claude-code: the manifest, the managed directory and the tools (hq design 36, to-be 40 WP2)

The module owns /etc/claude-code: managed-mcp.json lists the console as `mesh` over HTTP on
loopback plus the servers in its mcp_servers setting (exclusive, by the operator's choice — the
https rule of managedMcpServers refuses a loopback console); managed-settings.json carries the
attribution convention, keeps claude.ai connectors, and adds the key-helper only for an API-key
licence; CLAUDE.md says how a session here works. Rendered whenever the runtime collects the
tools, written only on change, through the operator account's sudo. Under the home, only the
credentials file, only on a hand-over. Nothing declared under a home or /etc; the console's
port comes from node-tools' mcp-endpoint (mesh-tools #34).

modules/baserow/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# baserow's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/baserow
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/baserow/dist /app/modules/baserow/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/baserow/dist/tools/index.js

modules/baserow/module.json

@@ -25,8 +25,7 @@
     "postgres-database": "${dir:state}/database.secret"
   },
   "own-secrets": {
-    "admin": "${dir:state}/admin.secret",
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    "admin": "${dir:state}/admin.secret"
   },
   "listens": [
     {
@@ -92,45 +91,21 @@
       "mode": "0600",
       "content": "{\n  \"password\": \"${secret:admin}\",\n  \"host\": \"${bound:route:name}\"\n}\n",
       "merge": "json"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-baserow",
-      "network": "baserow",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_BASEROW_URL": "http://baserow:80",
-        "MESH_BASEROW_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json"
-      },
-      "restart-on": [
-        "runtime-config"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_BASEROW_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:${port:80}",
+          "MESH_BASEROW_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/claude-code/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# claude-code
+
+The operator's agent on a machine (novox/hq design 36): its package, its machine-wide managed
+configuration, and the consumer side of the Anthropic licence manager (design 39, ADR 0183).
+
+## What it writes
+
+Under the agent's managed directory, `/etc/claude-code`, owned whole by this module and rewritten
+whenever the node's tool runtime collects the module's tools:
+
+| file | holds |
+|---|---|
+| `managed-mcp.json` | the tool servers every session loads: the mesh's console as `mesh`, and the servers set in this module's `mcp_servers` setting. **Exclusive**: a server not listed here does not load — not one added with `claude mcp add`, not a project's `.mcp.json`, not a plugin's |
+| `managed-settings.json` | the repositories' attribution convention, the claude.ai connectors kept beside the managed servers, and the key-helper while the node holds an API-key licence |
+| `CLAUDE.md` | how a session on this mesh works, this node's name and role, the conventions |
+
+Under the operator's home, only `~/.claude/.credentials.json`, and only when the licence manager hands
+this node a subscription token. Nothing else under the home is read or written.
+
+## Settings
+
+Per node or for the whole mesh, through `mesh-controller.settings module=claude-code`:
+
+- `role` — what this node is, in a few words; shown to every session.
+- `mcp_servers` — extra tool servers, keyed by name, in the vendor's `.mcp.json` entry shape
+  (`{"type":"http","url":…}` or `{"type":"stdio","command":…,"args":[…]}`). The name `mesh` is the
+  module's own and cannot be set. Put a person's own servers here, or they stop loading.
+
+## On a machine that carried the predecessor
+
+Remove these by hand, once; the mesh removes nothing it did not make (ADR 0182):
+
+- `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`
+- `~/.claude/rules/00-hal-mesh.md`, `~/.claude/rules/conventions.md`
+- `~/.claude/skills/cleanup/`, `~/.claude/skills/hal-switch-license/`
+- the hand-made console entry in `~/.claude.json` under `mcpServers` — it is ignored now anyway
+
+## Escalation
+
+Writing `/etc/claude-code` needs root. The runtime runs as the operator account, and the module uses
+that account's passwordless `sudo`; on a machine without it, `claude_code_render` says so and nothing
+is written.

modules/claude-code/grant.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+// The agent's credentials file, and whether an offered grant may replace what it holds (novox/hq
+// ADR 0183, design 36 §5). Pure where it decides, so the rules are tested without a file.
+//
+// The file is the vendor's: `{ claudeAiOauth: { accessToken, expiresAt, refreshTokenExpiresAt?,
+// scopes?, subscriptionType?, rateLimitTier? }, ... }`. A node never holds a refresh token, so the
+// one this module writes never carries one, and a full grant a login left behind is stripped the
+// moment the manager hands the node its own.
+//
+// The lineage rule is the predecessor's, with the incidents that earned it: a rotation of the same
+// licence is applied only if newer; a grant re-issued by a login is adopted whatever its expiry; a
+// switch to another licence is applied regardless, because across licences the expiries are
+// unrelated numbers.
+
+import { readFileSync, renameSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname } from "node:path";
+
+export interface Grant {
+  readonly accessToken: string;
+  readonly expiresAt: number;
+  readonly refreshTokenExpiresAt?: number | null;
+  readonly scopes?: readonly string[] | null;
+  readonly subscriptionType?: string | null;
+  readonly rateLimitTier?: string | null;
+}
+
+export type ApplySource = "rotation" | "switch";
+
+export type ApplyDecision =
+  | { apply: true; reissued?: boolean }
+  | { apply: false; reason: "already-current" }
+  | { apply: false; reason: "not-newer"; localExpiresAt: number };
+
+/** Two refresh-token expiries within a day are one lineage; a login starts a fresh window weeks away. */
+export const GENERATION_TOLERANCE_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
+export function sameGeneration(a?: number | null, b?: number | null): boolean {
+  if (a == null || b == null) return true;
+  return Math.abs(Number(a) - Number(b)) <= GENERATION_TOLERANCE_MS;
+}
+
+export function decideApply(local: Grant | null | undefined, offered: Grant, source: ApplySource): ApplyDecision {
+  if (!local?.accessToken) return { apply: true };
+  if (local.accessToken === offered.accessToken) return { apply: false, reason: "already-current" };
+  const reissued = !sameGeneration(local.refreshTokenExpiresAt, offered.refreshTokenExpiresAt);
+  if (source === "rotation" && !reissued && Number(local.expiresAt) >= Number(offered.expiresAt)) {
+    return { apply: false, reason: "not-newer", localExpiresAt: Number(local.expiresAt) };
+  }
+  return reissued ? { apply: true, reissued: true } : { apply: true };
+}
+
+type Oauth = Record<string, unknown> & { accessToken?: string; refreshToken?: string; expiresAt?: number };
+type Credentials = Record<string, unknown> & { claudeAiOauth?: Oauth };
+
+export function readCredentials(path: string): Credentials | null {
+  try {
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, "utf8")) as Credentials;
+    return parsed && typeof parsed === "object" ? parsed : null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/** The grant the file holds, or null. */
+export function grantOf(creds: Credentials | null): Grant | null {
+  const o = creds?.claudeAiOauth;
+  if (!o?.accessToken) return null;
+  return {
+    accessToken: o.accessToken,
+    expiresAt: Number(o.expiresAt ?? 0),
+    refreshTokenExpiresAt: o.refreshTokenExpiresAt == null ? null : Number(o.refreshTokenExpiresAt),
+  };
+}
+
+/** Does the file hold a full grant — a refresh token this module never writes, so a person's login? */
+export function holdsLogin(creds: Credentials | null): boolean {
+  return typeof creds?.claudeAiOauth?.refreshToken === "string" && creds.claudeAiOauth.refreshToken.length > 0;
+}
+
+/** Overlay the handed grant on what is there, and delete any refresh token. */
+export function withGrant(local: Credentials | null, grant: Grant): Credentials {
+  const next: Credentials = { ...(local ?? {}) };
+  const oauth: Oauth = { ...(local?.claudeAiOauth ?? {}) };
+  oauth.accessToken = grant.accessToken;
+  oauth.expiresAt = grant.expiresAt;
+  for (const k of ["refreshTokenExpiresAt", "scopes", "subscriptionType", "rateLimitTier"] as const) {
+    const v = grant[k];
+    if (v != null) oauth[k] = v as unknown;
+  }
+  delete oauth.refreshToken;
+  next.claudeAiOauth = oauth;
+  return next;
+}
+
+/** Write atomically at 0600: a partial credentials file must never be read as a whole one. */
+export function writeCredentials(path: string, creds: Credentials): void {
+  mkdirSync(dirname(path), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const tmp = `${path}.mesh-tmp`;
+  writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify(creds, null, 2) + "\n", { mode: 0o600 });
+  renameSync(tmp, path);
+}

