feat(audit): persistent audit log of agent-initiated privileged actions

Adds a durable, operator-visible audit trail of privileged operations
hive-c0re performs on behalf of an agent — the ones that cross the
agent/operator trust boundary. First entry: infra-container restarts via
the infra_admin-gated `restart` tool, which until now were recorded only
as a hive-priv journal trace.

Backend:
- new `audit_log` module: sqlite-backed store (audit_log.sqlite, same dir
  as build_logs) with schema (ts/agent/action/target/outcome/detail),
  best-effort `record`, `list_recent` (clamped 500), 90-day `vacuum`, and
  a process-singleton handle mirroring build_logs.
- Coordinator opens + installs the handle; main spawns the hourly vacuum.
- agent_server::handle_restart_infra records every attempt (ok, error, and
  capability-denied) via the global handle — best-effort, never fails the
  underlying action.
- dashboard: `GET /api/audit-log` returns recent entries as JSON.

Scope is deliberately agent-initiated privileged actions only (not every
PrivRequest — token writes + nspawn edits are constant lifecycle noise).
Extensible: future agent-initiated priv ops record via the same handle.

Unit tests cover record/list ordering, the 500 clamp, and retention vacuum.

The dashboard *surface* (an AUDIT view consuming /api/audit-log) is a
frontend follow-up coordinated with iris.

hive-c0re/src/agent_server.rs

@@ -545,8 +545,20 @@ async fn handle_restart_child(coord: &Arc<Coordinator>, agent: &str, name: &str)
 /// capability and routes the systemctl restart through hive-priv (which
 /// re-validates the name root-side). Direct, not approval-gated.
 async fn handle_restart_infra(agent: &str, container: &str) -> AgentResponse {
+    // Record the attempt in the operator-visible privileged-action audit trail.
+    // Best-effort: no-op when the global handle isn't installed (early
+    // startup / tests). `action` is stable so the dashboard can group.
+    let audit = |outcome: crate::audit_log::AuditOutcome, detail: Option<&str>| {
+        if let Some(log) = crate::audit_log::global() {
+            log.record(agent, "restart_infra", container, outcome, detail);
+        }
+    };
     if !crate::capabilities::has_cap(agent, hive_sh4re::Capability::InfraAdmin) {
         tracing::warn!(%agent, %container, "agent: infra restart denied (no infra_admin capability)");
+        audit(
+            crate::audit_log::AuditOutcome::Err,
+            Some("denied: missing infra_admin capability"),
+        );
         return AgentResponse::Err {
             message: format!(
                 "restarting infra container `{container}` requires the `infra_admin` capability"
@@ -555,10 +567,15 @@ async fn handle_restart_infra(agent: &str, container: &str) -> AgentResponse {
     }
     tracing::info!(%agent, %container, "agent: restart infra container");
     match crate::priv_client::restart_infra_container(container).await {
-        Ok(()) => AgentResponse::Ok,
+        Ok(()) => {
-        Err(e) => AgentResponse::Err {
+            audit(crate::audit_log::AuditOutcome::Ok, None);
-            message: format!("{e:#}"),
+            AgentResponse::Ok
-        },
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            let msg = format!("{e:#}");
+            audit(crate::audit_log::AuditOutcome::Err, Some(&msg));
+            AgentResponse::Err { message: msg }
+        }
     }
 }
 

