Picoclaw Security Guardian

Detailed architecture/operator docs: wiki/modules/picoclaw-security-guardian.md.

Goal

Provide Picoclaw with the same support-matrix security capabilities ClawSec tracks for mature platform modules:

Threat model

Picoclaw is a lightweight AI gateway that can expose chat channels, a Web UI, tool execution, MCP servers, credentials, schedulers, and embedded/router deployments. This skill focuses on the trust boundaries where those features become security-sensitive.

Default safety posture

• Read-only by default.
• No scheduler creation in v0.0.1.
• No outbound network by default.
• Writes only explicit report/profile outputs under $PICOCLAW_HOME/security/clawsec/ unless the operator supplies test-local temporary paths.
• Advisory checks fail closed when verification state is not verified unless the operator passes --allow-unsigned for a documented emergency/offline window.

Security advisory awareness

Use scripts/check_advisories.mjs with a local feed/cache and verification state:

node scripts/check_advisories.mjs   --feed ~/.picoclaw/security/clawsec/feed.json   --state ~/.picoclaw/security/clawsec/feed-verification-state.json

The script filters advisories for picoclaw, ai-gateway, empty/all-platform advisories, or affected package entries containing picoclaw.

Drift protection

Generate a deterministic profile:

node scripts/generate_profile.mjs   --output ~/.picoclaw/security/clawsec/current-profile.json

Compare against an approved baseline:

node scripts/check_drift.mjs   --baseline ~/.picoclaw/security/clawsec/baseline-profile.json   --current ~/.picoclaw/security/clawsec/current-profile.json   --fail-on critical

Critical drift includes public Web UI enablement, Web UI auth disablement, workspace restriction disablement, unsigned/insecure verification mode, verified-feed regression, and watched-file/release-artifact fingerprint changes.

Chain-of-supply verification

Verify a Picoclaw release artifact against a checksum manifest plus detached signature. Signed manifest verification is required for a passing supply-chain verdict:

node scripts/verify_supply_chain.mjs \
  --artifact ./picoclaw \
  --checksums ./checksums.json \
  --signature ./checksums.json.sig \
  --public-key ./feed-signing-public.pem

Checksum-only mode is integrity-only, not provenance. Use --allow-unsigned-checksums only for short, documented offline triage windows; it should not satisfy production install verification.

Operator review notes

• Treat public UI binding (0.0.0.0, -public) as a critical review item until auth and network allowlists are proven.
• Treat MCP servers as separate trust boundaries; review each server's filesystem, network, and credential access.
• Treat third-party OpenWrt/LuCI wrappers as separate supply-chain artifacts. Verify provenance before installing them on routers.
• Never leave unsigned advisory mode enabled in recurring or production checks.

Validation

python utils/validate_skill.py skills/picoclaw-security-guardian
node skills/picoclaw-security-guardian/test/profile.test.mjs
node skills/picoclaw-security-guardian/test/drift.test.mjs
node skills/picoclaw-security-guardian/test/supply_chain.test.mjs
bash -n skills/picoclaw-security-guardian/test/picoclaw_security_guardian_sandbox_regression.sh

Pre-release install regression

Before publishing v0.0.1 release artifacts, run the isolated install lane from the repo root:

skills/picoclaw-security-guardian/test/picoclaw_security_guardian_sandbox_regression.sh

The regression installs the skill through Picoclaw's own find_skills / install_skill path from a local ClawHub-compatible registry into an isolated Docker-hosted Picoclaw workspace with isolated HOME, PICOCLAW_HOME, and PICOCLAW_WORKSPACE. It verifies signed release-artifact preflight inputs, confirms Picoclaw's skill loader can list/load the installed skill, then runs the installed copy's profile, drift, advisory fail-closed, advisory filtering, and supply-chain verification paths against Picoclaw-style config.json and launcher-config.json files.