feat: give the sandbox a real shell toolbelt — and make an image bump reach existing users
Nightly Build / build (push) Successful in 7m32s

The per-user container shipped python+node and little else, so an agent asking
for `unzip`, `ffprobe` or even `ps` found nothing and had to `sudo apt-get
install` mid-task. That fallback works, but it re-runs on **every container
recreate**, inside the task, where it costs latency and can fail — while the
image is **one, shared by every container**, so preinstalling costs its size
once for the whole box. Anything an agent reaches for repeatedly is therefore
cheaper baked in.

Added on that rule: jq, ripgrep, zip/unzip, xz-utils, sqlite3, wget,
openssh-client, procps, less, file, tzdata, dnsutils, iputils-ping, ffmpeg
(+ffprobe), imagemagick, poppler-utils and tesseract — with the ita/fra
language packs, matching the app's supported UI locales (eng and osd arrive as
hard deps). Deliberately left out: build-essential/python3-dev (~270 MB, only
for a pip package with no wheel) and pandoc (~216 MB) are big *and*
self-recoverable, so they stay on demand. 687 MB -> 1.3 GB, ffmpeg being most
of it.

The image tag goes v2 -> v3, which alone would have equipped nobody: a
container pins the image it was created from, so `ensure()` would have rebuilt
v3 and then happily reused every existing v2 container — the new tools would
have reached only users created from here on. `reusable()` now compares
`.Config.Image` too, turning a tag bump into a recreate, safe for the same
reason the `--user`/`--init` self-heal already is: the container holds no
durable state, everything lives in the bind mounts. An unreadable inspect
answers true, so a docker hiccup never churns a working container.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
2026-08-02 21:04:20 +01:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 5
parent 4f10528368
commit d4b34e6130
3 changed files with 68 additions and 16 deletions
+2 -2
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@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ Two rules keep the boundary real, and both are enforced by the compiler:
| `crates/skald-core/src/chat_event_bus.rs` | Global async bus for cross-session events |
| `crates/skald-core/src/agents.rs` | Discovers agents from `agents/*/`, loads meta + system prompt |
| `crates/skald-core/src/tools/` | Built-in tools: `exec` (**runs inside the caller's per-user Docker container** via `docker exec`, as the non-root host uid — `sudo` for system installs — with a robust /stop that reaps the command's process-group; see `container/`; the only live path is `run_with` (needs `ToolContext`) — the context-free `Tool::execute`/`execute_async` now **error** (`HOST_PATH_ERROR`) instead of the old host `sh -c`, so nothing can run a command outside the sandbox), `list_agents`, `fs/*` (route `user-memory/`/`shared-memory/` to `memory_docs`, and every other **physical** path through `ctx.fs` to the caller's per-user host workspace — see DB tables + container), `notify`, `ast_outline`, `image_generate`, MCP tools, plugin tools, cron tools |
| `crates/skald-core/src/container/` | `ContainerManager` (§6): per-user Docker containers (the execution sandbox). Docker is a **hard requirement**`check_docker()` fails `Skald::new` (→ shell exits) if the daemon is unreachable. Builds our own `skald-runtime` image (python+node+**sudo**; tag is **versioned** `skald-runtime:v2` so a `Dockerfile` change forces a rebuild) once from the embedded `Dockerfile`, then `reconcile_all()` at boot ensures one running container `skald-{userid}` per active user. Each container runs as the **host `uid:gid`** (`--user`, §6 UID coherence) with `--init` (tini reaps zombies); `ensure()` **self-heals** a container whose `--user` is stale (e.g. an old root one) by recreating it, and injects a passwd/shadow entry post-create so `sudo` (NOPASSWD, in the image) resolves the arbitrary uid. `build_user_fs()` assembles a user's `UserFs` (home `{WD}/homes/{userid}``/root`, plus each `shared/{name}` they belong to). Shells the `docker` CLI (no client crate) |
