Merge pull request 'rofi: node-launcher's hidden prompt, answered sealed to the asker (hq ADR 0259 §10)' (#135) from feat/a-secret-given-at-the-desk into main

This commit was merged in pull request #135.
This commit is contained in:
2026-10-09 15:27:11 +00:00
8 changed files with 298 additions and 2 deletions
+9
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@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ The launcher as a module (novox/hq ADR 0208, research 026/04 and 05).
- Installs `rofi`, claims the mesh's `node-launcher` seat and serves its verb `menu`. Requires
`x11-display` on its own machine.
- **A value nobody sees** (`node-launcher.secret`, novox/hq ADR 0259 §10): a prompt that shows nothing of
what is typed (`rofi -dmenu -password`), whose answer is sealed to the key the asker gives before it
leaves this process — never in the clear on the bus, in the runtime's log or in a call's record. The
controller's `give` asks it to take a module's own secret, such as a bot token, at the desk. It waits at
most 25 seconds. **The prompt is written here** from the module, the secret and the machine — names, checked
as names — and says the mesh's controller asks: the bus denies the verb to every principal but the
controller, however wide its grant. A caller's own words (`prompt`, `message`) are refused. On X11 any
program of the operator's account can still read the keys as they are typed (ADR 0234's accepted residual
risk), so the operator types only into a prompt they started with `give`.
- **The seat's dmenu-compatible command.** It places `~/.local/bin/dmenu`: choices on standard input,
the chosen one on standard output, exit 1 when nothing was chosen. It runs `rofi -dmenu`, passing
on dmenu's `-p`, `-l` and `-i` and dropping its look options. A script, a notifier or a clipboard
+26
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@@ -43,6 +43,32 @@ func tools() []stdio.Tool {
return Menu(q)
},
},
{
Name: "node-launcher.secret",
Description: fmt.Sprintf("Ask the operator for a value in a prompt that shows nothing of what is typed, "+
"and answer it sealed to the key seal_to names — never in the clear (novox/hq ADR 0259 §10): how the "+
"mesh takes a module's own secret at the desk. The prompt is written here from the names, and says the "+
"mesh's controller asks: the bus lets nobody else ask it. Answers sealed, or cancelled when the prompt was "+
"dismissed, answered empty or not answered within timeout_seconds (default and at most %d).", menuMost),
Input: map[string]any{
"type": "object",
"properties": map[string]any{
"module": map[string]any{"type": "string", "description": "the module whose own secret is asked for"},
"secret": map[string]any{"type": "string", "description": "the own secret's name"},
"node": map[string]any{"type": "string", "description": "the machine the module runs on"},
"seal_to": map[string]any{"type": "string", "description": "the asker's public sealing key, base64: the answer is sealed to it"},
"timeout_seconds": map[string]any{"type": "integer", "description": fmt.Sprintf("give up after this long (at most %d)", menuMost)},
},
"required": []string{"module", "secret", "node", "seal_to"},
},
Run: func(args map[string]any) (any, error) {
q, err := secretQuestion(args)
if err != nil {
return nil, err
}
return Secret(q)
},
},
{
Name: "rofi_applications",
Description: "The desktop applications the launcher offers on this machine, from every desktop entry " +
+1 -1
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@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ func TestItClaimsTheLauncherSeatServingMenuAndRequiresTheXDisplay(t *testing.T)
if m.Module != "rofi" || m.Seats != nil {
t.Fatalf("module %q declares seats %v", m.Module, m.Seats)
}
if !reflect.DeepEqual(m.Claims, []claim{{Name: "node-launcher", Scope: "node", Serves: []string{"menu"}}}) {
if !reflect.DeepEqual(m.Claims, []claim{{Name: "node-launcher", Scope: "node", Serves: []string{"menu", "secret"}}}) {
t.Fatalf("claims: %+v", m.Claims)
}
if !reflect.DeepEqual(m.Requires, []string{"x11-display"}) {
+121
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@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
package main
import (
"crypto/rand"
"encoding/base64"
"errors"
"fmt"
"regexp"
"strings"
"time"
"golang.org/x/crypto/nacl/box"
)
// node-launcher's verb `secret` (novox/hq ADR 0259 §10): a prompt that does not show what is typed, whose
// answer is sealed to the key the asker gives before it leaves this process — never in the clear on the
// bus, in the runtime's log or in any call's record. The controller asks it to take a module's own secret,
// such as a bot token, from the operator at their desk.
//
// **What it does not do**: on an X11 desk any program of the operator's account can read the keys as they
// are typed, and a program that asks this verb with a key of its own is answered with what the operator
// typed into a prompt they did not ask for. The bus lets only the controller ask this verb, and the prompt,
// written here from names, says so and for what, so the operator types only into one they started with give
// (ADR 0234's accepted residual risk is what remains: a program drawing a window of its own).
