Merge P0 release and CI hardening

.github/workflows/guard-check.yml

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 name: guard-check
 on:
   push:
-    branches: [master]
+    branches: [master, dev]
   pull_request:
-    branches: [master]
+    branches: [master, dev]
 jobs:
   guard-check:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -12,13 +12,14 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: "3.11"
-      - name: Install dependencies
-        run: pip install pyyaml
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v6
+      - name: Install development dependencies
+        run: uv sync --dev
       - name: Run guard release check
-        run: python scripts/violin_guard.py check-release
+        run: uv run python scripts/violin_guard.py check-release
       - name: Validate YAML
         run: |
-          python -c "
+          uv run python -c "
           import yaml
           for f in ['distribution.yaml', 'config.yaml', 'skills/pentest/templates/scope-template.yaml']:
               yaml.safe_load(open(f))
@@ -34,4 +35,4 @@ jobs:
           for stale in PLAN.md skills/pentest/scripts/recon-scan.sh; do
             if [ -f "$stale" ]; then echo "Stale: $stale"; exit 1; fi
           done
-          echo "No stale artifacts found"
+          echo "No stale artifacts found"

.hermes.md

@@ -126,10 +126,10 @@ which <tool>            # native
 
 ## Tool Philosophy
 
-Violin runs on **Hermes built-in toolsets** (see [`skills/pentest/SKILL.md §1`](./skills/pentest/SKILL.md#1-operating-model) for the capability inventory and [`README.md §Toolsets`](./README.md#enabled-toolsets) for the full matrix). The canonical command-gate logic lives in `scripts/guard/` and is callable two ways:
+Violin runs on **Hermes built-in toolsets** (see [`skills/pentest/SKILL.md §1`](./skills/pentest/SKILL.md#1-operating-model) for the capability inventory and [`README.md §Toolsets`](./README.md#enabled-toolsets) for the full matrix). The canonical command-gate logic lives in `plugins/violin_guard/core/` and is callable two ways:
 
 - **CLI:** `python scripts/violin_guard.py check-command ...` (the path documented in SKILL.md §2).
-- **Hermes plugin:** `plugins/violin_guard/` registers typed guard tools (`violin_check_command`, `violin_record_*`, `violin_exec`, `violin_sync_done`, …) that delegate to the same `scripts/guard/` state machine. Loading the plugin is optional but recommended — it surfaces the guards as first-class tools.
+- **Hermes plugin:** `plugins/violin_guard/` registers typed guard tools (`violin_check_command`, `violin_record_*`, `violin_exec`, `violin_sync_done`, …) that call the core service directly. The plugin is required for target execution.
 
 Both entry points enforce the identical skill-load, active-PTT, history-freshness, hypothesis, and doc-sync gates. The executor itself writes exact history, but never updates PTT progress; that remains an explicit reviewed checkpoint after each bounded batch. Do **not** develop a third implementation.
 

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 1.3.1
+
+- Enforced scope authorisation, exclusions, phase-aligned PTT tasks, and relevant hypotheses at the execution boundary.
+- Made synchronization credits apply to all target-touching commands and bound reviewed batches to their captured PTT task.
+- Serialized guard state transitions, fixed isolated plugin imports, and made release and PowerShell smoke checks fail reliably.
+
 ## 1.3.0
 
 - Consolidated Violin Guard into a Hermes-native plugin.

