feat(hooks): enforce the guard from a PreToolUse hook #9

Merged
claude merged 2 commits from feat/pretooluse-guard-hook into main 2026-09-22 19:39:25 -04:00
5 changed files with 432 additions and 0 deletions
+93
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
# PreToolUse guard hook
Makes the rewind guard enforceable instead of advisory.
The MCP server cannot see another server's tool calls, so `zerto_check_tool` and
`zerto_guard_before_mutate` only work if the model chooses to call them. A model
that skips the step is not stopped by anything. A `PreToolUse` hook runs in the
host, where the tool call genuinely pauses, so a failed checkpoint stops the
change.
## Decisions
| situation | decision | effect |
|---|---|---|
| tool in `read_only_tools` | none | runs, no checkpoint |
| mutating, checkpoint confirmed | none, plus `additionalContext` | runs, and the model is told which checkpoint to recover from |
| mutating, checkpoint failed | `deny` | **the call never happens** |
| mutating, VM unknown to Zerto | `prompt` | human decides; nothing to rewind to |
| mutating, no VM in the arguments | `prompt` | catalog's `vm_arg` did not match |
| unlisted tool | `prompt` | nobody said it was read-only |
`ZERTO_HOOK_UNKNOWN` switches the unlisted case to `allow` or `deny`.
## Install
```bash
cp hooks/settings.example.json /tmp/x # then merge the hooks block into
# .claude/settings.json
export ZERTO_REWIND_CONFIG=/abs/path/config.json
```
Both paths in the command must be absolute, and the interpreter must be the
venv that has this package installed.
## Timeouts, which matter here
The hook is synchronous: the host waits. That is the point, because the
checkpoint has to exist before the change does.
Budget for the slow path, not the fast one. A successful tag took about 4s
against a healthy vSphere-protected VPG, but a **refusal took 63s**, because
`wait_for_tag` spends 45s before giving up.
So:
- `timeout` in settings.json: 180 (seconds)
- `ZERTO_HOOK_GUARD_TIMEOUT`: 150 (seconds), kept under it
If the host's timeout fires first it cancels the hook and **discards its
output**, and the tool call carries on through the normal permission flow. A
timeout is therefore a silent failure of the guard, which is why the hook's own
budget is the smaller of the two: it would rather deny than be cancelled.
## Verified behaviour
Against a live ZVM 10.9.10, all six rows of the table above. Two worth naming:
- `jp-ubuntu` (healthy, local VPG) tagged checkpoint 7180 and allowed the call,
passing the tag back through `additionalContext`.
- `win2019-1` (VPG `CMH-AWS-1`, protected site AWS) was **denied**. The deny path
works, but see the known issue below: that particular denial was wrong.
Both decisions held with `permission_mode: bypassPermissions`. A hook still
blocks when the user has turned permissions off, which is when an agent is most
likely to be running unattended.
## Log
`~/.zerto-guard-hook.log`, or `ZERTO_HOOK_LOG`. One line per decision.
## Known issue: false denials on cloud-protected VPGs
The `win2019-1` denial above was a **false negative**, and it is worth
understanding before relying on this hook in an estate with cloud-protected
workloads.
`wait_for_tag` gives up after a hardcoded 45s. That is generous for a
vSphere-protected VPG, which checkpoints every 5s and surfaces a tag in about
4s. It is far too short elsewhere: a tag takes ~34s to appear on an
Azure-protected VPG and ~128s on an AWS-protected one, because journal cadence
is set by the protected site (5s vSphere, 60s Azure, 630s AWS).
So the hook denied the change, and the checkpoint landed anyway. It is in the
journal as `cp 56`, timestamped a minute after the hook reported failure. The
guard told the agent there was no rewind point while Zerto was in the middle of
creating one.
That failure mode is worse than the one the hook guards against, because it is
silent and looks correct: legitimate work is refused on every cloud-protected VM
while the log reads like the guard is doing its job.