// SecretQuestion is what node-launcher.secret asks.
type SecretQuestion struct {
Prompt string
Message string
SealTo [32]byte
Timeout time.Duration
}
// SecretAnswer is what node-launcher.secret answers: the value sealed, or why there is none. Never the value.
type SecretAnswer struct {
Sealed string `json:"sealed,omitempty"`
Cancelled bool `json:"cancelled"`
TimedOut bool `json:"timed_out,omitempty"`
}
// aName is a module's, a secret's or a machine's name as the mesh writes them: nothing else reaches the prompt.
var aName = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{0,62}$`)
// secretQuestion reads the call. The prompt is this holder's words, written from the module, the secret and the
// machine (the review of 2026-10-09, M4): it says the mesh's controller asks, which the bus makes true — it
// denies these subjects to every principal but the controller — and a caller's own words are refused, so
// nobody puts a prompt of its choosing before the operator.
func secretQuestion(args map[string]any) (SecretQuestion, error) {
var q SecretQuestion
for _, free := range []string{"prompt", "message"} {
if _, there := args[free]; there {
return q, fmt.Errorf("%s is not taken: the prompt is written here from module, secret and node", free)
}
}
names := map[string]string{}
for _, key := range []string{"module", "secret", "node"} {
v, err := text(args, key, true)
if err != nil {
return q, err
}
if !aName.MatchString(v) {
return q, fmt.Errorf("%s %q is not a name the mesh writes", key, v)
}
names[key] = v
}
q.Prompt = names["secret"] + " for " + names["module"]
q.Message = fmt.Sprintf("The mesh's controller asks for %s, the own secret of %s on %s. What you type is not "+
"shown, and is sealed before it leaves this machine. Type it only if you started this with give.",
names["secret"], names["module"], names["node"])
key, err := text(args, "seal_to", true)
if err != nil {
return q, err
}
raw, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(strings.TrimSpace(key))
if err != nil || len(raw) != 32 {
return q, errors.New("seal_to is not a sealing key: 32 bytes, base64")
}
copy(q.SealTo[:], raw)
q.Timeout, err = seconds(args, "timeout_seconds", menuMost, menuMost)
return q, err
}
// Secret asks the operator in a prompt that shows nothing of what is typed, and seals the answer.
func Secret(q SecretQuestion) (SecretAnswer, error) {
s, err := findSession()
if err != nil {
return SecretAnswer{}, err
}
args := []string{"-dmenu", "-password", "-p", q.Prompt, "-theme-str", "listview { enabled: false; }"}
if q.Message != "" {
args = append(args, "-mesg", q.Message)
}
r, err := s.run(q.Timeout, "", "rofi", args...)
if errors.Is(err, ErrTimedOut) {
return SecretAnswer{Cancelled: true, TimedOut: true}, nil
}
if err != nil {
return SecretAnswer{}, err
}
switch r.Code {
case 0:
case 1:
return SecretAnswer{Cancelled: true}, nil
default:
// rofi's own words, never what was typed: that is on standard output, which is not said.
return SecretAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("rofi exited %d: %s", r.Code, strings.TrimSpace(r.Stderr))
}
value := []byte(strings.TrimRight(r.Stdout, "\r\n"))
r.Stdout = ""
if len(value) == 0 {
return SecretAnswer{Cancelled: true}, nil
}
sealed, err := box.SealAnonymous(nil, value, &q.SealTo, rand.Reader)
for i := range value {
value[i] = 0
}
if err != nil {
return SecretAnswer{}, errors.New("what was typed could not be sealed; nothing is answered")
}
return SecretAnswer{Sealed: base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(sealed)}, nil
}
+130
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@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
package main
import (
"crypto/rand"
"encoding/base64"
"encoding/json"
"os"
"path/filepath"
"strings"
"testing"
"golang.org/x/crypto/nacl/box"
)
const typedValue = "123456789:AAEhBP0av28P4XFQnIuR-o-7Xnz1kkUzW3g"
func aKey(t *testing.T) (string, *[32]byte, *[32]byte) {
t.Helper()
pub, priv, err := box.GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
if err != nil {
t.Fatal(err)
}
return base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(pub[:]), pub, priv
}
// novox/hq ADR 0259 §10: what the operator types in the hidden prompt is answered sealed to the asker's
// key, and never in the clear — not in the answer, not in an error.
