feat: per-group CLI scope (disabled/group/global)

Add cli_scope column to container_configs with three levels:
- disabled: agent never learns about ncl (instructions excluded from
  CLAUDE.md) and host dispatch rejects any cli_request
- group (default): agent can only access groups, sessions, destinations,
  and members resources, scoped to its own agent group with auto-filled
  --id/--agent_group_id/--group args. Help output reflects the scope.
- global: unrestricted access (current behavior)

Enforcement is host-side only — no image rebuild or env var needed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/cli/commands/help.ts

@@ -4,19 +4,38 @@
  *   ncl help               — list all resources and commands
  *   ncl groups help         — show group resource details (verbs, columns, enums)
  */
+import { getContainerConfig } from '../../db/container-configs.js';
 import { getResource, getResources } from '../crud.js';
+import type { CallerContext } from '../frame.js';
 import { listCommands, register } from '../registry.js';
 
+const GROUP_SCOPE_RESOURCES = new Set(['groups', 'sessions', 'destinations', 'members']);
+
+function getCliScope(ctx: CallerContext): string | undefined {
+  if (ctx.caller !== 'agent') return undefined;
+  return getContainerConfig(ctx.agentGroupId)?.cli_scope ?? 'group';
+}
+
 register({
   name: 'help',
   description: 'List available resources and commands.',
   access: 'open',
   parseArgs: () => ({}),
-  handler: async () => {
-    const resources = getResources();
+  handler: async (_args, ctx) => {
+    const cliScope = getCliScope(ctx);
+    let resources = getResources();
+    if (cliScope === 'group') {
+      resources = resources.filter((r) => GROUP_SCOPE_RESOURCES.has(r.plural));
+    }
     const commands = listCommands().filter((c) => c.access !== 'hidden' && !c.resource);
 
     const lines: string[] = [];
+
+    if (cliScope === 'group') {
+      lines.push('CLI scope: group (--id and group args are auto-filled to your agent group)');
+      lines.push('');
+    }
+
     if (resources.length > 0) {
       lines.push('Resources:');
       for (const r of resources) {
@@ -61,18 +80,28 @@ export function registerResourceHelpCommands(): void {
         access: 'open',
         resource: res.plural,
         parseArgs: () => ({}),
-        handler: async () => {
+        handler: async (_args, ctx) => {
+          const cliScope = getCliScope(ctx);
           const lines: string[] = [];
           lines.push(`${res.plural}: ${res.description}`);
+
+          if (cliScope === 'group' && GROUP_SCOPE_RESOURCES.has(res.plural)) {
+            lines.push('');
+            lines.push('Note: --id and group args are auto-filled to your agent group. You do not need to pass them.');
+          }
+
           lines.push('');
 
           // Verbs
+          const idAutoFilled =
+            cliScope === 'group' && (res.plural === 'groups' || res.plural === 'destinations');
+          const idHint = idAutoFilled ? '' : ' <id>';
           const verbs: string[] = [];
           if (res.operations.list) verbs.push(`list [open]`);
-          if (res.operations.get) verbs.push(`get <id> [open]`);
+          if (res.operations.get) verbs.push(`get${idHint} [open]`);
           if (res.operations.create) verbs.push(`create [approval]`);
-          if (res.operations.update) verbs.push(`update <id> [approval]`);
-          if (res.operations.delete) verbs.push(`delete <id> [approval]`);
+          if (res.operations.update) verbs.push(`update${idHint} [approval]`);
+          if (res.operations.delete) verbs.push(`delete${idHint} [approval]`);
           if (res.customOperations) {
             for (const [verb, op] of Object.entries(res.customOperations)) {
               verbs.push(`${verb} [${op.access}] — ${op.description}`);
@@ -83,9 +112,13 @@ export function registerResourceHelpCommands(): void {
           lines.push('');
 
           // Columns
+          const autoFilledFields = cliScope === 'group'
+            ? new Set(['id', 'agent_group_id', 'group'])
+            : new Set<string>();
           lines.push('Fields:');
           for (const col of res.columns) {
             const tags: string[] = [];
+            if (autoFilledFields.has(col.name)) tags.push('auto-filled');
             if (col.generated) tags.push('auto');
             if (col.required) tags.push('required');
             if (col.updatable) tags.push('updatable');

