The packet filter's tools are a bundle the node's runtime serves; its container goes (hq to-be 38 WP4)

nftables drops its container, NET_ADMIN, the container-runtime capability, the runtime base
images and the Dockerfile; its tools are declared as a TypeScript bundle the toolchain compiles
and node-tools loads on every node. The runtime runs as the operator's account, so the tool
runs the filter's commands through sudo without a prompt when it is not root (ADR 0175 §4);
the filter file is the path the manifest's filtering names, no container env carrying it.

modules/build-agent/Dockerfile

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ARG GO_BASE
 ARG ALPINE_BASE
-# builder's own image: the build machine itself, compiled into a container.
+# build-agent's image: the build machine itself, compiled into a container (novox/hq ADR 0190).
 #
 # **The source is not vendored here.** builder's actual code — cmd/mesh-builder, internal/builder,
 # internal/catalogue — lives in the mesh-controller repository, the same control plane it is one

modules/build-agent/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# build-agent
+
+The mesh's build machine as a role every machine can hold (novox/hq ADR 0190). It holds the node seat
+`node-build-agent`: every holder pulls one build at a time from the role's one work queue when it is
+idle, so a tier of many images is built by as many machines as hold the seat and are online, and a
+machine that is off builds nothing and blocks nothing. The controller asks the role, never a machine;
+the outcome names the machine that built it.
+
+What a holding machine needs is what the builder always needed, said here once: a container runtime
+(the socket is mounted), the artifact store and the package registry as provisions, a workspace, and
+the bus credential. The code is `cmd/mesh-builder` in the mesh-controller repository, compiled from
+that repository's main (`build.artifacts[].context`); this module ships the packaging.
+
+Assign it to every machine with a container runtime. It replaces `builder`, the one-holder form of the
+same thing; retire that once this is assigned where it was.

modules/build-agent/module.json

@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 {
-  "module": "builder",
+  "module": "build-agent",
   "version": "1",
+  "slug": "agent",
   "capabilities": [
     "container-runtime"
   ],
   "claims": [
     {
-      "name": "mesh-build-machine",
+      "name": "node-build-agent",
-      "scope": "mesh"
+      "scope": "node"
     }
   ],
   "requires": [
@@ -36,19 +37,19 @@
       "mode": "0700"
     },
     {
-      "id": "builder-env",
+      "id": "agent-env",
       "type": "file",
-      "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/builder.env",
+      "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/build-agent.env",
       "mode": "0600",
       "content": "MESH_BROKER_FILE=/run/mesh/broker\nMESH_NODE=${machine:name}\nMESH_REGISTRY=${bound:artifact-store:at}:${bound:artifact-store:port}\nMESH_PACKAGE_BINDING=/run/mesh/package-registry.json\nMESH_NPM_TOKEN_FILE=/run/mesh/package-registry.secret\nMESH_WORKSPACE=${dir:workspace}\n"
     },
     {
       "id": "server",
       "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-builder",
+      "name": "mesh-build-agent",
       "artifact": "server",
       "env-file": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/builder.env"
+        "${dir:mesh-state}/build-agent.env"
       ],
       "volumes": [
         "${dir:mesh-state}:/run/mesh:ro",
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@
         "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock"
       ],
       "restart-on": [
-        "builder-env"
+        "agent-env"
       ],
       "network": "host"
     }

modules/fail2ban/Dockerfile

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# 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

@@ -1,51 +1,204 @@
-// fail2ban's own code, in the module (novox/hq ADR 0039). The jails and the daemon are declared
+// fail2ban's own code, in the module (novox/hq ADR 0039). The jails are composed by the mesh from
-// resources — the mesh writes /etc/fail2ban/jail.d/* and keeps fail2ban.service running (see
+// the modules a machine runs (to-be 31) and written as declared resources; the daemon is kept
-// module.json). This code exists only to read and steer the *live* state the daemon owns at
+// running by one. This code exists only to read and steer the *live* state the daemon owns: who is
-// runtime: which IPs are banned right now, and the manual ban/unban an operator reaches for. That
+// banned now and until when, and the ban or release an operator asks for — the node-intrusion-
-// state (the running bans, /var/lib/fail2ban's sqlite) is fail2ban's, not the mesh's — the mesh
+// prevention seat's four verbs (ADR 0179). The daemon's state is fail2ban's, not the mesh's: the
-// reconciles the config, never the ban list.
+// 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.
 
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { isIP } from "node:net";
 import { promisify } from "node:util";
 
-const run = promisify(execFile);
+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>;
+
+export const execRunner: Runner = async (cmd, args) => {
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFileP(cmd, args, { 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(`${cmd} is not in this runtime`);
+    if (/Failed to access socket path|Is fail2ban running/i.test(said)) {
+      throw new Error("fail2ban is not running on this machine, or its socket is not shared with this runtime");
+    }
+    // fail2ban-client's own last line is the one a person reads ("Sorry but the jail 'x' does not exist").
+    const lines = said.split("\n").map((l) => l.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+    throw new Error(lines.length ? lines[lines.length - 1] : (e.message ?? `${cmd} failed`));
+  }
+};
+
+/** One jail as the daemon reports it. */
+export interface JailStatus {
+  jail: string;
+  /** What the jail is reading: files or journal matches, as fail2ban names them. */
+  watching: string[];
+  /** Addresses with failures counted against them right now, and all failures since the jail started. */
+  failing: { now: number; total: number };
+  /** Addresses held right now, and all bans since the jail started. */
+  banned: { now: number; total: number; addresses: string[] };
+}
+
+/** One ban as the daemon holds it. */
+export interface Ban {
+  ip: string;
+  jail: string;
+  /** When the ban was placed, in the machine's local time as fail2ban prints it. */
+  since: string;
+  /** When the ban ends; "never" for a permanent ban. */
+  until: string;
+}
+
+export interface JailSettings {
+  jail: string;
+  bantime: string;
+  findtime: string;
+  maxretry: number;
+  ignoreip: string[];
+  actions: string[];
+  /** The log files the jail reads, when it reads files. */
+  logpath: string[];
+  /** The journal match the jail reads, when it reads the journal. */
+  journalmatch: string;
+}
 
 export class Fail2banClient {
+  private readonly run: Runner;
+
+  constructor(run: Runner = execRunner) {
+    this.run = run;
+  }
+
   static fromEnv(_env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): Fail2banClient {
     return new Fail2banClient();
   }
 
