sysknife

<p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife"> <img src="assets/logo/sysknife.svg" alt="SysKnife" width="170" height="170"/> </a> </p> <h1 align="center">SysKnife</h1> <p align="center"> <em>Your sysadmin co-pilot. Plan. Approve. Audit.</em> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/actions"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/lacs-project/sysknife/ci.yml?branch=main&style=flat-square&logo=github&label=CI" alt="CI"></a> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/blob/main/LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/license/lacs-project/sysknife?style=flat-square" alt="License"></a> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/stargazers"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/lacs-project/sysknife?style=flat-square&logo=github" alt="Stars"></a> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/issues"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/issues/lacs-project/sysknife?style=flat-square" alt="Issues"></a> <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/discussions"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/discussions/lacs-project/sysknife?style=flat-square&label=discuss" alt="Discussions"></a> <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/sysknife-setup"><img src="https://img.shields.io/npm/v/sysknife-setup?style=flat-square&logo=npm&label=npx%20setup" alt="npm version"></a> </p> <p align="center"> <strong>Distros</strong>&nbsp; <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Ubuntu%2024.04-validated-2f855a?style=flat-square&logo=ubuntu&logoColor=white" alt="Ubuntu 24.04 validated"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Ubuntu%2022.04%20%2F%2026.04-smoke--tested-d97706?style=flat-square&logo=ubuntu&logoColor=white" alt="Ubuntu 22.04 and 26.04 smoke-tested"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Fedora%20Atomic-current%20validation%20required-294172?style=flat-square&logo=fedora&logoColor=white" alt="Fedora Atomic current validation required"> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="#install">Install</a> · <a href="#how-it-works">How it works</a> · <a href="#why-not-just-x">Why not <em>X</em>?</a> · <a href="docs/distro-support.md">Distro matrix</a> · <a href="ROADMAP.md">Roadmap</a> · <a href="CONTRIBUTING.md">Contribute</a> · <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/discussions">Discuss</a> </p> <p align="center"> <img src="assets/demo/mcp-flow.gif" alt="SysKnife in Claude Code via MCP" width="900"/> </p> <p align="center"> <em>Illustrative reproduction of the Claude Code MCP flow — same flow works in Cursor and Codex CLI.</em><br/> <em>Looking for the standalone CLI? See <a href="docs/cli.md">the CLI guide</a>.</em> </p> > **Describe what you want in plain language.** Review a typed plan with risk > levels. Approve explicitly. Watch it execute with live output. Atomic-host > changes (rpm-ostree) roll back automatically on failure. Every action is > Ed25519-signed and audited. SysKnife never runs a shell command. Every action is a **typed operation** with a formal risk level. The AI cannot touch your system directly. A privileged daemon executes only what you approve, writes a tamper-evident Ed25519-signed audit chain, and rolls back atomic-host (rpm-ostree) changes automatically on failure. **Why typed actions and not a guarded shell?** Red-team research (GuardFall) found that **10 of 11 AI agents bypass raw-string shell guards** — an allowlist or regex is filtering a language rich enough to hide intent. SysKnife removes the shell string entirely: the model emits [typed actions](docs/typed-actions.md), and a [public-key-verifiable audit chain](docs/the-audit-chain.md) records every one. --- ## Install The fastest path is the setup wizard. It installs the daemon and wires SysKnife into your AI IDE — Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex CLI — so you can plan and execute from chat. ```sh npx sysknife-setup ``` [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/sysknife-setup) > **Pre-launch:** the binary auto-download resolves against a published GitHub > Release, which isn't tagged yet — until the first release lands, run > `npx sysknife-setup --no-binary` and build the binaries with the **Manual > install** steps below. What this does: 1. **Downloads the prebuilt `sysknife` + `sysknife-daemon` binaries** for your architecture (x86_64 / aarch64) from GitHub Releases, **SHA-256-verifies** each against the release checksum file — a mismatch aborts the install — and places them in `~/.local/bin` (no sudo). Pass `--no-binary` to skip the download and build from source instead. 2. Asks for your **LLM provider, key, and model** — OpenAI / Anthropic / Gemini / Ollama / Groq / DeepSeek / Mistral / xAI (Ollama needs no key). The key prompt is skipped when the matching env var is already set. 3. Asks **which AI integration** to wire up (or pick `--claude` / `--cursor` / `--codex` / `--all`) and your **daemon target(s)** — socket, plus an optional vsock token for a remote VM. 4. **Writes the integration-specific MCP config** (merging into any existing file, never clobbering) so the next chat session sees the `sysknife_*` tools — `sysknife_plan`, `sysknife_execute`, `sysknife_history`, `sysknife_doctor`, `sysknife_audit_verify` — as first-class tools. 