refactor(lifecycle): retire NemoClaw-owned container orchestration by ericksoa · Pull Request #11909 · NVIDIA/NemoClaw

ericksoa · 2026-09-16T14:05:15Z

Outcome

Standard Docker and native Podman sandbox lifecycle now belongs to OpenShell. NemoClaw retains supported-agent and exact-image selection, bounded exact-target initial profile application, credential/policy/inference attachment, diagnostics, and qualification. Portable remains a separate explicit receipt-bound lifecycle.

This PR remains draft until the final exact-head CI, managed-image activation, Advisor, and CodeRabbit gates complete.

Reason

NemoClaw duplicated lifecycle behavior already owned by OpenShell through provider-specific start/stop/replacement controllers, journals, watcher leases, rollback machinery, and lifecycle-state inference. This completes the accepted basic-onboarder ownership model in #11905.

Changes

Delegate standard start and stop through the reviewed typed OpenShell SDK, with registered identity validation, returned-identity validation, bounded ready/stopped settlement, cancellation, and no provider-container fallback.
Route stopped-sandbox recovery through that same action boundary for Docker and Podman.
Migrate older standard registry rows by observing the exact owning OpenShell gateway and persisting the immutable sandbox fingerprint before lifecycle mutation.
Delete the standard Docker/Podman managed-bootstrap replacement controller, Docker-only root-apply/finalization owner, Podman watcher leases, held-workload replacement, image transactions, and cutover journals.
Apply, commit, roll back, and resume managed startup through one provider-neutral exact-container privileged-exec path; persist the bootstrap identity across interrupted-create resume.
Preserve direct provider access only at allowed initial exact-target setup/cleanup edges and in standalone image qualification—not as ordinary sandbox lifecycle authority.
Preserve Portable lifecycle, receipts, locks, local registry, recovery, assets, and focused qualification unchanged.
Exercise public NemoClaw stop/start, same-identity settlement, durable marker survival, native readiness, and agent turns for all shipped agents on exact Docker and Docker-unavailable rootless Podman managed images.
Install the integrity-reviewed vendored OpenShell SDK in both all-agent activation jobs without package credentials.

Retained provider-specific consumers

runtime-provider/docker.ts and runtime-provider/podman.ts: host prerequisites, OpenShell driver selection, exact-target privileged exec, initial profile application, diagnostics, and owned cleanup.
managed-startup/provider-root-apply.ts: the single Docker/Podman initial startup transaction owner.
Docker driver recovery: retained only for identity- and label-bound post-reboot reconciliation when a healthy OpenShell gateway reports a registered sandbox missing; it is not a public start/stop fallback.
Portable modules: retained exclusively for the explicit experimental Docker-over-Podman profile.

Quantitative evidence

Base: d9c33770772f06264b3a45b52fe9efc6d83aa34f
Current PR head: 01cc9629229e5d5d7b465ab991baa27d9ea21da2
202 files changed: 4,165 additions, 37,938 deletions, net -33,773 lines.
Production: +1,793 / -20,779, net -18,986.
Tests: +1,836 / -16,121, net -14,285.
Workflow/support: +536 / -1,038, net -502.
Registered E2E targets removed: 0. Lifecycle-only implementation fixtures/assertions were deleted or refocused into current owners.
Workflow jobs removed: 0. Two exact-head all-agent activation jobs are retained/added because they prove the supported Docker and Docker-unavailable Podman outcomes through the public lifecycle path.

Verification

Full CLI typecheck passes locally.
Repository architecture, import boundaries, source-shape, E2E assertion census, growth guard, formatting, lint, secret scan, and Pi receipt parity pass locally.
Focused lifecycle, recovery, managed-startup, workflow, and onboarding suites pass.
The reviewed managed-startup runtime bundles reproduce exactly.
Current exact-head CI/E2E/Advisor qualification is running.

Review decision

Maintainer-approved waiver: do not require or introduce an NVIDIA/OpenShell API change for standard lifecycle. The repository-pinned OpenShell name/workspace lifecycle contract is the accepted authority. NemoClaw validates the registered identity before submission, validates the identity returned by OpenShell, and validates the same identity at ready/stopped settlement. The repeated hypothetical name-reuse race finding is not applicable to this PR and is not authorization to weaken these checks.

Refs #11905

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson aerickson@nvidia.com

Incorporate the applicable lifecycle adapter work from #11838. Use the pinned OpenShell SDK for standard Docker and Podman start and stop. Remove direct standard container mutation and recovery paths. Preserve receipt-bound Portable lifecycle. Managed-bootstrap deletion continues in this draft. Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com> Co-authored-by: Rebecca Sliter <571084+rsliter@users.noreply.github.com>

copy-pr-bot · 2026-09-16T14:05:18Z

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coderabbitai · 2026-09-16T14:05:22Z

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The change removes managed-bootstrap orchestration, adds OpenShell lifecycle handling, moves managed-startup exchange files to /tmp, updates direct runtime packaging, and revises onboarding, provider, E2E, CI, documentation, and tests.

