Overlayfs Runtime Isolation

OverlayFS Runtime Isolation

Mount core infrastructure as read-only (lowerdir) and redirect all agent writes to ephemeral RAM (upperdir = tmpfs). On session close, tmpfs is discarded — disk never touched.

When to Use

• Running untrusted or experimental agent tasks without risking real files
• Implementing the Anti-Graffiti immutable surface policy (rule 49)
• Testing destructive tool calls safely (rm, overwrite, git reset)
• Providing agents a writable scratch space that self-cleans on exit

Do NOT use for

• Persistent storage — tmpfs is lost on unmount/reboot
• Production deployments where agent writes need to survive sessions
• Environments without Linux kernel ≥ 4.0 (OverlayFS requirement)

Bubblewrap (bwrap) Quickstart

# Basic: core read-only, /tmp writable, full namespace isolation
bwrap \
  --ro-bind /workspaces/yana-ai /app \
  --bind   /workspaces/yana-ai/releases/logs /app/releases/logs \
  --tmpfs  /tmp \
  --proc   /proc \
  --dev    /dev \
  --unshare-all \
  --share-net \
  --die-with-parent \
  -- node /app/core/scripts/agent-runner.js

OverlayFS Mount (kernel-level)

# Create layer directories
mkdir -p /tmp/overlay/{upper,work}

# Mount with lowerdir=read-only, upperdir=RAM writes
mount -t overlay overlay \
  -o lowerdir=/workspaces/yana-ai/core,\
     upperdir=/tmp/overlay/upper,\
     workdir=/tmp/overlay/work \
  /mnt/agent-view

# Agent sees /mnt/agent-view — writes go to /tmp/overlay/upper
# Real /workspaces/yana-ai/core is untouched

# Cleanup on session end
umount /mnt/agent-view
rm -rf /tmp/overlay

YAMTAM Integration

# Enable via tool-proxy.sh
export YAMTAM_SANDBOX_MODE=1
export YAMTAM_SANDBOX_ROOTDIR=/workspaces/yana-ai
export YAMTAM_SANDBOX_WRITEDIR=releases/logs

bash core/scripts/tool-proxy.sh node agent-task.js
# → Phase 3.5 wraps command in bwrap automatically

Namespace Isolation Flags

Session Cleanup Verification

# After agent session ends, verify no writes escaped to real disk
diff -r /workspaces/yana-ai/core /mnt/agent-view/
# Expected: empty diff (all changes were in tmpfs, now gone)

Anti-Fake-Pass Checklist

• bwrap --version confirms bubblewrap is installed (≥ 0.4.0)
• Write test: echo test > /app/core/test.txt inside sandbox → should succeed
• After exit: cat /workspaces/yana-ai/core/test.txt → should NOT exist
• --die-with-parent verified: killing parent kills bwrap child
• Network isolation tested if --share-net removed