func TestWhatIsTypedIsAnsweredSealedToTheAskersKeyAndNeverInTheClear(t *testing.T) {
withSession(t)
bin := fakeBinaries(t, map[string]string{"rofi": `echo "$*" > "$LOG"; echo "` + typedValue + `"`})
t.Setenv("LOG", filepath.Join(bin, "log"))
key, pub, priv := aKey(t)
q, err := secretQuestion(map[string]any{"module": "telegram", "secret": "telegram-token", "node": "anchor", "seal_to": key})
if err != nil {
t.Fatal(err)
}
got, err := Secret(q)
if err != nil || got.Cancelled || got.Sealed == "" {
t.Fatalf("%+v %v", got, err)
}
raw, _ := json.Marshal(got)
if strings.Contains(string(raw), typedValue) || strings.Contains(string(raw), "AAEhBP0") {
t.Fatal("the answer carries what was typed in the clear")
}
blob, _ := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(got.Sealed)
opened, ok := box.OpenAnonymous(nil, blob, pub, priv)
if !ok || string(opened) != typedValue {
t.Fatalf("the answer does not open to what was typed, its line ending taken off")
}
asked, _ := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(bin, "log"))
for _, want := range []string{"-dmenu", "-password", "-p telegram-token for telegram",
"-mesg The mesh's controller asks for telegram-token, the own secret of telegram on anchor"} {
if !strings.Contains(string(asked), want) {
t.Errorf("rofi was not asked %q: %s", want, asked)
}
}
if strings.Contains(string(asked), "-no-custom") {
t.Error("the prompt takes no typed answer")
}
}
func TestADismissedEmptyOrLatePromptIsACancelAndAFailureNeverSaysTheValue(t *testing.T) {
withSession(t)
key, _, _ := aKey(t)
q, _ := secretQuestion(map[string]any{"module": "telegram", "secret": "telegram-token", "node": "anchor", "seal_to": key, "timeout_seconds": 1})
for script, timedOut := range map[string]bool{`exit 1`: false, `echo ""`: false, `sleep 30`: true} {
fakeBinaries(t, map[string]string{"rofi": script})
got, err := Secret(q)
if err != nil || !got.Cancelled || got.TimedOut != timedOut || got.Sealed != "" {
t.Errorf("%s: %+v %v", script, got, err)
}
}
fakeBinaries(t, map[string]string{"rofi": `echo "` + typedValue + `"; echo "rofi broke" >&2; exit 3`})
if _, err := Secret(q); err == nil || strings.Contains(err.Error(), typedValue) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "rofi broke") {
t.Errorf("a failure said %v", err)
}
}
func TestASecretIsAskedOnlyWithAKeyToSealItTo(t *testing.T) {
key := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(make([]byte, 32))
named := func(extra map[string]any) map[string]any {
a := map[string]any{"module": "telegram", "secret": "telegram-token", "node": "anchor"}
for k, v := range extra {
a[k] = v
}
return a
}
for _, args := range []map[string]any{
named(nil),
named(map[string]any{"seal_to": "not a key"}),
named(map[string]any{"seal_to": base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("short"))}),
named(map[string]any{"seal_to": key, "timeout_seconds": 60}),
{"seal_to": key},
} {
if _, err := secretQuestion(args); err == nil {
t.Errorf("%v was taken", args)
}
}
}
// The prompt is this holder's words from names, never the caller's (the review of 2026-10-09, M4): it says the
// mesh's controller asks — the bus lets nobody else ask it — and for which secret of which module on which
// machine; words of the caller's, and a name that is not one, are refused.
func TestThePromptIsWrittenHereFromNamesAndSaysTheControllerAsks(t *testing.T) {
key := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(make([]byte, 32))
base := map[string]any{"module": "telegram", "secret": "telegram-token", "node": "anchor", "seal_to": key}
q, err := secretQuestion(base)
if err != nil {
t.Fatal(err)
}
if q.Prompt != "telegram-token for telegram" || !strings.HasPrefix(q.Message, "The mesh's controller asks for telegram-token") {
t.Errorf("prompt %q, message %q", q.Prompt, q.Message)
}
for key, value := range map[string]any{
"prompt": "Your bank's PIN",
"message": "Your bank asks",
"module": "telegram\nYour bank asks",
"secret": "a token",
"node": "<b>anchor</b>",
} {
args := map[string]any{}
for k, v := range base {
args[k] = v
}
args[key] = value
if _, err := secretQuestion(args); err == nil {
t.Errorf("%s=%q was taken", key, value)
}
}
}
+5
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@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@ module rofi
go 1.22
require git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go v0.1.7
require (
golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0
golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0 // indirect
)
+4
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@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go v0.1.7 h1:C0sTQmtTiyYH7bnqZb7PusXnqA37gKuT7Nqjn9gG47w=
git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go v0.1.7/go.mod h1:GFuZUElBZ9A++mxgIKo97aXXo+kV0uJ/UkbhQPPIbrY=
golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0 h1:ihbySMvVjLAeSH1IbfcRTkD/iNscyz8rGzjF/E5hV6U=
golang.org/x/crypto v0.31.0/go.mod h1:kDsLvtWBEx7MV9tJOj9bnXsPbxwJQ6csT/x4KIN4Ssk=
golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0 h1:Fksou7UEQUWlKvIdsqzJmUmCX3cZuD2+P3XyyzwMhlA=
golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
+2 -1
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@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
"name": "node-launcher",
"scope": "node",
"serves": [
"menu"
"menu",
"secret"
]
}
],