---
id: WARDEN-WP-0009
type: workplan
title: "flex-auth Policy Gate Production Readiness"
domain: infotech
repo: ops-warden
status: archived
owner: codex
topic_slug: custodian
planning_priority: low
planning_order: 9
created: "2026-06-18"
updated: "2026-06-23"
state_hub_workstream_id: "9213b262-e2f5-480e-a5bc-56635d5eb4c9"
---

# WARDEN-WP-0009 — flex-auth Policy Gate Production Readiness

**Scope:** Enable and verify the opt-in flex-auth pre-sign gate (`policy.enabled`)
in production after flex-auth publishes `ssh-certificate` resource policies.

**Out of scope:** flex-auth policy package authoring (flex-auth owner — delivered
FLEX-WP-0006 2026-06-23); OpenBao SSH engine and host CA (complete — NET-WP-0020
T5 / WP-0008 T2); in-cluster flex-auth deployment (continued in flex-auth
`FLEX-WP-0007`).

**Spun out from:** WARDEN-WP-0008 T5 (2026-06-18 closeout).

---

## Tasks

### T1 — flex-auth policy package confirmation

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0009-T01
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "f988ed2e-0f63-4e89-abc4-183a7f23ddc2"
```

- [x] Confirm flex-auth policies for resource type `ssh-certificate` exist
- [x] Document tenant/subject bindings for `adm` / `agt` / `atm` sign paths
- [x] Coordinate with flex-auth owner on deny/allow test fixtures

### T2 — Production enablement and smoke

```task
id: WARDEN-WP-0009-T02
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "9d0fabc2-10ef-426d-a3d2-d4970d377029"
```

- [x] Document operator steps to set `policy.enabled: true` (see `wiki/PolicyGatedSigning.md`)
- [x] Local smoke — allow/deny paths with `policy_decision_id` / `ttl_out_of_bounds`
- [x] Production registry slice from inventory (`registry/flex-auth/production_registry_snapshot.json`)
- [x] Production registry smoke — allow `agt-state-hub-bridge` (`decision:032b096c433ad80c`)
- [x] Production registry smoke — deny `--ttl 999` (`ttl_out_of_bounds`)

---

## Deliverables

| Artifact | Path |
| --- | --- |
| Registry builder | `scripts/build_flex_auth_registry.py` |
| Production registry | `registry/flex-auth/production_registry_snapshot.json` |
| Smoke runner | `scripts/policy_gate_production_smoke.sh` |
| Local smoke evidence | `history/2026-06-23-flex-auth-policy-gate-local-smoke.md` |
| Production smoke evidence | `history/2026-06-23-flex-auth-policy-gate-production-smoke.md` |
| flex-auth pickup brief | `history/2026-06-23-flex-auth-production-pickup-suggestion.md` |

---

## Closeout (2026-06-23)

T1–T2 complete. ops-warden caller side and production-registry smoke verified.
Production `policy.enabled: true` flip deferred until flex-auth runtime is
reachable — tracked in flex-auth `FLEX-WP-0007`, not this workplan.

**Operator follow-up (FLEX-WP-0007):**

- Deploy registry + policy package to in-cluster flex-auth; set `policy.flex_auth_url`
- Refresh scoped `VAULT_TOKEN` and run `SMOKE_VAULT=1 ./scripts/policy_gate_production_smoke.sh`
- Set `policy.enabled: true` in `~/.config/warden/warden.yaml` when flex-auth is reachable

---

## See also

- `wiki/PolicyGatedSigning.md`
- `~/flex-auth/docs/ops-warden-policy-gate-handoff.md`
- `~/flex-auth/workplans/FLEX-WP-0007-ops-warden-policy-gate-production-deployment.md`
- `examples/warden.production.example.yaml`