hive-c0re/src/audit_log.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,288 @@
+//! Sqlite-backed audit trail of agent-initiated privileged actions.
+//!
+//! Surfaces, durably and operator-visibly, the privileged operations
+//! hive-c0re performs *on behalf of an agent* — the ones that cross the
+//! agent/operator trust boundary and so warrant a who/what/when record
+//! beyond hive-priv's low-level journal trace. First entry: infra
+//! container restarts via the `infra_admin`-gated `restart` tool (the
+//! follow-up audit trail for that capability).
+//!
+//! Deliberately scoped to *agent-initiated* privileged actions. The bulk
+//! of `PrivRequest` traffic (token writes, nspawn-flag edits) fires
+//! constantly during normal lifecycle and is hive-c0re's own bookkeeping,
+//! not an agent crossing the boundary — logging all of it would drown the
+//! signal the operator actually wants.
+//!
+//! Same process-singleton handle pattern as `build_logs`: installed once
+//! at `Coordinator::open`, fetched via [`global`] so the recording sites
+//! (e.g. `agent_server::handle_restart_infra`) don't have to thread an
+//! `Arc<AuditLog>` through every call path. Recording is best-effort: a
+//! sqlite blip must never fail the underlying privileged action.
+
+use std::path::Path;
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex, OnceLock};
+use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use rusqlite::{Connection, params};
+use serde::Serialize;
+
+/// Process-singleton handle, set once at coordinator startup. Mirrors
+/// `build_logs::GLOBAL` — lets recording sites write without threading an
+/// `Arc<AuditLog>` through every entry point.
+static GLOBAL: OnceLock<Arc<AuditLog>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+/// Install the process-wide `AuditLog` handle. Idempotent: a second call
+/// silently keeps the first handle.
+pub fn install(handle: Arc<AuditLog>) {
+    let _ = GLOBAL.set(handle);
+}
+
+/// Fetch the process-wide handle, or `None` if `install` hasn't run yet
+/// (early startup, or unit tests). Callers must gracefully no-op on `None`.
+#[must_use]
+pub fn global() -> Option<Arc<AuditLog>> {
+    GLOBAL.get().cloned()
+}
+
+/// Retain audit rows for 90 days. Longer than build-log retention — this
+/// is a security/accountability record, not debug noise; the operator may
+/// want to review "who restarted what" well after the fact.
+const KEEP_SECS: i64 = 90 * 24 * 3600;
+
+const SCHEMA: &str = "
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS audit_log (
+    id        INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
+    ts_unix   INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    agent     TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    action    TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    target    TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    outcome   TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    detail    TEXT
+);
+CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_audit_log_ts ON audit_log (ts_unix DESC);
+";
+
+/// Outcome of a recorded privileged action. Stored as the literal string
+/// in the `outcome` column.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "snake_case")]
+pub enum AuditOutcome {
+    /// The privileged action succeeded.
+    Ok,
+    /// The privileged action was attempted but failed (e.g. the
+    /// underlying systemctl call errored). Denied-by-capability attempts
+    /// are recorded too — see the recording site.
+    Err,
+}
+
+impl AuditOutcome {
+    fn as_str(self) -> &'static str {
+        match self {
+            Self::Ok => "ok",
+            Self::Err => "err",
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// One audit row as returned to the dashboard.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct AuditEntry {
+    pub id: i64,
+    pub ts_unix: i64,
+    /// Agent on whose behalf the action was taken.
+    pub agent: String,
+    /// What was done (e.g. `restart_infra`).
+    pub action: String,
+    /// What it acted on (e.g. `hive-ci`).
+    pub target: String,
+    /// `"ok"` | `"err"`.
+    pub outcome: String,
+    /// Optional free-text detail (e.g. the error message on failure).
+    pub detail: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// Sqlite-backed audit-log store. `Arc<AuditLog>`-friendly: all methods
+/// take `&self`, an internal `Mutex<Connection>` serializes access.
+pub struct AuditLog {
+    conn: Mutex<Connection>,
+}
+
+impl AuditLog {
+    pub fn open(db_dir: &Path) -> Result<Self> {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(db_dir)
+            .with_context(|| format!("create audit_log db parent {}", db_dir.display()))?;
+        let path = db_dir.join("audit_log.sqlite");
+        let conn = Connection::open(&path)
+            .with_context(|| format!("open audit_log db {}", path.display()))?;
+        conn.execute_batch(SCHEMA)
+            .context("apply audit_log schema")?;
+        Ok(Self {
+            conn: Mutex::new(conn),
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// Record one privileged action. Best-effort: a sqlite error is logged
+    /// but never returned, so a transient blip never fails the underlying
+    /// privileged action (the action already happened — losing its audit
+    /// row is strictly less bad than failing the action retroactively).
+    pub fn record(
+        &self,
+        agent: &str,
+        action: &str,
+        target: &str,
+        outcome: AuditOutcome,
+        detail: Option<&str>,
+    ) {