modules/claude-code/identity.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+// Which account the agent is logged in as (novox/hq ADR 0183): not in the token, but in the agent's
+// own state file beside the home, `~/.claude.json` → `oauthAccount`. Read, never written.
+
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+
+export interface Identity {
+  readonly accountUuid: string;
+  readonly emailAddress?: string;
+  readonly organizationUuid?: string;
+}
+
+export function readIdentity(stateFile: string): Identity | null {
+  try {
+    const raw = JSON.parse(readFileSync(stateFile, "utf8")) as { oauthAccount?: Record<string, unknown> };
+    const a = raw.oauthAccount;
+    if (!a || typeof a.accountUuid !== "string") return null;
+    return {
+      accountUuid: a.accountUuid,
+      emailAddress: typeof a.emailAddress === "string" ? a.emailAddress : undefined,
+      organizationUuid: typeof a.organizationUuid === "string" ? a.organizationUuid : undefined,
+    };
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}

modules/claude-code/module.json

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+{
+  "module": "claude-code",
+  "version": "1",
+  "slug": "agent",
+  "capabilities": [
+    "package-manager"
+  ],
+  "requires": [
+    "mcp-endpoint"
+  ],
+  "binds": {
+    "mcp-endpoint": "${dir:state}/mcp-endpoint.json"
+  },
+  "tools": [
+    "claude_code_status",
+    "claude_code_render",
+    "claude_code_public_key",
+    "claude_code_apply",
+    "claude_code_pending_login"
+  ],
+  "resources": [
+    {
+      "id": "package",
+      "type": "package",
+      "package": "claude-code"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "state",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "mode": "0700",
+      "owner": "${machine:account}",
+      "place": "."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "facts",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "${dir:state}/facts.json",
+      "mode": "0600",
+      "owner": "${machine:account}",
+      "content": "{\n  \"node\": \"${machine:name}\",\n  \"console\": \"http://127.0.0.1:${bound:mcp-endpoint:port}/mcp\"\n}\n"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "settings",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "${dir:state}/settings.json",
+      "mode": "0600",
+      "owner": "${machine:account}",
+      "merge": "json",
+      "content": "{\n  \"role\": \"\",\n  \"mcp_servers\": {}\n}\n"
+    }
+  ],
+  "build": {
+    "artifacts": [
+      {
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_STATE": "${dir:state}",
+          "MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_FACTS": "${dir:state}/facts.json",
+          "MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_SETTINGS": "${dir:state}/settings.json"
+        }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}

modules/claude-code/package.json

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+  "name": "@novox/module-claude-code",
+  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "description": "claude-code — the operator's agent on a machine: its managed configuration, and the consumer side of the Anthropic licence manager (novox/hq design 36).",
+  "type": "module",
+  "private": true,
+  "scripts": {
+    "build": "tsc seal.ts grant.ts identity.ts render.ts tools/index.ts --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --rootDir . --outDir dist",
+    "test": "npm run build && node --test --experimental-strip-types 'test/*.test.ts'"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "@novox/mesh-sdk": "^0.1.0"
+  },
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
+    "typescript": "^5.6.0"
+  }
+}

