feat(deploy): self-host recipe, the enforced isolation flag, and the tunnel's door (P9a)

The books can live on a machine of the owner's own (plan 3.8, 8.2 P9a,
D-51). Three things make that honest instead of nominal:

- `--isolation same_user|enforced` sets `server::Isolation`, carried
  through `Served` and `BooksServer` to `books.start`. Locally the books
  stay `same_user (advisory)`; under the self-host unit the server is told
  `enforced` and reports `service_user (enforced)`. The server never
  guesses, and the literal it used to report is gone.
- `--http [ADDR]` binds the same MCP router on loopback (default
  127.0.0.1:7411) beside the Unix sockets, before the ready line, for the
  TLS proxy or tunnel in front of the server. It is the same bearer door
  and the same graceful close; a failed bind is reported and is not fatal
  (3.9). `serve` carries both flags through the host, so the system unit
  can ask for them once.

`deploy/wanderbooks-server.service` is the unit: a dedicated account, a
0700 data root, `ProtectSystem=strict`, no seccomp or Landlock (D-32), and
loopback-only networking. `deploy/README.md` is the recipe: install, setup,
move the books by `books adopt` with its head check (D-31: a copied book
is the transport), mint a bearer token, put Caddy or Tailscale Funnel in
front of the loopback door, and point Claude Code and Codex at it.

The two-account CI job (`.github/workflows/two-user.yml`) makes the
deployment and runs `crates/ledger-cli/tests/two_user.rs` as another
account: `agent_uid_cannot_read_tenant` proves the tenant root and its
journal are refused, then reads, writes, uploads, files, exports and
verifies over HTTP with the bearer (in a second book, so the moved books'
head is not advanced); `self_host_adopt_same_head` compares the moved
books' head and event count with the source clone's.
`isolation_label_is_enforced_under_the_unit` runs everywhere, including
the unit-file read that keeps the recipe from drifting.

Accounting reason for the shape: nothing here changes an entry, a report
or a figure. It changes who can reach them: the move is lossless and
verifiable at the head, and the boundary is the operating system's, not a
promise in our text. No journal code, kernel function, Kani harness or
Lean step is touched, so `just prove` is not required.

No go-ahead needed: no new journal feature or event; the live books are
unaffected.

crates/ledger-mcp/handbook/self-host.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# On a machine of the owner's own
+
+These books may live on a machine the owner controls, not on the computer
+an agent runs on. The server there runs as a separate account, and the
+agent has no account on that machine: `books.start` says
+`isolation: "service_user (enforced)"`. Locally it says
+`same_user (advisory)`, which is honest: hidden, not locked.
+
+What that means for you:
+
+- Reach the books only through these tools. The machine they live on is
+  not yours to inspect, and you have no way to reach it except through
+  the server.
+- The owner moves the books there with a verified copy or a backup, and
+  the move is confirmed at the head the preview read. If `books.verify`
+  or `books.start` reports a head the owner does not expect, say so and
+  stop; do not touch the books until the owner has looked.
+- Each client has its own token. Never ask the owner for one, never print
+  one, and never put one in a note, an entry, a receipt or a file in the
+  books. If a tool says the token was refused, ask the owner to make a
+  new one for that client.
+- Everything else is the same as on the owner's computer: the receipt
+  rule, the preview before a post, the books' own settings and
+  conventions. The machine changes where the books are, not how they are
+  kept.
+
+If the owner asks how the machine is set up, point them at the deployment
+notes that came with the app; do not invent steps for them, and do not
+try to run any yourself.

crates/ledger-mcp/src/handbook.rs

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ pub const SECTIONS: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ),
     ("viewer", include_str!("../handbook/viewer.md")),
     ("backups", include_str!("../handbook/backups.md")),
+    ("self-host", include_str!("../handbook/self-host.md")),
     (
         "format-upgrade",
         include_str!("../handbook/format-upgrade.md"),

crates/ledger-mcp/src/local.rs

@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
 //! ```
 
 use crate::admin::{self, Request, Response};
-use crate::server::{BooksServer, Served, SharedStore};
+use crate::server::{BooksServer, Isolation, Served, SharedStore};
 use ledger_store::Store;
 use ledger_store::access::{Access, AccessLog, Outcome, Principal};
 use ledger_store::auth::{Principals, Scope, Token};
@@ -187,6 +187,9 @@ struct Books {
     drill_first: Duration,
     /// Held through a restore: one at a time.
     restoring: Mutex<()>,
+    /// How these books are kept from agents (plan 3.8, P9a): what
+    /// `books.start` reports (`--isolation`).
+    isolation: Isolation,
 }
 