+        let now = now_secs();
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        if let Err(e) = conn.execute(
+            "INSERT INTO audit_log (ts_unix, agent, action, target, outcome, detail)
+             VALUES (?1, ?2, ?3, ?4, ?5, ?6)",
+            params![now, agent, action, target, outcome.as_str(), detail],
+        ) {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                %agent, %action, %target,
+                error = ?e,
+                "audit_log: record failed (dropping entry)"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Return the most recent `limit` rows, newest first. Limit is
+    /// hard-clamped to 500 to bound the worst-case payload.
+    pub fn list_recent(&self, limit: usize) -> Result<Vec<AuditEntry>> {
+        let limit = limit.min(500);
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut stmt = conn.prepare(
+            "SELECT id, ts_unix, agent, action, target, outcome, detail
+             FROM audit_log
+             ORDER BY ts_unix DESC, id DESC
+             LIMIT ?1",
+        )?;
+        let rows = stmt.query_map(params![i64::try_from(limit).unwrap_or(500)], row_to_entry)?;
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        for r in rows {
+            out.push(r?);
+        }
+        Ok(out)
+    }
+
+    /// Drop rows older than the retention window. Returns the number of
+    /// rows deleted. Called from the hourly vacuum loop.
+    pub fn vacuum(&self) -> Result<u64> {
+        let cutoff = now_secs() - KEEP_SECS;
+        let conn = self.conn.lock().unwrap();
+        let removed = conn.execute("DELETE FROM audit_log WHERE ts_unix < ?1", params![cutoff])?;
+        Ok(u64::try_from(removed).unwrap_or(0))
+    }
+}
+
+/// Spawn the hourly retention sweep. Mirrors `build_logs::spawn_vacuum`
+/// in cadence + shutdown handling.
+pub fn spawn_vacuum(coord: &Arc<crate::coordinator::Coordinator>) {
+    use std::time::Duration;
+    let audit = coord.audit_log.clone();
+    let mut shutdown = coord.shutdown_rx();
+    let interval = Duration::from_hours(1);
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        loop {
+            match audit.vacuum() {
+                Ok(0) => {}
+                Ok(n) => tracing::info!(removed = n, "audit_log vacuum"),
+                Err(e) => tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "audit_log vacuum failed"),
+            }
+            tokio::select! {
+                () = tokio::time::sleep(interval) => {}
+                _ = shutdown.changed() => {
+                    tracing::info!("audit_log vacuum: shutdown signal received");
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+fn row_to_entry(r: &rusqlite::Row) -> rusqlite::Result<AuditEntry> {
+    Ok(AuditEntry {
+        id: r.get(0)?,
+        ts_unix: r.get(1)?,
+        agent: r.get(2)?,
+        action: r.get(3)?,
+        target: r.get(4)?,
+        outcome: r.get(5)?,
+        detail: r.get(6)?,
+    })
+}
+
+fn now_secs() -> i64 {
+    SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|d| i64::try_from(d.as_secs()).ok())
+        .unwrap_or(0)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn tmpdb() -> (tempfile::TempDir, AuditLog) {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().expect("tempdir");
+        let db = AuditLog::open(dir.path()).expect("open");
+        (dir, db)
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn record_and_list_newest_first() {
+        let (_d, db) = tmpdb();
+        db.record("atlas", "restart_infra", "hive-ci", AuditOutcome::Ok, None);
+        db.record(
+            "atlas",
+            "restart_infra",
+            "hive-gateway",
+            AuditOutcome::Err,
+            Some("systemctl failed"),
+        );
+        let rows = db.list_recent(10).expect("list");
+        assert_eq!(rows.len(), 2);
+        // Newest first: the gateway/err row was inserted last.
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].target, "hive-gateway");
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].outcome, "err");
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].detail.as_deref(), Some("systemctl failed"));
+        assert_eq!(rows[1].target, "hive-ci");
+        assert_eq!(rows[1].outcome, "ok");
+        assert!(rows[1].detail.is_none());
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].agent, "atlas");
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].action, "restart_infra");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn list_clamps_to_500() {
+        let (_d, db) = tmpdb();
+        db.record("a", "x", "t", AuditOutcome::Ok, None);
+        let rows = db.list_recent(999_999).expect("list");
+        assert!(rows.len() <= 500);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn vacuum_drops_only_old_rows() {
+        let (_d, db) = tmpdb();
+        db.record("a", "restart_infra", "hive-ci", AuditOutcome::Ok, None);
+        // Backdate it past the retention window.
+        {
+            let conn = db.conn.lock().unwrap();
+            conn.execute(
+                "UPDATE audit_log SET ts_unix = ?1",
+                params![now_secs() - KEEP_SECS - 60],
+            )
+            .unwrap();
+        }
+        db.record("a", "restart_infra", "hive-forge", AuditOutcome::Ok, None);
+        let removed = db.vacuum().expect("vacuum");
+        assert_eq!(removed, 1, "only the backdated row should be reaped");
+        let rows = db.list_recent(10).expect("list");
+        assert_eq!(rows.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(rows[0].target, "hive-forge");
+    }
+}

