OpenApe Grants

@openape/grants

The permission engine. Framework-agnostic.

Grant Lifecycle

Request → Pending → Approved/Denied → (if approved) Active → Used/Expired/Revoked

Grant Types

AuthZ-JWT

On approval, a signed AuthZ-JWT is issued:

{
  "sub": "agent@example.com",
  "aud": "target-system",
  "grant_type": "once",
  "permissions": ["deploy"],
  "cmd_hash": "sha256:a1b2c3...",
  "decided_by": "alice@example.com",
  "exp": 1234567890,
  "jti": "unique-grant-id"
}

Key security features:

• aud binding — token only valid for the intended target
• cmd_hash — binds to exact command (prevents substitution attacks)
• decided_by — dual accountability (agent owner ≠ approver)
• jti — replay protection
• Expiry — all grants have a maximum lifetime

@openape/nuxt-grants

Drop-in Nuxt module for grant management. Designed to work alongside nuxt-auth-idp.

Auto-registered routes:

• /api/grants — list and create grant requests
• /api/grants/:id — get grant details
• /api/grants/:id/approve — approve a grant
• /api/grants/:id/deny — deny a grant
• /api/grants/:id/revoke — revoke an active grant
• /api/grants/:id/token — issue AuthZ-JWT for approved grant
• /api/grants/verify — verify an AuthZ-JWT
• /api/agent/enroll — register a new agent
• /api/agent/challenge — request auth challenge
• /api/agent/authenticate — authenticate with signed challenge

Pages (overridable):

• /grants — grant dashboard
• /grant-approval — approve/deny UI
• /enroll — agent enrollment form

openape-sudo (apes)

A Rust binary for local privilege elevation via the grant system.

# Install
cargo build --release
sudo make install  # installs to /usr/local/bin/apes with setuid

# Enroll
sudo apes enroll --server https://id.example.com --agent-name my-server

# Use
apes --reason "Security update" -- apt-get upgrade

Security Model

• Setuid binary — starts as root, immediately drops to invoking user's UID
• Privileges re-elevated only after valid AuthZ-JWT with matching cmd_hash
• Environment sanitized — LD_PRELOAD, PATH etc. reset before exec
• Audit log — every execution logged as JSONL