-  /** Overview of every jail, or the detailed status of one — currently-banned IPs and totals. */
+  private client(...args: string[]): Promise<string> {
-  async status(jail?: string): Promise<string> {
+    return this.run("fail2ban-client", args);
+  }
+
+  /** The jails the daemon runs, by name. */
+  async jails(): Promise<string[]> {
+    const out = await this.client("status");
+    const m = out.match(/Jail list:\s*(.*)/);
+    if (!m) return [];
+    return m[1].split(",").map((j) => j.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+  }
+
+  /** Every jail with what it watches and holds, or one jail's detail. */
+  async status(jail?: string): Promise<{ jails: JailStatus[] }> {
+    const names = jail ? [jail] : await this.jails();
+    const jails: JailStatus[] = [];
+    for (const name of names) {
+      jails.push(parseJailStatus(name, await this.client("status", name)));
+    }
+    return { jails };
+  }
+
+  /** Every address banned now, with the jail holding it and when the ban ends. */
+  async banned(jail?: string): Promise<{ banned: Ban[] }> {
+    const names = jail ? [jail] : await this.jails();
+    const banned: Ban[] = [];
+    for (const name of names) {
+      banned.push(...parseBans(name, await this.client("get", name, "banip", "--with-time")));
+    }
+    banned.sort((a, b) => a.until.localeCompare(b.until) || a.ip.localeCompare(b.ip));
+    return { banned };
+  }
+
+  /** Ban one address in one jail now. The daemon's own answer is how many addresses it added. */
+  async ban(ip: string, jail: string): Promise<{ banned: Ban | null; added: number }> {
+    address(ip);
+    name(jail);
+    const out = await this.client("set", jail, "banip", ip);
+    const added = Number.parseInt(out.trim(), 10) || 0;
+    const held = (await this.banned(jail)).banned.find((b) => b.ip === ip) ?? null;
+    return { banned: held, added };
+  }
+
+  /** Let one address go, from one jail or from every jail. The daemon's answer is how many it released. */
+  async unban(ip: string, jail?: string): Promise<{ released: number; ip: string; jail: string | "every jail" }> {
+    address(ip);
+    let out: string;
     if (jail) {
-      const { stdout } = await run("sudo", ["fail2ban-client", "status", jail]);
+      name(jail);
-      return stdout;
+      out = await this.client("set", jail, "unbanip", ip);
+    } else {
+      out = await this.client("unban", ip);
     }
-    const { stdout: overview } = await run("sudo", ["fail2ban-client", "status"]);
+    return { released: Number.parseInt(out.trim(), 10) || 0, ip, jail: jail ?? "every jail" };
-    const match = overview.match(/Jail list:\s*(.+)/);
-    if (!match) return overview;
-
-    const jails = match[1].split(",").map((j) => j.trim()).filter(Boolean);
-    const parts: string[] = [overview.trimEnd(), ""];
-    for (const j of jails) {
-      const { stdout } = await run("sudo", ["fail2ban-client", "status", j]);
-      parts.push(`=== ${j} ===`, stdout.trimEnd(), "");
-    }
-    return parts.join("\n");
   }
 
-  /** Manually ban an IP in a jail. Mutates live state, not a mesh-managed file. */
+  /** One jail's effective settings — the module's own tool, beside the seat's verbs. */
-  async ban(jail: string, ip: string): Promise<string> {
+  async settings(jail: string): Promise<JailSettings> {
-    const { stdout } = await run("sudo", ["fail2ban-client", "set", jail, "banip", ip]);
+    name(jail);
-    return stdout;
+    const get = (key: string) => this.client("get", jail, key);
-  }
+    const [bantime, findtime, maxretry, ignoreip, actions, logpath, journalmatch] = await Promise.all([
-
+      get("bantime"), get("findtime"), get("maxretry"), get("ignoreip"), get("actions"), get("logpath"),
-  /** Unban an IP from one jail, or from every jail when no jail is given. */
+      get("journalmatch"),
-  async unban(ip: string, jail?: string): Promise<string> {
+    ]);
-    const args = jail
+    return {
-      ? ["fail2ban-client", "set", jail, "unbanip", ip]
+      jail,
-      : ["fail2ban-client", "unban", ip];
+      bantime: bantime.trim(),
-    const { stdout } = await run("sudo", args);
+      findtime: findtime.trim(),
-    return stdout;
+      maxretry: Number.parseInt(maxretry.trim(), 10),
+      ignoreip: listed(ignoreip),
+      actions: actions.split("\n").slice(1).map((l) => l.trim()).filter(Boolean),
+      logpath: /No file is currently monitored/.test(logpath) ? [] : listed(logpath),
+      journalmatch: journalmatch.split("\n").slice(1).map((l) => l.trim()).filter(Boolean).join(" "),
+    };
   }
 }
+
+/** fail2ban's tree listings: lines like "|- 127.0.0.0/8" and "`- ::1", after a heading. */
+function listed(out: string): string[] {
+  return out
+    .split("\n")
+    .map((l) => l.replace(/^[\s|`-]+/, "").trim())
+    .filter((l, i) => i > 0 && l.length > 0);
+}
+
+export function parseJailStatus(jail: string, out: string): JailStatus {
+  const field = (label: string) => {
+    const m = out.match(new RegExp(label.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&") + ":\\t?\\s*(.*)"));
+    return m ? m[1].trim() : "";
+  };
+  const num = (label: string) => Number.parseInt(field(label), 10) || 0;
+  const watching = [field("File list"), field("Journal matches")].filter(Boolean);
+  return {
+    jail,
+    watching,
+    failing: { now: num("Currently failed"), total: num("Total failed") },
+    banned: {
+      now: num("Currently banned"),
+      total: num("Total banned"),
+      addresses: field("Banned IP list").split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean),
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+/** `get <jail> banip --with-time` prints one ban per line: "IP \tsince + seconds = until". */
+export function parseBans(jail: string, out: string): Ban[] {
+  const bans: Ban[] = [];
+  for (const line of out.split("\n")) {
+    const m = line.match(/^(\S+)\s+(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}) \+ (-?\d+) = (\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}|\S+)/);
+    if (!m) continue;
+    bans.push({ ip: m[1], jail, since: m[2], until: Number(m[3]) < 0 ? "never" : m[4] });
+  }
+  return bans;
+}
+
+function address(ip: string): void {
+  if (!isIP(ip)) throw new Error(`${JSON.stringify(ip)} is not an address`);
+}
+
+function name(jail: string): void {
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$/.test(jail)) throw new Error(`${JSON.stringify(jail)} is not a jail's name`);
+}

