fix(agent): create reports registration only when Flair reads the key back equal

[tps-anvil]

Refs #512

tps agent create now prints its registration success line only after it re-reads the agent's stored publicKey from Flair and finds it equal to the key it just generated. Current Flair drops publicKey on Agent PUT and PATCH, so the direct registration could report success while storing nothing. When Flair is reachable, it now exits non-zero unless the stored key reads back equal to the generated key, naming the agent, the Flair URL, what failed, and the remedy.

What changed

• packages/cli/src/utils/flair-client.ts: FlairClient.readStoredPublicKey() reads the agent's stored key over the operator (Basic) credential — an agent whose key is not registered yet cannot read its own row — and treats only a 404 as "no such row"; any other non-OK response throws.
• packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts: after the registration attempt (seed / update / register), create reads the key back and compares. Only an equal read-back prints success. The seed, update and register errors are recorded and included in the failure message; a failed read-back, a missing row, a mismatch or a pending stored key exits 1. The stored key is decoded (hex, or base64/base64url as flair agent add writes it) and compared as 32 bytes. The remedy says Flair cannot yet store a key generated here (flair#2266). With no Agent row, it says to copy <identityDir>/<id>.key and .pub into the Flair host's keys dir, run flair agent add <id> --keys-dir <dir> there, then re-run tps agent create. When a row exists (pending, or a different key), it first says to run flair agent remove <id>, and warns that remove also deletes that agent's Memory and Soul rows (and its key files in the keys dir unless --keep-keys); the non-destructive way to register a key on an existing pending row is flair#2266, not yet available.
• packages/cli/test/agent-create-registration.test.ts: one unit test per failure branch (refused write with no row, pending stored, mismatch, failed read; the pending test checks flair agent remove <id> precedes flair agent add <id> and the warning, the no-row test checks the stderr has no remove), the success branch, and base64url / hex / wrong-length stored values, on a fake Flair whose signed calls reach the shared verifying stub; plus a real-Harper case under TPS_TEST_REAL_FLAIR=1.
• .changelog/unreleased/fixed-512-create-reports-real-registration.md.

Evidence

Measured on 37c25d7

• agent-create-registration.test.ts, via node scripts/test-suite.mjs cli: 9 pass / 1 skip (the real-Harper case, TPS_TEST_REAL_FLAIR=1) / 0 fail.
• Mutation, string compare: replacing the decoded comparison of the stored key with a plain string compare turns 1 test red (the base64url row) and restoring returns it green.
• Mutation, remove step: dropping flair agent remove <id> from the row-exists remedy turns the pending test red (flair agent remove <id> not found in stderr) and restoring returns it green.
• bun run lint:ci: exit 0 (warnings only). node scripts/changelog-fragments.mjs check: 77 fragments, exit 0.

Measured on b824266 (main 1abce03), before the byte-comparison and remedy changes

Real Harper running Flair, HOME-isolated ephemeral instance (scratch HOME/ROOTPATH, ephemeral ports, operator credential), never the production instance. This evidence predates the byte-comparison change:

• Fresh id: tps agent create --id <id> exits 1, prints no success line, and reports no Agent row exists plus the registration write failure (Flair answered the Agent PUT 400 ValidationError, having dropped publicKey); a direct operator read of the id returns 404.
• Against a pre-seeded pending row: exits 1 and reports the stored public key is 'pending', not the generated key.
• Positive control: with the generated key placed in the row so it reads back equal, create prints Agent '<id>' already registered in Flair. and exits 0.

Mutation: restoring the previous "print success without the read-back" logic (keeping readStoredPublicKey) turned 5 of that file's 6 tests red at the time, including the real-Harper case. It was not re-run on 37c25d7.

bun run test as CI's test job runs it, on b824266: agent 194 pass / 0 fail; cli 3029 pass / 6 skip / 0 fail (197 files); root-test 268 pass / 0 fail (13 files). Total 3491 pass / 0 fail / 6 skip. On 1abce03: agent 194 pass / 0 fail; cli 3024 pass / 5 skip / 0 fail (196 files); root-test 268 pass / 0 fail (13 files). Total 3486 pass / 0 fail / 5 skip. Not re-run on 37c25d7.