README.md

@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@
 </p>
 
 <p align="center">
-  <b>31 playbooks · 8 references · 1 optional guard plugin · 0 brokers · Hermes-native</b>
+  <b>31 playbooks · 8 references · required execution guard · 0 brokers · Hermes-native</b>
 </p>
 
-Violin is a **Hermes-native agentic pentest profile** for supervised, authorised penetration tests — from reconnaissance through safe exploit validation to reporting. It uses Hermes' built-in toolsets, skill-based playbooks, an optional `violin-guard` plugin, and lightweight guard scripts. No extra API keys, no per-profile credentials, no lock-in.
+Violin is a **Hermes-native agentic pentest profile** for supervised, authorised penetration tests — from reconnaissance through safe exploit validation to reporting. It uses Hermes' built-in toolsets, skill-based playbooks, and the required `violin-guard` plugin at the target-execution boundary. The standalone CLI is retained only for diagnostics and recovery. No extra API keys, no per-profile credentials, no lock-in.
 
 ```
 hermes profile install https://github.com/Strategic-Automation/violin

distribution.yaml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # violin - supervised agentic Hermes pentest profile
 name: violin
-version: 1.3.0
+version: 1.3.1
 description: "A supervised agentic Hermes penetration testing profile for authorised Kali/Parrot-based security assessment, reconnaissance, exploit validation, and reporting workflows."
 hermes_requires: ">=0.18.0"
 author: "Violin contributors"

plugins/violin_guard/core/__init__.py

@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 """Violin guard — core subpackage with the shared state machine, execution, and adapters.
 
-All modules in this package define their public API in ``__all__``. Functions that
-depend on the ``scripts/guard/`` package use lazy imports inside their bodies so
-the module graph is resolvable without ``scripts/`` on ``sys.path`` at import time.
+All modules in this package define their public API in ``__all__`` and are
+importable directly from the installed plugin directory.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations

plugins/violin_guard/core/command.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Check-command sub-guards — pure validation functions.
 
-All logic ported from scripts/guard/{command,record,freshness,closeout}.py
+This is the canonical command, freshness, and closeout policy implementation.
 No subprocess calls — pure functions returning dataclasses.
 """
 

plugins/violin_guard/core/release.py

@@ -133,17 +133,30 @@ def check_release() -> ReleaseCheckResult:
         result.add_warning("CHANGELOG.md not found")
 
     # 3. Isolated plugin import (catches broken module-level code / imports).
+    module_name = "violin_guard_release_check"
+    old_module = sys.modules.get(module_name)
     try:
-        sys.path.insert(0, str(root.parents[1]))
+        sys.path.insert(0, str(root.parent))
         spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
-            "violin_guard_release_check", root / "__init__.py"
+            module_name,
+            root / "__init__.py",
+            submodule_search_locations=[str(root)],
         )
+        if spec is None or spec.loader is None:
+            raise ImportError("could not build plugin import specification")
         mod = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+        sys.modules[module_name] = mod
         spec.loader.exec_module(mod)
         result.add_info("isolated plugin import OK")
     except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
         result.add_error(f"plugin import failed: {type(exc).__name__}: {exc}")
         mod = None
+    finally:
+        sys.path.pop(0)
+        if old_module is None:
+            sys.modules.pop(module_name, None)
+        else:
+            sys.modules[module_name] = old_module
 
     # 3b. Manifest vs registered tools.
     if mod is not None:
@@ -178,7 +191,16 @@ def check_release() -> ReleaseCheckResult:
             result.add_warning("ruff not installed; skipped")
         try:
             pytest = subprocess.run(
-                [sys.executable, "-m", "pytest", "-q", "-p", "no:cacheprovider"],
+                [
+                    sys.executable,
+                    "-m",
+                    "pytest",
+                    "-q",
+                    "-p",
+                    "no:cacheprovider",
+                    "--basetemp",
+                    str(Path(repo_root) / "engagements" / ".pytest-release"),
