crafting-nemoclaw-policies

name	crafting-nemoclaw-policies
description	Generates and applies OpenShell YAML security policies for NemoClaw sandboxes — filesystem, network, process, and inference controls. Use when creating, editing, applying, or reviewing sandbox security policies, network egress rules, or filesystem permissions.

Crafting NemoClaw Policies

OpenShell policies control what a NemoClaw sandbox can access. Policies are YAML files with five sections: filesystem, landlock, process, network, and inference. The NemoClaw blueprint applies initial policies at launch — these commands modify them at runtime without restarting.

All policy commands run from the host.

Quick Start: Policy Presets

NemoClaw includes built-in policy presets for common use cases:

nemoclaw <name> policy-add       # Add a preset interactively
nemoclaw <name> policy-list      # List presets (● = applied)

For custom policies, follow the full workflow below.

Custom Policy Workflow

1. Choose a template or write a custom policy
2. Validate the policy: python scripts/validate_policy.py <file>
3. Apply to sandbox: openshell policy set <name> --policy <file> --wait
4. Verify: openshell policy get <name>

Apply a Policy

openshell policy set <sandbox-name> --policy policy.yaml --wait

The --wait flag blocks until the policy engine confirms the update is active. Add --timeout 120 for a custom timeout.

Review Active Policy

openshell policy get <sandbox-name>
openshell policy get <sandbox-name> --rev 3

Policy Templates

Choose a template based on your use case:

Template	Use When
minimal-sandbox.yaml	Locked-down baseline — start here and open up as needed
github-api.yaml	Agent needs GitHub API access (read-only)
npm-registry.yaml	Agent needs npm/PyPI package installation
development.yaml	Permissive dev policy — NOT for production

Policy Structure Overview

version: 1

filesystem_policy:
  include_workdir: true
  read_only: [/usr, /lib, /proc, /etc]
  read_write: [/sandbox, /tmp]

landlock:
  compatibility: best_effort

process:
  run_as_user: sandbox
  run_as_group: sandbox

network_policies:
  <policy-name>:
    name: <human-readable-name>
    endpoints:
      - host: <hostname>
        port: 443
        protocol: rest
        tls: terminate
        enforcement: enforce
        rules:
          - allow:
              method: GET
              path: /**
    binaries:
      - { path: /usr/local/bin/openclaw }

Validation

Run the bundled validation script before applying:

python scripts/validate_policy.py policy.yaml

Checks for: valid YAML structure, required fields, endpoint format, TLS settings.

Detailed References

Full policy field reference: See policy-schema.md