Files
ops-warden/history/2026-06-17-intent-scope-assessment.md
tegwick ca1eaf3350 Define INTENT, refresh SCOPE, and plan NetKingdom stewardship
Add ops-warden INTENT as operational access steward for NetKingdom
security (route credential lanes, align docs, issue SSH certs only).
Refresh SCOPE for stewardship scope, persist INTENT↔SCOPE gap assessment,
and open WARDEN-WP-0006 for routing runbooks and platform alignment.
2026-06-17 08:20:32 +02:00

7.3 KiB

INTENT ↔ SCOPE State Assessment — ops-warden

Date: 2026-06-17
Author: codex
Trigger: INTENT.md established; SCOPE.md refreshed to reflect stewardship mission alongside SSH CLI implementation.
Follow-up workplan: workplans/WARDEN-WP-0006-netkingdom-alignment-and-access-stewardship.md


1. Executive summary

ops-warden ships a complete SSH CA CLI (v0.1.0, 100 unit tests, OpenBao-first docs, federation capability published). The new INTENT reframes the repo as an operational access steward for the NetKingdom security model: knowledgeable about platform credential lanes, routing workers to the right subsystems, keeping guidance aligned — while issuing only SSH certificates directly.

Alignment: strong on the SSH implementation lane; weak on the stewardship and NetKingdom integration lane declared in INTENT.

Self-assessed vector (product): D4 / A3 / C2 / R2

Dimension Level Rationale
Discovery (D) D4 SSH lane well documented; stewardship/routing canon immature
Availability (A) A3 Installable CLI + cert_command; no desk API or policy gate
Completeness (C) C2 SSH core works; INTENT stewardship largely undelivered
Reliability (R) R2 Good test coverage; production OpenBao SSH path not verified end-to-end

2. Delivery snapshot

Area State (2026-06-17)
SSH CLI warden sign/issue/status/scorecard/cleanup/log/inventory
Backends local + vault (OpenBao-compatible API)
Tests 100 unit + integration marker suite
Wiki AccessManagementDirective, OpsWardenConfig, CertCommandInterface, InterHubBootstrapAccessLane
Registry capability.security.ssh-certificate-issuance (D4/A3/C3/R2 in entry)
INTENT.md New — stewardship + NetKingdom literacy
NetKingdom cross-links Minimal in SCOPE; responsibility-map still lists ops-warden out-of-scope
Credential routing runbook Missing — no single “which subsystem?” guide in wiki
flex-auth pre-sign hook Not designed or implemented
Production OpenBao SSH engine Documented; live mount/roles unverified from this repo
Standard agent inventory templates Missing — only example actors in docs

3. INTENT alignment

Aligned

INTENT expectation SCOPE evidence
Issue short-lived SSH certs for adm/agt/atm Full CLI, TTL policy, scorecard, signatures log
Stable cert_command for consumers wiki/CertCommandInterface.md, ops-bridge integration contract
Do not store long-lived API secrets Repo boundary, InterHub runbook, CUST-WP-0049 non-goals
OpenBao as production SSH signing backend wiki/OpsWardenConfig.md (WP-0005)
Auditable SSH gatekeeping signatures.log, scorecard checks
Actor attribution model AccessManagementDirective alignment, ActorType enum

Partial

INTENT expectation Gap
Know NetKingdom security infrastructure INTENT tables exist; no mirrored wiki summary or kept-in-sync process
Route workers to correct subsystem Scattered across SCOPE/repo-boundary; no wiki/CredentialRouting.md
Keep guidance aligned with NetKingdom canon No subscription to net-kingdom doc changes; responsibility-map outdated
Operational access desk for dev workers CLI-only; no guided flow or agent-facing routing surface
flex-auth policy before SSH sign Inventory allow-list only; no authorization integration
Observable stewardship SSH audit yes; routing/alignment maintenance not tracked

Not started (INTENT evolution)

INTENT expectation Notes
NetKingdom responsibility-map recognition ops-warden still “out of scope” in net-kingdom map
Platform architecture diagram includes ops-warden SSH path Not in platform-identity-security-architecture.md
NK-WP-0009 SSH tutorial linkage Planned in net-kingdom, not wired to ops-warden
Policy-gated issuance Future phase; needs design doc
MCP/HTTP cert request for agents Future; CLI sufficient for now

4. Success criteria scorecard (from INTENT.md)

Criterion Verdict
Worker knows which subsystem for each credential type No — no canonical routing runbook
SSH access short-lived, inventoried, audited Yes (tooling) — production inventory discipline pending
ops-bridge integrates via cert_command Yes (contract) — live tunnel matrix not verified here
NetKingdom evolution reflected in ops-warden docs Partial — OpenBao done; no ongoing sync process
Non-SSH secrets stay out of ops-warden Yes — boundaries documented

Score: 2 yes, 2 partial, 1 no


5. Completeness and reliability

Completeness vs INTENT — C2 (Partial)

The central SSH use case is implemented. The new stewardship mission — NetKingdom literacy, routing, alignment maintenance — is declared in INTENT and SCOPE but not yet operationalized in wiki, net-kingdom cross-links, or worker-facing runbooks.

Satisfied expectations:

  • SSH certificate issuance end-to-end (local backend)
  • cert_command contract
  • OpenBao-first production documentation

Broken / missing expectations:

  • No credential routing guide for dev workers
  • No NetKingdom alignment workstream execution
  • No flex-auth integration path

Out of scope (correctly excluded):

  • OpenBao cluster operations
  • flex-auth policy authoring
  • Object-storage STS vending

Reliability vs INTENT — R2 (Tolerable)

Strong unit tests and scorecard for cert-side checks. Production reliance on OpenBao SSH engine and multi-worker inventory patterns not yet demonstrated. Consumers must expect manual operator steps for non-SSH credentials.


6. Open gaps (prioritized)

Prio Gap Suggested outcome
P1 Credential routing runbook wiki/CredentialRouting.md — decision tree for workers
P1 NetKingdom cross-link patch PR/note in net-kingdom responsibility-map + platform doc SSH path
P2 Standard inventory templates wiki/ActorInventoryPatterns.md + example inventory.yaml seed
P2 OpenBao SSH engine ops checklist Verify/mount roles; link railiance-platform procedures
P3 flex-auth pre-sign design wiki/PolicyGatedSigning.md — design only, no code yet
P3 Registry capability update Reflect stewardship in capability entry summary
P4 Agent-facing routing Evaluate warden guide CLI or doc-only desk page
P4 NK-WP-0009 coordination Joint tutorial: short-lived SSH for agents

Captured in WARDEN-WP-0006.


7. Recommendations

  1. Execute WARDEN-WP-0006 in order: routing runbook → NetKingdom cross-links → inventory templates → OpenBao ops checklist.
  2. Keep SSH CLI stable — stewardship work is docs/alignment first; defer flex-auth code until design is reviewed.
  3. Coordinate net-kingdom — small responsibility-map update is a dependency for INTENT success criterion #4.
  4. Re-assess after WP-0006 — target C3/C4 completeness if routing runbook and NetKingdom links land.

8. Document map

File Role
INTENT.md Aspirational steward + SSH authority mission
SCOPE.md Current implementation and planned stewardship scope
This file Gap analysis snapshot
workplans/WARDEN-WP-0006-*.md Execution plan