| `crates/skald-core/src/container/` | `ContainerManager` (§6): per-user Docker containers (the execution sandbox). Docker is a **hard requirement**`check_docker()` fails `Skald::new` (→ shell exits) if the daemon is unreachable. Builds our own `skald-runtime` image (python+node+**sudo**, plus a shell-work toolbelt — `jq`/`ripgrep`/`unzip`/`ffmpeg`/`poppler-utils`/`tesseract`/`procps`; tag is **versioned** `skald-runtime:v3` so a `Dockerfile` change forces a rebuild) once from the embedded `Dockerfile`, then `reconcile_all()` at boot ensures one running container `skald-{userid}` per active user. Each container runs as the **host `uid:gid`** (`--user`, §6 UID coherence) with `--init` (tini reaps zombies); `ensure()` **self-heals** a container that is stale on any of three axes — `--user` (e.g. an old root one), `--init`, or the **image tag** by recreating it, and injects a passwd/shadow entry post-create so `sudo` (NOPASSWD, in the image) resolves the arbitrary uid. The image check is what makes a tag bump reach *existing* users: a container pins the image it was created from, so without it a rebuild would only ever equip new users. `build_user_fs()` assembles a user's `UserFs` (home `{WD}/homes/{userid}``/root`, plus each `shared/{name}` they belong to). Shells the `docker` CLI (no client crate) |
| `crates/skald-core/src/tool_catalog.rs` | `ToolCatalog`: unified tool listing façade (wraps ToolRegistry + McpManager) |
| `crates/skald-core/src/events.rs` | `ServerEvent` enum streamed over WebSocket to the frontend |
| `crates/skald-core/src/db/` | sqlx SQLite — see below |
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ Schema is greenfield (no migrations, §0), but a purely **additive** column land
## Filesystem & containers (blueprint §6)
Each user has one **permanent Docker container** (`skald-{userid}`, our own `skald-runtime` image with python+node), created on user creation and started at boot (`ContainerManager`, `crates/skald-core/src/container/`). Docker is **required**: a missing daemon fails `Skald::new` and the process exits. The container runs as the **host `uid:gid`** (not root) so files created in-container and by the host-side fs-tools share ownership on the bind mounts (matters on native Linux; masked on macOS Docker Desktop). Because that user isn't root, the image ships passwordless `sudo` (a passwd/shadow entry is injected at create) so an agent can still `sudo apt-get install …`; `--init` runs tini as pid 1 to reap zombies.
Each user has one **permanent Docker container** (`skald-{userid}`, our own `skald-runtime` image with python+node and a preinstalled shell toolbelt), created on user creation and started at boot (`ContainerManager`, `crates/skald-core/src/container/`). Docker is **required**: a missing daemon fails `Skald::new` and the process exits. **What goes in the image vs. what the agent installs on demand** is a real trade, and the Dockerfile states its rule: `sudo apt-get install` works in the sandbox but re-runs on **every container recreate**, inside a task, where it costs latency and can fail — while the image is **one, shared by every container**, so preinstalling costs its size once for the whole box. Anything an agent reaches for repeatedly is therefore baked in; `build-essential`/`python3-dev` and `pandoc` are deliberately left out as big *and* self-recoverable. The container runs as the **host `uid:gid`** (not root) so files created in-container and by the host-side fs-tools share ownership on the bind mounts (matters on native Linux; masked on macOS Docker Desktop). Because that user isn't root, the image ships passwordless `sudo` (a passwd/shadow entry is injected at create) so an agent can still `sudo apt-get install …`; `--init` runs tini as pid 1 to reap zombies.
The agent sees **one namespace**, routed on the first path component. The choke point is `UserFs` (`core-api/src/user_fs.rs`, a pure value type carried in `ToolContext.fs`), plus `resolve_host_path()` in `tools/fs/mod.rs`:
+36 -2
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@@ -5,24 +5,58 @@
# away. Built once at boot by `ContainerManager::ensure_image` (tag `skald-runtime`).
#
# Holds python + node so `execute_cmd` (and, later, per-user MCP servers) run
# inside the user's container against their bind-mounted home. Kept minimal;
# grow it here as needs arise.
# inside the user's container against their bind-mounted home.
#
# What belongs here vs. what an agent installs on demand: `sudo apt-get install`
# works inside the sandbox, but it re-downloads on **every** container recreate,
# inside a task, where it costs latency and can fail. Preinstalling costs image
# size **once for the whole box** — there is one image, shared by every user's
# container — so anything an agent reaches for repeatedly is cheaper baked in.
# What is deliberately left out is the converse: `build-essential`/`python3-dev`
# (~270 MB, only for `pip install` of a package with no wheel) and `pandoc`
# (~216 MB, niche) are big *and* self-recoverable, so they stay on demand.
FROM debian:bookworm-slim
ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
# Language runtimes.
python3 \
python3-pip \
python3-venv \
nodejs \
npm \
# Base plumbing. `util-linux` provides `setsid` (see the sudoers note below).
ca-certificates \
curl \
wget \
git \
openssh-client \
sudo \
util-linux \
procps \
less \
file \
tzdata \
dnsutils \
iputils-ping \
# Shell-work staples: JSON, fast search, archives, local data.
jq \
ripgrep \
unzip \
zip \
xz-utils \
sqlite3 \
# Media + documents. `ffmpeg` brings `ffprobe`; `poppler-utils` brings
# `pdftotext`. The tesseract language packs match the app's supported UI
# locales (`i18n::SUPPORTED_LOCALES`) — `eng` and `osd` arrive as hard deps.
ffmpeg \
imagemagick \
poppler-utils \
tesseract-ocr \
tesseract-ocr-ita \
tesseract-ocr-fra \
&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
# The container runs as the host process's uid:gid (blueprint §6 UID coherence), so
+30 -12
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@@ -30,10 +30,11 @@ use crate::db;
/// Our runtime image tag. Built once from the embedded [`Dockerfile`]. The version
/// suffix is the image cache-buster: [`ContainerManager::ensure_image`] rebuilds only
/// when the tag is absent, so **bump it whenever the [`Dockerfile`] changes** (e.g.
/// `v2` added `sudo` + a NOPASSWD sudoers for the non-root container user). Old tags
/// linger as orphaned images (harmless).
const IMAGE_TAG: &str = "skald-runtime:v2";
/// when the tag is absent, so **bump it whenever the [`Dockerfile`] changes** (`v2`
/// added `sudo` + a NOPASSWD sudoers for the non-root container user; `v3` added
/// `unzip` + `ffmpeg`). Old tags linger as orphaned images (harmless), but existing
/// containers still *run* one — which is why [`reusable`] also compares the image.
const IMAGE_TAG: &str = "skald-runtime:v3";
/// The embedded Dockerfile — the source of truth, so the image can be built with
/// no files shipped alongside the binary (binary-first).
@@ -196,8 +197,9 @@ impl ContainerManager {
/// Creates the host directories, the container (if missing) with the right bind
/// mounts + `--user`, and starts it (if stopped). Self-healing: a container whose
/// `--user` no longer matches the host uid:gid (e.g. an old root container from a
/// previous binary) is torn down and recreated. Idempotent — a no-op when a
/// matching container is already running.
/// previous binary), that predates `--init`, or that runs a superseded
/// [`IMAGE_TAG`], is torn down and recreated. Idempotent — a no-op when a matching
/// container is already running.
pub async fn ensure(&self, user_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
let fs = build_user_fs(&self.system, user_id).await?;
@@ -221,11 +223,12 @@ impl ContainerManager {
return Ok(());
}
ContainerState::Absent => {}
// Present but stale — a mismatched `--user` (e.g. an old root container) or
// Present but stale — a mismatched `--user` (e.g. an old root container),
// missing `--init` (an old container whose PID 1 is `sleep infinity`, which
// ignores SIGTERM and hangs `docker stop` for the full grace, see
// `SHUTDOWN_STOP_GRACE`): tear it down. The container holds no durable state
// — everything is in the bind mounts — so a recreate is safe.
// `SHUTDOWN_STOP_GRACE`), or an outdated image: tear it down. The container
// holds no durable state — everything is in the bind mounts — so a recreate
// is safe.
_ => {
let _ = docker(&["rm", "-f", name]).await;
}
@@ -389,10 +392,25 @@ async fn init_matches(name: &str) -> bool {
.unwrap_or(false)
}
/// Whether an existing container can be reused as-is: right `--user` (§6 UID coherence)
/// **and** `--init` (fast, clean `docker stop`). A mismatch on either recreates it.
/// Whether a container runs the current [`IMAGE_TAG`]. A container pins the image it
/// was created from, so bumping the tag rebuilds the image but leaves every existing
/// container on the old one — the new tools would reach new users only. Comparing the
/// tag here turns the bump into a recreate, which is safe for the same reason the
/// `--user`/`--init` self-heal is: the container holds no durable state, everything
/// lives in the bind mounts. Unreadable inspect ⇒ `true`, so a docker hiccup never
/// churns a working container.
async fn image_matches(name: &str) -> bool {
docker(&["inspect", "-f", "{{.Config.Image}}", name])
.await
.map(|s| s.trim() == IMAGE_TAG)
.unwrap_or(true)
}
/// Whether an existing container can be reused as-is: right `--user` (§6 UID coherence),
/// `--init` (fast, clean `docker stop`) **and** the current image. A mismatch on any of
/// the three recreates it.
async fn reusable(name: &str, want_user: &Option<String>) -> bool {
user_matches(name, want_user).await && init_matches(name).await
user_matches(name, want_user).await && init_matches(name).await && image_matches(name).await
}
/// Gives the container's runtime `uid`/`gid` a passwd + shadow (+ group) entry, so