modules/claude-code/render.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+// What the module writes into the agent's machine-wide managed directory (novox/hq design 36 §1–§4).
+// Pure: composed from the facts the mesh rendered, the settings the operator set and the licence the
+// node holds, so what lands under /etc is tested without a machine.
+//
+// Three files, owned whole by this module:
+//   managed-mcp.json        the tool servers every session loads: the mesh's console as `mesh`, and the
+//                           servers the operator declared for the mesh or this node. Exclusive by the
+//                           vendor's rule — a server not listed here does not load — which is why the
+//                           list is the module's settings and nothing else (operator's choice, 2026-10-03).
+//   managed-settings.json   the mesh's keys only: the repositories' attribution convention, the
+//                           claude.ai connectors kept beside the managed servers, and — for an API-key
+//                           licence only — the key-helper. A person's preferences are theirs.
+//   CLAUDE.md               how a session on this mesh works, who this node is, the conventions.
+
+export const MANAGED_DIR = "/etc/claude-code";
+
+export interface Facts {
+  readonly node: string;
+  readonly console: string;
+}
+
+export interface Settings {
+  readonly role?: string;
+  /** Extra tool servers, in the vendor's `.mcp.json` entry shape, keyed by name. */
+  readonly mcp_servers?: Readonly<Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>>;
+}
+
+export interface Binding {
+  readonly licence: string;
+  readonly kind: "subscription" | "api-key";
+}
+
+export interface Rendered {
+  readonly [file: string]: string;
+}
+
+const MESH_ENTRY = "mesh";
+
+export function render(facts: Facts, settings: Settings, binding: Binding | null, helperPath: string): Rendered {
+  const servers: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+  for (const [name, entry] of Object.entries(settings.mcp_servers ?? {})) {
+    if (name === MESH_ENTRY) continue; // the mesh's own entry is the mesh's; a setting cannot replace it
+    if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9_-]+$/.test(name)) continue;
+    servers[name] = entry;
+  }
+  servers[MESH_ENTRY] = { type: "http", url: facts.console };
+
+  const managed: Record<string, unknown> = {
+    attribution: { commit: "", pr: "" },
+    allowAllClaudeAiMcps: true,
+  };
+  if (binding?.kind === "api-key") managed.apiKeyHelper = helperPath;
+
+  return {
+    "managed-mcp.json": json({ mcpServers: sortKeys(servers) }),
+    "managed-settings.json": json(managed),
+    "CLAUDE.md": instructions(facts, settings),
+  };
+}
+
+function json(v: unknown): string {
+  return JSON.stringify(v, null, 2) + "\n";
+}
+
+function sortKeys(o: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> {
+  return Object.fromEntries(Object.keys(o).sort().map((k) => [k, o[k]]));
+}
+
+export function instructions(facts: Facts, settings: Settings): string {
+  const role = settings.role?.trim() ? settings.role.trim() : "not stated — set it in this module's settings for the node";
+  return `# This machine is a node of a Novox mesh
+
+Written by the mesh's \`claude-code\` module. Edit the module's settings or the catalogue, never this file:
+it is rewritten whenever the module renders.
+
+## Who this node is
+
+- **Node:** \`${facts.node}\`
+- **Role:** ${role}
+- The other nodes, their roles and what runs where: ask the controller (\`mesh-controller.nodes\`,
+  \`mesh-controller.node\`). Nothing here lists them, because a copy drifts.
+
+## How a session on this mesh works
+
+The console is the only way to the mesh: the MCP server named \`mesh\`. Its tools are the vocabulary.
+
+- **Symptom first.** For an error, a failing service or anything unexpected, search the record with the
+  literal text before forming a hypothesis: \`records.records_search\`. Read a document with
+  \`records.records_read\`.
+- **Ask the mesh before changing it.** \`mesh-controller.status\`, \`.plan\`, \`.node\`, \`.modules\`.
+  Change it through the controller's verbs (\`assign\`, \`push\`, \`settings\`) or the catalogue.
+- **The forge** through the forge module's tools.
+- **A licence** through the \`anthropic-licence-manager\` seat's verbs. Never edit the agent's credentials
+  file by hand, never print or ask for a token.
+
+## Hard rules
+
+- A file the mesh manages is changed through the verb or the catalogue that owns it, never on disk. If
+  unsure, \`mesh-controller.plan\` for the node says what the mesh writes there.
+- Never write to a store's database by hand; schema changes are numbered migrations.
+- Never push to a main branch: a branch, a pull request, and a human approval for every merge.
+- The mesh creates no symlinks, and nobody else does either.
+- A package is declared in a module, never installed by hand.
+
+## Conventions
+
+- Commit messages are concise, in the imperative, about why.
+- Test before pushing: nodes update unattended.
+- The playbooks in the record say how research, decisions, designs, issues and hand-offs are done.
+`;
+}

modules/claude-code/seal.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+// Sealing a token to one recipient (novox/hq ADR 0183): the manager seals what it hands a node to that
+// node's agent module key, and a node seals a waiting login to the key the manager names. X25519 for
+// the agreement, HKDF-SHA256 for the key, AES-256-GCM for the box — all from Node's own library, so a
+// bundle carries no dependency and no secret ever crosses the bus in the clear.
+//
+// A sealed box is `{ v: 1, eph, iv, tag, ct }`, every field base64. `eph` is a one-time public key, so
+// two boxes of one value to one recipient share nothing, and only the recipient's private key opens it.
+
+import {
+  createCipheriv, createDecipheriv, createPrivateKey, createPublicKey, diffieHellman,
+  generateKeyPairSync, hkdfSync, randomBytes, type KeyObject,
+} from "node:crypto";
+
+export interface SealedBox {
+  readonly v: 1;
+  readonly eph: string;
+  readonly iv: string;
+  readonly tag: string;
+  readonly ct: string;
+}
+
+/** A recipient's keypair, as the two PEM strings it is kept and published as. */
+export interface KeyPairPem {
+  readonly publicKey: string;
+  readonly privateKey: string;
+}
+
+const INFO = Buffer.from("novox-mesh sealed box v1");
+
+export function generateKeyPair(): KeyPairPem {
+  const { publicKey, privateKey } = generateKeyPairSync("x25519");
+  return {
+    publicKey: publicKey.export({ type: "spki", format: "pem" }).toString(),
+    privateKey: privateKey.export({ type: "pkcs8", format: "pem" }).toString(),
+  };
+}
+
+function keyFor(secret: Buffer, eph: Buffer, recipient: Buffer): Buffer {
+  // The ephemeral and the recipient's public halves are bound into the key, so a box cannot be
+  // re-addressed to another recipient by swapping its `eph`.
+  return Buffer.from(hkdfSync("sha256", secret, Buffer.concat([eph, recipient]), INFO, 32));
+}
+
+function rawPublic(key: KeyObject): Buffer {
+  return key.export({ type: "spki", format: "der" }).subarray(-32);
+}
+
+export function seal(plaintext: string, recipientPublicPem: string): SealedBox {
+  const recipient = createPublicKey(recipientPublicPem);
+  const eph = generateKeyPairSync("x25519");
+  const secret = diffieHellman({ privateKey: eph.privateKey, publicKey: recipient });
+  const ephRaw = eph.publicKey.export({ type: "spki", format: "der" });
+  const key = keyFor(secret, ephRaw, rawPublic(recipient));
+  const iv = randomBytes(12);
+  const cipher = createCipheriv("aes-256-gcm", key, iv);
+  const ct = Buffer.concat([cipher.update(plaintext, "utf8"), cipher.final()]);
+  return {
+    v: 1,
+    eph: ephRaw.toString("base64"),
+    iv: iv.toString("base64"),
+    tag: cipher.getAuthTag().toString("base64"),
+    ct: ct.toString("base64"),
+  };
+}
+
+/** Open a box with the recipient's private key. Throws on a box for another key or one tampered with. */
+export function open(box: SealedBox, privateKeyPem: string): string {
+  if (!box || box.v !== 1) throw new Error("not a sealed box this module can open");
+  const priv = createPrivateKey(privateKeyPem);
+  const ephRaw = Buffer.from(box.eph, "base64");
+  const eph = createPublicKey({ key: ephRaw, format: "der", type: "spki" });
+  const secret = diffieHellman({ privateKey: priv, publicKey: eph });
+  const key = keyFor(secret, ephRaw, rawPublic(createPublicKey(priv)));
+  const decipher = createDecipheriv("aes-256-gcm", key, Buffer.from(box.iv, "base64"));
+  decipher.setAuthTag(Buffer.from(box.tag, "base64"));
+  return Buffer.concat([decipher.update(Buffer.from(box.ct, "base64")), decipher.final()]).toString("utf8");
+}

