fix(ai-path): restore packaging + fail fast before payment when no tunnel binary (v2.8.0)

[Sentinel-Bluebuilder]

Consumer context (x402 pay-per-use VPN)

An AI agent following the x402 flow (pay USDC on Base → receive Sentinel subscription → connect() via blue-js-sdk/ai-path) was rated end-to-end on a machine with no V2Ray and no WireGuard installed. Result: 88/100. The two deductions traced straight to the SDK:

1. Published 2.7.2 is missing ai-path entirely (release blocker)

npm view blue-js-sdk@2.7.2 exports has no ./ai-path; files has no ai-path/; bin has no sentinel-ai. With an exports map present, import 'blue-js-sdk/ai-path' throws ERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED for every npm consumer. Only apps pinned to 2.3.0 (like x402's fresh-test) still work.

Regression source: f6162f4 ("fix: silent truncation in rpcQueryNodes...", Apr 19) accidentally reverted package.json, undoing what 87cc4df added. This is the identical failure class the v2.7.2 CHANGELOG entry documents for auth//operator/ — except the CI tarball gate added there only imports the package root, so subpath drift slipped through.

2. A binary-less agent burns a real on-chain session

connect() step 1 detects the environment but never gates on it. On the no-binary machine the trace was: wallet derived → balance OK → node selected → MsgStartSession TX broadcast and paid → tunnel step fails with V2RAY_NOT_FOUND. The session payment and the fee granter's allowance are gone. (FAILURES.md rule 5 — "check BEFORE paying" — was already enforced for WireGuard-without-admin, but not for the no-binary-at-all case.)

Also: the exported setup() was detect-only — the actual V2Ray download lives in the root setup.js, which was unsafe to import (ran main() with npm-install/MSI side effects on import).

Changes

• package.json — restore "./ai-path" export, ai-path/ in files, sentinel-ai bin; version 2.8.0.
• ai-path/connect.js — step 1 now gates: no V2Ray and no admin-usable WireGuard → auto-download V2Ray (no admin needed) → re-detect; if still unusable, throw ENVIRONMENT_NOT_READY (existing code, nextAction run_setup) before any chain work. Skipped in dryRun. Human-error map entry added.
• ai-path/environment.js — setup() now actually installs: downloads V2Ray (SHA256-verified, to SDK bin/) via the root setup script when no usable binary exists, re-detects, returns installed: true. Opt out with { autoInstall: false }. Reuses existing ENVIRONMENT_NOT_READY — no new error code, no JS↔C# parity work (ai-path is JS-only).
• setup.js (root) — exports setupV2Ray, setupWireGuard, setup(); main() only runs when executed directly.
• .github/workflows/ci.yml — tarball gate now imports every subpath export (blue-js-sdk/ai-path, /consumer, /operator) from the packed install, closing the gap that let this regression publish.
• Docs (same diff) — ai-path/README.md (setup() API + auto-install, ENVIRONMENT_NOT_READY row, --ignore-scripts note, lifecycle step 1), ai-path/FAILURES.md (D8: detection-without-gate, D9: subpath packaging), CHANGELOG.md v2.8.0 entry.

Verification

• All edited files import cleanly; importing root setup.js no longer triggers side effects.
• npm pack → install tarball in temp dir with --ignore-scripts → blue-js-sdk/ai-path (46 exports), /consumer (63), /operator (68) all resolve. Root: 401 exports.
• Distribution greps (wallet addresses, AI tool names, local paths, mnemonics) clean on all changed files.

Why minor bump (2.8.0)

New behavior: setup() and connect() now download V2Ray at runtime when nothing usable is present. Restores the published surface 2.7.x silently dropped. After merge, publishing 2.8.0 unblocks every npm ai-path consumer.