modules/fail2ban/module.json

@@ -7,9 +7,25 @@
   "claims": [
     {
       "name": "node-intrusion-prevention",
-      "scope": "node"
+      "scope": "node",
+      "serves": [
+        "status",
+        "banned",
+        "ban",
+        "unban"
+      ]
     }
   ],
+  "tools": [
+    "fail2ban_settings"
+  ],
+  "own-secrets": {
+    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
+  },
+  "jailing": {
+    "into": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.d/mesh.conf",
+    "filter-into": "/etc/fail2ban/filter.d"
+  },
   "resources": [
     {
       "id": "package",
@@ -28,19 +44,37 @@
       "path": "/etc/fail2ban/action.d",
       "mode": "0755"
     },
+    {
+      "id": "filter-d",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "/etc/fail2ban/filter.d",
+      "mode": "0755"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "run-dir",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "/var/run/fail2ban",
+      "mode": "0755"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "mesh-state",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "mode": "0700",
+      "place": "mesh"
+    },
     {
       "id": "jail-local",
       "type": "file",
       "path": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.local",
       "mode": "0644",
-      "content": "[INCLUDES]\n\nbefore = paths-arch.conf\n\n[DEFAULT]\n\n# Never act on the machine itself or on a tunnel peer: the mesh's private range is\n# ${machine:mesh-range}, named here rather than written as a value the module cannot\n# know (novox/hq ADR 0112). Without this, fail2ban could ban the mesh's own nodes.\nignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 ${machine:mesh-range}\n\nbantime  = 10m\nfindtime = 10m\nmaxretry = 5\n\n# Ban through iptables, not through a firewall front-end the machine may not have. ufw is\n# installed on two of this mesh's machines and absent on the other two, and fail2ban finds out\n# only at ban time: the service reports healthy, the jail counts the attempt, the ban command\n# exits 127, and nothing is blocked. Proven on 2026-09-28 -- 'ufw: command not found' on a\n# machine the mesh reported as protected.\n#\n# The action below is this module's own, already used by the recidive jail on every machine\n# here, and it bans in DOCKER-USER as well as INPUT, so a container's published port is\n# covered too.\nbanaction = iptables-allports-dualchain\nbanaction_allports = iptables-allports-dualchain\n\n[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\n"
+      "content": "[INCLUDES]\n\nbefore = paths-arch.conf\n\n[DEFAULT]\n\n# Never act on the machine itself or on a tunnel peer: the mesh's private range is\n# ${machine:mesh-range}, named here rather than written as a value the module cannot\n# know (novox/hq ADR 0112). Without this, fail2ban could ban the mesh's own nodes.\n# **A ban list never holds a neighbour.** The mesh's own range is named rather than written\n# (novox/hq ADR 0112), and every private range beside it: a source on one is somebody's own\n# network, not the internet. On a machine behind a router that reflects local traffic, every\n# client in the house arrives as the gateway's address — so one mistyped local request banned\n# 192.168.1.1 on the home server and would have cut the whole house off from it (ADR 0186).\nignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 ${machine:mesh-range} 10.0.0.0/8 172.16.0.0/12 192.168.0.0/16 169.254.0.0/16 fc00::/7 fe80::/10\n\n# Three failures in a day ban for a day (novox/hq ADR 0179). The attackers this mesh sees pace\n# themselves at one try every ten minutes, under any ten-minute window; a day's window counts\n# them, and a day's ban costs a person who mistyped three times once, from one address, while\n# the mesh's own range is never banned at all.\nbantime  = 1d\nfindtime = 1d\nmaxretry = 3\n\n# Ban through iptables, not through a firewall front-end the machine may not have. ufw is\n# installed on two of this mesh's machines and absent on the other two, and fail2ban finds out\n# only at ban time: the service reports healthy, the jail counts the attempt, the ban command\n# exits 127, and nothing is blocked. Proven on 2026-09-28 -- 'ufw: command not found' on a\n# machine the mesh reported as protected.\n#\n# The action below is this module's own, already used by the recidive jail on every machine\n# here, and it bans in DOCKER-USER as well as INPUT, so a container's published port is\n# covered too.\nbanaction = iptables-allports-dualchain\nbanaction_allports = iptables-allports-dualchain\n\n[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\n"
     },
     {
       "id": "jail-sshd",
       "type": "file",
       "path": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.d/sshd.conf",
       "mode": "0644",
-      "content": "[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\nmaxretry = 5\n"
+      "content": "[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\nmaxretry = 3\nfindtime = 1d\nbantime  = 1d\n"
     },
     {
       "id": "log",
@@ -55,7 +89,7 @@
       "type": "file",
       "path": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.d/recidive.conf",
       "mode": "0644",
-      "content": "[recidive]\nenabled = true\nlogpath  = /var/log/fail2ban.log\n# Ban in both INPUT (host services like SSH) and DOCKER-USER (container services)\nbanaction = iptables-allports-dualchain\nbantime  = 1w\nfindtime = 1d\n"
+      "content": "[recidive]\nenabled = true\nlogpath  = /var/log/fail2ban.log\n# Ban in both INPUT (host services like SSH) and DOCKER-USER (container services)\nbanaction = iptables-allports-dualchain\n# Banned twice in two weeks, by any jail, is banned for four (novox/hq ADR 0179).\nbantime  = 4w\nfindtime = 2w\nmaxretry = 2\n"
     },
     {
       "id": "action-dualchain",
@@ -81,8 +115,44 @@
         "jail-local",
         "jail-sshd",
         "jail-recidive",
-        "action-dualchain"
+        "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"
+      }
+    ]
+  }
 }

modules/fail2ban/package.json

@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
 {
   "name": "@novox/module-fail2ban",
   "version": "0.1.0",
-  "description": "fail2ban — intrusion prevention: the mesh declares the jails and keeps the daemon running; its ban/unban/status tools live here.",
+  "description": "fail2ban \u2014 intrusion prevention: the mesh composes the jails and keeps the daemon running; this module holds the node-intrusion-prevention seat and serves its verbs status, banned, ban and unban (novox/hq to-be 31, ADR 0179).",
   "type": "module",
   "private": true,
   "dependencies": {
-    "@novox/mesh-sdk": "^0.1.0"
+    "@novox/mesh-sdk": "^0.1.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
     "typescript": "^5.6.0"
+  },
+  "scripts": {
+    "build": "tsc client.ts tools/index.ts --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist",
+    "test": "node --test --experimental-strip-types 'test/*.test.ts'"
   }
 }