 impl Books {
@@ -294,7 +297,7 @@ impl Books {
         }
         let waiting = Arc::new(Mutex::new(store.journal_format().upgrade()));
         let database = (store.database_file(), store.other_databases());
-        let served = Served::open(store).map_err(|e| self.hide(e))?;
+        let served = Served::open_with(store, self.isolation).map_err(|e| self.hide(e))?;
         let config = StreamableHttpServerConfig::default()
             .with_json_response(true)
             .with_legacy_session_mode(true)
@@ -1853,9 +1856,13 @@ fn bind(run: &Path, name: &str) -> std::io::Result<tokio::net::UnixListener> {
 }
 
 fn print_usage(prog: &str) {
-    eprintln!("usage: {prog} [--root DIR]");
+    eprintln!("usage: {prog} [--root DIR] [--isolation LEVEL] [--http [ADDR]]");
     eprintln!("  The books server for the data root: started by the host, not by hand.");
     eprintln!("  It runs until its standard input ends, or SIGTERM, SIGINT or SIGHUP.");
+    eprintln!("  --isolation same_user | enforced: what books.start says of how these books");
+    eprintln!("    are kept from agents (enforced on the owner's own machine: P9a).");
+    eprintln!("  --http [ADDR]: also serve the MCP door on 127.0.0.1:7411 (or ADDR), for a");
+    eprintln!("    TLS proxy or a tunnel in front of it. Off unless given.");
 }
 