modules/claude-code/test/grant.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import {
+  decideApply, grantOf, holdsLogin, readCredentials, withGrant, writeCredentials, type Grant,
+} from "../dist/grant.js";
+
+const NOW = 1_700_000_000_000;
+const HOUR = 3_600_000;
+const g = (over: Partial<Grant> = {}): Grant => ({
+  accessToken: "tok-A", expiresAt: NOW + HOUR, refreshTokenExpiresAt: NOW + 30 * 24 * HOUR, ...over,
+});
+
+test("a rotation applies a newer grant of the same licence", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(decideApply(g(), g({ accessToken: "tok-B", expiresAt: NOW + 2 * HOUR }), "rotation"), { apply: true });
+});
+
+test("a rotation refuses a grant that arrived late and is older", () => {
+  const d = decideApply(g({ accessToken: "new", expiresAt: NOW + 2 * HOUR }), g({ accessToken: "old" }), "rotation");
+  assert.equal(d.apply === false && d.reason, "not-newer");
+});
+
+test("a grant re-issued by a login is adopted even though it expires sooner (2026-09-05)", () => {
+  const local = g({ expiresAt: NOW + 8 * HOUR, refreshTokenExpiresAt: NOW + 30 * 24 * HOUR });
+  const offered = g({ accessToken: "reissued", expiresAt: NOW + HOUR, refreshTokenExpiresAt: NOW + 5 * 24 * HOUR });
+  assert.deepEqual(decideApply(local, offered, "rotation"), { apply: true, reissued: true });
+});
+
+test("a switch to another licence applies whatever the expiries say", () => {
+  const local = g({ expiresAt: NOW + 8 * HOUR });
+  assert.equal(decideApply(local, g({ accessToken: "other", expiresAt: NOW + HOUR }), "switch").apply, true);
+});
+
+test("the same token is not rewritten", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(decideApply(g(), g(), "switch"), { apply: false, reason: "already-current" });
+});
+
+test("a full grant left by a login is seen as a login, and stripped when the node's own is written", () => {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "claude-code-"));
+  const path = join(dir, ".claude", ".credentials.json");
+  writeFileSync(join(dir, "x"), "");
+  const login = { claudeAiOauth: { accessToken: "at-login", refreshToken: "rt-login", expiresAt: NOW }, other: 1 };
+  assert.equal(holdsLogin(login), true);
+  writeCredentials(path, withGrant(login, g({ accessToken: "at-mesh", scopes: ["user:inference"] })));
+  const back = readCredentials(path)!;
+  assert.equal(holdsLogin(back), false);
+  assert.equal(grantOf(back)!.accessToken, "at-mesh");
+  assert.deepEqual(back.claudeAiOauth!.scopes, ["user:inference"]);
+  assert.equal(back.other, 1, "a key the module does not know was lost");
+  assert.ok(!readFileSync(path, "utf8").includes("rt-login"));
+  assert.equal(statSync(path).mode & 0o777, 0o600);
+});

modules/claude-code/test/identity.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { readIdentity } from "../dist/identity.js";
+
+test("the account is read from the agent's state file", () => {
+  const p = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "cc-id-")), ".claude.json");
+  writeFileSync(p, JSON.stringify({ oauthAccount: { accountUuid: "u-1", emailAddress: "a@example.org" }, other: 2 }));
+  assert.deepEqual(readIdentity(p), { accountUuid: "u-1", emailAddress: "a@example.org", organizationUuid: undefined });
+});
+
+test("no state file, or no account in it, is no identity rather than a guess", () => {
+  assert.equal(readIdentity("/nonexistent/.claude.json"), null);
+  const p = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "cc-id-")), ".claude.json");
+  writeFileSync(p, "{}");
+  assert.equal(readIdentity(p), null);
+});

modules/claude-code/test/render.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { render } from "../dist/render.js";
+
+const facts = { node: "workstation", console: "http://127.0.0.1:4270/mcp" };
+
+test("the console is the `mesh` server, and an operator's servers are listed beside it", () => {
+  const out = render(facts, { mcp_servers: { search: { type: "http", url: "https://s.example/mcp" } } }, null, "/h");
+  const mcp = JSON.parse(out["managed-mcp.json"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(Object.keys(mcp.mcpServers), ["mesh", "search"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(mcp.mcpServers.mesh, { type: "http", url: facts.console });
+});
+
+test("a setting cannot replace the mesh's own entry, and a name the vendor refuses is left out", () => {
+  const out = render(facts, { mcp_servers: { mesh: { type: "http", url: "http://evil" }, "bad name": {} } }, null, "/h");
+  const mcp = JSON.parse(out["managed-mcp.json"]);
+  assert.equal(mcp.mcpServers.mesh.url, facts.console);
+  assert.ok(!("bad name" in mcp.mcpServers));
+});
+
+test("managed settings carry the mesh's keys only, and the key-helper only for an API-key licence", () => {
+  const sub = JSON.parse(render(facts, {}, { licence: "personal", kind: "subscription" }, "/h")["managed-settings.json"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(sub, { attribution: { commit: "", pr: "" }, allowAllClaudeAiMcps: true });
+  const key = JSON.parse(render(facts, {}, { licence: "api", kind: "api-key" }, "/state/api-key-helper")["managed-settings.json"]);
+  assert.equal(key.apiKeyHelper, "/state/api-key-helper");
+  assert.ok(!("model" in key), "a preference is the person's");
+});
+
+test("the instruction file names the node and its role, and no other node", () => {
+  const md = render(facts, { role: "the laptop" }, null, "/h")["CLAUDE.md"];
+  assert.match(md, /\*\*Node:\*\* `workstation`/);
+  assert.match(md, /\*\*Role:\*\* the laptop/);
+  assert.match(md, /records\.records_search/);
+});
+
+test("rendering is deterministic, so an unchanged input writes nothing", () => {
+  const s = { mcp_servers: { b: { type: "http", url: "https://b" }, a: { type: "http", url: "https://a" } } };
+  assert.deepEqual(render(facts, s, null, "/h"), render(facts, s, null, "/h"));
+});

