Add a read-only `warden route` command group (list/show/find) that reads registry/routing/catalog.yaml and tells a worker which subsystem owns a need and which wiki/canon doc to follow. ops-warden still executes exactly one lane (SSH); routed entries return a pointer and never call any subsystem. - src/warden/routing/: models.py + catalog.py loader; enforces the no-double-source rule (non-SSH entries with steps/cert_command fail validation), dup-id and schema checks. - route list (active-only unless --all, --tag), route show (SSH appends steps + cert pattern; routed ends with "next action on <owner> — see <wiki_ref>"), route find (keyword ranking, --json). - tests/test_routing.py: load/validation, find ranking, CLI JSON shapes, plus a drift guard (every wiki_ref anchor resolves; every entry has a reviewed date). - Docs: wiki/AccessRouting.md CLI section, README quick reference, SCOPE A3 -> A4. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Access Routing — what ops-warden answers
Date: 2026-06-18
ops-warden issues short-lived SSH certificates and routes every other credential need to the subsystem that owns it. This page states that role plainly so it cannot be misread as a desk that wraps the platform.
- What ops-warden executes: the SSH certificate lane only (
warden sign,cert_command,ops-ssh-wrapper). - What ops-warden answers: where a credential need belongs and who owns it — pointing at the owner's docs, never restating their procedure.
- What ops-warden never does: vend API keys, log you in, decide policy, open tunnels, or deploy hosts.
For the worker-facing decision tree see CredentialRouting.md; for component
literacy see NetKingdomSecurityMap.md. This page is the steward's statement of
role and boundary.
Issue vs route
| Need | Subsystem | ops-warden role | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
SSH cert for host/ops access (adm/agt/atm) |
ops-warden | Issue (warden sign) |
ops-warden signs; worker uses cert |
| API key / DB cred / dynamic lease | OpenBao | Route — point at path | Worker calls OpenBao |
| "May I perform action X?" | flex-auth (+ Topaz PDP) | Route — point at policy | Worker/PEP calls flex-auth |
| Login / OIDC token / MFA | key-cape / Keycloak | Route — point at IAM Profile | Worker authenticates |
| Object-storage STS / S3 creds | net-kingdom + flex-auth + OpenBao | Route — point at vending path | Worker follows NK-WP-0007 |
| SSH tunnel / port forward | ops-bridge | Route — supply cert_command |
ops-bridge opens tunnel |
| Host principal / force-command | railiance-infra | Route — point at Ansible | infra deploys host |
| OpenBao cluster init / unseal | railiance-platform | Route — point at ceremony | platform operates |
Only the first row is something ops-warden executes. Every other row is a pointer: ops-warden names the owner and the doc, and the worker acts on the owning system directly.
Anti-patterns (not coming to ops-warden)
These commands do not exist and will not be added — they belong to other subsystems. If you find yourself wanting one, you are on the wrong desk:
| Tempting command | Why it's wrong | Right path |
|---|---|---|
warden secret / warden bao |
ops-warden does not store or vend secrets | OpenBao |
warden login |
ops-warden does not establish identity | key-cape / Keycloak |
warden policy |
ops-warden does not decide authorization | flex-auth |
warden tunnel |
ops-warden does not manage transport | ops-bridge |
ops-warden authors step-by-step procedure for exactly one lane — SSH issuance —
because it owns it. For everything else it carries a pointer, not a fork of
the owner's runbook. See the no-double-source rule in
workplans/WARDEN-WP-0010-access-routing-charter.md.
Routing lookup CLI (warden route)
Agents and operators query the pointer catalog directly instead of re-deriving routing from wiki prose. The command group is read-only — it never calls OpenBao, flex-auth, key-cape, or any other subsystem, and never returns secret material.
warden route list [--json] [--all] [--tag <keyword>] # active-only unless --all
warden route show <id> [--json] # owner + pointers; SSH adds steps
warden route find "<free text need>" [--json] [--all] # rank by keyword overlap
Agent-oriented examples:
# "I need an API key" — find the owner, get a pointer, act there yourself
warden route find "openrouter api key" --json
warden route show openbao-api-key --json
# → {"warden_executes": false, "next_action": "next action on `railiance-platform` — see `wiki/CredentialRouting.md#routing-table`"}
# The one lane ops-warden executes: SSH. `show` appends the authored steps + cert pattern.
warden route show ssh-cert-host-access --json
# → {"warden_executes": true, "cert_command": "warden sign <actor> --pubkey <path>", "steps": [...]}
show on a routed (non-SSH) need always ends with "next action on
<owner_repo> — see <wiki_ref>" and never implies ops-warden performed
anything. Draft scenarios (owner path not yet shipped) are hidden unless --all.
Audience notes
- Human operators read this page and
CredentialRouting.mdto choose the right subsystem, then follow that subsystem's own docs. - Agents / CI read the machine-readable routing catalog
(
registry/routing/catalog.yaml) viawarden route(above) so routing does not have to be re-derived from wiki prose each session. - Same truth, two shapes: humans read the wiki; agents read the catalog. The
catalog references wiki sections by anchor so the two cannot drift apart — a
test (
tests/test_routing.py) fails CI if anywiki_refanchor stops resolving.
How this stays aligned
NetKingdom security architecture is canonical in net-kingdom. ops-warden tracks
it: when canon changes, the wiki section is updated and the catalog pointer
(wiki_ref + canon_ref) follows. ops-warden never overrides canon and never
silently forks it.
Report drift via a custodian workplan or a State Hub message to ops-warden.
See also
CredentialRouting.md— worker decision tree and routing tableNetKingdomSecurityMap.md— component literacyINTENT.md— steward mission ("issue SSH, route the rest")workplans/WARDEN-WP-0010-access-routing-charter.md— charter + no-double-source rulenet-kingdom/docs/platform-identity-security-architecture.md— platform canon