hive-c0re/src/coordinator.rs

@@ -47,6 +47,9 @@ pub struct Coordinator {
     /// `get_full` for the per-card chip + side-panel viewer. See
     /// `build_logs.rs` for retention.
     pub build_logs: Arc<crate::build_logs::BuildLogs>,
+    /// Audit trail of agent-initiated privileged actions (infra restart,
+    /// …). See `audit_log.rs`. Same dir as `build_logs`.
+    pub audit_log: Arc<crate::audit_log::AuditLog>,
     /// URL of the hyperhive flake (no fragment). Inlined into per-agent
     /// `flake.nix` files as `inputs.hyperhive.url`.
     pub hyperhive_flake: String,
@@ -418,6 +421,13 @@ impl Coordinator {
         // to thread an `Arc<BuildLogs>` through every public entry
         // point in the lifecycle surface.
         crate::build_logs::install(build_logs.clone());
+        // Audit log shares the same db dir; install its process-wide
+        // handle so privileged-action recording sites (e.g.
+        // `agent_server::handle_restart_infra`) write without threading an
+        // `Arc<AuditLog>` through the agent-request surface.
+        let audit_log =
+            Arc::new(crate::audit_log::AuditLog::open(build_logs_dir).context("open audit_log")?);
+        crate::audit_log::install(audit_log.clone());
         let (dashboard_events, _) = broadcast::channel(DASHBOARD_CHANNEL);
         let (shutdown_tx, _) = watch::channel(false);
         Ok(Self {
@@ -426,6 +436,7 @@ impl Coordinator {
             questions: Arc::new(questions),
             scheduled_prompts: Arc::new(scheduled_prompts),
             build_logs,
+            audit_log,
             hyperhive_flake,
             nixpkgs_flake,
             nixpkgs_unstable_flake,

hive-c0re/src/dashboard.rs

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ pub async fn serve(port: u16, coord: Arc<Coordinator>) -> Result<()> {
         .route("/api/operator-inbox", get(api_operator_inbox))
         .route("/api/stats-hive", get(api_stats_hive))
         .route("/api/container-resources", get(api_container_resources))
+        .route("/api/audit-log", get(api_audit_log))
         .route("/api/build-logs", get(build_logs::get_build_logs_all))
         .route(
             "/api/build-logs/{agent}",
@@ -1312,6 +1313,16 @@ async fn api_container_resources() -> Response {
     axum::Json(crate::container_stats::gather().await).into_response()
 }
 
+/// `GET /api/audit-log` — most-recent agent-initiated privileged-action
+/// audit entries, newest first (server-clamped to 500). Backs the
+/// operator dashboard's audit view. Returns `Vec<AuditEntry>` JSON.
+async fn api_audit_log(State(state): State<AppState>) -> Response {
+    match state.coord.audit_log.list_recent(500) {
+        Ok(rows) => axum::Json(rows).into_response(),
+        Err(e) => error_response(&format!("audit-log: {e:#}")),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Validate that a path-param agent name conforms to the hyperhive
 /// naming whitelist: 1-63 chars of `[a-z0-9_-]`. Rejects empty,
 /// uppercase, slashes, dots, and any non-ASCII (incl. unicode

hive-c0re/src/lib.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ pub mod agent_ports;
 pub mod agent_server;
 pub mod agent_sockets;
 pub mod approvals;
+pub mod audit_log;
 pub mod auto_update;
 pub mod bash_tasks_vacuum;
 pub mod broker;

hive-c0re/src/main.rs

@@ -397,6 +397,9 @@ async fn cmd_serve(
     // build_logs.sqlite vacuum: c0re-side (single db). Failures kept
     // 30d, successes 24h — see `build_logs::vacuum` for the rule.
     hive_c0re::build_logs::spawn_vacuum(&coord);
+    // audit_log.sqlite vacuum: agent-initiated privileged-action trail,
+    // 90d retention — see `audit_log::vacuum`.
+    hive_c0re::audit_log::spawn_vacuum(&coord);
     // Container crash watcher: emits HelperEvent::ContainerCrash
     // when a previously-running container goes away without an
     // operator-initiated transient state.