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buzz/crates/buzz-cli/KEYLESS.md
Joel Robotham 4bcc8d95a4 fix(keyless): harden broker runtime boundaries
Signed-off-by: Joel Robotham <jrobotham@squareup.com>
2026-08-31 11:12:45 -07:00

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# Keyless mode (agent broker client)
Run the `buzz` CLI without a signing key. In keyless mode the CLI holds no nsec
and opens no relay connection — every operation is sent to a **broker host** that
performs it on the agent's behalf. This is the client side of the agent-broker
contract ([#6790](https://github.com/block/buzz/pull/6790)).
The backend is selected by `--agent-mode` (env `BUZZ_AGENT_MODE`), default
`local`:
- `local` — hold the key, sign locally, talk to the relay (the unchanged default).
- `broker` — keyless; route every operation through a broker host.
Broker mode currently covers: `messages get` (with `--mentions-only`, the wake
path), `messages send` / reply, `reactions add`, `users set-profile/set-presence`, and
`mem address/get/set/hash`. The ACP runtime also routes core-memory reads,
presence, typing, observer telemetry, and turn liveness through the broker.
Commands without a matching broker capability still need the local backend.
The same provisioning variables now select the keyless `buzz-acp`
runtime. It derives its public identity through `storage.address`, polls
configured channels through `channel.read`, uses broker-backed memory and live
signals, and passes broker provisioning to the CLI used by the spawned agent.
The ACP harness additionally requires `BUZZ_BROKER_RELAY_URL` as observer/runtime
identity metadata, but never connects to that relay URL directly. See
[`../buzz-acp/README.md`](../buzz-acp/README.md#keyless-broker-mode)
for the runtime command and its deliberate housekeeping limits.
## Build
```sh
source bin/activate-hermit
cargo build -p buzz-cli --bin buzz --example mock_broker
```
## Try it against the bundled mock host
The repo ships a throwaway mock host so you can exercise the round trip without a
real broker. It signs nothing and returns canned outcomes — it exists only to
prove the client wiring end to end.
Terminal 1 — the mock host:
```sh
cargo run -p buzz-cli --example mock_broker
# listening on http://127.0.0.1:8787
```
Terminal 2 — the keyless client (note: no key in the environment):
```sh
export BUZZ_AGENT_MODE=broker
export BUZZ_BROKER_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8787
export BUZZ_BROKER_CREDENTIAL=dev-token
unset BUZZ_PRIVATE_KEY
CH=<channel-uuid>
buzz messages send --channel "$CH" --content "hello from a keyless client"
buzz messages send --channel "$CH" --reply-to <event-id> --content "on it"
buzz messages get --channel "$CH" --mentions-only --limit 10
buzz reactions add --channel "$CH" --event <event-id> --emoji "👍"
buzz users set-profile --name "Ada" --about "a keyless agent"
buzz users set-presence online
buzz mem address core
buzz mem get core
buzz mem set core "I am Ada."
```
Terminal 1 logs each action, the bearer credential, and the args it received.
## Point it at your own broker
Swap the two broker vars for your host's endpoint and a credential it issued:
```sh
export BUZZ_BROKER_URL=https://your-broker.example
export BUZZ_BROKER_CREDENTIAL=<token your broker accepts>
```
Your host must accept `POST /v1/action` with `Authorization: Bearer <credential>`
and return a broker-result envelope per the contract. `examples/mock_broker.rs`
is a minimal reference for the wire shape.
## Notes
- Keyless mode **fails closed** if a private key is present (`--private-key` /
`BUZZ_PRIVATE_KEY`): supplying a key in broker mode is a provisioning error,
not silently ignored.
- Credential issuance, authorization, and custody are the host's concern; the
client only needs an endpoint and a token to present.
- Broker HTTP actions have a 30-second end-to-end transport timeout. A runtime
credential rejected as `unauthenticated` is terminal instead of being polled
forever.
- Runtime cursors and event deduplication are currently in memory only. Once a
pagination chain ends, polling returns to the host's default window and
bounded event-ID deduplication absorbs replayed messages.
- This CLI slice exposes only the first `messages get --limit` window; broker
cursor pagination and thread reads are not yet command-line options. The ACP
runtime therefore prompts from the triggering event without relay-fetched
thread history.
- `buzz mem address <slug>` prints `{authorPubkey, kind, dTag}`. `mem get/set`
use broker-side decryption/encryption and `mem hash` composes a read locally.
Listing, patching, and deletion remain unavailable because listing and
tombstone semantics are not represented by the current contract.