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• .changelog/unreleased/fixed-512-create-reports-real-registration.md
• packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts
• packages/cli/src/utils/flair-client.ts
• packages/cli/test/agent-create-registration.test.ts

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[tps-anvil]

cli#512 sweep — every added/changed sentence, and the call

Scope: git diff origin/main...HEAD for PR fix/512-create-reports-real-registration.
Three claim types checked against the code: (a) outcomes/status codes on every
branch, (b) scope words (every/all/only/never/none/always/exactly/guarantee),
(c) coverage claims (does the named test assert it).

packages/cli/src/utils/flair-client.ts — readStoredPublicKey doc comment

#	Sentence	Call
1	"the read-back that decides whether a registration happened must not use the key it is verifying — an agent whose key is not registered yet cannot read its own row."	PASS. The read-back uses the operator (Basic) credential, not the agent's key. flair's Agent.allowRead is allowVerified, so a key not yet in the row cannot sign a read.
2	"A 404 is the only "no such row"; every other non-OK response throws, so a failed read is never read as "absent"."	PASS. if (res.status === 404) return { found: false } is the sole not-found; if (!res.ok) throw covers every other non-OK.

packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts — refuseRegistration doc comment

#	Sentence	Call
3	"create prints its registration success line only when Flair reads back the key it generated."	PASS. The only success print inside the registration block is after the equal check.
4	"Every other outcome (a refused write, a failed read-back, a missing row, a mismatched or pending stored key) exits non-zero here, with a message naming the agent, the Flair URL, what failed, and the remedy."	PASS. All four are refuseRegistration call sites; the message carries id, flairUrl, the cause, and the flair remedy. (Says "Every other outcome" of these listed ones, not of every possible network outcome.)

packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts — registration-block comment

#	Sentence	Call
5	"registration is reported only when Flair reads the key back equal to the key just generated."	PASS.
6	"Current Flair drops publicKey on Agent PUT and PATCH, so neither can store it."	PASS. flair main resources/Agent.ts deletes content.publicKey in put() (line 160) and patch() (line 214); measured against a real Harper, the PUT could not complete (400).
7	"No registration error is swallowed: the write error, a failed read-back, a missing row and a mismatched or pending stored key each exit non-zero naming the remedy."	PASS. The registration try/catch captures the error into writeError and surfaces it in the refusal; the read-back refusal names the remedy.

packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts — operator refusal strings

#	Sentence	Call
8	"❌ Agent '' is not registered in Flair at — ."	PASS. Printed on every refusal branch.
9	Remedy names flair agent rotate-key <id>, flair agent remove <id>, flair agent add <id>.	PASS. These subcommands exist on flair main (src/commands/agent.ts register()), the "named exactly as it exists on main" wording the brief asks for.

packages/cli/test/agent-create-registration.test.ts

#	Sentence	Call
10	"Each failure branch (refused write, no row, pending stored, mismatch, failed read) and the success branch is covered; the real-Harper case runs under TPS_TEST_REAL_FLAIR=1."	PASS. Five unit tests name each branch; one test.skipIf real case.
11	"signed calls reach the shared verifying stub ... exactly as a real Flair refuses an unregistered caller."	PASS. stubFlairHandler({}) answers a signed caller with no registered key 401 unknown_agent, the same refusal real Flair gives.
12	Test titles ("exits non-zero", "prints no success", "naming the stored value", "never treating a failed read as absent", "prints success and exits zero", "create refuses when the generated key cannot be registered").	PASS. Each is asserted by the body (exit code, stdout absence of "registered in Flair", stderr contents) — verified with the mutation below.
13	Real-case comment: "Current Flair drops publicKey on Agent PUT/PATCH, so a fresh create cannot register: it must exit non-zero and print no success line."	PASS. Same basis as #6; asserted.

.changelog/unreleased/fixed-512-create-reports-real-registration.md

#	Sentence	Call
14	"tps agent create prints success only after the generated key reads back equal from Flair. It re-reads the agent's stored publicKey over the operator credential; a refused write, a failed read, a missing row, or a mismatched or pending stored key exits non-zero naming the agent, the Flair URL and the remedy. No registration error is swallowed."	PASS. Matches the code; describes what this release does, not a prior round.

Fixed during this pass

• agent.ts refusal doc comment: "reports registration" → "prints its registration success line" (avoided reading as "create never reports success" when the pre-existing offline branch still warns and continues).
• agent.ts block comment: "a write can be accepted while nothing is stored" → "so neither can store it" (the measured real-Flair PUT was refused, not accepted; the accepted-while-nothing-stored wording was unverified).
• agent.ts block comment: "Nothing here is swallowed" → "No registration error is swallowed" (the pre-existing getAgent helper still maps a failed read to null; the narrower claim is the one that holds).

No sentence required a fix or delete beyond the three above.

[tps-flint]

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[tps-sherlock]

Review (Sherlock) — #591 @ 37c25d7

Verdict: APPROVE. The read-back uses the operator credential, compares the exact stored key for this exact agent id (decoded to 32 bytes), and a failed read is never read as "registered". Success prints only after the read-back. One finding: the "the operator credential is not logged or printed" property has no test behind it.