src/cli/dispatch.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,304 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+
+// --- Mocks ---
+
+vi.mock('../log.js', () => ({
+  log: { info: vi.fn(), warn: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn(), debug: vi.fn() },
+}));
+
+const mockGetContainerConfig = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../db/container-configs.js', () => ({
+  getContainerConfig: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetContainerConfig(...args),
+}));
+
+const mockGetAgentGroup = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../db/agent-groups.js', () => ({
+  getAgentGroup: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetAgentGroup(...args),
+}));
+
+const mockGetSession = vi.fn();
+vi.mock('../db/sessions.js', () => ({
+  getSession: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetSession(...args),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('../modules/approvals/index.js', () => ({
+  registerApprovalHandler: vi.fn(),
+  requestApproval: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+// Register a test command so dispatch has something to find
+import { register } from './registry.js';
+
+register({
+  name: 'test-cmd',
+  description: 'test command (non-group resource)',
+  resource: 'test',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'groups-test',
+  description: 'test command (groups resource)',
+  resource: 'groups',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'general-cmd',
+  description: 'test command (no resource, like help)',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'sessions-list',
+  description: 'test command (sessions resource)',
+  resource: 'sessions',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'destinations-list',
+  description: 'test command (destinations resource)',
+  resource: 'destinations',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'members-add',
+  description: 'test command (members resource)',
+  resource: 'members',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+register({
+  name: 'wirings-list',
+  description: 'test command (wirings resource — not allowed)',
+  resource: 'wirings',
+  access: 'open',
+  parseArgs: (raw) => raw,
+  handler: async (args) => ({ echo: args }),
+});
+
+import { dispatch } from './dispatch.js';
+import type { CallerContext } from './frame.js';
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.clearAllMocks();
+});
+
+// --- Helpers ---
+
+function agentCtx(overrides?: Partial<Extract<CallerContext, { caller: 'agent' }>>): CallerContext {
+  return {
+    caller: 'agent',
+    sessionId: 's1',
+    agentGroupId: 'g1',
+    messagingGroupId: 'mg1',
+    ...overrides,
+  };
+}
+
+// --- Tests ---
+
+describe('CLI scope enforcement', () => {
+  it('disabled: rejects all CLI requests from agent', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'disabled' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('disabled');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: auto-fills --id with caller agent group', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'groups-test', args: { foo: 'bar' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.id).toBe('g1');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: rejects cross-group access', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'groups-test', args: { id: 'other-group' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('scoped');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: allows same-group id', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'groups-test', args: { id: 'g1' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('group: blocks non-group resources', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('test');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: allows general commands with no resource (e.g. help)', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'general-cmd', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('group: allows sessions, auto-fills --agent_group_id', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'sessions-list', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.agent_group_id).toBe('g1');
+      // --id should NOT be auto-filled for sessions (it's session UUID, not group)
+      expect(data.echo.id).toBeUndefined();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: allows destinations, auto-fills --id', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'destinations-list', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.id).toBe('g1');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: allows members, auto-fills --group', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'members-add', args: { user: 'u1' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.group).toBe('g1');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: blocks non-whitelisted resources (wirings)', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'wirings-list', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+      expect(resp.error.message).toContain('wirings');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: rejects cross-group --agent_group_id', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch(
+      { id: '1', command: 'sessions-list', args: { agent_group_id: 'other-group' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('group: rejects cross-group --group', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'group' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch(
+      { id: '1', command: 'members-add', args: { user: 'u1', group: 'other-group' } },
+      agentCtx(),
+    );
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('global: allows cross-group access', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'global' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: { id: 'other-group' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('global: allows non-group resources', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'global' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('global: does not auto-fill --id', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({ cli_scope: 'global' });
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: { foo: 'bar' } }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (resp.ok) {
+      const data = resp.data as { echo: Record<string, unknown> };
+      expect(data.echo.id).toBeUndefined();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('defaults to group when cli_scope is missing', async () => {
+    mockGetContainerConfig.mockReturnValue({});
+
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: {} }, agentCtx());
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      expect(resp.error.code).toBe('forbidden');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('host caller bypasses CLI scope enforcement', async () => {
+    // No config check should happen for host callers
+    const resp = await dispatch({ id: '1', command: 'test-cmd', args: { id: 'any-group' } }, { caller: 'host' });
+
+    expect(resp.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(mockGetContainerConfig).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});

src/cli/dispatch.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  * Approval gating for risky calls from the container is the only branch
  * that differs by caller. Host callers and `open` commands run inline.
  */
+import { getContainerConfig } from '../db/container-configs.js';
 import { getAgentGroup } from '../db/agent-groups.js';
 import { getSession } from '../db/sessions.js';
 import { registerApprovalHandler, requestApproval } from '../modules/approvals/index.js';
@@ -36,6 +37,46 @@ export async function dispatch(req: RequestFrame, ctx: CallerContext): Promise<R
     return err(req.id, 'unknown-command', `no command "${req.command}"`);
   }
 
