privkey`, `cert`, `valid_before`, `identity` - [ ] `warden status [actor-name]` — show cert validity, identity, principals, TTL remaining; `--all` flag to show all actors in state dir - [ ] `warden scorecard` — run §5 checks (see T7) - [ ] `warden inventory ` (list / add / remove) ### T7 — Scorecard runner ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T7 state_hub_task_id: 7818bcc5-f40e-4793-b117-d36f653ffeed status: todo priority: medium ``` - [ ] `scorecard.py`: implement each §5 row as a named check function returning `CheckResult(name, passed, detail)` - [ ] Checks in scope for `ops-warden` (local checks, not host-side): - All certs in state dir respect TTL policy for their `ActorType` - No actor in inventory lacks a `principals` entry - Actor name prefix matches declared type - No cert expired by more than 5 min still present in state dir (stale cleanup) - [ ] Host-side checks (password auth disabled, root login disabled, etc.) are out of scope — those live in the Ansible `ssh-access-audit.yml` playbook in `railiance-infra` - [ ] `warden scorecard --json` for machine-readable output ### T8 — ops-ssh-wrapper script ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T8 state_hub_task_id: e9c28152-5785-4995-83a5-439985ed3db9 status: todo priority: medium ``` - [ ] Ship `scripts/ops-ssh-wrapper` (the Python snippet from §4.1, hardened): - Reads `WARDEN_ACTOR` and `SSH_PUBKEY` env vars - Calls `warden sign $WARDEN_ACTOR --pubkey $SSH_PUBKEY` - Loads cert via `ssh-add`; execs the given command - [ ] Install as part of `uv tool install` entry points ### T9 — Tests ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T9 state_hub_task_id: 950139ab-cc17-4f1d-9a17-d5744e402ddf status: todo priority: high ``` - [ ] Unit tests for `LocalCA` (mock `ssh-keygen` subprocess) - [ ] Unit tests for inventory YAML round-trip - [ ] Unit tests for actor name prefix validation - [ ] Integration test: `LocalCA.sign` on a real test keypair (requires `ssh-keygen` in PATH) - [ ] Scorecard unit tests (mock cert records) ### T10 — Documentation ```task id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T10 state_hub_task_id: 271d6759-e359-41ce-80e4-76c574634a87 status: todo priority: medium ``` - [ ] `SCOPE.md` (see below) - [ ] `wiki/AccessManagementDirective.md` — copy from `ops-bridge/wiki/` - [ ] `wiki/OpsWardenConfig.md` — annotated `warden.yaml` reference - [ ] `wiki/CertCommandInterface.md` — contract for `cert_command` callers (ops-bridge etc.) --- ## SCOPE.md Template ``` # SCOPE ## One-liner SSH Certificate Authority and credential issuance for the ops fleet — signs short-lived certs for adm/agt/atm actors; provides the cert_command interface consumed by ops-bridge and other tooling. ## Core Idea Implements AccessManagementDirective §§1–5. Owns the CA key, actor inventory, signing logic, and scorecard. Does not own tunnel lifecycle, host provisioning, or SSH key generation for humans. ## In Scope - Local CA backend (ssh-keygen -s) for lab / non-Vault use - Vault SSH engine backend for production - Actor identity registry (inventory.yaml) - cert_command CLI interface: `warden sign --pubkey ` - TTL policy enforcement per ActorType (adm/agt/atm) - Certificate status and stale-cert cleanup - Scorecard checks (local / cert-side only) - ops-ssh-wrapper script for agt/atm startup automation ## Out of Scope - Host-side principal deployment (railiance-infra Ansible) - SSH key generation for human admins (self-service: ssh-keygen) - Vault cluster setup / HA - Session recording, audit forwarding to SIEM (host-side) - Tunnel lifecycle (ops-bridge) - SSO / Teleport (trigger when §6.2 scale thresholds are hit) ## Relevant When - Issuing or refreshing a cert for any adm/agt/atm actor - Checking cert validity / scorecard compliance - ops-bridge needs cert_command to be defined - Adding a new actor to the principals inventory ## Not Relevant When - Managing tunnel lifecycle (ops-bridge) - Deploying SSH config to hosts (railiance-infra) - All access is via static keys with no TTL (legacy mode) ## Current State Status: planned (WARDEN-WP-0001 not yet started) ## Related Repositories - ops-bridge — primary consumer of cert_command interface - railiance-infra — owns host-side principal deployment - the-custodian/state-hub — registers domain/workstreams ``` --- ## Acceptance Criteria - [ ] `warden sign agt-test-actor --pubkey /tmp/test.pub` outputs a valid cert (local backend) - [ ] `warden status agt-test-actor` shows correct identity, principals, and time-to-expiry - [ ] `warden scorecard` returns 5/5 on a clean test inventory - [ ] `warden sign` called from ops-bridge `cert_command` in an integration test tunnel - [ ] All tests pass: `uv run pytest` - [ ] All lints pass: `uv run ruff check .`