modules/claude-code/test/seal.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { generateKeyPair, open, seal } from "../dist/seal.js";
+
+test("a box opens with its recipient's key and yields the value", () => {
+  const k = generateKeyPair();
+  assert.equal(open(seal("at-secret", k.publicKey), k.privateKey), "at-secret");
+});
+
+test("a box sealed for one node does not open with another node's key", () => {
+  const a = generateKeyPair();
+  const b = generateKeyPair();
+  assert.throws(() => open(seal("at-secret", a.publicKey), b.privateKey));
+});
+
+test("a tampered box is refused, not opened to garbage", () => {
+  const k = generateKeyPair();
+  const box = seal("at-secret", k.publicKey);
+  const ct = Buffer.from(box.ct, "base64");
+  ct[0] ^= 0xff;
+  assert.throws(() => open({ ...box, ct: ct.toString("base64") }, k.privateKey));
+});
+
+test("two boxes of one value share nothing a reader could compare", () => {
+  const k = generateKeyPair();
+  const x = seal("at-secret", k.publicKey);
+  const y = seal("at-secret", k.publicKey);
+  assert.notEqual(x.ct, y.ct);
+  assert.notEqual(x.eph, y.eph);
+  assert.ok(!JSON.stringify(x).includes("at-secret"));
+});

modules/claude-code/tools/index.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+// claude-code's tools (novox/hq design 36, ADR 0183). Served by the node's tool runtime, which runs as
+// the operator account; this bundle is given its state directory and two files the mesh renders into it
+// (ADR 0192), and the runtime's own words — the operator's account and home among them.
+//
+// Every time the runtime collects these tools, the managed directory is rendered: written only when its
+// content changed, through the account's escalation, because /etc is root's. The credentials file under
+// the home is written only when the licence manager hands this node a token (`claude_code_apply`); this
+// module calls nothing, the manager starts every exchange (ADR 0183's dated note).
+
+import { chmodSync, existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { registerModuleTools, type ToolDefinition } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/tools";
+
+import { MANAGED_DIR, render, type Binding, type Facts, type Settings } from "../render.js";
+import { generateKeyPair, open, seal, type SealedBox } from "../seal.js";
+import { decideApply, grantOf, holdsLogin, readCredentials, withGrant, writeCredentials, type Grant } from "../grant.js";
+import { readIdentity } from "../identity.js";
+
+interface Paths {
+  state: string;
+  facts: string;
+  settings: string;
+  home: string;
+  account: string;
+}
+
+function pathsFrom(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv): Paths | null {
+  const state = env.MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_STATE;
+  const facts = env.MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_FACTS;
+  const settings = env.MESH_CLAUDE_CODE_SETTINGS;
+  const home = env.MESH_OPERATOR_HOME;
+  if (!state || !facts || !settings || !home) return null;
+  return { state, facts, settings, home, account: env.MESH_OPERATOR_ACCOUNT ?? "" };
+}
+
+const readJson = <T>(p: string, fallback: T): T => {
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(readFileSync(p, "utf8")) as T;
+  } catch {
+    return fallback;
+  }
+};
+
+const credentialsPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.home, ".claude", ".credentials.json");
+const identityPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.home, ".claude.json");
+const bindingPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.state, "binding.json");
+const apiKeyPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.state, "api-key");
+const helperPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.state, "api-key-helper");
+const keyPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.state, "key.pem");
+const pubPath = (p: Paths) => join(p.state, "key.pub.pem");
+const fingerprint = (s: string) => "sha256:" + createHash("sha256").update(s).digest("hex").slice(0, 16);
+
+function keypair(p: Paths): { publicKey: string; privateKey: string } {
+  if (!existsSync(keyPath(p))) {
+    const k = generateKeyPair();
+    writeFileSync(keyPath(p), k.privateKey, { mode: 0o600 });
+    writeFileSync(pubPath(p), k.publicKey, { mode: 0o644 });
+  }
+  return { privateKey: readFileSync(keyPath(p), "utf8"), publicKey: readFileSync(pubPath(p), "utf8") };
+}
+
+/** Write one managed file as root when its content changed. Returns what happened, in words. */
+function writeManaged(name: string, content: string, asRoot: boolean): string {
+  const path = join(MANAGED_DIR, name);
+  let current: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    current = readFileSync(path, "utf8");
+  } catch {
+    /* absent */
+  }
+  if (current === content) return `${name}: unchanged`;
+  const cmd = asRoot ? ["install", "-D", "-m", "0644", "/dev/stdin", path] : ["sudo", "-n", "install", "-D", "-m", "0644", "/dev/stdin", path];
+  const r = spawnSync(cmd[0], cmd.slice(1), { input: content, encoding: "utf8" });
+  if (r.status !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `${name}: could not be written to ${MANAGED_DIR} (${(r.stderr || r.error?.message || "").trim()}). ` +
+        `The module writes there through the operator account's passwordless sudo; this machine does not give it.`,
+    );
+  }
+  return `${name}: written`;
+}
+
+function renderNow(p: Paths): string[] {
+  const facts = readJson<Facts | null>(p.facts, null);
+  if (!facts?.console) throw new Error(`the mesh has not rendered ${p.facts} yet; nothing to write`);
+  const settings = readJson<Settings>(p.settings, {});
+  const binding = readJson<Binding | null>(bindingPath(p), null);
+  const files = render(facts, settings, binding, helperPath(p));
+  const asRoot = process.getuid?.() === 0;
+  return Object.entries(files).map(([name, content]) => writeManaged(name, content, asRoot));
+}
+
+interface Handed {
+  licence: string;
+  kind: "subscription" | "api-key";
+  source: "rotation" | "switch";
+  sealed: SealedBox;
+}
+
+function apply(p: Paths, args: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const handed = args as unknown as Handed;
+  if (!handed?.licence || !handed.sealed || (handed.kind !== "subscription" && handed.kind !== "api-key")) {
+    return { applied: false, reason: "a hand-over names a licence, its kind and a sealed token" };
+  }
+  const plain = open(handed.sealed, keypair(p).privateKey);
+  const previous = readJson<Binding | null>(bindingPath(p), null);
+  const source = previous?.licence === handed.licence ? (handed.source ?? "rotation") : "switch";
+  if (handed.kind === "api-key") {
+    writeFileSync(apiKeyPath(p), plain.trim() + "\n", { mode: 0o600 });
+    writeFileSync(helperPath(p), `#!/bin/sh\nexec cat '${apiKeyPath(p)}'\n`, { mode: 0o700 });
+    chmodSync(helperPath(p), 0o700);
+  } else {
+    const grant = JSON.parse(plain) as Grant;
+    const local = readCredentials(credentialsPath(p));
+    const d = decideApply(grantOf(local), grant, source);
+    if (!d.apply) {
+      writeFileSync(bindingPath(p), JSON.stringify({ licence: handed.licence, kind: handed.kind }) + "\n", { mode: 0o600 });
+      return { applied: false, licence: handed.licence, reason: d.reason };
+    }
+    writeCredentials(credentialsPath(p), withGrant(local, grant));
+  }
+  writeFileSync(bindingPath(p), JSON.stringify({ licence: handed.licence, kind: handed.kind }) + "\n", { mode: 0o600 });
+  // An API-key binding adds the key-helper to the managed settings; a subscription takes it away.
+  const rendered = renderNow(p);
+  return { applied: true, licence: handed.licence, kind: handed.kind, source, rendered };
+}
+
+function status(p: Paths): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const binding = readJson<Binding | null>(bindingPath(p), null);
+  const creds = readCredentials(credentialsPath(p));
+  const grant = grantOf(creds);
+  const managed = ["managed-mcp.json", "managed-settings.json", "CLAUDE.md"].map((f) => {
+    try {
+      return { file: join(MANAGED_DIR, f), fingerprint: fingerprint(readFileSync(join(MANAGED_DIR, f), "utf8")) };
+    } catch {
+      return { file: join(MANAGED_DIR, f), fingerprint: null };
+    }
+  });
+  return {
+    node: readJson<Facts | null>(p.facts, null)?.node ?? null,
+    licence: binding,
+    token: grant
+      ? { fingerprint: fingerprint(grant.accessToken), expiresAt: new Date(grant.expiresAt).toISOString(), refreshTokenOnDisk: holdsLogin(creds) }
+      : null,
+    managed,
+    publicKey: existsSync(pubPath(p)) ? fingerprint(readFileSync(pubPath(p), "utf8")) : null,
+  };
+}
+
+function pendingLogin(p: Paths, args: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const managerKey = typeof args.public_key === "string" ? args.public_key : "";
+  if (!managerKey) return { waiting: false, reason: "the caller names the public key to seal a login to" };
+  const creds = readCredentials(credentialsPath(p));
+  if (!holdsLogin(creds)) return { waiting: false };
+  const identity = readIdentity(identityPath(p));
+  return { waiting: true, identity, sealed: seal(JSON.stringify(creds!.claudeAiOauth), managerKey) };
+}
+
+export function getClaudeCodeTools(p: Paths): ToolDefinition[] {
+  return [
+    {
+      name: "claude_code_status",
+      description:
+        "This machine's agent as the mesh configured it: the node, the licence it holds and when its token expires, " +
+        "and the managed files it rendered. Fingerprints only — never a token.",
+      input: {},
+      run: async () => status(p),
+    },
+    {
+      name: "claude_code_render",
+      description: "Write the agent's managed directory now from the mesh's facts and this module's settings; says which files changed.",
+      input: {},
+      run: async () => ({ rendered: renderNow(p) }),
+    },
+    {
+      name: "claude_code_public_key",
+      description: "The public half of this node's key, which the licence manager seals a token to.",
+      input: {},
+      run: async () => ({ public_key: keypair(p).publicKey }),
+    },
+    {
+      name: "claude_code_apply",
+      description:
+        "The licence manager's hand-over: a token sealed to this node's key, with its licence and kind. Applied by the " +
+        "lineage rule; the answer says applied or refused and why, never the token.",
+      input: {
+        licence: { type: "string", description: "the licence's name" },
+        kind: { type: "string", description: "subscription or api-key" },
+        source: { type: "string", description: "rotation or switch" },
+        sealed: { type: "object", description: "the sealed box" },
+      },
+      run: async (args) => apply(p, args),
+    },
+    {
+      name: "claude_code_pending_login",
+      description:
+        "A login a person made on this machine, waiting to be adopted: the grant sealed to the key the caller gives, and " +
+        "the account it belongs to. Nothing when no login is waiting.",
+      input: { public_key: { type: "string", description: "the caller's public key, PEM" } },
+      run: async (args) => pendingLogin(p, args),
+    },
+  ];
+}
+
+registerModuleTools("claude-code", (env) => {
+  const p = pathsFrom(env);
+  if (!p) return [];
+  try {
+    keypair(p);
+    for (const line of renderNow(p)) if (!line.endsWith("unchanged")) console.log(`[claude-code] ${line}`);
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Said, and the tools still served: claude_code_status and claude_code_render say what is wrong.
+    console.log(`[claude-code] ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+  }
+  return getClaudeCodeTools(p);
+});

