user manual

Author: rcholic

docs/predicate-authority-user-manual.md

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+# Predicate Authority User Manual
+
+This guide explains how to use `predicate-authority` in real projects with
+practical examples. It is written for application developers and platform
+operators who want deterministic, pre-execution authorization for AI agents.
+
+---
+
+## What is `predicate-authority`?
+
+`predicate-authority` is an authorization layer for AI agents.
+
+It checks risky actions **before execution** (fail-closed by default), issues
+short-lived mandates for allowed actions, and records proof events for audit.
+
+Core use cases:
+
+- protect outbound API calls,
+- protect tool invocation (MCP/function calls),
+- enforce policy invariants using state and verification evidence,
+- centralize revocation and operational controls through a sidecar.
+
+---
+
+## Package overview
+
+- `predicate_contracts`: shared typed contracts and protocols.
+- `predicate_authority`: policy engine, guard, sidecar, identity bridge,
+  revocation, proof ledger.
+- `predicate-authorityd`: optional local sidecar daemon (CLI service).
+
+---
+
+## Install
+
+```bash
+pip install predicate-contracts predicate-authority
+```
+
+For local development from source:
+
+```bash
+cd /path/to/AgentIdentity
+pip install -e ./predicate_contracts
+pip install -e ./predicate_authority
+```
+
+---
+
+## Fastest local validation path (Day 1)
+
+Use this path if you want fast feedback with minimal setup.
+
+You do **not** need:
+
+- Entra ID / enterprise IdP setup,
+- two browser agents,
+- hosted control plane.
+
+### Step 1: run one local authorize/deny script
+
+- Use in-process `ActionGuard` with a tiny local policy.
+- Build one allowed request and one denied request.
+- Confirm deny reason is deterministic.
+
+### Step 2: simulate delegation with two Python scripts
+
+- Script A (root) requests a mandate with limited delegation depth.
+- Script B (worker) uses the received token and attempts delegated action.
+- Validate expected behavior for:
+  - valid delegation,
+  - over-depth delegation (must fail),
+  - revoked root/intent (must fail).
+
+### Step 3: optional sidecar smoke test
+
+- Start `predicate-authorityd` in local mode.
+- Call `/status`, `/ledger/flush-now`, and `/ledger/dead-letter`.
+- Confirm operations safety endpoints work before enterprise integration.
+
+When this passes, add enterprise IdP (OIDC/Entra) and real web-agent E2E flows.
+
+---
+
+## Mental model
+
+1. Build an `ActionRequest` from current agent context.
+2. Call `ActionGuard.authorize(request)` (or sidecar equivalent).
+3. If allowed, execute action (with mandate attached if needed).
+4. If denied, stop action and handle deny reason.
+5. Emit/store proof events for governance.
+
+---
+
+## Quick start (in-process guard)
+
+```python
+from predicate_authority import ActionGuard, InMemoryProofLedger, LocalMandateSigner, PolicyEngine
+from predicate_contracts import (
+    ActionRequest,
+    ActionSpec,
+    PolicyEffect,
+    PolicyRule,
+    PrincipalRef,
+    StateEvidence,
+    VerificationEvidence,
+    VerificationSignal,
+    VerificationStatus,
+)
+
+rules = (
+    PolicyRule(
+        name="allow-orders-create",
+        effect=PolicyEffect.ALLOW,
+        principals=("agent:checkout",),
+        actions=("http.post",),
+        resources=("https://api.vendor.com/orders",),
+        required_labels=("on_checkout_page",),
+    ),
+)
+
+guard = ActionGuard(
+    policy_engine=PolicyEngine(rules=rules),
+    mandate_signer=LocalMandateSigner(secret_key="replace-with-strong-secret"),
+    proof_ledger=InMemoryProofLedger(),
+)
+
+request = ActionRequest(
+    principal=PrincipalRef(principal_id="agent:checkout", tenant_id="tenant-a"),
+    action_spec=ActionSpec(
+        action="http.post",
+        resource="https://api.vendor.com/orders",
+        intent="submit customer order",
+    ),
+    state_evidence=StateEvidence(source="sdk-python", state_hash="sha256:abc123"),
+    verification_evidence=VerificationEvidence(
+        signals=(
+            VerificationSignal(
+                label="on_checkout_page",
+                status=VerificationStatus.PASSED,
+                required=True,
+            ),
+        )
+    ),
+)
+
+decision = guard.authorize(request)
+if not decision.allowed:
+    raise RuntimeError(f"Denied: {decision.reason.value}")
+
+print("Allowed. mandate_id=", decision.mandate.claims.mandate_id if decision.mandate else None)
+```
+
+---
+
+## Policy basics
+
