Oliver Calder
1ad4e428a6
* fix(snap): simplify snap hooks
The `post-refresh` hook runs after initial snap installation as well, so
there is no need to call the `install` hook from within the
`post-refresh` hook; instead, the logic can simply be moved into the
`post-refresh` hook directly, and the `install` hook removed.
Also, the existing `install` hook logic looked for an insecure
configuration, and if found, replaced the entire configuration file with
a minimal default in the current format. But OpenShell does that default
behavior without any config file, so we may as well simply remove the
configuration file entirely to keep up-to-date with the current default
behavior. Let OpenShell create a configuration file if it needs to,
rather than auto-create one via the packaging scripts.
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
* fix(snap): remove the connect-plug-docker hook
The `openshell:docker` is auto-connected to the system `:docker` slot,
so there should not be a need to separately restart the gateway service
when the interface is connected.
For locally-built test snaps which were not published to the store, the
autoconnection is not made, but when the snap is installed, the gateway
will attempt to start anyway and fail to find any available compute
driver, so quickly restart until it hits the systemd start-limit, after
which systemd prevents the service from being started again. If a user
tries to manually connect their locally-built `openshell` snap to the
`:docker` slot, then the `connect-plug-docker` hook runs and triggers a
restart of the gateway, which will usually fail because the start limit
has already been hit. An error in the hook will thus cause the interface
connection to be undone, which is undesirable.
Thus, we can remove this hook entirely, and instead allow interface
connections to succeed as intended. The user still needs to manually
restart the gateway service after making a manual connection (as was the
case previously) and probably needs to `systemctl reset-failed` first,
but at least connection will succeed beforehand so they can proceed with
these steps.
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
* fix(snap): set refresh-mode: endure again, with manual restart
Return to the previous behavior before commit a67567e58, where the
gateway is not stopped before refreshes. The `post-refresh` hook
now restarts the gateway if the TLS configuration was corrected, so we
don't have to enforce restarting the gateway on every refresh even when
not necessary. Thus, set `refresh-mode: endure`, and let the hook decide
when the gateway needs to be restarted.
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
* fix(snap): update docs and tests to reflect snap hook changes
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
* docs(snap): remove verbose explanation of snap gateway refresh behavior
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
---------
Signed-off-by: Oliver Calder <oliver.calder@canonical.com>
Important
New in OpenShell 0.1.x: a stable release cadence, new isolation primitives, an expanded extension surface, and new APIs. Read the 0.1.0 upgrade guide.
OpenShell is the safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents. Agents are most useful when they can read files, install packages, call APIs, and use credentials. OpenShell gives them that capability without giving them unrestricted access to your data, secrets, or network. You declare what each agent can touch in a policy, and OpenShell enforces it.
How It Works
OpenShell governs what agents can do in two ways: it instruments the kernel to enforce policy on every file access, system call, and network connection at runtime, and it uses formal verification to check what a policy change would allow before it is applied.
- Kernel-level enforcement. Each agent runs in an isolated sandbox. Kernel controls confine which files it can access and which system calls it can make, and every network connection passes through a policy check before it leaves the sandbox. Agents never see real credentials; OpenShell adds them only to requests bound for approved endpoints.
- Formally verified policy changes. Before a policy change is approved, OpenShell uses formal verification to flag risky new access it would grant, such as reaching a new host with credentials or calling a new API method, so those changes wait for human review.
See Architecture for how the gateway, supervisor, and sandbox fit together.
Quickstart
You need Linux, macOS on Apple Silicon, or Windows with WSL 2 (experimental), plus Docker, Podman, or host virtualization. See the Support Matrix for details.
curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh
openshell sandbox create --name demo
The installer sets up the CLI and a local gateway. The default sandbox image is minimal Ubuntu with no agent installed. To run a real agent, follow Run Your First Agent: it runs OpenCode against a free OpenRouter model and shows how to approve new access as the agent needs it.
Explore Further
- Sandboxes: images, runtimes, GPUs, and lifecycle.
- Policies: filesystem, network, and process rules, with the advisor and prover for reviewing changes.
- Providers: credentials that work only at approved endpoints, including inference.
- Gateways: the control plane for sandboxes, policy, and access.
- Kubernetes: deploy the gateway with Helm. Your CNI must enforce
NetworkPolicy. - Extensibility: middleware, interceptors, and compute drivers.
- Tutorials: step-by-step policy and agent walkthroughs.
- Prerelease and development builds: try an upcoming release or the latest commit on
main.
Agent Skills
Install the public OpenShell skills for your coding agent:
npx skills add NVIDIA/OpenShell
The skills teach your agent to drive the OpenShell CLI, write sandbox policies, and debug gateways and inference routing. They live in skills/ and work without an OpenShell source checkout.
SDKs
SDKs connect applications to an OpenShell gateway. They do not install the CLI. Use the same OpenShell release for the SDK and the gateway when possible.
| Language | Install | Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Python | uv add openshell |
README |
| TypeScript | npm install @nvidia/openshell-sdk (GitHub Packages) |
README |
| Go | go get github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/sdk/go@latest |
README |
| Rust | cargo add openshell-sdk --git https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell --tag <release-tag> |
Installation and usage |
Community
- Questions and discussion: GitHub Discussions
- Bug reports and feature requests: GitHub Issues, using the issue templates
- Security vulnerabilities: follow SECURITY.md. Do not open a GitHub issue.
- Roadmap: OpenShell Roadmap and the RFC board
- Try it in the cloud: Brev Launchable
OpenShell is built agent-first: it is developed with the same agent-driven workflows it enables. See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and the contribution workflow, and AGENTS.md for the contributor agent skills and workflow chains.
Telemetry
OpenShell collects anonymous telemetry, limited to operational categories and counts, to help improve the project. It does not collect sandbox names, hostnames, file paths, prompts, credentials, provider or model names, or user content. To disable it, set OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false on the gateway, or server.telemetryEnabled=false for Helm installs. You can also compile telemetry out entirely. See Telemetry for details and the community telemetry reports for published usage trends.
Notice and Disclaimer
This software automatically retrieves, accesses or interacts with external materials. Those retrieved materials are not distributed with this software and are governed solely by separate terms, conditions and licenses. You are solely responsible for finding, reviewing and complying with all applicable terms, conditions, and licenses, and for verifying the security, integrity and suitability of any retrieved materials for your specific use case. This software is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind. The author makes no representations or warranties regarding any retrieved materials, and assumes no liability for any losses, damages, liabilities or legal consequences from your use or inability to use this software or any retrieved materials. Use this software and the retrieved materials at your own risk.
License
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.