Until `wait_for_tag` becomes cadence-aware, scope this hook's matcher to
vSphere-protected workloads.
+17
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
{
"_comment": "Copy the hooks block into .claude/settings.json (project) or ~/.claude/settings.json (all projects). Use absolute paths.",
"hooks": {
"PreToolUse": [
{
"matcher": "mcp__.*",
"hooks": [
{
"type": "command",
"command": "/home/you/zerto-ai-rewind/.venv/bin/python /home/you/zerto-ai-rewind/hooks/zerto_guard_hook.py",
"timeout": 180
}
]
}
]
}
}
+247
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,247 @@
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Claude Code PreToolUse hook: capture before execute, enforced by the host.
The MCP server cannot see another server's tool calls, so the guard it exposes
is advice the model may skip. This hook sits in the host, where the call really
does pause, so a failed checkpoint stops the change instead of merely
suggesting it should.
Decisions:
read-only tool allow, no checkpoint
mutating, guard ok allow, and tell the model which checkpoint to use
mutating, guard failed DENY. No checkpoint means no rewind, so no change.
mutating, VM unprotected prompt. Zerto cannot rewind it; a human decides.
unknown tool prompt. Nobody said it was read-only.
Exit 0 always, with the decision in stdout JSON. Exit 2 would block
unconditionally and ignore the JSON, which loses the reason text.
Install (project .claude/settings.json). Give it room: the guard inserts a
tagged checkpoint and waits for the Zerto task to reach Completed.
{"hooks": {"PreToolUse": [{
"matcher": "mcp__.*",
"hooks": [{"type": "command",
"command": "/path/to/.venv/bin/python /path/to/hooks/zerto_guard_hook.py",
"timeout": 180}]}]}}
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import asyncio
import json
import os
import re
import sys
import time
LOG = os.environ.get("ZERTO_HOOK_LOG", os.path.expanduser("~/.zerto-guard-hook.log"))
# Seconds the hook will wait for the checkpoint. Must stay under the hook
# timeout configured in settings.json, or the host cancels us and the tool
# call proceeds unguarded through the normal permission flow.
GUARD_TIMEOUT_S = float(os.environ.get("ZERTO_HOOK_GUARD_TIMEOUT", "150"))
UNKNOWN_DECISION = os.environ.get("ZERTO_HOOK_UNKNOWN", "prompt") # prompt | allow | deny
def log(msg: str) -> None:
try:
with open(LOG, "a") as fh:
fh.write(f"{time.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S')} {msg}\n")
except Exception:
pass
def emit(decision: str | None, reason: str = "", context: str = "") -> None:
"""Write the PreToolUse decision and leave. Never raises."""
if decision is None and not context:
sys.exit(0) # no opinion; normal permission flow applies
out: dict = {"hookEventName": "PreToolUse"}
if decision:
out["permissionDecision"] = decision
out["permissionDecisionReason"] = reason
if context:
out["additionalContext"] = context
print(json.dumps({"hookSpecificOutput": out}))
sys.exit(0)
def split_mcp_name(tool_name: str) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
"""mcp__<server>__<tool> -> (server, tool). Server names may contain _."""
m = re.match(r"^mcp__(.+?)__(.+)$", tool_name or "")
return (m.group(1), m.group(2)) if m else None
def resolve_vm(tool_input: dict, vm_arg: str) -> str:
"""Pull the VM identifier out of the pending call's arguments."""