modules/claude-code/tsconfig.json

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "target": "ES2022",
+    "module": "NodeNext",
+    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
+    "strict": true,
+    "esModuleInterop": true,
+    "skipLibCheck": true,
+    "noEmit": true
+  },
+  "include": ["seal.ts", "grant.ts", "identity.ts", "render.ts", "tools/index.ts"]
+}

modules/confluence/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# confluence's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/confluence
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/confluence/dist /app/modules/confluence/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/confluence/dist/tools/index.js

modules/confluence/module.json

@@ -3,16 +3,9 @@
   "version": "1",
   "slug": "confl",
   "own-secrets": {
-    "token": "${dir:state}/token",
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    "token": "${dir:state}/token"
   },
   "resources": [
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
     {
       "id": "state",
       "type": "directory",
@@ -26,46 +19,24 @@
       "merge": "json",
       "content": "{}",
       "mode": "0600"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-runtime-confluence",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro",
-        "${dir:state}/token:/run/secrets/token:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_CONFLUENCE_TOKEN_FILE": "/run/secrets/token",
-        "MESH_CONFLUENCE_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json",
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker"
-      },
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "capabilities": [
     "container-runtime"
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_CONFLUENCE_TOKEN_FILE": "${dir:state}/token",
+          "MESH_CONFLUENCE_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/fail2ban/Dockerfile

@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-# fail2ban's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying the intrusion prevention's verbs and the client they
-# speak through.
-#
-# Built from this module's own directory and nothing else (novox/hq ADR 0069). Two bases, named in
-# module.json's `build.on`: the image this is compiled in and the image it runs in.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/fail2ban
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-# The daemon runs on the machine, declared by this module; what runs here is only its client, which
-# speaks to the daemon over the socket the machine shares into this container (novox/hq ADR 0179).
-# The package brings the client and the daemon together; the daemon is never started here.
-RUN apt-get update \
-      && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends fail2ban \
-      && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/fail2ban/dist /app/modules/fail2ban/dist
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/fail2ban/dist/tools/index.js

modules/fail2ban/client.ts

@@ -5,12 +5,15 @@
 // prevention seat's four verbs (ADR 0179). The daemon's state is fail2ban's, not the mesh's: the
 // mesh composes the jails and never writes the ban list.
 //
-// Spoken through fail2ban-client over the daemon's socket, which the machine shares into this
-// runtime; so the client here is the one from the runtime's own package and the daemon is the
-// machine's, and the two meet at /var/run/fail2ban/fail2ban.sock.
+// Spoken through fail2ban-client over the daemon's socket. Client and daemon come from the one
+// package this module declares on the machine, and the socket is root's: root is the module's
+// concern (ADR 0175 §4), and the runtime loading this bundle runs as the operator's account (to-be
+// 38 WP4), so the client is run through sudo without a prompt where the account is not root.
 