modules/fail2ban/test/client.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+// The intrusion prevention's verbs over a fake daemon, with the shapes fail2ban-client 1.1.0 printed
+// 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";
+
+const STATUS = "Status\n|- Number of jail:\t2\n`- Jail list:\trecidive, sshd\n";
+const RECIDIVE =
+  "Status for the jail: recidive\n|- Filter\n|  |- Currently failed:\t36\n|  |- Total failed:\t149\n" +
+  "|  `- File list:\t/var/log/fail2ban.log\n`- Actions\n   |- Currently banned:\t9\n   |- Total banned:\t13\n" +
+  "   `- Banned IP list:\t195.178.110.30 45.148.10.240 92.118.39.71\n";
+const SSHD =
+  "Status for the jail: sshd\n|- Filter\n|  |- Currently failed:\t5\n|  |- Total failed:\t11776\n" +
+  "|  `- Journal matches:\t_SYSTEMD_UNIT=sshd.service + _COMM=sshd\n`- Actions\n   |- Currently banned:\t0\n" +
+  "   |- Total banned:\t150\n   `- Banned IP list:\t\n";
+const WITH_TIME =
+  "195.178.110.30 \t2026-09-26 23:18:47 + 604800 = 2026-10-03 23:18:47\n" +
+  "92.118.39.71 \t2026-09-28 10:33:49 + 604800 = 2026-10-05 10:33:49\n";
+
+function fake(answers: Record<string, string>, calls: string[][] = []): Runner {
+  return async (cmd, args) => {
+    calls.push([cmd, ...args]);
+    const key = args.join(" ");
+    if (key in answers) return answers[key];
+    throw new Error(`unexpected ${cmd} ${key}`);
+  };
+}
+
+test("a jail's status is read into numbers, what it watches and who it holds", () => {
+  const s = parseJailStatus("recidive", RECIDIVE);
+  assert.deepEqual(s, {
+    jail: "recidive",
+    watching: ["/var/log/fail2ban.log"],
+    failing: { now: 36, total: 149 },
+    banned: { now: 9, total: 13, addresses: ["195.178.110.30", "45.148.10.240", "92.118.39.71"] },
+  });
+  const j = parseJailStatus("sshd", SSHD);
+  assert.deepEqual(j.watching, ["_SYSTEMD_UNIT=sshd.service + _COMM=sshd"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(j.banned, { now: 0, total: 150, addresses: [] });
+});
+
+test("status covers every jail the daemon lists, or the one named", async () => {
+  const calls: string[][] = [];
+  const f = new Fail2banClient(fake({ status: STATUS, "status recidive": RECIDIVE, "status sshd": SSHD }, calls));
+  const all = await f.status();
+  assert.deepEqual(all.jails.map((j) => j.jail), ["recidive", "sshd"]);
+  const one = await f.status("sshd");
+  assert.equal(one.jails.length, 1);
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[calls.length - 1], ["fail2ban-client", "status", "sshd"]);
+});
+
+test("bans are read with when they were placed and when they end, a permanent one as never", () => {
+  const bans = parseBans("recidive", WITH_TIME + "203.0.113.9 \t2026-10-01 00:00:00 + -1 = never\n");
+  assert.equal(bans.length, 3);
+  assert.deepEqual(bans[0], { ip: "195.178.110.30", jail: "recidive", since: "2026-09-26 23:18:47", until: "2026-10-03 23:18:47" });
+  assert.equal(bans[2].until, "never");
+  assert.deepEqual(parseBans("sshd", "\n"), []);
+});
+
+test("banned gathers every jail's bans, soonest to end first", async () => {
+  const f = new Fail2banClient(fake({
+    status: STATUS,
+    "get recidive banip --with-time": WITH_TIME,
+    "get sshd banip --with-time": "198.51.100.7 \t2026-10-02 15:06:58 + 600 = 2026-10-02 15:16:58\n",
+  }));
+  const { banned } = await f.banned();
+  assert.deepEqual(banned.map((b) => `${b.ip}@${b.jail}`), ["198.51.100.7@sshd", "195.178.110.30@recidive", "92.118.39.71@recidive"]);
+});
+
+test("ban asks the daemon by jail and answers with the ban as held; a non-address is refused before anything runs", async () => {
+  const calls: string[][] = [];
+  const f = new Fail2banClient(fake({
+    "set recidive banip 198.51.100.7": "1\n",
+    "get recidive banip --with-time": WITH_TIME + "198.51.100.7 \t2026-10-02 17:00:00 + 604800 = 2026-10-09 17:00:00\n",
+  }, calls));
+  const r = await f.ban("198.51.100.7", "recidive");
+  assert.equal(r.added, 1);
+  assert.equal(r.banned?.until, "2026-10-09 17:00:00");
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[0], ["fail2ban-client", "set", "recidive", "banip", "198.51.100.7"]);
+  await assert.rejects(() => f.ban("not-an-ip", "recidive"), /is not an address/);
+  await assert.rejects(() => f.ban("198.51.100.7", "a jail; rm"), /is not a jail's name/);
+  assert.equal(calls.length, 2);
+});
+
+test("unban releases from one jail or from every jail", async () => {
+  const calls: string[][] = [];
+  const f = new Fail2banClient(fake({ "set sshd unbanip 198.51.100.7": "1\n", "unban 198.51.100.7": "2\n" }, calls));
+  assert.deepEqual(await f.unban("198.51.100.7", "sshd"), { released: 1, ip: "198.51.100.7", jail: "sshd" });
+  assert.deepEqual(await f.unban("198.51.100.7"), { released: 2, ip: "198.51.100.7", jail: "every jail" });
+  assert.deepEqual(calls[1], ["fail2ban-client", "unban", "198.51.100.7"]);
+});
+
+test("a jail's settings are read from the daemon's listings", async () => {
+  const f = new Fail2banClient(fake({
+    "get sshd bantime": "86400\n", "get sshd findtime": "86400\n", "get sshd maxretry": "3\n",
+    "get sshd ignoreip": "These IP addresses/networks are ignored:\n|- 127.0.0.0/8\n|- 10.10.0.0/24\n`- ::1\n",
+    "get sshd actions": "The jail sshd has the following actions:\niptables-allports-dualchain\n",
+    "get sshd logpath": "No file is currently monitored\n",
+    "get sshd journalmatch": "Current match filter:\n_SYSTEMD_UNIT=sshd.service + _COMM=sshd\n",
+  }));
+  assert.deepEqual(await f.settings("sshd"), {
+    jail: "sshd", bantime: "86400", findtime: "86400", maxretry: 3,
+    ignoreip: ["127.0.0.0/8", "10.10.0.0/24", "::1"], actions: ["iptables-allports-dualchain"],
+    logpath: [], journalmatch: "_SYSTEMD_UNIT=sshd.service + _COMM=sshd",
+  });
+});

modules/fail2ban/tools/index.ts

@@ -1,55 +1,62 @@
-// fail2ban's tools — reading and steering the live ban state. The jails themselves are declared
+// The intrusion prevention's tools: the node-intrusion-prevention seat's four verbs — who is banned,
-// resources (module.json); these three touch what the running daemon holds: what is banned now,
+// the jails' state, ban one, let one go — and the module's own reading of a jail's settings
-// and the manual ban/unban an operator reaches for. The daemon's state is fail2ban's own, so this
+// (novox/hq to-be 31, ADR 0179). The jails themselves are composed by the mesh from the modules a
-// is the only way to see or change it — the mesh reconciles the config, not the bans.
+// machine runs and written as declared resources; these touch only what the running daemon holds.
 
 import { registerModuleTools, type ToolDefinition } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/tools";
 import { Fail2banClient } from "../client.js";
 