if vm_arg and tool_input.get(vm_arg):
return str(tool_input[vm_arg])
# vm_arg is the catalog's answer, but fall back to the usual suspects so a
# slightly-wrong catalog entry degrades to a prompt rather than a crash.
for key in (
"host",
"hostname",
"computer_name",
"computerName",
"vm",
"vm_name",
"target",
"limit",
"address",
"server",
):
if tool_input.get(key):
return str(tool_input[key])
return ""
async def run_guard(query: str, change_id: str, action: str) -> dict:
from zerto_rewind_mcp.checkpoints import make_tag, tag_vpgs
from zerto_rewind_mcp.client import ZertoClient, ZertoError
from zerto_rewind_mcp.config import load_config
from zerto_rewind_mcp.protection import find_from_rows
settings = load_config()
client = ZertoClient(
base_url=str(settings["zerto_url"]),
username=str(settings["username"]),
password=str(settings.get("password") or ""),
client_id=str(settings.get("client_id") or "zerto-client"),
verify_tls=bool(settings.get("verify_tls")),
)
try:
# Two different failures hide here. "Zerto has never heard of this VM"
# is not the same as "Zerto refused to tag it", and they get different
# answers, so a lookup miss must not surface as a refusal. Looking up a
# plain hostname by vmIdentifier returns HTTP 400, which is a miss.
rows = []
for kwargs in ({"vm_name": query}, {"vm_identifier": query}):
try:
rows = await client.get_vms(**kwargs)
except ZertoError:
rows = []
if rows:
break
if not rows:
return {
"ok": False,
"protected": False,
"message": f"Zerto has no VM matching {query!r}.",
}
result = find_from_rows(query, rows)
if result.outcome != "ok" or not result.taggable_vpgs:
return {"ok": False, "protected": False, "message": result.message}
tag = make_tag(
"claude-code",
change_id,
action=action,
vm_name=result.vm.vm_name if result.vm else None,
)
out = await tag_vpgs(client, result, tag)
out["protected"] = True
return out
except ZertoError as exc:
# Reached Zerto and it refused, or never reached it at all. Either way
# there is no checkpoint, so this is not a pass.
return {"ok": False, "protected": True, "message": str(exc)}
finally:
try:
await client.aclose()
except Exception:
pass
def main() -> None:
try:
payload = json.loads(sys.stdin.read() or "{}")
except Exception as exc:
log(f"unparseable stdin: {exc}")
emit(None)
tool_name = payload.get("tool_name") or ""
tool_input = payload.get("tool_input") or {}
parts = split_mcp_name(tool_name)
if not parts:
emit(None) # not an MCP tool; this hook has nothing to say
server, tool = parts
try:
from zerto_rewind_mcp.catalog import MUTATING, READ_ONLY
from zerto_rewind_mcp.config import load_catalog, load_config
catalog = load_catalog(load_config())
verdict = catalog.classify(server, tool)
entry = catalog.get(server, tool)
except Exception as exc:
log(f"catalog unavailable ({exc}); staying out of the way")
emit(None)
if verdict == READ_ONLY:
log(f"{tool_name}: read-only, allowed")
emit(None)
if verdict != MUTATING:
log(f"{tool_name}: unknown -> {UNKNOWN_DECISION}")
emit(
UNKNOWN_DECISION,
f"{server}/{tool} is not a known read-only tool and is not in the "
"Zerto mutating catalog, so no checkpoint was taken. If it changes a "
"protected VM, that change cannot be rewound. Allow it?",
)
vm = resolve_vm(tool_input, entry.vm_arg if entry else "")
if not vm:
log(f"{tool_name}: mutating but no VM in args {sorted(tool_input)}")
emit(
"prompt",
f"{server}/{tool} is a guest-mutating tool, but no VM could be read "
f"from its arguments (expected {entry.vm_arg if entry else '?'}). "
"No checkpoint was taken. Allow it?",
)
change_id = f"{payload.get('session_id', 'session')[:8]}-{payload.get('tool_use_id', '')[-8:]}"
action = f"{server}/{tool} on {vm}"
try:
guard = asyncio.run(asyncio.wait_for(run_guard(vm, change_id, action), GUARD_TIMEOUT_S))
except TimeoutError:
log(f"{tool_name}: guard timed out after {GUARD_TIMEOUT_S}s -> deny")
emit(
"deny",
f"Zerto did not confirm a tagged checkpoint for {vm} within "
f"{GUARD_TIMEOUT_S:.0f}s, so the change cannot be rewound. Refusing.",
)
except Exception as exc:
log(f"{tool_name}: guard raised {type(exc).__name__}: {exc} -> deny")
emit("deny", f"The Zerto guard failed for {vm}: {exc}. No checkpoint, so refusing.")
