NVIDIA
diff --git a/‎.agents/skills/test-release-canary/SKILL.md‎
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diff --git a/‎.github/workflows/branch-checks.yml‎
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diff --git a/‎.github/workflows/release-canary.yml‎
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diff --git a/‎Cargo.lock‎
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diff --git a/‎architecture/compute-runtimes.md‎
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diff --git a/‎architecture/gateway.md‎
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@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ does not contribute to product usage metrics.
 
 `install.sh` defaults to the *latest tagged* release — the canary is therefore checking that the most recent public release still installs, not the just-published `dev` build. The `kubernetes` job is the exception: it pins to `0.0.0-dev` chart + `:dev` images.
 
+The host-package jobs exercise fresh installs, not upgrades from a persisted
+schema-v1 gateway config. Validate Homebrew and RPM exact-default migration with
+the release-tooling and package lifecycle tests before relying on the canary.
+
 The canary does not install or import `@nvidia/openshell-sdk`. TypeScript SDK
 validation lives in the `TypeScript SDK` branch check, including a publish
 dry-run. The tagged release workflow publishes the package to GitHub Packages;
@@ -131,7 +135,7 @@ Loopback registration auto-derives the gateway name to `openshell` if `--name` i
 | Symptom | Likely cause | Where to look |
 |---|---|---|
 | `macos`/`ubuntu`/`fedora` job fails on `install.sh` | Latest tagged release missing an asset, checksum mismatch, or `install.sh` regression on this branch. | Job log around the `curl … install.sh \| sh` step. |
-| `macos`/`ubuntu`/`fedora` job fails on `openshell status` | Local gateway service did not start (systemd/brew/podman). Often a driver issue. | Service logs in the job log; `OPENSHELL_DRIVERS` env in the "Ensure …" step. |
+| `macos`/`ubuntu`/`fedora` job fails on `openshell status` | Local gateway service did not start (systemd/brew/podman). Often a driver issue. | Service logs in the job log; `OPENSHELL_COMPUTE_DRIVER` env in the "Ensure …" step. |
 | `ubuntu-snap` fails after interface connection | The gateway did not recover after Docker became available, or did not become reachable within the 30-second bound. | Failure diagnostics dump Snap service/connection/change state, gateway and snapd journals, Snap logs, and port 17670 listeners. |
 | `kubernetes` job fails on `helm install --wait` | Chart did not deploy in 5 min — usually image pull failure or readiness probe failing. | "Diagnostics on failure" step dumps `helm status`, manifest, pod describe, pod logs. |
 | `kubernetes` job fails on `kubectl wait` | Gateway pod stuck `CrashLoopBackOff` or `ImagePullBackOff`. | Diagnostics dump; check `:dev` image existence at `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/gateway`. |
 
@@ -243,6 +243,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Test
         run: mise run test:python
 
+      - name: Test local gateway configuration helpers
+        run: |
+          bash tasks/scripts/test-gateway-pull-policy.sh
+          bash tasks/scripts/test-gateway-config.sh
+
   go:
     name: Go SDK
     needs: pr_metadata
 
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Ensure VM driver
         run: |
-          launchctl setenv OPENSHELL_DRIVERS vm
+          launchctl setenv OPENSHELL_COMPUTE_DRIVER vm
           launchctl setenv OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED "$OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED"
 
       - name: Install and check status
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
           sudo systemctl start docker || sudo service docker start
           mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config/openshell"
-          printf 'OPENSHELL_DRIVERS=docker\nOPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=%s\n' \
+          printf 'OPENSHELL_COMPUTE_DRIVER=docker\nOPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=%s\n' \
             "$OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED" > "${HOME}/.config/openshell/gateway.env"
           docker info
 
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ jobs:
             bash -s <<'EOF'
           set -euo pipefail
           mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config/openshell"
-          printf 'OPENSHELL_DRIVERS=podman\nOPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=%s\n' \
+          printf 'OPENSHELL_COMPUTE_DRIVER=podman\nOPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED=%s\n' \
             "$OPENSHELL_TELEMETRY_ENABLED" > "${HOME}/.config/openshell/gateway.env"
           podman info
           curl -LsSf "${INSTALL_SH_URL}" | sh
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           mkdir -p "${HOME}/.config/openshell"
-          printf 'OPENSHELL_DRIVERS=docker\n' > "${HOME}/.config/openshell/gateway.env"
+          printf 'OPENSHELL_COMPUTE_DRIVER=docker\n' > "${HOME}/.config/openshell/gateway.env"
           curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha || github.sha }}/install.sh | sh
 