-export function getFail2banTools(fail2ban: Fail2banClient): ToolDefinition[] {
+export function getSeatVerbs(fail2ban: Fail2banClient): ToolDefinition[] {
   return [
     {
-      name: "fail2ban_status",
+      name: "status",
       description:
-        "fail2ban status on this node — the jails and their live bans. Omit `jail` for every jail, or name one for its detail.",
+        "Every jail on this machine with what it watches, how many addresses it is counting failures against and holding now, and the totals since it started; one jail's detail when named.",
-      input: {
+      input: { jail: { type: "string", description: "one jail (optional)" } },
-        type: "object",
+      run: async (args) => fail2ban.status(args.jail ? String(args.jail) : undefined),
-        properties: {
-          jail: {
-            type: "string",
-            description: "A specific jail (e.g. sshd, recidive); omit for the overview of all jails.",
-          },
-        },
-      },
-      run: async (args) => ({ status: await fail2ban.status(args.jail as string | undefined) }),
     },
     {
-      name: "fail2ban_ban",
+      name: "banned",
-      description: "Manually ban an IP address in a jail — a live change to the running daemon, not a mesh-managed file.",
+      description: "Every address banned on this machine right now, with the jail that holds it, when it was banned and when the ban ends.",
-      input: {
+      input: { jail: { type: "string", description: "one jail (optional)" } },
-        type: "object",
+      run: async (args) => fail2ban.banned(args.jail ? String(args.jail) : undefined),
-        properties: {
-          jail: { type: "string", description: "Jail name (e.g. sshd, recidive)." },
-          ip: { type: "string", description: "IP address to ban." },
-        },
-        required: ["jail", "ip"],
-      },
-      run: async (args) => ({ result: await fail2ban.ban(args.jail as string, args.ip as string) }),
     },
     {
-      name: "fail2ban_unban",
+      name: "ban",
-      description: "Unban an IP address from one jail, or from every jail when `jail` is omitted.",
+      description:
+        "Ban one address in one jail now, for the jail's ban time — an operator's act on the live ban list, which the mesh never writes itself.",
       input: {
-        type: "object",
+        ip: { type: "string", description: "the address" },
-        properties: {
+        jail: { type: "string", description: "the jail to hold it (recidive for the long ban)" },
-          ip: { type: "string", description: "IP address to unban." },
-          jail: { type: "string", description: "A specific jail; omit to unban from all jails." },
-        },
-        required: ["ip"],
       },
-      run: async (args) => ({ result: await fail2ban.unban(args.ip as string, args.jail as string | undefined) }),
+      run: async (args) => fail2ban.ban(String(args.ip ?? ""), String(args.jail ?? "")),
+    },
+    {
+      name: "unban",
+      description: "Let one address go, from one jail or from every jail when none is named.",
+      input: {
+        ip: { type: "string", description: "the address" },
+        jail: { type: "string", description: "one jail (optional)" },
+      },
+      run: async (args) => fail2ban.unban(String(args.ip ?? ""), args.jail ? String(args.jail) : undefined),
     },
   ];
 }
 
-registerModuleTools("fail2ban", () => getFail2banTools(Fail2banClient.fromEnv()));
+export function getFail2banTools(fail2ban: Fail2banClient): ToolDefinition[] {
+  return [
+    {
+      name: "fail2ban_settings",
+      description:
+        "One jail's effective settings on this machine: ban time, window, tries, the addresses it never bans, its actions and what it reads.",
+      input: { jail: { type: "string", description: "the jail" } },
+      run: async (args) => fail2ban.settings(String(args.jail ?? "")),
+    },
+  ];
+}
+
+const fail2ban = Fail2banClient.fromEnv();
+// 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));
+registerModuleTools("fail2ban", () => getFail2banTools(fail2ban));

modules/gitea/module.json

@@ -145,7 +145,8 @@
       "volumes": [
         "${dir:data}:/data"
       ],
-      "secrets-in-environment": "gitea honours GITEA__database__PASSWD__FILE and GITEA__security__INTERNAL_TOKEN__FILE; convertible, awaiting a bed that proves it"
+      "secrets-in-environment": "gitea honours GITEA__database__PASSWD__FILE and GITEA__security__INTERNAL_TOKEN__FILE; convertible, awaiting a bed that proves it",
+      "logging": "journald"
     },
     {
       "id": "admin-bootstrap",
@@ -237,5 +238,12 @@
         "from": "Dockerfile"
       }
     ]
-  }
+  },
+  "jails": [
+    {
+      "name": "gitea",
+      "failregex": "^.*Failed authentication attempt for .* from <HOST>(?::\\d+)?\\s*$\n            ^.*Invalid user .* from <HOST> port \\d+\\s*$\n            ^.*User \\S+ from <HOST> not allowed because .*$",
+      "jail": "backend = systemd\njournalmatch = CONTAINER_NAME=gitea\nport = http,https,222\nmaxretry = 3\nfindtime = 1d\nbantime = 1d"
+    }
+  ]
 }

modules/lab/Dockerfile

@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ ARG RUNTIME_BASE
 FROM ${BUILD_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /app/modules/lab
 COPY . .
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc tools/index.ts tools/runs.ts \
+RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc tools/index.ts tools/runs.ts --rootDir . \
       --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
 
 FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
 RUN apt-get update \
- && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git make ca-certificates curl \
+ && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git make ca-certificates curl python3 file iproute2 sudo \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 RUN curl -fsSL -o /tmp/go.tgz https://go.dev/dl/go1.26.8.linux-amd64.tar.gz \
  && echo "d0f743b33e8d8945e6b1f432edd15785c70507121d6e2a723b21285eddf8b57b  /tmp/go.tgz" | sha256sum -c - \

modules/lab/module.json

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
   "module": "lab",
   "version": "1",
   "capabilities": [
-    "container-runtime"
+    "container-runtime",
+    "virtualisation"
   ],
   "own-secrets": {
     "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"

modules/lab/tools/runs.ts

@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ node -e ${shellQuote(
     `const fs=require("fs");const f=${JSON.stringify(join(dir, "status.json"))};const s=JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(f,"utf8"));s.commits=Object.fromEntries(fs.readFileSync(${JSON.stringify(join(dir, "commits.txt"))},"utf8").trim().split("\\n").map(l=>l.split(" ")));fs.writeFileSync(f,JSON.stringify(s,null,2))`,
   )}
 ${setState("building")}
+# The @novox scope resolves from the mesh's own package registry on the forge, as the build machine
+# resolves it; nothing else is asked of it.
+printf '%s\n' ${shellQuote(`@novox:registry=${forge}/api/packages/novox/npm/`)} > ${shellQuote(join(dir, ".npmrc"))}
+export NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG=${shellQuote(join(dir, ".npmrc"))}
 for repo in mesh-sdk mesh-tools mesh-lab; do (cd ${shellQuote(dir)}/$repo && npm ci --no-audit --no-fund --loglevel=error); done
 (cd ${shellQuote(dir)}/mesh-sdk && npm run build --if-present)
 (cd ${shellQuote(dir)}/mesh-tools && npm run build --if-present)