if guard.get("ok"):
tagged = (guard.get("tagged") or [{}])[0]
log(f"{tool_name}: tagged cp {tagged.get('checkpoint_id')} on {vm}, allowed")
emit(
None,
context=(
f"Zerto tagged checkpoint {tagged.get('checkpoint_id')} on VPG "
f"{tagged.get('vpg_name')} for {vm} before this call, tag "
f"{guard.get('tag')!r}. If this change breaks the guest, recover from "
"that checkpoint with zerto_recover_file."
),
)
if not guard.get("protected", True):
log(f"{tool_name}: {vm} not protected -> prompt")
emit(
"prompt",
f"{vm} is not protected by Zerto, so this change cannot be rewound. "
f"({guard.get('message', '')}) Allow it anyway?",
)
log(f"{tool_name}: guard failed on {vm} -> deny :: {guard.get('message')}")
emit(
"deny",
f"Zerto could not tag a checkpoint for {vm}, so this change would not be "
f"recoverable: {guard.get('message')}",
)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
+5
View File
@@ -41,3 +41,8 @@ ignore = ["ASYNC240"]
asyncio_mode = "auto"
testpaths = ["tests"]
pythonpath = ["src"]
[tool.ruff.lint.per-file-ignores]
# A PreToolUse hook runs inside the host's tool call. If it raises, it breaks
# the call it was meant to protect, so it swallows everything and logs instead.
"hooks/*.py" = ["BLE001", "S110"]
+70
View File
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
"""The PreToolUse hook's pure helpers. The decision paths are exercised live."""
import importlib.util
from pathlib import Path
import pytest
spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
"zerto_guard_hook", Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "hooks" / "zerto_guard_hook.py"
)
hook = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
spec.loader.exec_module(hook)
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
("tool_name", "expected"),
[
("mcp__ssh__exec", ("ssh", "exec")),
("mcp__winrm__run_ps", ("winrm", "run_ps")),
# server names may themselves contain underscores; split on the FIRST __
("mcp__plugin_my_thing__write_file", ("plugin_my_thing", "write_file")),
("mcp__ob1__OB1__search_thoughts", ("ob1", "OB1__search_thoughts")),
("Bash", None),
("", None),
],
)
def test_split_mcp_name(tool_name, expected):
assert hook.split_mcp_name(tool_name) == expected
def test_resolve_vm_prefers_the_catalog_arg():
assert hook.resolve_vm({"host": "a", "computer_name": "b"}, "computer_name") == "b"
def test_resolve_vm_falls_back_when_catalog_arg_is_wrong():
# a slightly wrong catalog entry should degrade to a prompt, not a crash
assert hook.resolve_vm({"computer_name": "web01"}, "host") == "web01"
def test_resolve_vm_returns_empty_when_no_vm_present():
assert hook.resolve_vm({"command": "ls"}, "host") == ""
def test_emit_with_no_decision_and_no_context_exits_silently(capsys):
with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
hook.emit(None)
assert exc.value.code == 0
assert capsys.readouterr().out == ""
def test_emit_deny_shape(capsys):
import json
with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
hook.emit("deny", "no checkpoint")
assert exc.value.code == 0 # exit 2 would discard the JSON and lose the reason
out = json.loads(capsys.readouterr().out)["hookSpecificOutput"]
assert out["hookEventName"] == "PreToolUse"
assert out["permissionDecision"] == "deny"
assert out["permissionDecisionReason"] == "no checkpoint"
def test_emit_context_without_decision(capsys):
import json
with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
hook.emit(None, context="checkpoint 7180")
out = json.loads(capsys.readouterr().out)["hookSpecificOutput"]
assert "permissionDecision" not in out
assert out["additionalContext"] == "checkpoint 7180"