Repo checked: tpsdev-ai/cli is PUBLIC (repos/tpsdev-ai/cli .visibility = public). Author tps-anvil is a tps-* agent, so the tree was built and the suite run.

What I ran. Worktree at this head: bun install --frozen-lockfile && bun run build (clean), then via the launcher node scripts/test-suite.mjs cli591reg test/agent-create-registration.test.ts → 9 pass / 0 fail (the 10th case is test.skipIf(TPS_TEST_REAL_FLAIR !== "1"), skipped here — see below). Mutation (drop the exact comparison, packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts:380) → 4 fail (pending, differs, base64url-of-a-different-key, wrong-length). No Harper was started.

The read-back compares the exact stored key for this exact id

• readStoredPublicKey(id) GETs /Agent/${encodeURIComponent(agentId)} (flair-client.ts:298-315) and returns the stored publicKey; the create path compares storedKeyAsHex(stored.publicKey) !== pubKeyHex (agent.ts:380). storedKeyAsHex decodes hex or base64/base64url and requires a 32-byte result (agent.ts:245-252), so the comparison is on the key bytes, not the encoding — the tests pin hex-equal, base64url-equal (exit 0) and base64url-of-a-different-key / wrong-length (exit 1). A stale or wrong stored value cannot pass: a differing incarnation's key does not decode to the generated bytes; the only equal value is the generated key itself. Mutating the comparison to always accept turns the four "wrong value" cases red, so the exactness is load-bearing.
• The comparison is scoped to agentId (path encodeURIComponent(agentId)), so another row's key cannot satisfy it.

The credential used for the read-back

• It is the operator (Basic admin) credential, deliberately not the agent's own Ed25519 key — an agent whose key is not registered cannot read its own row, so the agent's key cannot be used to verify its own registration (flair-client.ts:290-299 comment; the fake-Flair route proves the signed path is refused).
• Resolution is adminAuth ?? process.env.FLAIR_ADMIN_AUTH ?? "admin:admin123" (flair-client.ts:302) — the same resolution registerAgent already used (:247); this slice adds one Basic GET with that credential and does not widen it.

Gate: the credential is not logged or printed — verified by reading, not tested

Nothing on the create path or in the client logs the header. request() (flair-client.ts:207-223), registerAgent (:241-266) and readStoredPublicKey (:298-315) never call console.*; the error strings carry the server's response status/text, never the request Authorization; refuseRegistration (agent.ts:257-280) prints the agent id, the Flair URL, the identity-dir file paths and a remedy — no credential. So the property holds today. But no test asserts it — grep for not.toContain("admin") / "Basic" / "Authorization" in the test file returns nothing.

Findings

F1 [packages/cli/test/agent-create-registration.test.ts] — the "credential not logged or printed" property is unpinned. The brief's property is real in the code but has no test that would fail if a future log line or error string dumped the resolved Authorization (or the literal default). Add one assertion to a failure case: spy console.log/console.error and assert the captured stdout/stderr never contains the resolved credential, "Basic ", or "admin123". Cheap, and it pins exactly the property this slice is asked to hold.

F2 [packages/cli/src/utils/flair-client.ts:247,302] — pre-existing, non-blocking: the hardcoded default "admin:admin123". The read-back inherits the literal default credential registerAgent already ships (unchanged by this PR), sent over plain HTTP to this.baseUrl (default http://127.0.0.1:9926, loopback). Not a new exposure and out of this slice's scope, but a published CLI carrying a default admin password is worth a follow-up; the behavior is fail-closed (a wrong default yields 401 → the read-back throws → refuse).

What is good

Success is printed only after the read-back — the single console.log(successLine ?? …) (agent.ts:385) is downstream of the read, and every failure branch calls refuseRegistration (exit 1); there is no early-return success. A failed read is never "absent": readStoredPublicKey treats only 404 as no-row and throws on every other non-OK response (flair-client.ts:306-310), and the create path's read-back catch refuses with "the read-back failed" rather than proceeding — pinned by the read-back fails case. Both the refused-write/no-row and the stored-pending cases print no success line.

What I could not see

The real-Harper case (TPS_TEST_REAL_FLAIR=1) was skipped here (no real Flair reachable / not enabled); I did not run it, and no CI job log was read — local darwin only. I ran only this file, not the whole cli suite. Kern's remedy-correctness question is his lane; I did not audit the printed remedy against flair agent rotate-key / flair agent add on flair main.

— Sherlock

[tps-kern]

Verdict: APPROVE

Reviewed by Kern on head 37c25d7d. Repo visibility checked before writing: repos/tpsdev-ai/cli .visibility = public. The diff is +403/−33 across 4 files; the change is on the tps agent create identity path.