+A policy rule matches:
+
+- principal (`agent:*`, `agent:checkout`, etc.),
+- action (`http.post`, `tool.execute`, `browser.click`),
+- resource (`https://...`, `mcp://...`, etc.),
+- optional required verification labels.
+
+If no allow rule matches, behavior is deny (`NO_MATCHING_POLICY`).
+
+Common deny reasons:
+
+- `NO_MATCHING_POLICY`
+- `EXPLICIT_DENY`
+- `MISSING_REQUIRED_VERIFICATION`
+- `INVALID_MANDATE`
+
+---
+
+## Using the sidecar (`predicate-authorityd`)
+
+Start local sidecar with file policy:
+
+```bash
+PYTHONPATH=. predicate-authorityd \
+  --host 127.0.0.1 \
+  --port 8787 \
+  --mode local_only \
+  --policy-file examples/authorityd/policy.json
+```
+
+Health and status:
+
+```bash
+curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8787/health | jq
+curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8787/status | jq
+```
+
+---
+
+## Identity modes
+
+`predicate-authorityd` supports multiple identity bridge modes:
+
+- `local` (default): local deterministic bridge,
+- `local-idp`: local IdP-style signed token mode (offline/dev/air-gapped),
+- `oidc`: enterprise OIDC bridge,
+- `entra`: Microsoft Entra bridge.
+
+Example (`local-idp`):
+
+```bash
+export LOCAL_IDP_SIGNING_KEY="replace-with-strong-secret"
+predicate-authorityd \
+  --host 127.0.0.1 \
+  --port 8787 \
+  --mode local_only \
+  --policy-file examples/authorityd/policy.json \
+  --identity-mode local-idp \
+  --local-idp-issuer "http://localhost/predicate-local-idp" \
+  --local-idp-audience "api://predicate-authority"
+```
+
+---
+
+## Local identity registry + flush queue
+
+Enable ephemeral task identity registry and local ledger queue:
+
+```bash
+PYTHONPATH=. predicate-authorityd \
+  --host 127.0.0.1 \
+  --port 8787 \
+  --mode local_only \
+  --policy-file examples/authorityd/policy.json \
+  --local-identity-enabled \
+  --local-identity-registry-file ./.predicate-authorityd/local-identities.json \
+  --local-identity-default-ttl-s 900 \
+  --flush-worker-enabled \
+  --flush-worker-interval-s 2.0 \
+  --flush-worker-max-batch-size 50 \
+  --flush-worker-dead-letter-max-attempts 5
+```
+
+Useful endpoints:
+
+- `POST /identity/task`
+- `GET /identity/list`
+- `POST /identity/revoke`
+- `GET /ledger/flush-queue`
+- `POST /ledger/flush-now`
+- `GET /ledger/dead-letter`
+- `POST /ledger/requeue`
+
+---
+
+## Operations safety patterns
+
+Recommended production defaults:
+
+- keep fail-closed for protected actions,
+- use dead-letter threshold to quarantine persistent failures,
+- expose `/status` metrics to monitoring,
+- provide runbooks for manual flush and dead-letter requeue.
+
+Example manual recovery:
+
+```bash
+# trigger immediate flush
+curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8787/ledger/flush-now \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"max_items":50}' | jq
+
+# inspect quarantined items
+curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8787/ledger/dead-letter | jq
+
+# requeue a quarantined item
+curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8787/ledger/requeue \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"queue_item_id":"q_abc123"}' | jq
+```
+
+---
+
+## `sdk-python` integration example (boundary adapter flow)
+
+If your web agent uses `sdk-python`, build shared contract evidence before
+calling authority:
+
+```python
+from predicate.agent_runtime import AgentRuntime
+
+# after snapshot + assertions
+request = runtime.build_authority_action_request(
+    principal_id="agent:web-checkout",
+    action="browser.click",
+    resource="https://example.com/checkout",
+    intent="click submit order",
+    tenant_id="tenant-a",
+)
+
+# send request to your authority hook/client
+decision = my_authorizer(request)
+if not decision.allowed:
+    raise RuntimeError("Denied by authority")
+```
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+- Denied with `MISSING_REQUIRED_VERIFICATION`:
+  - ensure required labels are present and `PASSED` in evidence.
+- Denied with `NO_MATCHING_POLICY`:
+  - verify principal/action/resource match patterns in active policy.
+- Token exchange errors in connected mode:
+  - verify identity mode config and credential/refresh-token setup.
+- Queue not draining:
+  - check `/status` flush counters and control-plane connectivity.
+
+---
+
+## Where to go next
+
+- Operations guide: `docs/authorityd-operations.md`
+- Architecture proposal: `docs/predicate_authority_docs/better-sdk-opportunity-proposal.md`
+- Governance sign-off tracker: `docs/predicate_authority_docs/governance-signoff-tracker.md`