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { accessSync, constants } from "node:fs";
 import { isIP } from "node:net";
+import { delimiter, join } from "node:path";
 import { promisify } from "node:util";
 
 const execFileP = promisify(execFile);
@@ -18,16 +21,44 @@ const execFileP = promisify(execFile);
 /** A command runner, so the verbs can be tested without a daemon. */
 export type Runner = (cmd: string, args: string[]) => Promise<string>;
 
+/** The command as it is run: as given when this process is root, else through sudo without a
+ *  prompt. The daemon's socket answers only to root. */
+export function escalated(cmd: string, args: string[], uid: number | undefined = process.getuid?.()): [string, string[]] {
+  if (uid === 0) return [cmd, args];
+  return ["sudo", ["-n", cmd, ...args]];
+}
+
+/** Whether a tool is on this machine: an executable of that name on the path, or where the
+ *  system keeps its administration. */
+export function installed(tool: string, path: string = process.env.PATH ?? ""): boolean {
+  const dirs = [...path.split(delimiter), "/usr/sbin", "/sbin", "/usr/bin"].filter((d) => d !== "");
+  return dirs.some((dir) => {
+    try {
+      accessSync(join(dir, tool), constants.X_OK);
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  });
+}
+
 export const execRunner: Runner = async (cmd, args) => {
+  if (!installed(cmd)) throw new Error(`${cmd} is not installed on this machine`);
+  const [program, argv] = escalated(cmd, args);
   try {
-    const { stdout } = await execFileP(cmd, args, { maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    const { stdout } = await execFileP(program, argv, { maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
     return stdout;
   } catch (err) {
     const e = err as { code?: string | number; stderr?: string; stdout?: string; message?: string };
     const said = `${e.stdout ?? ""}${e.stderr ?? ""}`.trim();
-    if (e.code === "ENOENT") throw new Error(`${cmd} is not in this runtime`);
-    if (/Failed to access socket path|Is fail2ban running/i.test(said)) {
-      throw new Error("fail2ban is not running on this machine, or its socket is not shared with this runtime");
+    // What failed is named by how it failed: sudo missing is a spawn error, sudo refusing speaks
+    // on its own stderr line, and the rest is the client's own answer.
+    if (program === "sudo") {
+      if (e.code === "ENOENT") throw new Error(`${cmd} needs root, and sudo is not installed here for the runtime's account to escalate with`);
+      if (/^sudo:/m.test(said)) throw new Error(`${cmd} needs root and the runtime's account may not run it without a prompt: ${said}`);
+    }
+    if (/Failed to access socket path|Is fail2ban running|Permission denied to socket/i.test(said)) {
+      throw new Error("fail2ban is not running on this machine, or its socket does not answer the runtime's account");
     }
     // fail2ban-client's own last line is the one a person reads ("Sorry but the jail 'x' does not exist").
     const lines = said.split("\n").map((l) => l.trim()).filter(Boolean);
@@ -76,7 +107,8 @@ export class Fail2banClient {
     this.run = run;
   }
 
-  static fromEnv(_env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): Fail2banClient {
+  /** The daemon as this machine has it, through its own client. */
+  static onThisMachine(): Fail2banClient {
     return new Fail2banClient();
   }
 

modules/fail2ban/module.json

@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@
   "tools": [
     "fail2ban_settings"
   ],
-  "own-secrets": {
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
-  },
   "jailing": {
     "into": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.d/mesh.conf",
     "filter-into": "/etc/fail2ban/filter.d"
@@ -56,12 +53,6 @@
       "path": "/var/run/fail2ban",
       "mode": "0755"
     },
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
     {
       "id": "jail-local",
       "type": "file",
@@ -118,40 +109,17 @@
         "action-dualchain",
         "composed-jails"
       ]
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-fail2ban",
-      "artifact": "runtime",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "/var/run/fail2ban:/var/run/fail2ban"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker"
-      }
     }
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ]
       }
     ]
   }

modules/fail2ban/package.json

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     "typescript": "^5.6.0"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsc client.ts tools/index.ts --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist",
+    "build": "tsc client.ts tools/index.ts --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --rootDir . --outDir dist",
     "test": "node --test --experimental-strip-types 'test/*.test.ts'"
   }
 }

modules/fail2ban/test/client.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // on the control node on 2026-10-02 (novox/hq ADR 0179).
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { Fail2banClient, parseBans, parseJailStatus, type Runner } from "../client.ts";
+import { Fail2banClient, escalated, installed, parseBans, parseJailStatus, type Runner } from "../client.ts";
 
 const STATUS = "Status\n|- Number of jail:\t2\n`- Jail list:\trecidive, sshd\n";
 const RECIDIVE =
@@ -104,3 +104,11 @@ test("a jail's settings are read from the daemon's listings", async () => {
     logpath: [], journalmatch: "_SYSTEMD_UNIT=sshd.service + _COMM=sshd",
   });
 });
+
+test("the client runs as given by root and through sudo without a prompt by anyone else", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(escalated("fail2ban-client", ["status"], 0), ["fail2ban-client", ["status"]]);
+  assert.deepEqual(escalated("fail2ban-client", ["set", "sshd", "banip", "198.51.100.7"], 1000),
+    ["sudo", ["-n", "fail2ban-client", "set", "sshd", "banip", "198.51.100.7"]]);
+  assert.equal(installed("sh"), true);
+  assert.equal(installed("no-such-client-of-the-mesh"), false);
+});

modules/fail2ban/tools/index.ts

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ export function getFail2banTools(fail2ban: Fail2banClient): ToolDefinition[] {
   ];
 }
 