 /// `wanderbooks server`: serve every book in the data root until told to
@@ -1867,10 +1874,34 @@ pub fn run(
     let mut root: Option<PathBuf> = None;
     let mut backup_quiet = BACKUP_QUIET;
     let mut drill_first = DRILL_FIRST;
-    let mut args = args.into_iter();
+    let mut isolation = Isolation::SameUser;
+    let mut tunnel: Option<std::net::SocketAddr> = None;
+    let mut args = args.into_iter().peekable();
     while let Some(arg) = args.next() {
         match arg.as_str() {
             "--root" => root = Some(PathBuf::from(args.next().ok_or("--root needs a folder")?)),
+            // How the books are kept from agents (plan 3.8, P9a): the
+            // system unit on the owner's own machine passes `enforced`;
+            // the server never guesses.
+            "--isolation" => {
+                let value = args
+                    .next()
+                    .ok_or("--isolation needs same_user or enforced")?;
+                isolation = Isolation::parse(&value)?;
+            }
+            // The tunnel's door (plan 3.9, P9a): the same MCP service on
+            // 127.0.0.1, for a TLS proxy or tunnel in front of it. Off
+            // unless asked for; the bearer token still guards every call.
+            "--http" => {
+                let addr = match args.peek() {
+                    Some(v) if !v.starts_with('-') => args.next().unwrap_or_default(),
+                    _ => "127.0.0.1:7411".to_string(),
+                };
+                tunnel =
+                    Some(addr.parse().map_err(|e| {
+                        format!("--http takes an address like 127.0.0.1:7411: {e}")
+                    })?);
+            }
             // How long the books stay unwritten before a backup (tests).
             "--backup-quiet" => {
                 let ms: u64 = args
@@ -1967,6 +1998,7 @@ pub fn run(
         backup_quiet,
         drill_first,
         restoring: Mutex::new(()),
+        isolation,
     });
     {
         let loaded = books.load_principals();
@@ -1984,7 +2016,7 @@ pub fn run(
         eprintln!("wanderbooks server: told to close while opening: closed");
         Ok(())
     } else {
-        rt.block_on(serve(books.clone(), &run, &stops))
+        rt.block_on(serve(books.clone(), &run, &stops, tunnel))
     };
     // No request is running now (serve waited for each); the stores go
     // before the lock, and the process exit would release both.
@@ -2024,9 +2056,26 @@ async fn serve(
     books: Arc<Books>,
     run: &Path,
     stops: &Stops,
+    tunnel: Option<std::net::SocketAddr>,
 ) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
     let mcp_listener = OwnerOnly(bind(run, MCP_SOCKET)?);
     let mut admin_listener = OwnerOnly(bind(run, ADMIN_SOCKET)?);
+    // The tunnel's door (plan 3.9, P9a): the same service on 127.0.0.1,
+    // for the TLS proxy or tunnel in front of it. Bound before ready, so
+    // what starts beside the server finds it; a bind that fails is said
+    // and is not fatal (3.9: the books' own sockets still serve).
+    let tunnel_listener = match tunnel {
+        Some(addr) => match tokio::net::TcpListener::bind(addr).await {
+            Ok(listener) => Some(listener),
+            Err(e) => {
+                eprintln!(
+                    "wanderbooks server: the tunnel's door at {addr} can't be bound ({e}); serving the local sockets only"
+                );
+                None
+            }
+        },
+        None => None,
+    };
     let stop = stops.close.clone();
     {
         use std::io::Write;
@@ -2083,11 +2132,21 @@ async fn serve(
     // close is done: a client is never cut off mid-request by it.
     let shut = CancellationToken::new();
     let graceful = shut.clone();
+    let tunnel_app = app.clone();
     let mut http = tokio::spawn(async move {
         axum::serve(mcp_listener, app)
             .with_graceful_shutdown(async move { graceful.cancelled().await })
             .await
     });
+    let tunnel_http = tunnel_listener.map(|listener| {
+        let app = tunnel_app;
+        let graceful = shut.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            axum::serve(listener, app)
+                .with_graceful_shutdown(async move { graceful.cancelled().await })
+                .await
+        })
+    });
     let admin_jobs = TaskTracker::new();
     loop {
         tokio::select! {
@@ -2172,6 +2231,14 @@ async fn serve(
         Ok(Err(e)) => eprintln!("wanderbooks server: {e}"),
         Err(_) => http.abort(),
     }
+    if let Some(mut tunnel) = tunnel_http {
+        match tokio::time::timeout(HTTP_GRACE, &mut tunnel).await {
+            Ok(Ok(Ok(()))) => {}
+            Ok(Ok(Err(e))) => eprintln!("wanderbooks server: {e}"),
+            Ok(Err(e)) => eprintln!("wanderbooks server: {e}"),
+            Err(_) => tunnel.abort(),
+        }
+    }
     eprintln!("wanderbooks server: closed");
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -2599,6 +2666,7 @@ mod tests {
             backup_quiet: BACKUP_QUIET,
             drill_first: DRILL_FIRST,
             restoring: Mutex::new(()),
+            isolation: Isolation::SameUser,
         });
         let loaded = books.load_principals();
         *books.principals.write().unwrap() = loaded;

crates/ledger-mcp/src/server.rs

@@ -74,6 +74,46 @@ pub struct BooksServer {
     exports: ledger_store::exports::Exports,
     /// The books' backups (backup.rs).
     backups: Arc<crate::backup::Backups>,
+    /// How these books are kept from agents (plan 3.8, P9a): what
+    /// `books.start` reports.
+    isolation: Isolation,
+}
+
+/// How the books are kept from agents (plan 3.8, 2.1; D-32, D-51).
+///
+/// Locally the server runs as the human and the books are hidden, not
+/// locked: `SameUser`. On a machine of the owner's the server runs as a
+/// dedicated account and agents have no account there: `ServiceUser`.
+/// The server never guesses which; `--isolation enforced` says so
+/// (`serve --isolation enforced` under the system unit, P9a).
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum Isolation {
+    /// Hidden from the agent in the owner's own account, not locked.
+    SameUser,
+    /// A separate account on another machine; the agent has none there.
+    ServiceUser,
+}
+
+impl Isolation {
+    /// What `books.start` says (the strings plan 3.8 names).
+    pub fn label(self) -> &'static str {
+        match self {
+            Self::SameUser => "same_user (advisory)",
+            Self::ServiceUser => "service_user (enforced)",
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// What `--isolation` takes: `same_user`, `advisory`, `service_user`
+    /// or `enforced`.
+    pub fn parse(text: &str) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        match text {
+            "same_user" | "advisory" => Ok(Self::SameUser),
+            "service_user" | "enforced" => Ok(Self::ServiceUser),
+            other => Err(format!(
+                "--isolation takes same_user or enforced, not {other:?}"
+            )),
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 /// One book as the books server serves it (local.rs), shared by every
@@ -88,15 +128,23 @@ pub(crate) struct Served {
     pub(crate) uploads: ledger_store::uploads::Uploads,
     pub(crate) exports: ledger_store::exports::Exports,
     pub(crate) backups: Arc<crate::backup::Backups>,
+    pub(crate) isolation: Isolation,
 }
 