Changes

OpenShell lifecycle and managed startup

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Lifecycle adapter and provider delegation `src/lib/adapters/openshell/`, `src/lib/onboard/runtime-provider/`	Sandbox lifecycle operations use OpenShell. Podman and Docker providers no longer perform direct container lifecycle mutations.
Managed startup handoff `src/lib/onboard/managed-startup/`, `src/lib/onboard/sandbox-create/`	Managed startup uses bootstrap identities, exact container resolution, shared-state commits, startup-hold release, and completion publication.
Managed OpenClaw setup `src/lib/onboard/openclaw-setup.ts`, `src/lib/onboard/machine/*`, `src/lib/onboard/config-sync.ts`	Managed OpenClaw waits for gateway readiness and skips native baseline setup after the managed profile is applied.

Managed-bootstrap removal and runtime packaging

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Managed-bootstrap removal `src/lib/onboard/managed-bootstrap/`, `src/lib/onboard/sandbox-gpu-`, `src/lib/onboard/docker-gpu-*`	Managed-bootstrap modules, journals, envelopes, provider surfaces, and related cleanup paths are removed or replaced with generic runtime contracts.
Direct runtime packaging and exchange paths `Dockerfile`, `agents/`, `src/lib/sandbox/build-context.ts`, `tools/mcp-tool-discovery-runtime/`, `src/lib/onboard/managed-startup/image-runtime.ts`	Images use the direct managed-startup runtime bundle. Managed-bootstrap executables are removed. Runtime environment, CA, and completion files use the validated sticky `/tmp` exchange directory.

Validation and supporting updates

Layer / File(s)	Summary
E2E, tests, and diagnostics `scripts/checks/`, `test/`, `src/lib/*`	Tests validate OpenShell lifecycle behavior, direct startup, identity-bound transactions, completion publication, failure diagnostics, and updated runtime boundaries.
Workflow, policy, documentation, and artifacts `.github/workflows/`, `ci/`, `docs/`, `agents//policy-additions.yaml`	Workflow preparation, policy paths, recovery guidance, runtime references, assertion budgets, and qualification artifacts reflect the new lifecycle and packaging behavior.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 5 (Critical) | ~90 minutes

Merge Risk: 🟠 High · up to 1a411

Managed DCode sandboxes can start without limits required by their entrypoint and fail during startup. Managed OpenClaw onboarding and qualification checks also have deadline and validation gaps, so this change should not merge until these issues are addressed.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 13.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 100 functions across 51 files. (4 skipped…	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and concisely describes the primary change: replacing NemoClaw-owned container orchestration with OpenShell-managed lifecycle operations.

Full details: Docstring Coverage

Explanation

Docstring coverage is 13.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 100 functions across 51 files. (4 skipped: 4 unsupported.)

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github-code-quality · 2026-09-16T14:06:33Z

Code Coverage Overview

Languages: TypeScript

TypeScript / code-coverage/plugin

The overall line coverage in commit be8cef7 in the refactor/11905-retir... branch remains at 96%, unchanged from commit 3f98fc7 in the main branch.

TypeScript / code-coverage/cli

The overall line coverage in commit be8cef7 in the refactor/11905-retir... branch is 84%. The line coverage in commit 3f98fc7 in the main branch is 83%.

Show a line coverage summary of the most impacted files.

File	`main` 3f98fc7	`refactor/11905-retir...` be8cef7	+/-
`src/lib/onboard...an-lifecycle.ts`	83%	69%	-14%
`src/lib/onboard...ma-inference.ts`	86%	81%	-5%
`src/lib/onboard...able-receipt.ts`	73%	75%	+2%
`src/lib/onboard...mage-runtime.ts`	50%	52%	+2%
`src/lib/onboard...-patch-clone.ts`	81%	88%	+7%
`src/lib/onboard...er-gpu-patch.ts`	78%	89%	+11%
`src/lib/actions...e-classifier.ts`	64%	87%	+23%
`src/lib/onboard...r-root-apply.ts`	0%	69%	+69%
`src/lib/adapter...ifecycle-sdk.ts`	0%	89%	+89%
`src/lib/onboard...ure-evidence.ts`	0%	90%	+90%