modules/mailu/module.json

@@ -462,7 +462,8 @@
       ],
       "dns": [
         "192.168.203.254"
-      ]
+      ],
+      "logging": "journald"
     },
     {
       "id": "runtime-config",
@@ -561,5 +562,12 @@
   },
   "grants": {
     "smtp": "${dir:grants}"
-  }
+  },
+  "jails": [
+    {
+      "name": "mailu-front",
+      "failregex": "^.*(?:imap|pop3|submission|managesieve)-login: .*\\(auth failed, \\d+ attempts(?: in \\d+ secs)?\\):.*rip=<HOST>(?:,|$)",
+      "jail": "backend = systemd\njournalmatch = CONTAINER_NAME=mailu-front\nport = smtp,submission,submissions,imap,imaps,pop3,pop3s\nmaxretry = 3\nfindtime = 1d\nbantime = 1d"
+    }
+  ]
 }

modules/mesh-console/Dockerfile

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-# The console (novox/hq ADR 0152, design 34): the mesh's tools for whoever is on a machine, served
-# over MCP on that machine's loopback.
-#
-# **Nothing is compiled here.** The console is the tool runtime's own client — `mesh serve` — which
-# the runtime image already carries beside the runtime it runs modules with. This recipe changes the
-# program the image starts and nothing else, so the console is exactly the client a person can run by
-# hand, started by the mesh instead, on the credential the mesh sealed to the machine.
-#
-# One base, named rather than pinned: the mesh answers with the copy it holds (novox/hq issue 044).
-ARG RUNTIME_BASE
-
-FROM ${RUNTIME_BASE}
-ENTRYPOINT ["node", "dist/mesh.js"]

modules/mesh-console/README.md

@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-# mesh-console
-
-The mesh's tools, on the machine a person sits at, served by a module the mesh assigned there
-(novox/hq [ADR 0152](https://git.novox.be/novox/hq), design 34).
-
-Assign it to a machine and an agent on that machine has the mesh's tools at
-`http://127.0.0.1:<port>/mcp` — MCP over HTTP, `initialize`, `tools/list`, `tools/call`. A person at
-a terminal reaches the same endpoint with `mesh tools --console http://127.0.0.1:<port>` and
-`mesh call <module>.<tool> --console …`, with no credential of their own: the console holds it.
-
-## What it is
-
-The tool runtime's own client, `mesh serve`, started by the mesh on the credential it sealed to the
-machine for `<node>.mesh-console`. The manifest says three things nothing else in the catalogue says
-together:
-
-- `invokes: ["*"]` — it calls every tool on the mesh, and the bus grants exactly that publish side;
-- a listener `from: machine` — loopback only, and the filter opens nothing for it;
-- no `emits`, no `consumes`, no `tools` — nothing on the bus can address it.
-
-**Loopback is the authority boundary.** Whoever can connect is on the machine, and whoever is on the
-machine is the account that owns the mesh there (ADR 0034, ADR 0144). There is no token and no login,
-and `mesh serve` refuses to bind anything but a loopback address.
-
-## What it lists
-
-What the running modules answer: every tool runtime serves a `tools` verb for its module, and the
-console asks the catalogue which modules the mesh holds and each module what it serves. A module that
-did not answer — not assigned, not up, or built before the runtime answered `tools` — is named in the
-list's `_meta.notAnswering` and can still be called by `<module>.<tool>`.
-
-The mesh's own verbs (`status`, `push`, `assign`) are the `mesh-controller` seat's tools under
-ADR 0132 and are not served on the bus yet; they appear here when they are.
-
-## Port
-
-The manifest declares port 4270 and the mesh assigns the machine port as it does for any listener;
-the console binds `127.0.0.1:${port:4270}`. `node show <machine>` says which port a machine was given.

modules/mesh-console/module.json

@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "module": "mesh-console",
-  "version": "1",
-  "slug": "console",
-  "capabilities": [
-    "container-runtime"
-  ],
-  "invokes": [
-    "*"
-  ],
-  "own-secrets": {
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
-  },
-  "listens": [
-    {
-      "name": "mcp",
-      "port": 4270,
-      "protocol": "tcp",
-      "from": "machine",
-      "why": "the mesh's tools for whoever is on this machine, over MCP on loopback; the machine's login is the authority (novox/hq ADR 0152)"
-    }
-  ],
-  "resources": [
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "server",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-console",
-      "network": "host",
-      "args": [
-        "serve"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_CONSOLE_LISTEN": "127.0.0.1:${port:4270}"
-      },
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
-    }
-  ],
-  "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
-    "artifacts": [
-      {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
-      }
-    ]
-  }
-}

modules/nftables/Dockerfile

@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-# nftables' runtime: the tool runtime, carrying the packet filter's tools and the binaries they speak.
-#
-# 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/nftables
-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 filter's own tools: nft for the machine's ruleset and the mesh's table, iptables for the
-# legacy filter and the tables iptables-nft manages — a predecessor's rules live there (ADR 0168).
-# The container runs on the machine's network with NET_ADMIN (ADR 0170), so these act on the
-# machine's packet filter, not on a namespace of their own.
-RUN apt-get update \
-      && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nftables iptables \
-      && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-COPY --from=build /app/modules/nftables/dist /app/modules/nftables/dist
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/nftables/dist/tools/index.js

modules/nftables/client.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 // rule set from every module's `listens` and writes it to the filter file (ADR 0045); the module
 // loads it through its own unit. This code reads the filter back as the machine enforces it, reloads
 // the mesh's own table, and removes one thing the mesh did not write when the operator names it
-// (ADR 0168, ADR 0170) — the seat's three verbs, over the machine's own tools.
+// (ADR 0168, ADR 0170) — the seat's three verbs, over the machine's own tools, which it runs as root
+// through sudo when the runtime loading it is not (ADR 0175).
 
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import { promisify } from "node:util";
@@ -12,9 +13,27 @@ const execFileP = promisify(execFile);
 /** A command runner, so the acts can be tested without a packet filter. */
 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 runtime that loads this bundle runs as the node's operator account, which may
+ *  escalate as the operator would (novox/hq ADR 0175 §4); the packet filter answers only to root,
+ *  listing included. A command sudo refuses fails by name, saying what the account lacks. */
+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]];
+}
+
 export const execRunner: Runner = async (cmd, args) => {
-  const { stdout } = await execFileP(cmd, args, { maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
+  const [program, argv] = escalated(cmd, args);
-  return stdout;
+  try {
+    const { stdout } = await execFileP(program, argv, { maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    return stdout;
+  } catch (err) {
+    const stderr = String((err as { stderr?: string }).stderr ?? "").trim();
+    if (program === "sudo" && /a password is required|not allowed to execute|not in the sudoers/.test(stderr)) {
+      throw new Error(`${cmd} needs root and the runtime's account may not escalate without a prompt: ${stderr}`);
+    }
+    throw err;
+  }
 };
 