 impl Served {
+    /// [`Self::open_with`] for books served the local way
+    /// ([`Isolation::SameUser`]): how the server's own tests open them.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn open(store: Store) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        Self::open_with(store, Isolation::SameUser)
+    }
+
     /// What serving the books `store` holds needs, opened beside them:
     /// the settings in force (the books' own), the access log, the uploads
     /// and exports, the viewer's side channel, and the backups. The books
     /// server opens every book this way (local.rs), the only way books are
-    /// served (plan D-44).
-    pub(crate) fn open(store: Store) -> Result<Self, String> {
+    /// served (plan D-44), saying how the server runs (plan 3.8, P9a).
+    pub(crate) fn open_with(store: Store, isolation: Isolation) -> Result<Self, String> {
         let mut live = Live::own();
         live.sync(store.ledger().settings(), store.base_currency().code());
         let access = Arc::new(
@@ -130,6 +178,7 @@ impl Served {
             uploads,
             exports,
             backups,
+            isolation,
         })
     }
 }
@@ -498,6 +547,7 @@ impl BooksServer {
             uploads: served.uploads.clone(),
             exports: served.exports.clone(),
             backups: served.backups.clone(),
+            isolation: served.isolation,
         }
     }
 

crates/ledger-mcp/src/tools/kept.rs

@@ -266,9 +266,11 @@ pub struct StartOut {
     pub format_upgrade: Option<FormatUpgradeOut>,
     /// What to do next, in order.
     pub next_steps: Vec<NextStepOut>,
-    /// How the books are kept from agents: "same_user (advisory)", hidden
-    /// from them in the human's own account, not locked against them
-    /// (plan D-32): reach them only through these tools.
+    /// How the books are kept from agents: "same_user (advisory)" locally
+    /// (hidden from them in the human's own account, not locked against
+    /// them: plan D-32), or "service_user (enforced)" when the books run
+    /// on the owner's own machine as a dedicated account (plan 3.8, P9a).
+    /// Either way, reach them only through these tools.
     pub isolation: String,
 }
 
@@ -921,7 +923,7 @@ impl BooksServer {
                 how: "only the owner, with the owner passphrase: in the app (it asks when it opens the books) or `wanderbooks books upgrade ID` at a terminal; a verified backup with the keys is made first. No tool can.".to_string(),
             }),
             next_steps,
-            isolation: "same_user (advisory)".to_string(),
+            isolation: self.isolation.label().to_string(),
         };
         // Fit (INVARIANT 4): whole lists if they fit; else summaries go,
         // then the lists shorten from the end, each saying how many more.

crates/ledger-mcp/src/types.rs

@@ -4719,7 +4719,7 @@ pub struct ReconciliationsOut {
 /// Parameters for `books.handbook`.
 #[derive(Debug, Default, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
 pub struct HandbookParams {
-    /// The section to read: contract, entries, drafts-and-reversals, evidence-and-receipts, attachments, files-in-out, reconciliation, fixed-assets, prepaid-and-recurring, revenue-and-payouts, projects, parties-and-tins, 1099, cpa-handoff, settings-and-conventions, viewer, backups, format-upgrade, rules-that-change, control-roles, tracing-figures, or "all" for the whole handbook in order. Omit for the index.
+    /// The section to read: contract, entries, drafts-and-reversals, evidence-and-receipts, attachments, files-in-out, reconciliation, fixed-assets, prepaid-and-recurring, revenue-and-payouts, projects, parties-and-tins, 1099, cpa-handoff, settings-and-conventions, viewer, backups, self-host, format-upgrade, rules-that-change, control-roles, tracing-figures, or "all" for the whole handbook in order. Omit for the index.
     #[serde(default)]
     pub section: Option<String>,
 }