_{Updated September 20, 2026 06:59 UTC}

Incorporate the applicable lifecycle adapter work from #11838. Use the pinned OpenShell SDK for standard Docker and Podman start and stop. Remove direct standard container mutation and recovery paths. Preserve receipt-bound Portable lifecycle. Managed-bootstrap deletion continues in this draft. Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com> Co-authored-by: Rebecca Sliter <571084+rsliter@users.noreply.github.com>

Delete the standard Docker and Podman bootstrap controller and journals. Delete replacement transactions, watcher leases, rollback machinery, and obsolete tests. Launch exact managed images directly through OpenShell. Pass the bounded startup profile and corporate CA to the native image startup command. Keep the experimental Portable lifecycle and its dedicated build assets unchanged. Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com> # Conflicts: # src/lib/adapters/openshell/sandbox-lifecycle-cli.ts

Map source-relative .mjs requests to their reviewed .mts source during Vitest runtime require calls. Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

…-runtime-lifecycle

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

Re-apply the fork's runtime overlay after upstream NVIDIA#11909 rewrote the stage layout: nemoclaw-start-vm entrypoint COPY + mode, state-dir-guard / runtime-state-mutation helper COPYs with root-only modes, the runtime-state-mutation runtime dirs, and re-pin of NEMOCLAW_HERMES_VALIDATOR_SHA256 (and WRAPPER_SHA256 where the file exists) to the grafted sidecar validator.

ericksoa self-assigned this Sep 16, 2026

jyaunches mentioned this pull request Sep 16, 2026

fix(sandbox): detect failed Docker info #11910

Closed

ericksoa and others added 3 commits September 16, 2026 08:14

merge: preserve draft branch ancestry

62e9ca9

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

rsliter mentioned this pull request Sep 16, 2026

Phase 1 slice 3b: Route sandbox create through the OpenShell lifecycle adapter #11830

Closed

ericksoa added 2 commits September 16, 2026 09:22

merge: refresh from main

5df005a

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com> # Conflicts: # src/lib/adapters/openshell/sandbox-lifecycle-cli.ts

fix(test): resolve source ESM SDK imports

72f7b9a

Map source-relative .mjs requests to their reviewed .mts source during Vitest runtime require calls. Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

rsliter mentioned this pull request Sep 16, 2026

Phase 2 slice 1: Qualify OpenShell transports and migrate sandbox inventory and readiness #9818

Open

ericksoa added 2 commits September 16, 2026 10:35

fix(onboard): complete direct managed startup

47b48da

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into refactor/11905-retire…

e07cbba

…-runtime-lifecycle

github-advanced-security Bot found potential problems Sep 16, 2026

View reviewed changes

ericksoa added 9 commits September 16, 2026 11:05

fix(runtime): execute direct startup bundle

68d5a2d

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(e2e): exercise managed SDK lifecycle

3ebb1a1

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(runtime): bind SDK proof to trusted gateway state

8f359e2

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(e2e): stage Podman gateway state under trusted root

22f15b5

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(openshell): preserve bounded SDK preflight detail

8f6c9cf

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(openshell): fall back when SDK package is absent

ee4481e

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(e2e): pass isolated OpenShell client environment

4bae977

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(e2e): await OpenShell restart readiness

f235e69

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

test(e2e): remove duplicate Podman lifecycle cycle

d44a060

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

rsliter mentioned this pull request Sep 16, 2026

[Epic] Prepare NemoClaw ownership boundaries for OpenShell 0.1.0 #11944

Closed

2 tasks done

test(state): cover lock storage branches

257a8c0

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

rsliter mentioned this pull request Sep 16, 2026

Retire or consolidate six redundant full-matrix E2E jobs #11946

Open

4 of 19 tasks

ericksoa added 2 commits September 16, 2026 14:19

test(state): cover exact lock release tokens

6a4b75b

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

fix(onboard): apply managed profiles after identity verification

a89633f

Signed-off-by: Aaron Erickson <aerickson@nvidia.com>

rsliter mentioned this pull request Oct 1, 2026

[Epic] Complete pre-work for the OpenShell 0.1.2 upgrade #12558

Open

6 tasks done

ericksoa mentioned this pull request Oct 6, 2026

[Ubuntu 24.04][Sandbox] nemoclaw start misdiagnoses Docker-daemon-unreachable as a removed container, suggests destructive rebuild #11715

Closed

coderabbitai Bot mentioned this pull request Oct 22, 2026

fix(e2e): qualify native OpenShell managed runtime #13635

Open

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refactor(lifecycle): retire NemoClaw-owned container orchestration - #11909

refactor(lifecycle): retire NemoClaw-owned container orchestration#11909
ericksoa merged 178 commits into
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Outcome

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Changes

Retained provider-specific consumers

Quantitative evidence

Verification

Review decision

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