ops-bridge/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0001-initial-implementation.md

---
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 <actor-name> --pubkey <path>
```
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 <ca_key> -I <identity> -n <principals> -V +<ttl>h <pubkey>`
      - Parses `ssh-keygen -L -f <cert>` output to extract `Valid before`, `Key ID`,
        `Principals`
      - Returns `CertRecord`; writes cert to `~/.local/state/warden/<actor>.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/<role>` 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 <actor-name> --type <adm|agt|atm> --principals <...>`
- [ ] `warden inventory remove <actor-name>`

### T6 — CLI commands

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0001-T6
state_hub_task_id: 656a4615-92bb-4b5d-9406-e86d24fa15d0
status: todo
priority: high
```

- [ ] `warden sign <actor-name> --pubkey <path>` — sign existing pubkey; write cert to
      stdout (the `cert_command` interface for ops-bridge)
- [ ] `warden issue <actor-name>` — 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 <subcommand>` (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 <actor> --pubkey <path>`
- 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 .`