       - name: Register kind gateway and check status
 
@@ -127,11 +127,19 @@ defines the available implementation set, while the runtime consumes a generic
 registry. Adding or removing a compiled driver therefore changes registration
 rather than the server's selection flow. Alternate gateway binaries can install
 their own `ComputeDriverFactory` registrations and hand the completed registry
-to `run_cli_with_compute_drivers`; factories receive merged driver config and
-return either an in-process driver or a gateway-managed remote endpoint. The
-server constructs the common runtime adapter and snapshots `GetCapabilities`
-for either result. A configured UDS endpoint still takes precedence over a
-compiled registration with the same name.
+to `run_cli_with_compute_drivers`. Factories expose the same side-effect-free
+configuration validation to package preflight and runtime startup, receive only
+the selected `[openshell.drivers.<name>]` table, and return either an in-process
+driver or a gateway-managed remote endpoint when built. Existing out-of-tree
+factories that implement only runtime construction remain source-compatible and
+can start normally, but package preflight fails closed until they explicitly
+advertise and implement side-effect-free configuration validation. If a selected config file
+omits the selector, preflight validates each configured table that belongs to an
+auto-detectable registration. It does not run runtime detection probes because
+those probes can connect local sockets or launch bounded discovery commands.
+Preflight never builds a driver or connects to its transport. The server constructs the common runtime
+adapter and snapshots `GetCapabilities` for either result. A configured UDS
+endpoint still takes precedence over a compiled registration with the same name.
 
 The `openshell-gateway` composition crate exposes one feature per first-party
 registration: `compute-driver-kubernetes`, `compute-driver-docker`,
@@ -256,7 +264,7 @@ delete, reconciliation removes the row; otherwise it can remain `Deleting`.
 | Podman | Rootless or single-machine deployments. | Container plus nested sandbox namespace. | Uses the Podman REST API and CDI GPU devices when available. Delivers the supervisor via OCI image volume by default; falls back to extracting the binary to a host-side cache and bind-mounting it when `userns` is configured (overlay does not support idmapped mounts). Advertises the combined-supervisor policy-DNS and transparent-TCP substrate. |
 | Kubernetes | Cluster deployment through Helm. | Pod plus nested sandbox namespace. | Uses Kubernetes API objects, service accounts, secrets, PVC-backed workspace storage, and GPU resources. |
 | VM | Experimental microVM isolation. | Per-sandbox libkrun VM. | Managed endpoint-backed driver. The gateway spawns `openshell-driver-vm`, waits for its Unix socket, and then consumes it through the same remote `compute_driver.proto` path used by unmanaged endpoint drivers. The VM driver boots a cached bootstrap `rootfs.ext4`, prepares requested OCI images inside a bootstrap VM with `umoci`, attaches the prepared image disk read-only, and gives each sandbox a writable `overlay.ext4` for merged-root changes and runtime material. The driver persists each accepted launch request beside the overlay and restarts those VMs on driver startup without recreating the overlay. |
-| Extension | Out-of-tree drivers operated alongside the gateway. | Whatever boundary the driver implements. | Selected by a custom `compute_drivers = ["<name>"]` entry with `[openshell.drivers.<name>].socket_path`, or at launch time by pairing `--drivers <name>` with `--compute-driver-socket=<path>`. A launch-time endpoint may use a canonical built-in name to preserve its driver-config key while replacing in-process construction. The gateway connects to an operator-provisioned UDS, snapshots `GetCapabilities`, and dispatches all sandbox lifecycle calls through `compute_driver.proto`. The driver process and socket lifecycle are operator-owned; the gateway does not spawn, supervise, or remove unmanaged extension drivers. The trust boundary is the socket's filesystem permissions: the operator must ensure only the gateway uid can read/write it. |
+| Extension | Out-of-tree drivers operated alongside the gateway. | Whatever boundary the driver implements. | Selected by a custom `compute_driver = "<name>"` entry with `[openshell.drivers.<name>].socket_path`, or at launch time by pairing `--compute-driver <name>` with `--compute-driver-socket=<path>`. A launch-time endpoint may use a canonical built-in name to preserve its driver-config key while replacing in-process construction. The gateway connects to an operator-provisioned UDS, snapshots `GetCapabilities`, and dispatches all sandbox lifecycle calls through `compute_driver.proto`. The driver process and socket lifecycle are operator-owned; the gateway does not spawn, supervise, or remove unmanaged extension drivers. The trust boundary is the socket's filesystem permissions: the operator must ensure only the gateway uid can read/write it. |
 
 Per-sandbox CPU and memory values currently enter the driver layer through
 template resource limits. Docker and Podman apply them as runtime limits.
@@ -293,10 +301,27 @@ pinned dialing, relay behavior, and OCSF decisions. Docker and Podman advertise
 they implement and validate the same complete contract. The capability marker
 is driver-owned supervisor input and is removed from workload environments.
 