 /** The mesh's own tables, which `remove` never touches. */

modules/nftables/module.json

@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
   "module": "nftables",
   "version": "1",
   "capabilities": [
-    "firewall",
+    "firewall"
-    "container-runtime"
   ],
   "claims": [
     {
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@
       "id": "stock-unit-stop",
       "type": "file",
       "path": "/etc/systemd/system/nftables.service.d/mesh.conf",
-      "content": "# The mesh: stopping the stock unit deletes only the mesh's table, never the whole ruleset\n# (novox/hq ADR 0100) \u2014 a flush would take the container runtime's rules and any firewall with it.\n[Service]\nExecStop=\nExecStop=nft delete table inet mesh\n",
+      "content": "# The mesh: stopping the stock unit deletes only the mesh's table, never the whole ruleset\n# (novox/hq ADR 0100) — a flush would take the container runtime's rules and any firewall with it.\n[Service]\nExecStop=\nExecStop=nft delete table inet mesh\n",
       "mode": "0644"
     },
     {
@@ -60,22 +59,10 @@
       ]
     },
     {
-      "id": "runtime",
+      "id": "front-end",
-      "type": "container",
+      "type": "package",
-      "name": "mesh-nftables",
+      "package": "ufw",
-      "network": "host",
+      "absent": true
-      "capabilities": [
-        "NET_ADMIN"
-      ],
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro",
-        "/etc/nftables.conf:/etc/nftables.conf:ro"
-      ],
-      "env": {
-        "MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker",
-        "MESH_FILTER_FILE": "/etc/nftables.conf"
-      },
-      "artifact": "runtime"
     }
   ],
   "tools": [
@@ -85,23 +72,14 @@
     "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
   },
   "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
     "artifacts": [
       {
-        "name": "runtime",
+        "name": "tools",
-        "kind": "image",
+        "kind": "bundle",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
+        "language": "typescript",
+        "entrypoints": [
+          "tools/index.js"
+        ]
       }
     ]
   }

modules/nftables/package.json

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   "type": "module",
   "private": true,
   "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'"
   },
   "dependencies": {

modules/nftables/test/remove.test.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 // and the same in an iptables-nft table. It refuses what is not the operator's to remove.
 import { test } from "node:test";
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { FirewallClient, chainsJumpingTo, type Runner } from "../client.ts";
+import { FirewallClient, chainsJumpingTo, escalated, type Runner } from "../client.ts";
 
 const legacy = [
   "-P INPUT ACCEPT", "-P FORWARD DROP", "-P OUTPUT ACCEPT",
@@ -72,3 +72,9 @@ test("which chains jump to a target is read from a listing", () => {
   const listing = "table ip6 own {\n\tchain a {\n\t\tjump deny\n\t}\n\tchain b {\n\t\tgoto deny\n\t}\n\tchain deny {\n\t\tdrop\n\t}\n}\n";
   assert.deepEqual(chainsJumpingTo(listing, "deny"), ["a", "b"]);
 });
+
+test("the filter's commands run as given by root and through sudo without a prompt by anyone else", () => {
+  assert.deepEqual(escalated("nft", ["list", "ruleset"], 0), ["nft", ["list", "ruleset"]]);
+  assert.deepEqual(escalated("nft", ["-f", "/etc/nftables.conf"], 1000), ["sudo", ["-n", "nft", "-f", "/etc/nftables.conf"]]);
+  assert.deepEqual(escalated("iptables-legacy", ["-S"], undefined), ["sudo", ["-n", "iptables-legacy", "-S"]]);
+});

modules/portainer/Dockerfile

@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-# portainer'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
-# Compiled under /app/modules so `@novox/mesh-sdk` resolves upward into the base's own
-# node_modules — the module is compiled against exactly the sdk it will run against. The compiler
-# is invoked by its real path: node_modules/.bin entries are launcher symlinks the base image
-# resolved away.
-WORKDIR /app/modules/portainer
-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/portainer/dist /app/modules/portainer/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. A container that instead ran only its
-# provisioner (`run`) served no tools and emitted no events; a container that named no command
-# ran no provisioner at all.
-ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/portainer/dist/tools/index.js

modules/portainer/client.ts

@@ -1,107 +0,0 @@
-// The Portainer API client — portainer's own code, living in the module (novox/hq ADR 0039).
-// portainer is tools-only: its "events" would really be the underlying containers' lifecycle,
-// which the host owns and emits — so this module reads Portainer's own resources (endpoints,
-// stacks, containers) and exposes them, and stops there.
-
-import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
-
-export interface PortainerEndpoint {
-  id: number;
-  name: string;
-  type: number;
-  url: string;
-  status: number;
-}
-
-export interface PortainerStack {
-  id: number;
-  name: string;
-  type: number;
-  endpointId: number;
-  status: number;
-}
-
-export interface PortainerContainer {
-  id: string;
-  names: string[];
-  image: string;
-  state: string;
-  status: string;
-}
-
-/** The settings-merged config the mesh delivers (novox/hq ADR 0046): { url, apiKey, token, password, user, ... }. */
-function meshConfig(file?: string): Record<string, string> {
-  if (!file) return {};
-  try { return JSON.parse(readFileSync(file, "utf8")) as Record<string, string>; }
-  catch { return {}; }
-}
-
-export class PortainerClient {
-  readonly baseUrl: string;
-
-  constructor(
-    url: string,
-    private readonly token: string,
-  ) {
-    this.baseUrl = url.replace(/\/+$/, "");
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Build from the module's resolved environment. The URL is MESH_PORTAINER_URL (or the local
-   * dashboard port) and the API token is MESH_PORTAINER_TOKEN — an access token minted in
-   * Portainer, sent as X-API-Key. Throws when no token is configured, so a misconfigured module
-   * exposes nothing rather than calling Portainer unauthenticated.
-   */
-  static fromEnv(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): PortainerClient {
-    const cfg = meshConfig(env.MESH_PORTAINER_CONFIG_FILE);
-    const url = cfg.url ?? env.MESH_PORTAINER_URL ?? `https://127.0.0.1:${env.PORTAINER_PORT ?? "9443"}`;
-    const token = cfg.token ?? env.MESH_PORTAINER_TOKEN;
-    if (!token) throw new Error("no Portainer token — set MESH_PORTAINER_TOKEN");
-    return new PortainerClient(url, token);
-  }
-
-  private async get<T>(path: string): Promise<T> {
-    const res = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}${path}`, { headers: { "X-API-Key": this.token } });
-    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Portainer ${path}: ${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
-    return res.json() as Promise<T>;
-  }
-
-  /** The environments (endpoints) Portainer manages — each a Docker host or cluster it talks to. */
-  async listEndpoints(): Promise<PortainerEndpoint[]> {
-    const raw = await this.get<any[]>("/api/endpoints");
-    return (raw ?? []).map((e) => ({
-      id: e.Id,
-      name: e.Name,
-      type: e.Type,
-      url: e.URL,
-      status: e.Status,
-    }));
-  }
-
-  /** The stacks (compose/swarm deployments) Portainer knows about. */
-  async listStacks(): Promise<PortainerStack[]> {
-    const raw = await this.get<any[]>("/api/stacks");
-    return (raw ?? []).map((s) => ({
-      id: s.Id,
-      name: s.Name,
-      type: s.Type,
-      endpointId: s.EndpointId,
-      status: s.Status,
-    }));
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * The containers on one endpoint, read through Portainer's Docker API proxy. Includes stopped
-   * containers, so the caller sees the whole picture rather than only what is running.
-   */
-  async listContainers(endpointId: number): Promise<PortainerContainer[]> {
-    const raw = await this.get<any[]>(`/api/endpoints/${endpointId}/docker/containers/json?all=1`);
-    return (raw ?? []).map((c) => ({
-      id: c.Id,
-      names: c.Names ?? [],
-      image: c.Image,
-      state: c.State,
-      status: c.Status,
-    }));
-  }
-}

