ops-warden/SCOPE.md

# SCOPE

> This file helps you quickly understand what this repository is about,
> when it is relevant, and when it is not.
> Aspirational direction lives in `INTENT.md`.

---

## One-liner

Operational access steward for the NetKingdom security model — issues short-lived
SSH certificates for `adm`/`agt`/`atm` actors, documents how to obtain other
credential types from the right platform subsystems, and keeps ops access guidance
aligned with NetKingdom canon.

---

## Where we are (2026-06-18)

ops-warden **issues short-lived SSH certificates and routes every other credential
need to the subsystem that owns it.** SSH signing is **production-verified** on
Railiance OpenBao (`warden sign` against `https://bao.coulomb.social`, host CA trust
deployed). The routing material — `wiki/AccessRouting.md`, the credential routing
wiki, NetKingdom security map, a machine-readable pointer catalog
(`registry/routing/catalog.yaml`, WARDEN-WP-0010), and the `warden route`
lookup CLI over it (`list`/`show`/`find`, WARDEN-WP-0011) — is operational. The opt-in
flex-auth pre-sign gate is **coded but off in production** until flex-auth publishes
`ssh-certificate` policies (WARDEN-WP-0009).

**INTENT alignment:** SSH issuance mission met in production. Remaining distance
is integration breadth (ops-bridge `cert_command` on live tunnels), authorization
depth (flex-auth), and operator hygiene — not missing signing code.

### Issue vs route

ops-warden executes exactly one lane and points at the owner for the rest.

| Need | Subsystem | ops-warden role |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SSH cert for host/ops access (`adm`/`agt`/`atm`) | **ops-warden** | **Issue** (`warden sign`) |
| API key / DB cred / dynamic lease | OpenBao | Route — point at path |
| "May I perform action X?" | flex-auth | Route — point at policy |
| Login / OIDC / MFA | key-cape / Keycloak | Route — point at IAM Profile |
| SSH tunnel / port forward | ops-bridge | Route — supply `cert_command` |
| Host principal deployment | railiance-infra | Route — point at Ansible |

Full role and boundary: `wiki/AccessRouting.md`. The catalog is a **pointer layer** —
it never restates an owner's procedure (authored `steps` exist only for the SSH lane).

Full gap analysis: `history/2026-06-18-post-wp0008-intent-scope-reassessment.md`

---

## INTENT gap snapshot

| INTENT success criterion | Status |
| --- | --- |
| Worker knows which subsystem for each credential type | Met |
| SSH short-lived, inventoried, audited | Met (production) |
| ops-bridge integrates via stable `cert_command` | **Partial** — contract yes; tunnels still static-key |
| NetKingdom evolution reflected in docs | Met |
| Non-SSH secrets stay out of ops-warden | Met |

**Maturity vector:** `D5 / A4 / C4 / R3` (Discovery / Availability / Completeness / Reliability)

| Dimension | Level | Meaning today |
| --- | --- | --- |
| D5 | Discovery | Routing wiki + security map + pointer catalog + NK canon cross-links |
| A4 | Availability | CLI + opt-in policy gate + `warden route` lookup over the machine-readable catalog (`list`/`show`/`find`, `--json` for agents) |
| C4 | Completeness | SSH lane prod-verified; flex-auth policies external |
| R3 | Reliability | Live OpenBao sign evidence on Railiance |

---

## Core Idea

**Today:** implements the SSH certificate lane from `wiki/AccessManagementDirective.md`
§§1–5 — CA signing, actor inventory, TTL policy, cert-side scorecard, and the
`cert_command` interface for ops-bridge. Production path uses OpenBao SSH engine
(`backend: vault`).

**Direction (INTENT):** issue short-lived SSH certificates and route dev workers to
key-cape, flex-auth, OpenBao, ops-bridge, and railiance components for everything
else — implementing only the SSH certificate lane directly, pointing at the owner
for the rest.

---

## In Scope

### Implemented (SSH lane)

- Local CA backend (`ssh-keygen -s`)
- OpenBao / Vault-compatible SSH engine backend (**production-verified**)
- Actor identity registry (`inventory.yaml`)
- `cert_command`: `warden sign <actor> --pubkey <path>` → cert on stdout
- TTL enforcement per `ActorType` (`adm` 48 h, `agt` 24 h, `atm` 8 h)
- `warden status`, cleanup, scorecard, signatures log
- `warden route` lookup CLI (`list`/`show`/`find`, `--json`) over the pointer catalog
- `warden issue` and `ops-ssh-wrapper` (local backend; vault uses sign-only)
- Runbooks for OpenBao config and Inter-Hub bootstrap SSH envelope

### Stewardship (documentation and alignment)

- NetKingdom security routing guidance — which subsystem owns which credential type
- Wiki and config references aligned with OpenBao-first platform standard
- Capability registry entry for SSH certificate issuance
- Keeping ops access patterns consistent with `net-kingdom` platform architecture

### Shipped workplans

| WP | Focus |
| --- | --- |
| WP-0006 | Credential routing, security map, inventory patterns, OpenBao checklist |
| WP-0007 | Opt-in flex-auth policy gate (`policy.enabled`) |
| WP-0008 | Production sign verification, stewardship closeout, archive hygiene |
| WP-0010 | "Issue SSH, route the rest" wording + `wiki/AccessRouting.md` + pointer catalog |
| WP-0011 | `warden route` lookup CLI (`list`/`show`/`find`) over the pointer catalog (A3 → A4) |