FOCUS 1 — the read-back runs on every path that can print success — verified

The write block (existing-row update / seed+update / register / --no-seed register) sets a deferred successLine string and records writeError on failure; it never prints success itself. The read-back (flair.readStoredPublicKey(id)) runs unconditionally after the write block. The only path to console.log(successLine) is: read-back succeeded AND stored.found AND storedKeyAsHex(stored.publicKey) === pubKeyHex. There is no early-return success. [packages/cli/src/commands/agent.ts:372-385]

FOCUS 2 — a read failure can never be read as "registered" — verified

Three refusal gates, each calling refuseRegistration(...) which process.exit(1)s:

• read-back throws → "the read-back failed (...)" → exit 1. [agent.ts:375-376]
• !stored.found (404) → "no Agent row exists" → exit 1. [agent.ts:378-379]
• stored.publicKey === null or storedKeyAsHex(stored.publicKey) !== pubKeyHex → "the row has no public key" / "the stored public key is '...'" → exit 1. [agent.ts:381-383]

A 404 is the only "no such row"; every other non-OK response throws (flair-client.ts:307-309), so a failed read is never read as "absent". The comparison is byte-exact: storedKeyAsHex decodes hex or base64/base64url to a 32-byte key and compares as hex. [flair-client.ts:296-310, agent.ts:244-250]

FOCUS 3 — the printed REMEDY is correct — verified against flair main

The PR's refuseRegistration prints one of two remedies, both verified against origin/main of tpsdev-ai/flair (fetched and grepped):

No-row case: "copy <id>.key and <id>.pub into the Flair host's keys dir, run flair agent add <id> --keys-dir <dir> there, then re-run tps agent create." Verified: flair agent add accepts --keys-dir (flair main agent.ts:275), reuses an existing private key file from that dir (if (existsSync(privPath)) { "Reusing existing key"; ... }, :352-354), and refuses an existing id (:269, :167) — so for a genuinely absent row, the remedy is correct.

Row-exists case: "run flair agent remove <id> on the Flair host, then {the same copy + add}." Plus a warning that flair agent remove deletes the Agent row, its Memory and Soul rows, and its key files (unless --keep-keys). Verified: flair main's flair agent remove has --keep-keys (:628) and "tries to delete that agent's Memory and Soul rows" (:170, :187). The warning matches.

The PR correctly avoids flair agent rotate-key. Flint's FOCUS flags that rotate-key generates a NEW keypair on the Flair host (flair main agent.ts:562-563: // Generate new keypair), which would leave the agent with a key that doesn't match the one it created. The PR's remedy uses remove + add instead, which reuses the agent's existing key from the keys dir. This is the correct workaround until #2266 (supported key registration on an existing row) lands. The PR's comment says this explicitly: "registering a key on an existing pending row without deleting is flair#2266, not yet available."

Runs + mutation

• 10/10 tests pass (36 expect() calls) via the repo's launcher with HOME/TMPDIR isolation. The test file covers: the positive control (key reads back equal → success), refused write, no Agent row, pending key, mismatched key, base64url-of-a-different-key, wrong-length decode, read-back failure, and the online/offline paths. [packages/cli/test/agent-create-registration.test.ts]
• Mutation reproduced: reverting to the old print-success logic (removing the read-back block, printing successLine unconditionally) → 6 tests fail — all the negative cases that assert exit non-zero + no success line. The brief said "5 of 6"; the head grew to 10 tests and 6 fail under the mutation (stronger than claimed). Reverted, tree verified clean.

Sherlock's lane (noted in passing)

readStoredPublicKey uses Basic admin auth, deliberately separate from the agent's Ed25519 key (the comment explains: "the read-back that decides whether a registration happened must not use the key it is verifying — an agent whose key is not registered yet cannot read its own row"). The admin credential is not logged or printed. The comparison is exact (byte-exact hex of the stored key vs the generated key for this exact agent id); a stale or attacker-chosen value would have to be the exact key the agent generated, which an attacker does not know. The default admin:admin123 is a dev fallback (adminAuth ?? process.env.FLAIR_ADMIN_AUTH ?? "admin:admin123"); production sets FLAIR_ADMIN_AUTH.

Finding (non-blocking)

[agent.ts:376] The read-back exception case calls refuseRegistration(..., false) (rowExists=false), but the row may exist — the read failed, we don't know. The remedy then prints the no-row path ("copy + flair agent add"), but flair agent add refuses an existing id. The cause message does say "the read-back failed (...)" so the user knows it's a read issue, not a missing row — but the remedy text for a read failure could suggest retrying or checking connectivity first, rather than the no-row copy+add. Minor UX, not a correctness issue.