modules/portainer/module.json

@@ -1,114 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "module": "portainer",
-  "version": "1",
-  "slug": "portain",
-  "capabilities": [
-    "container-runtime"
-  ],
-  "listens": [
-    {
-      "name": "web",
-      "port": 9000,
-      "protocol": "tcp",
-      "from": "mesh",
-      "why": "the dashboard over http; its public name is a route grant and the proxy reaches it here"
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "web-tls",
-      "port": 9443,
-      "protocol": "tcp",
-      "from": "mesh",
-      "why": "the same dashboard over its own tls; the runtime sidecar talks to it here"
-    }
-  ],
-  "resources": [
-    {
-      "id": "mesh-state",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700",
-      "place": "mesh"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "data",
-      "type": "directory",
-      "mode": "0700"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "server",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "portainer",
-      "image": "portainer/portainer-ce@sha256:4d616db18cfeb5dd41a69c0958bc825c84483ea9cde1106eb82a5d26f3bd8b0e",
-      "ports": [
-        "9000",
-        "9443"
-      ],
-      "volumes": [
-        "${dir:data}:/data",
-        "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock"
-      ]
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime-config",
-      "type": "file",
-      "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json",
-      "mode": "0600",
-      "content": "{}\n",
-      "merge": "json"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "runtime",
-      "type": "container",
-      "name": "mesh-portainer",
-      "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_PORTAINER_URL": "https://127.0.0.1:9443",
-        "MESH_PORTAINER_CONFIG_FILE": "/run/config/config.json"
-      },
-      "restart-on": [
-        "runtime-config"
-      ],
-      "artifact": "runtime"
-    }
-  ],
-  "own-secrets": {
-    "broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"
-  },
-  "build": {
-    "on": [
-      {
-        "arg": "BUILD_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "build"
-      },
-      {
-        "arg": "RUNTIME_BASE",
-        "module": "mesh-tools",
-        "artifact": "runtime"
-      }
-    ],
-    "artifacts": [
-      {
-        "name": "runtime",
-        "kind": "image",
-        "from": "Dockerfile"
-      }
-    ]
-  },
-  "requires": [
-    "route"
-  ],
-  "contributes": {
-    "route": {
-      "label": "portainer",
-      "endpoint": "web"
-    }
-  },
-  "binds": {
-    "route": "${dir:mesh-state}/route.json"
-  }
-}

modules/portainer/package.json

@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "name": "@novox/module-portainer",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
-  "description": "portainer — container management UI. Its API client and tools live here (novox/hq ADR 0039).",
-  "type": "module",
-  "private": true,
-  "dependencies": {
-    "@novox/mesh-sdk": "^0.1.0"
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
-    "typescript": "^5.6.0"
-  }
-}

modules/portainer/tools/index.ts

@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-// portainer's tools — its own code (novox/hq ADR 0039), importing portainer's own client. They
-// return structured data; the mesh serves them through the sdk's tool harness. portainer is
-// tools-only (no events entrypoint): a container starting or stopping is the host's signal to emit,
-// not Portainer's to re-announce.
-
-import { registerModuleTools, type ToolDefinition } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/tools";
-import { PortainerClient } from "../client.js";
-
-export function getPortainerTools(portainer: PortainerClient): ToolDefinition[] {
-  return [
-    {
-      name: "portainer_endpoints",
-      description: "List the environments (endpoints) Portainer manages — each a Docker host or cluster.",
-      input: {},
-      run: async () => {
-        const endpoints = await portainer.listEndpoints();
-        return { count: endpoints.length, endpoints };
-      },
-    },
-    {
-      name: "portainer_stacks",
-      description: "List the stacks (compose/swarm deployments) Portainer knows about.",
-      input: {},
-      run: async () => {
-        const stacks = await portainer.listStacks();
-        return { count: stacks.length, stacks };
-      },
-    },
-    {
-      name: "portainer_containers",
-      description: "List the containers on one Portainer endpoint, including stopped ones.",
-      input: { endpoint: { type: "number", description: "the endpoint id (see portainer_endpoints)" } },
-      run: async (args) => {
-        const endpointId = Number(args.endpoint);
-        const containers = await portainer.listContainers(endpointId);
-        return { endpointId, count: containers.length, containers };
-      },
-    },
-  ];
-}
-
-// The tools exist only when a token is configured; without one, portainer contributes none rather
-// than failing the whole runtime.
-registerModuleTools("portainer", (env) => {
-  try {
-    return getPortainerTools(PortainerClient.fromEnv(env));
-  } catch {
-    return [];
-  }
-});

modules/portainer/tsconfig.json

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

modules/route-proxy/module.json

@@ -163,7 +163,8 @@
         "acme-env",
         "internal-trust",
         "internal-acme-env"
-      ]
+      ],
+      "logging": "journald"
     }
   ],
   "build": {
@@ -194,5 +195,12 @@
         "image": "alpine@sha256:d9e853e87e55526f6b2917df91a2115c36dd7c696a35be12163d44e6e2a4b6bc"
       }
     ]
-  }
+  },
+  "jails": [
+    {
+      "name": "route-proxy",
+      "failregex": "^.*TLS handshake error from <HOST>:\\d+: (?:no public route for|acme/autocert: missing server name)\n            ^.*refused: no route for .*, asked from <HOST>:\\d+$",
+      "jail": "backend = systemd\njournalmatch = CONTAINER_NAME=route-proxy\nport = http,https\nmaxretry = 10\nfindtime = 1d\nbantime = 1d"
+    }
+  ]
 }

modules/step-ca/module.json

@@ -5,20 +5,12 @@
     "container-runtime"
   ],
   "provides": [
-    {
-      "name": "acme-ca",
-      "scope": "mesh"
-    },
     {
       "name": "internal-acme-ca",
       "scope": "mesh"
     }
   ],
   "serves": {
-    "acme-ca": {
-      "path": "/acme/acme/directory",
-      "roots": "/roots.pem"
-    },
     "internal-acme-ca": {
       "path": "/acme/acme/directory",
       "roots": "/roots.pem"