-const fail2ban = Fail2banClient.fromEnv();
+const fail2ban = Fail2banClient.onThisMachine();
 // The seat's verbs under the seat's name: the runtime serves them on the seat's subjects where this
 // module holds it (ADR 0159, 0160). The module's own under its own.
 registerModuleTools("node-intrusion-prevention", () => getSeatVerbs(fail2ban));

modules/gitlab/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# gitlab's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/gitlab
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/gitlab/dist /app/modules/gitlab/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/gitlab/dist/tools/index.js

modules/gitlab/module.json

@@ -2,16 +2,9 @@
   "module": "gitlab",
   "version": "1",
   "own-secrets": {
-    "token": "${dir:state}/token",
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    "token": "${dir:state}/token"
   },
   "resources": [
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
     {
       "id": "state",
       "type": "directory",
@@ -25,46 +18,24 @@
       "merge": "json",
       "content": "{}",
       "mode": "0600"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-runtime-gitlab",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro",
-        "${dir:state}/token:/run/secrets/token:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_GITLAB_TOKEN_FILE": "/run/secrets/token",
-        "MESH_GITLAB_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json",
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker"
-      },
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "capabilities": [
     "container-runtime"
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_GITLAB_TOKEN_FILE": "${dir:state}/token",
+          "MESH_GITLAB_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/jira/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# jira's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/jira
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/jira/dist /app/modules/jira/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/jira/dist/tools/index.js

modules/jira/module.json

@@ -2,16 +2,9 @@
   "module": "jira",
   "version": "1",
   "own-secrets": {
-    "token": "${dir:state}/token",
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    "token": "${dir:state}/token"
   },
   "resources": [
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
     {
       "id": "state",
       "type": "directory",
@@ -25,46 +18,24 @@
       "merge": "json",
       "content": "{}",
       "mode": "0600"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-runtime-jira",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro",
-        "${dir:state}/token:/run/secrets/token:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_JIRA_TOKEN_FILE": "/run/secrets/token",
-        "MESH_JIRA_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json",
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker"
-      },
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "capabilities": [
     "container-runtime"
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_JIRA_TOKEN_FILE": "${dir:state}/token",
+          "MESH_JIRA_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/letta/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# letta's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/letta
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/letta/dist /app/modules/letta/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/letta/dist/tools/index.js

modules/letta/module.json

@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@
   },
   "own-secrets": {
     "server-password": "${dir:state}/server-password.secret",
-    "openai-api-key": "${dir:state}/openai-api-key.secret",
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    "openai-api-key": "${dir:state}/openai-api-key.secret"
   },
   "listens": [
     {
@@ -84,45 +83,21 @@
       "mode": "0600",
       "content": "{\n  \"password\": \"${secret:server-password}\"\n}\n",
       "merge": "json"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-letta",
-      "network": "letta",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_LETTA_URL": "http://letta:8283",
-        "MESH_LETTA_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json"
-      },
-      "restart-on": [
-        "runtime-config"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_LETTA_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:${port:8283}",
+          "MESH_LETTA_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/searxng/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# searxng's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/searxng
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/searxng/dist /app/modules/searxng/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/searxng/dist/tools/index.js

modules/searxng/module.json

@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@
     "secret": {
       "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/secret",
       "taken": "at-start"
-    },
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+    }
   },
   "listens": [
     {
@@ -91,25 +90,6 @@
       "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json",
       "mode": "0600",
       "content": "{}\n"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-searxng",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_SEARXNG_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:${port:8080}",
-        "MESH_SEARXNG_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json"
-      },
-      "restart-on": [
-        "runtime-config"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "requires": [
@@ -125,23 +105,18 @@
     "route": "${dir:state}/route.json"
   },
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_SEARXNG_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:${port:8080}",
+          "MESH_SEARXNG_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }

modules/ssh-client/module.json

@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+{
+  "module": "ssh-client",
+  "version": "1",
+  "resources": [
+    {
+      "id": "ssh-dir",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "${machine:account-home}/.ssh",
+      "owner": "${machine:account}",
+      "mode": "0700"
+    }
+  ],
+  "facts": {
+    "ssh-config": {
+      "path": ".ssh/config",
+      "home": true,
+      "shared": true,
+      "template": "# The mesh's Host blocks — every other node, so `ssh <node>` reaches it as the\n# right account. This region is replaced whenever a node joins, leaves or is\n# renamed; the rest of this file is yours and is kept untouched.\n{{range .Machines}}{{if ne .Name $.Node}}\nHost {{.Name}} {{.FQDN}}\n  HostName {{.FQDN}}\n{{if .Account}}  User {{.Account}}\n{{end}}{{end}}{{end}}"
+    }
+  }
+}

modules/unifi/Dockerfile

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-# unifi's runtime: the tool runtime, carrying this module's compiled code.
-#
-# **Built from this module's own directory and nothing else.** The sdk and the tool runtime are in
-# the base images, published like any other artifact — which is what makes this buildable by the
-# mesh from a repository and a path (novox/hq ADR 0069) rather than only on a workstation that
-# happens to have the siblings.
-#
-# Two bases, named rather than pinned (novox/hq issue 044): the image this is COMPILED in and the
-# image it RUNS in — the second must not carry a compiler. Declared in module.json's `build.on`.
-ARG BUILD_BASE
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
-WORKDIR /app/modules/unifi
-COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc client.ts tools/index.ts \
-      --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/unifi/dist /app/modules/unifi/dist
-# Every serve-time entrypoint, loaded by the runtime in serve mode: tools and events serve, and a
-# provider's provisioner runs its reconcile loop in the same process, with the broker connected —
-# the convention novox/hq issues 060/061 settled.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/unifi/dist/tools/index.js

modules/unifi/module.json

@@ -122,25 +122,6 @@
       "mode": "0600",
       "content": "{\n  \"site\": \"default\",\n  \"password\": \"${secret:controller}\"\n}\n",
       "merge": "json"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-unifi",
-      "network": "host",
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json:/run/config/config.json:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_UNIFI_URL": "https://127.0.0.1:${port:8443}",
-        "MESH_UNIFI_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json"
-      },
-      "restart-on": [
-        "runtime-config"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "requires": [
@@ -158,27 +139,21 @@
     "route": "${dir:state}/route.json"
   },
   "own-secrets": {
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker",
     "controller": "${dir:mesh-state}/controller"
   },
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "name": "tools",
+        "kind": "bundle",
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ],
+        "env": {
+          "MESH_UNIFI_URL": "https://127.0.0.1:${port:8443}",
+          "MESH_UNIFI_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json"
+        }
       }
     ]
   }