5. **Installs and starts the daemon as a service** (last step) — a systemd *user* service by default (no sudo; kept alive across logout via linger). Pick the system-level service for a production, multi-user host. | Client | Files written | |-----------------|------------------------------------------------------| | **Claude Code** | `.mcp.json` + `.claude/hookify.*.local.md` | | **Cursor** | `.cursor/mcp.json` + `.cursor/rules/sysknife.mdc` | | **Codex CLI** | `~/.codex/config.toml` (appended) + `AGENTS.md` | Then in your chat: ask for what you want and review the plan with risk pills. Approve each transaction with `sysknife approve <transaction-id>` in a terminal, return the one-time receipts, and watch it execute. The daemon, not the prompt, enforces the receipt boundary. > **Prefer the standalone CLI?** Same engine, no IDE — see the > [CLI guide](docs/cli.md) for `sysknife "..."`, `--dry-run`, `--json`, > approval prompts, and audit-log inspection. <details> <summary><strong>Manual install — Ubuntu LTS · Fedora Atomic</strong></summary> ```sh git clone https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife cd sysknife make build # builds sysknife (CLI) + sysknife-daemon sudo make install # installs both; daemon runs as a system service sudo systemctl enable --now sysknife-daemon # Then wire your IDE — --no-binary skips the download since you just built them # (choose "skip" at the daemon-service prompt; make install already set it up) npx sysknife-setup --no-binary ``` Ubuntu 24.04 is validated with 65/65 stories on a live VM. Ubuntu 22.04 and 26.04 have passed bootstrap and smoke tests but not the full story suite. Fedora Atomic is the rpm-ostree target; record a current Silverblue 44 VM run before treating a release as current-validated. Plain Fedora Workstation and Server remain experimental until the `dnf` action family ships. See the [`distro support matrix`](docs/distro-support.md) for evidence and scope. </details> <details> <summary><strong>Dry run — plan only, nothing executes</strong></summary> ```sh # Requires the sysknife binary (see manual install above, or `npx sysknife-setup`). # Plans only: no daemon, no approval, no execution. export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... sysknife --dry-run "show disk usage and list services that ate cpu in the last hour" ``` </details> ## How it works ``` sysknife-brain → sysknife-shell → sysknife-daemon (planner) (approval gate) (executor) talks to LLM shows the plan, only privileged never to OS takes y/n process; signs every action ``` 1. You type a natural-language request. 2. The brain proposes a plan — each step is a **typed action** with a risk level (`Low` · `Medium` · `High`). 3. The shell shows the plan with previews, side-effects, and rollback metadata. 4. You approve each step explicitly (or set `--yes` up to a risk ceiling). 5. The daemon executes, streams live output, rolls back automatically on high-risk failure. 6. Every execution is logged to a hash-chained SQLite or Postgres audit trail you can verify with `sysknife audit verify`. The brain *proposes*; only the daemon is privileged. The daemon *enforces* policy, executes typed actions, writes the signed chain, and triggers atomic-host rollback (rpm-ostree) on failure. The trust boundary is mechanical: no shell strings cross the wire. ## Why not just X? | Tool | The gap | |---|---| | **Open Interpreter** | Runs arbitrary Python/Shell. No formal risk model. No audit chain. | | **Goose / Continue** | General-purpose. Ad-hoc confirmation, not typed risk levels. | | **Claude Computer Use** | Uncontrolled desktop automation, not system administration. | | **Ansible** | YAML written in advance. Not conversational. No risk classification. | | **shell-gpt / Copilot** | Suggests raw shell commands. You still run raw shell. | | **AIShell-Gate** | Closest peer, but proprietary and closed; audit is symmetric HMAC (the verifier holds the signing secret, so a proof convinces no one else). No rollback. | | **Manual** | No audit trail. No rollback. One typo = lost work. | SysKnife is different by construction: typed actions, an Ed25519-signed audit chain, explicit approval gate, automatic rollback for atomic-host (rpm-ostree) changes, polkit-mediated privilege boundary. The AI never holds a shell. See the full [SysKnife vs. alternatives](docs/comparison.md) breakdown (AIShell-Gate, gate-oc-audit, MCP gateways, generic mcp-shell). ## Status The trust chain is built, tested, and shipping. Multi-distro is the active milestone. | Component | State | |---|---| | `sysknife-brain` — LLM planner, tool loop, safety fence | ✅ | | `sysknife-daemon` — 189 typed actions, auth, preview, transactions | ✅ | | Live IPC + streaming + atomic-host rollback (rpm-ostree) | ✅ | | Terminal approval gate — one-time, TTL-bounded receipts | ✅ | | MCP server (Claude Code / Cursor / any MCP client) | ✅ | | Tamper-evident Ed25519-signed audit chain | ✅ | | RFC 5424 syslog forwarding (Splunk / Sentinel / QRadar) | ✅ | | Postgres backend (RDS / Cloud SQL / Neon / Supabase) | ✅ | | **Ubuntu 24.04 support** — 65/65 stories pass on a live VM with gpt-4.1 | ✅ | | **Ubuntu 22.04 / 26.04 VM tooling** — smoke tests pass on all three LTSes | ✅ | | Telegram approval interface | 📋 roadmap | **1,348 Rust tests and 72 frontend tests** form the current deterministic release baseline. ## Configure your LLM SysKnife works with **Ollama** (no key, recommended for privacy / offline / homelab) or **OpenAI**, **Anthropic**, **Gemini**, **Groq**, **DeepSeek**, **Mistral**, **xAI**. ```toml # ~/.config/sysknife/config.toml [llm] provider = "ollama" # or anthropic / openai / gemini / groq / ... model = "qwen3:8b" # provider-specific ollama_url = "http://localhost:11434" max_turns = 10 [daemon] socket = "/run/sysknife/daemon.sock" database = "/var/lib/sysknife/daemon.sqlite" [storage] # production-recommended backend = "postgres" url = "postgres://sysknife:${PG_PASSWORD}@db.example.com/audit?sslmode=verify-full" ``` Env vars always win over the config file. Full reference in [`docs/configuration.md`](docs/configuration.md). ## MCP protocol SysKnife implements the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) and exposes approval-gated planning and execution tools. `sysknife_plan` returns a daemon-issued transaction ID for each step. After reviewing the plan, the user runs `sysknife approve <transaction-id>` in a real terminal and gives the one-time receipt to the agent. `sysknife_execute` rejects missing, expired, mismatched, or replayed receipts. The MCP server cannot mint approval receipts itself. Use the setup wizard (above) to wire it into Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex CLI. All config files that may contain API keys are created with `chmod 0600`. ## Roadmap See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for the full milestone breakdown. - ✅ **Ubuntu 24.04** — 65/65 stories validated on a live VM (gpt-4.1) - ✅ **Ubuntu 22.04 / 26.04** — VM tooling complete; smoke tests pass on all three LTSes - 📋 Telegram inline-button approvals - 📋 `sysknife audit export` (CEF / NDJSON for SIEM ingest) - 📋 Fleet plan/execute (one plan, N targets, parallel approval) - 📋 GUI (Tauri shell) for Wayland desktop linux ## Protocol SysKnife is the reference implementation of the **LACS (Linux Agent Control Standard)** protocol — typed actions, risk classification, approval gates, audit requirements. The spec is CC0 (public domain): → **[lacs-project/specification](https://github.com/lacs-project/specification)** Other implementations for other distros and languages are explicitly encouraged. ## Contributing We want help. **Multi-distro** is the highest-impact area to plug into right now — see [`docs/distro-support.md`](docs/distro-support.md) for the roadmap matrix and [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](CONTRIBUTING.md) for the workflow. Issues labelled [`good first issue`](https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/labels/good%20first%20issue) are scoped with clear acceptance criteria. ## Documentation - [Typed actions — why never a shell string](docs/typed-actions.md) - [Action reference — every action, generated from the code](docs/action-reference.md) - [The audit chain — Ed25519, public-key verifiable](docs/the-audit-chain.md) - [Automatic rollback](docs/automatic-rollback.md) - [SysKnife vs. alternatives](docs/comparison.md) - [Architecture overview](docs/architecture.md) - [Distro support matrix](docs/distro-support.md) - [Configuration](docs/configuration.md) - [Audit storage and recovery](docs/storage-cloud.md) - [Developer guide](docs/developer-guide.md) - [Testing guide](docs/contributing/testing.md) - [VM daemon setup](docs/vm-daemon-setup.md) - [Security policy](SECURITY.md) - [Release readiness checklist](docs/release-readiness.md) - [Roadmap](ROADMAP.md) - [ADR 0001 — System boundaries](docs/adr/0001-system-boundaries.md) - [ADR 0002 — Brain provider layer](docs/adr/0002-brain-provider-layer.md) - [ADR 0003 — IPC wire protocol](docs/adr/0003-ipc-wire-protocol.md) ## Where to find SysKnife | Channel | Install | Notes | |---------|---------|-------| | **npm** | `npx sysknife-setup` | [npmjs.com/package/sysknife-setup](https://www.npmjs.com/package/sysknife-setup) — zero-install setup wizard | | **crates.io** | `cargo install sysknife-cli` / `cargo install sysknife-daemon` | Published by reviewed version tags; see [docs/release.md](docs/release.md) | | **GitHub Releases** | Download from [Releases](https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/releases) | Prebuilt x86_64 + aarch64 binaries with SHA-256 checksums on every tag | ## License [MIT](LICENSE). Free to use, modify, distribute, and embed in proprietary products without restriction. The [LACS specification](https://github.com/lacs-project/specification) is [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) — public domain. --- <p align="center"> Built by <a href="https://github.com/vladimirrott">Vladimir Rotariu</a>. · Issues, ideas, war stories — <a href="https://github.com/lacs-project/sysknife/discussions">come say hi</a>. </p>