-Kubernetes deployments may set an AppArmor profile on sandbox agent containers
-through the driver configuration. The Helm chart defaults sandbox agents to
-`Unconfined` so runtime/default AppArmor profiles do not block supervisor
-network namespace setup on AppArmor-enabled nodes.
+Kubernetes, Docker, and Podman share one AppArmor configuration model:
+`RuntimeDefault`, `Unconfined`, or `Localhost/<profile>`. Each driver translates
+that model to its native API and rejects an explicitly requested confined
+profile when its backend reports AppArmor unavailable. Docker keeps its
+historical explicit `Unconfined` default. Podman sends no override when the
+field is omitted, preserving the runtime-selected profile; development paths
+that require the supervisor's namespace mount setup opt into `Unconfined`
+explicitly. The Helm chart independently uses `Unconfined` for Kubernetes.
+
+Corporate proxy settings are driver-owned supervisor inputs. Docker, Podman,
+and VM propagate `https_proxy`, `no_proxy`, an optional root-only auth file,
+and the explicit cleartext-Basic-auth acknowledgement without allowing
+workload environment to override them. Podman and VM can also project an
+operator CA bundle for an HTTPS or TLS-intercepting proxy. The VM driver validates and
+stages its credential and CA bundle under fixed guest paths, then forwards
+those paths through the protected supervisor argument file rather than the
+guest environment. Local containers project provider SPIFFE
+through a dedicated host UNIX-socket parent mount. A VM cannot safely expose
+that host socket: it accepts only a separately operated, concrete TCP listener
+when `provider_spiffe_allow_guest_tcp = true` explicitly acknowledges guest
+access. Host-only sockets are never implicitly forwarded to VM guests.
 
 The Kubernetes deployment packaging has two ownership boundaries. The gateway
 chart owns the gateway workload, configuration, Services, PKI, and
@@ -314,10 +339,14 @@ can request a specific number of GPUs or the driver-specific default behaviour.
 For all in-tree drivers, this is equivalent to selecting a single GPU.
 
 VM runtime state paths are derived only from driver-validated sandbox IDs
-matching `[A-Za-z0-9._-]{1,128}`. The gateway-owned VM driver socket uses a
-private `run/` directory plus Unix peer UID/PID checks. Standalone
-unauthenticated TCP mode is disabled unless explicitly enabled for local
-development.
+matching `[A-Za-z0-9._-]{1,128}`. Each writable overlay records its effective
+sandbox UID/GID so later rootfs cache changes cannot rewrite persisted file
+ownership. Unmarked pre-migration overlays recover identity from concrete
+overlay or prepared-rootfs state, an explicit operator override, or the current
+image account. The driver never assumes `10001:10001`; it preserves that legacy
+identity only when persisted state reports it. The gateway-owned VM driver
+socket uses a private `run/` directory plus Unix peer UID/PID checks. Standalone unauthenticated TCP
+mode is disabled unless explicitly enabled for local development.
 
 Runtime-specific implementation notes belong in the driver crate README:
 
 
@@ -37,6 +37,20 @@ immediately without a grace period. Finalization is persisted separately from
 the exit result; the gateway deletes an ephemeral sandbox only after the
 finalized supervisor session disconnects.
 
+## Configuration Boundary
+
+The gateway accepts exactly schema version 2. Missing, legacy, and future
+versions fail before runtime construction, and driver settings belong only to
+`[openshell.drivers.<name>]`. The process does not migrate legacy files.
+Package lifecycle code may replace an exact package-generated v1 default, but
+it preserves edited configurations for explicit operator migration.
+
+Gateway listener TLS and sandbox callback TLS are separate inputs. A selected
+local Docker, Podman, or VM driver requires a complete guest bundle whenever
+the gateway listener uses TLS; package-managed local TLS can supply that bundle.
+Kubernetes instead projects guest credentials through its configured Secret.
+The gateway validates this requirement before constructing the selected driver.
+
 ## Protocol and Auth
 