### Active / wait

| WP | Status | Focus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **WP-0009** | `blocked` | flex-auth `ssh-certificate` policies + `policy.enabled` production smoke |
| **WP-0012** | `backlog` | Routing scenario playbooks (draft until owner paths ship) |

### Known gaps (not yet workplanned)

| Gap | Owner | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ops-bridge `cert_command` on live tunnels | ops-bridge | Tunnels use `agt-claude-*` static keys today |
| Operator token hygiene | Operator | Prefer OIDC + `warden-sign`; retire root from shell profile |
| Principals sync warden ↔ railiance-infra | ops-warden + infra | `inventory.yaml` hosts vs `ssh_principals.yaml` |
| NK-WP-0009 joint SSH tutorial | net-kingdom | Parallel coordination track |

The integration-closeout strand (ops-bridge tunnel migration, token runbook) from
reassessment §6 is not yet workplanned; WARDEN-WP-0010 was used for the access-routing
charter instead. Open a new WP when tunnel migration becomes priority.

---

## Out of Scope

- **Issuing** non-SSH secrets (API keys, DB creds, S3 STS, Inter-Hub keys) → OpenBao
  with flex-auth policy where required; ops-warden documents paths only
- Identity / OIDC / MFA → key-cape, Keycloak
- Authorization policy decisions → flex-auth
- Tunnel lifecycle → `ops-bridge`
- Host principal deployment → `railiance-infra`
- OpenBao / Vault cluster deployment → `railiance-platform`
- Human admin SSH key generation (self-service `ssh-keygen`)
- Session recording, SIEM, SSO / Teleport at scale

---

## Relevant When

- Issuing or refreshing an **SSH cert** for `adm`/`agt`/`atm`
- A dev worker needs to know **where to get credentials** in the NetKingdom stack
- `ops-bridge` needs a `cert_command` for a tunnel
- Adding actors to the principals inventory
- Inter-Hub or bootstrap tasks need a **short-lived agent SSH envelope**
- Checking cert-side compliance (scorecard)

---

## Not Relevant When

- Storing or vending **API keys or runtime secrets** (→ OpenBao)
- Policy decisions on resource access (→ flex-auth)
- Managing tunnels without SSH cert issuance (→ ops-bridge)
- Static-key-only legacy access (ops-bridge static key mode)

---

## Current State

- **SSH CLI:** v0.1.0 — local + OpenBao backends
- **Production sign:** verified 2026-06-18 (`history/2026-06-17-openbao-production-verify.md`)
- **Policy gate:** shipped, `policy.enabled: false` in prod until WP-0009
- **Active workplan:** WP-0009 (wait — flex-auth)
- **Latest assessment:** `history/2026-06-18-post-wp0008-intent-scope-reassessment.md`

---

## How It Fits (NetKingdom)

```text
key-cape / Keycloak     identity claims
        → flex-auth     authorization decisions
        → OpenBao       runtime secrets & dynamic credentials
        → ops-warden    SSH certs + operational access guidance
        → ops-bridge    tunnel transport (cert_command consumer)
        → railiance-*   deployment and host enforcement
```

Upstream: OpenBao SSH engine (production) or local CA (labs). Actor inventory in
operator config or Git-tracked patterns.

Downstream: `ops-bridge` (primary), kaizen agents, CI automations, human operators.

---

## Terminology

- `ActorType`: `adm` | `agt` | `atm`
- `cert_command`: shell command returning a cert on stdout
- `inventory.yaml`: actor → principals + TTL registry
- `LocalCA` / `VaultCA`: signing backends (`backend: local` | `vault`)

---

## Related Repositories

| Repo | Relationship |
| --- | --- |
| `net-kingdom` | Canonical security architecture; ops-warden aligns to it |
| `ops-bridge` | Primary cert_command consumer |
| `railiance-infra` | Host-side SSH principals and hardening |
| `railiance-platform` | OpenBao deployment and platform secrets |
| `flex-auth` | Authorization; opt-in pre-sign policy gate (`policy.enabled`) |
| `key-cape` | Identity / IAM Profile lightweight mode |
| `state-hub` | Workstream registry |

---

## Provided Capabilities

```capability
type: security
title: SSH certificate issuance
description: Issues short-lived CA-signed SSH certificates for adm/agt/atm actors via a
  pluggable cert_command interface; documents NetKingdom operational access routing;
  supports local CA and OpenBao/Vault-compatible SSH engine backends.
keywords: [ssh, certificate, ca, credential, warden, ops-warden, pki, openbao, vault, netkingdom]
```

---

## Getting Oriented

| Read first | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `INTENT.md` | Why ops-warden exists and where it is going |
| `SCOPE.md` | What is implemented today (this file) |
| `history/2026-06-18-post-wp0008-intent-scope-reassessment.md` | Latest INTENT ↔ SCOPE gap analysis |
| `wiki/AccessRouting.md` | What ops-warden issues vs routes (role and boundary) |
| `wiki/CredentialRouting.md` | Which subsystem for each credential need |
| `registry/routing/catalog.yaml` | Machine-readable routing pointer catalog |
| `wiki/NetKingdomSecurityMap.md` | Platform security component map |
| `examples/warden.production.example.yaml` | Production warden.yaml template |
| `wiki/AccessManagementDirective.md` | SSH actor model |
| `wiki/OpsWardenConfig.md` | warden.yaml and OpenBao |
| `wiki/CertCommandInterface.md` | cert_command contract |
| `wiki/PolicyGatedSigning.md` | flex-auth opt-in gate |
| `net-kingdom/docs/platform-identity-security-architecture.md` | Platform security canon |