+                ],
                 cwd=repo_root,
                 capture_output=True,
                 text=True,
@@ -204,12 +226,11 @@ def check_release() -> ReleaseCheckResult:
     # 6. Skill documentation staleness scan (corrected forbidden set).
     profile_root = root.parents[1]
     skills_root = profile_root / "skills"
-    # 'violin_record_history' is RE-REGISTERED in __init__.py, so it is no
-    # longer a stale reference; 'violin_message_tick' is genuinely absent.
     forbidden = {
         "scripts/guard/": "removed legacy guard package",
         "hypothesis_guard.py": "removed hypothesis wrapper",
         "session_search": "unavailable session-search tool",
+        "violin_record_history": "removed executor-owned history tool",
         "violin_message_tick": "removed model-visible message tool",
         "violin_guard.py close": "nonexistent close subcommand",
         "check-closeout": "nonexistent closeout subcommand",

plugins/violin_guard/core/service.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from . import command, execution, hypotheses, ptt, state
+from .adapters import search_exploit
 
 
 def _json(status_name, **payload):
@@ -335,9 +336,4 @@ def handle_status(a, **kwargs):
 
 
 def handle_search_exploit(a, **kwargs):
-    return _json(
-        "ok",
-        **__import__(
-            "plugins.violin_guard.core.adapters", fromlist=["search_exploit"]
-        ).search_exploit(a),
-    )
+    return _json("ok", **search_exploit(a))

plugins/violin_guard/plugin.yaml

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: violin-guard
-version: "1.3.0"
+version: "1.3.1"
 description: Typed scope guards and an execute-and-record boundary with bounded synchronization windows.
 kind: standalone
 provides_tools:
@@ -26,4 +26,4 @@ hooks:
 toolsets:
   violin_guard:
     description: Violin engagement guard tools
-app_style: sh
+app_style: sh

plugins/violin_guard/schemas.py

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ RECORD_PTT_SCHEMA = {
 }
 
 RECORD_HYPOTHESIS_SCHEMA = {
-    "description": "Record/update a hypothesis row (delegates to hypothesis_guard.py record-hypothesis).",
+    "description": "Record or update a hypothesis row in the engagement state.",
     "parameters": {
         "type": "object",
         "properties": {

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "violin"
-version = "1.2.0"
+version = "1.3.1"
 description = "Supervised agentic Hermes penetration-testing profile"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
 dependencies = []

scripts/smoke-test.ps1

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Write-Host "Violin smoke test (PowerShell)"
 Write-Host "Repo: $RepoRoot"
 
 python scripts/violin_guard.py check-release
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { exit $LASTEXITCODE }
 
 if ($NoHermes) {
     Write-Host "Skipping Hermes install smoke because -NoHermes was supplied."
@@ -25,9 +26,13 @@ if (-not $Hermes) {
 $ProfileName = "violin-smoke-$([int][double]::Parse((Get-Date -UFormat %s)))"
 try {
     hermes profile install . --name $ProfileName -y
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "Hermes profile install failed." }
     hermes profile show $ProfileName
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "Hermes profile show failed." }
     hermes -p $ProfileName tools --summary
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "Hermes tool listing failed." }
     hermes -p $ProfileName chat -q "Smoke test: reply with Violin profile loaded" -Q
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "Hermes chat smoke test failed." }
 }
 finally {
     hermes profile delete $ProfileName -y 2>$null

scripts/smoke-test.sh

@@ -657,11 +657,11 @@ s4 = st(tools.handle_exec, **base2)
 assert s4 == "approved", f"step4 expected approved, got {s4}"
 print("    ok: violin_exec after sync -> approved")
 
-# Step 5: hypothesis recording via plugin routes to hypothesis_guard.py
+# Step 5: hypothesis recording through the plugin core service.
 s5 = st(tools.handle_record_hypothesis, eng_dir=eng_dir, service="SMB",
         port="445", title="anon access", status="researching")
 assert s5 == "ok", f"step5 expected ok, got {s5}"
-print("    ok: violin_record_hypothesis -> ok (routed to hypothesis_guard.py)")
+print("    ok: violin_record_hypothesis -> ok")
 print("GATES_OK")
 PY
 gates_exit=$?

uv.lock

@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "violin"
-version = "1.2.0"
+version = "1.3.1"
 source = { virtual = "." }
 
 [package.dev-dependencies]