+  // CLI scope enforcement for agent callers
+  if (ctx.caller === 'agent') {
+    const configRow = getContainerConfig(ctx.agentGroupId);
+    const cliScope = configRow?.cli_scope ?? 'group';
+
+    if (cliScope === 'disabled') {
+      return err(req.id, 'forbidden', 'CLI access is disabled for this agent group.');
+    }
+
+    if (cliScope === 'group') {
+      const allowed = new Set(['groups', 'sessions', 'destinations', 'members']);
+      // Only allow whitelisted resources and general commands (no resource, like help)
+      if (cmd.resource && !allowed.has(cmd.resource)) {
+        return err(req.id, 'forbidden', `CLI access is scoped to this agent group. Cannot access "${cmd.resource}".`);
+      }
+
+      // Enforce group scope on all agent-group-related args.
+      // Different resources use different arg names for the agent group ID.
+      const groupArgs = ['id', 'agent_group_id', 'group'] as const;
+      for (const key of groupArgs) {
+        if (req.args[key] && req.args[key] !== ctx.agentGroupId) {
+          return err(req.id, 'forbidden', 'CLI access is scoped to this agent group.');
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Auto-fill agent-group-related args so the agent doesn't need
+      // to pass its own group ID explicitly.
+      const fill: Record<string, unknown> = {
+        agent_group_id: req.args.agent_group_id ?? ctx.agentGroupId,
+        group: req.args.group ?? ctx.agentGroupId,
+      };
+      // Only auto-fill --id for resources where it IS the agent group ID
+      // (groups, destinations). For sessions/members --id is a different key.
+      if (cmd.resource === 'groups' || cmd.resource === 'destinations') {
+        fill.id = req.args.id ?? ctx.agentGroupId;
+      }
+      req = { ...req, args: { ...req.args, ...fill } };
+    }
+  }
+
   if (ctx.caller !== 'host' && cmd.access === 'approval') {
     const session = getSession(ctx.sessionId);
     if (!session) {

src/cli/frame.ts

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ export type ErrorCode =
   | 'unknown-command'
   | 'invalid-args'
   | 'permission-denied'
+  | 'forbidden'
   | 'approval-pending'
   | 'not-found'
   | 'handler-error'

src/cli/resources/groups.ts

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ function presentConfig(row: ContainerConfigRow): Record<string, unknown> {
     packages_apt: JSON.parse(row.packages_apt),
     packages_npm: JSON.parse(row.packages_npm),
     additional_mounts: JSON.parse(row.additional_mounts),
+    cli_scope: row.cli_scope,
     updated_at: row.updated_at,
   };
 }
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ registerResource({
   ],
   operations: { list: 'open', get: 'open', create: 'approval', update: 'approval', delete: 'approval' },
   customOperations: {
-    'restart': {
+    restart: {
       access: 'approval',
       description:
         'Restart containers for a group. Use --id <group-id> [--rebuild] [--message <text>]. ' +
@@ -86,10 +87,16 @@ registerResource({
               onWake: 1,
             });
           }
-          killContainer(ctx.sessionId, 'restarted via ncl', message ? () => {
-            const s = getSession(ctx.sessionId);
-            if (s) wakeContainer(s);
-          } : undefined);
+          killContainer(
+            ctx.sessionId,
+            'restarted via ncl',
+            message
+              ? () => {
+                  const s = getSession(ctx.sessionId);
+                  if (s) wakeContainer(s);
+                }
+              : undefined,
+          );
           return { restarted: 1, rebuilt: !!args.rebuild };
         }
 
@@ -112,7 +119,7 @@ registerResource({
     'config update': {
       access: 'approval',
       description:
-        'Update container config scalar fields. Use --id <group-id> and any of: --provider, --model, --effort, --image-tag, --assistant-name, --max-messages-per-prompt.',
+        'Update container config scalar fields. Use --id <group-id> and any of: --provider, --model, --effort, --image-tag, --assistant-name, --max-messages-per-prompt, --cli-scope.',
       handler: async (args) => {
         const id = args.id as string;
         if (!id) throw new Error('--id is required');
@@ -122,7 +129,7 @@ registerResource({
         const updates: Partial<
           Pick<
             ContainerConfigRow,
-            'provider' | 'model' | 'effort' | 'image_tag' | 'assistant_name' | 'max_messages_per_prompt'
+            'provider' | 'model' | 'effort' | 'image_tag' | 'assistant_name' | 'max_messages_per_prompt' | 'cli_scope'
           >
         > = {};
         if (args.provider !== undefined) updates.provider = args.provider as string;
@@ -132,10 +139,17 @@ registerResource({
         if (args.assistant_name !== undefined) updates.assistant_name = args.assistant_name as string;
         if (args.max_messages_per_prompt !== undefined)
           updates.max_messages_per_prompt = Number(args.max_messages_per_prompt);
+        if (args['cli-scope'] !== undefined || args.cli_scope !== undefined) {
+          const scope = (args['cli-scope'] ?? args.cli_scope) as string;
+          if (!['disabled', 'group', 'global'].includes(scope)) {
+            throw new Error('--cli-scope must be one of: disabled, group, global');
+          }
+          updates.cli_scope = scope;
+        }
 
         if (Object.keys(updates).length === 0) {
           throw new Error(
-            'Nothing to update — provide at least one of: --provider, --model, --effort, --image-tag, --assistant-name, --max-messages-per-prompt',
+            'Nothing to update — provide at least one of: --provider, --model, --effort, --image-tag, --assistant-name, --max-messages-per-prompt, --cli-scope',
           );
         }