 The gateway listens on one service port and multiplexes gRPC and HTTP traffic.
@@ -255,10 +269,10 @@ controllers and `agents.x-k8s.io/v1alpha1` ownerReferences from existing
 deployments. Supervisors renew gateway JWTs in memory before expiry only while
 the sandbox record still exists. Older tokens are not server-revoked; shared
 deployments bound replay exposure with short `gateway_jwt.ttl_secs` lifetimes.
-The config default is
-`gateway_jwt.ttl_secs = 0` for local single-player Docker, Podman, and VM
-gateways; those tokens carry `exp = 0` and do not expire. Kubernetes and other
-shared deployments should set a positive TTL.
+Omitting `gateway_jwt.ttl_secs` selects non-expiring tokens for local
+single-player Docker, Podman, and VM gateways; those tokens carry `exp = 0`.
+Kubernetes and other shared deployments should set a positive TTL. Explicit
+zero is rejected.
 
 Gateway JWT signing-key rotation is currently an offline operator action. The
 runtime loads one active signing key and one matching public verification key
@@ -758,9 +772,10 @@ Gateway CLI flag  >  gateway OPENSHELL_* env var  >  TOML file  >  built-in defa
 ```
 
 The TOML file is opt-in via `--config <PATH>` / `OPENSHELL_GATEWAY_CONFIG`.
-Driver implementation settings live in the TOML driver tables. See
-`docs/reference/gateway-config.mdx` for worked per-driver examples and RFC
-0003 for the full schema.
+Driver implementation settings live exclusively in TOML driver tables. The
+selector is the singular `[openshell.gateway] compute_driver`; legacy
+`compute_drivers` lists are rejected. See `docs/reference/gateway-config.mdx`
+for worked per-driver examples and RFC 0003 for the full schema.
 
 Each installation has an operator-assigned gateway name. Configure it with
 `[openshell.gateway].name`, `--name`, or `OPENSHELL_GATEWAY_NAME`.
@@ -774,26 +789,20 @@ aliases, network names, and the sandbox JWT issuer.
 `database_url` is env-only and rejected when present in the file
 (`OPENSHELL_DB_URL` / `--db-url`).
 
-### Driver inheritance
-
-`[openshell.gateway]` carries a small set of values (`sandbox_namespace`,
-`default_image`,
-`supervisor_image`, `guest_tls_ca/cert/key`, `client_tls_secret_name`,
-`host_gateway_ip`, `enable_user_namespaces`) that are inherited into each
-driver's `[openshell.drivers.<name>]` table when the driver-specific table
-does not override them. The allowlist is per-driver so a gateway-wide
-default cannot land in a driver that does not understand it (e.g.
-`client_tls_secret_name` is K8s-only).
+### Driver ownership
 
-`image_pull_policy` is intentionally **not** inheritable: Kubernetes uses
-`Always | IfNotPresent | Never` (passed verbatim to the K8s API) while
-Podman uses the lowercase enum `always | missing | never | newer`. No
-value means the same thing in both, so the key lives only under each
-driver's own table.
+`[openshell.gateway]` contains gateway process settings only. Each selected
+driver reads its own configuration exclusively from
+`[openshell.drivers.<name>]`; values are never inherited from gateway scope.
+Kubernetes owns `namespace`, `default_image`, `supervisor_image`,
+`client_tls_secret_name`, `service_account_name`, `host_gateway_ip`,
+`enable_user_namespaces`, and `sa_token_ttl_secs`. Docker uses
+`sandbox_label` instead of the legacy `sandbox_namespace` name. Podman and VM
+likewise own their image, endpoint, and runtime settings in their tables.
 
-Driver-specific values that are not part of the inheritance allowlist
-(e.g. Podman `socket_path`, VM `vcpus`) only come from the driver's own
-table.
+`image_pull_policy` uses the shared canonical vocabulary
+`always | if_not_present | never | newer`. Drivers translate it to their runtime
+APIs; `newer` is supported only by Podman and rejected by Docker and Kubernetes.
 
 ### OTLP export
 
@@ -867,7 +876,10 @@ system entry instead of pretending to delete package-manager owned state.
 - Gateway TLS and client certificate distribution are deployment concerns owned
   by the operator or packaging layer.
 - Compute runtimes own the mechanics of starting workloads and injecting
-  callback configuration.
+  callback configuration. Local Docker, Podman, and VM callback endpoints can
+  be derived from their fixed host aliases. Kubernetes requires an explicit
+  endpoint from deployment topology; Helm renders it from the gateway Service
+  name and namespace rather than inferring it from sandbox placement.
 - Docker-backed local gateways use Docker's `host-gateway` callback alias on
   macOS and Docker Desktop-style runtimes. They request IPv4 loopback callback
   reachability and add a listener only when the primary does not cover it.