diff --git a/policies/README.md b/policies/README.md
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+# Bot sandbox policies (NVIDIA/OpenShell pilot)
+
+Policies for running OpenBot bots inside [NVIDIA/OpenShell](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell)
+kernel-level sandboxes. Pilot scope: the `@engineer` bot, in **advisory** mode
+(denials are logged and surfaced as drafted rule proposals, not hard failures).
+
+## Contents
+
+- `engineer.yaml` — policy for the `engineer` sandbox: workspace files, git remotes
+  (github.com / api.github.com), package registries (pypi.org, files.pythonhosted.org),
+  and uv's CPython release host. All network rules are `enforcement: audit` for the
+  pilot; flip to `enforce` per rule before production.
+- `engineer-base.Dockerfile` — sandbox image. The default sandbox image ships **without**
+  git/gh/curl/python and apt is unusable inside (non-root, no network), so tools must be
+  baked into the image before the sandbox starts.
+
+## Quickstart (host)
+
+```sh
+# 1. Build the base image (gateway uses the local Docker daemon)
+docker build -f policies/engineer-base.Dockerfile -t openshell/engineer-base:latest .
+
+# 2. Create the sandbox (keep a sleep-style main process; create attaches to it)
+openshell sandbox create engineer --from openshell/engineer-base:latest \
+  -- sleep 100000   # detached: nohup openshell sandbox create engineer ...
+
+# 3. Apply (or hot-reload) the policy — no restart needed
+openshell policy set engineer --policy policies/engineer.yaml --wait
+
+# 4. Run work inside
+openshell sandbox exec engineer -- bash -c 'cd /sandbox && git …'
+
+# 5. Audit + rule proposals
+openshell logs engineer --source sandbox          # OCSF allow/deny events
+openshell rule get engineer --status pending      # drafted rules from denials
+```
+
+## Hard-won details (v0.1.5)
+
+- **Network `binaries` must be kernel-resolved real paths** (`readlink -f`), never
+  symlinks. `git` fetch/push execs `/usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-http`; `pip` runs as the
+  interpreter `/usr/bin/python3.12`. A symlink path fails silently as "connection refused";
+  the sandbox log carries a `SYMLINK HINT` explaining it.
+- **uv downloads CPython** builds from `github.com/astral-sh/...` releases
+  (redirected via `releases.astral.sh`), so both hosts must be allowed for the uv binary —
+  even when pypi itself is allowed.
+- Policies hot-reload via `policy set --wait`; network rules are live fields.
+- Default-deny holds: unlisted endpoints fail as connection refused.
+
+## Pilot result (2026-10-23)
+
+Full backend suite ran inside the sandbox: `uv sync --frozen`, ruff, pytest →
+811 passed / 30 failed / 30 deselected. The 30 failures were environmental, not policy
+denials: uv pulled Python 3.13 (repo targets 3.12) and the image lacked `patch` — both
+fixed in the image/pinned-tooling follow-up. Audit log showed 36 denials, all default-deny
+working as intended (e.g. `example.com`), plus the drafted rules listed by
+`openshell rule get engineer --status pending`.
diff --git a/policies/engineer-base.Dockerfile b/policies/engineer-base.Dockerfile
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+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+# ubuntu:24.04 ships an "ubuntu" user with UID 1000 (the uid OpenShell sandboxes run as).
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    ca-certificates git gh curl wget python3 python3-pip python3-venv ripgrep jq less patch && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+USER ubuntu
+WORKDIR /sandbox
+RUN mkdir -p /sandbox
diff --git a/policies/engineer.yaml b/policies/engineer.yaml
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+version: 1
+
+filesystem_policy:
+  include_workdir: true
+  read_only:
+    - /bin
+    - /usr
+    - /lib
+    - /proc
+    - /etc
+    - /dev/urandom
+    - /var/log
+  read_write:
+    - /tmp
+    - /dev/null
+
+landlock:
+  compatibility: best_effort
+
+network_policies:
+  github:
+    endpoints:
+      - host: github.com
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: full
+      - host: api.github.com
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: full
+      - host: objects.githubusercontent.com
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: read-only
+    binaries:
+      # `git clone/fetch/push` execs git-remote-https (a symlink to this real
+      # binary) — list the real path, not the symlink.
+      - path: /usr/lib/git-core/git-remote-http
+      - path: /usr/bin/gh
+      - path: /usr/bin/curl
+      # uv downloads CPython builds from github.com/astral-sh releases
+      - path: /sandbox/.local/bin/uv
+  pypi:
+    endpoints:
+      - host: pypi.org
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: read-only
+      - host: files.pythonhosted.org
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: read-only
+    binaries:
+      # pip runs as the python3.12 interpreter — list the interpreter's real
+      # path (scripts exec their interpreter; pip3 itself is a python script).
+      - path: /usr/bin/python3.12
+      # uv resolves/downloads packages over HTTPS
+      - path: /sandbox/.local/bin/uv
+      - path: /usr/bin/curl
+  astral_releases:
+    endpoints:
+      # uv fetches managed CPython builds from python-build-standalone releases
+      - host: releases.astral.sh
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: read-only
+      - host: github.com
+        port: 443
+        protocol: rest
+        enforcement: audit
+        access: read-only
+    binaries:
+      - path: /sandbox/.local/bin/uv