spira-trust 0.5.8

Offline verifier for Python wheel evidence before install.

# SPIRA Trust CLI

SPIRA Trust is a local evidence gate for Python wheel artifacts.

It verifies wheel structure and RECORD integrity before installation, builds an evidence-backed local dependency graph and BOM, applies pinned local policy, detects drift from an approved baseline, and exports evidence for enterprise security workflows.

It complements CVE scanners, package firewalls, SBOM tools, and provenance systems by proving what is physically present on disk.

spira-trust is the public pilot CLI. spira-trust trust triages one Python artifact. spira-trust graph extends the same evidence model to a local folder of wheels that you explicitly provide.

The public wheel exposes only spira-trust and spira. Internal SPIRA workspace commands are not part of the public pilot wheel.

It asks a narrow question:

What does this package claim, what does the raw artifact prove, and is there
enough evidence to return TRUST_OK_WITH_NOTES, TRUST_WARN, or TRUST_BLOCK?

For market positioning and capability boundaries, see docs/capability_matrix.md.

Install

From production PyPI:

python -m pip install spira-trust==0.5.8
spira-trust version

Every production release is published to PyPI with Trusted Publishing/OIDC. PyPI displays release provenance for the wheel artifact.

For release closure notes, see docs/030_closure_note.md.

For pilot onboarding, start with docs/pilot_readiness_pack.md.

For CI, see docs/ci_quickstart.md.

For external pilot handoff, see:

• docs/pilot_outreach_email.md
• docs/why_spira_trust.md
• docs/demo_10_minutes.md
• docs/ci_pilot_15_minutes.md
• docs/pilot_feedback_questions.md

From this repository:

python -m pip install .

Run

Human-readable output is the default:

spira-trust trust path/to/package.whl --output-dir spira_trust_out

Machine-readable output:

spira-trust trust path/to/package.whl --output-dir spira_trust_out --format json

The command writes:

• artifact_trust_summary.txt
• artifact_trust_report.json
• detailed local evidence files under the selected output directory

By default, the CLI prints the summary and public report path only. Use --full-evidence when you want the detailed local evidence paths printed in the terminal.

Local Trust Graph

Use graph mode when you have several local wheels and want one evidence graph over their declared relationships:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out

You can pass individual wheels or folders. Folders are scanned for *.whl files only:

spira-trust graph dist/pkg_a.whl dist/pkg_b.whl --output-dir spira_graph_out

Machine-readable output:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out --format json

Evidence-backed CycloneDX export

SPIRA Trust can export a CycloneDX JSON SBOM from its local evidence BOM:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out --sbom cyclonedx-json

The default output path is:

spira_graph_out/spira-trust.cdx.json

This SBOM is generated only from provided local wheel artifacts. It includes artifact SHA-256 hashes, RECORD verification status, local dependency relationships between provided wheels, SPIRA graph status, policy status, and evidence properties. Top-level properties include both the source graph verdict (spira:graph:verdict) and the combined policy verdict (spira:policy:combined_verdict).

Declared dependencies that were not provided as local wheels are recorded as SPIRA properties (spira:declared_missing_requirement), not invented as CycloneDX components.

Embedded SBOM files found under a wheel's .dist-info/sboms/ directory are recorded as evidence properties with path, SHA-256, byte count, and format hint. By default, SPIRA does not trust, parse, merge, validate, or mutate embedded SBOM files. When --verify-embedded-sboms is supplied, SPIRA performs a narrow local consistency check for supported JSON/CycloneDX metadata fields against the local wheel metadata. This is not full SBOM schema validation.

Absolute local paths are omitted by default. Include them only when needed for a local/private workflow:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out --sbom cyclonedx-json --include-local-paths

The export does not add vulnerability intelligence, malware detection, legal license analysis, provenance verification, dependency resolution, network access, wheel mutation, or code execution.

If you want the graph evidence to record the bundle/build SHA that produced the run, pass it explicitly:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out --bundle-sha256 <sha256>

Strict closure mode treats a declared relationship whose wheel was not provided as a warning instead of an informational note:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --strict-closure

License policy screening is optional and explicit. Provide a local JSON policy file when you want SPIRA to screen observed license visibility strings:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --license-policy policy.json

Example policy:

{
  "schema": "SPIRA_LICENSE_POLICY_V1",
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "match_mode": "case_insensitive_substring",
  "blocked_terms": ["AGPL", "General Public License"],
  "warn_terms": ["Custom", "Unknown"]
}

Declared entry-point command screening is also optional and explicit. Provide a local JSON policy file when you want SPIRA to screen command names declared by wheel entry_points.txt:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --entry-point-policy entry_policy.json

Example entry-point policy:

{
  "schema": "SPIRA_ENTRY_POINT_POLICY_V1",
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "match_mode": "exact_command_name",
  "case_insensitive": true,
  "blocked_command_names": ["pip", "python", "pytest"],
  "warn_command_names": ["ls", "ssh"]
}

Target environment screening is optional and explicit. It reads wheel filename tags and compares them with a local target JSON file:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --target-environment target_environment.json

Example target:

{
  "schema": "SPIRA_TARGET_ENVIRONMENT_V1",
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "python_tag": "cp312",
  "abi_tag": "cp312",
  "platform_tag": "manylinux_2_17_x86_64",
  "strict_target": false,
  "block_on_mismatch": false
}

Graph mode writes:

• graph_summary.txt
• graph_report.json
• spira-decision.json and spira-decision.md, the stable decision contract for CI/audit integrations
• bill_of_materials.json with the provided-wheel BOM, declared local relationship depth, license visibility, and subtree integrity digests
• input_manifest.json with each provided wheel's SHA, normalized name, file count, and uncompressed byte count
• graph_evidence_manifest.json with schema version, tool identity, environment capture, and evidence file hashes
• governance package-lock evidence for the graph outputs
• graph_evidence_package_result.json with the governance package paths and post-lock verification result

To archive the decision and evidence files together, pass:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --output-dir spira_graph_out --evidence-pack spira-evidence.zip

Graph mode is deliberately local:

• no dependency resolver
• no PyPI/network access
• no install
• no execution of package code
• only declared relationships from local wheel METADATA

Bill Of Materials

Graph mode writes a local BOM at bill_of_materials.json. The BOM is visibility only: it records what was present in the provided local wheel set, not what could exist on PyPI or in a resolver output.

The BOM includes:

• root, provided-transitive, orphan, and declared-missing artifacts
• depth over the provided-wheel subgraph only
• metadata_license and license_classifiers from wheel METADATA
• detected LICENSE/COPYING/NOTICE-like files with path, SHA-256, and byte count
• subtree_integrity_digest for provided local nodes
• digest_covers_fields, written into the BOM so digest coverage is explicit
• optional license_policy_screening when --license-policy is supplied
• declared entry_points.txt console/gui command names and a separate entry_points_digest
• optional entry_point_policy_screening when --entry-point-policy is supplied
• wheel filename python/abi/platform tags and a separate wheel_tags_digest
• optional target_environment_screening when --target-environment is supplied
• combined_policy_verdict, a transparent aggregator over evaluated layers

The subtree_integrity_digest is tamper-evidence versus a trusted baseline. It is not a safety proof and does not cover declared dependencies whose wheels were not provided. The digest is computed from local content and declared visibility fields, not from the graph verdict or policy mode.

License data in V3-A is visibility, not legal policy. SPIRA records declared metadata and license-file evidence separately; it does not compare them or issue license compliance findings in this BOM.

When a license policy file is supplied, V3-B performs narrow local string screening over observed license visibility values. This is still not legal advice, legal compliance certification, SPDX expression parsing, or semantic license interpretation. A blocked policy match can make the graph verdict GRAPH_BLOCK; a warning match can make it GRAPH_WARN.

When an entry-point policy file is supplied, V3-C performs declared command-name screening. This is DECLARED_ENTRY_POINT_NAME_SCREENING, not runtime PATH hijacking detection. Matching is exact command-token matching under the policy's case-sensitivity rule. SPIRA does not fold executable variants such as .exe, pip3, fuzzy typos, or visual confusables. Entry-point visibility and policy do not change subtree_integrity_digest; entry points have their own entry_points_digest.

When a target environment file is supplied, V3-D performs narrow wheel filename tag relevance screening. This is not full packaging.tags compatibility and not an installability guarantee. Universal wheels such as py3-none-any are not treated as target mismatches. By default, non-exact target relevance creates notes only; strict_target can raise warnings; block_on_mismatch is an explicit user policy choice and is not a safety defect claim. Target tag visibility and policy do not change subtree_integrity_digest; wheel tags have their own wheel_tags_digest.

The combined verdict is an aggregator only. It keeps per_layer detail, records decided_by, and separates evaluated_layers from not_evaluated_layers. A layer that did not run is NOT_EVALUATED, not OK. GRAPH_OK means OK across the evaluated layers only.

Lockfile cross-checking is optional and explicit. Provide a local lockfile when you want SPIRA to compare pinned package facts against the local wheels you provided:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --lockfile requirements.txt

V4-B/V5 supports a narrow local subset: name==version requirements lines, pip-tools style multiline --hash=sha256:<hash> requirements, Pipfile.lock JSON package name/version/hash fields, poetry.lock [[package]] name/version/hash facts, and uv.lock [[package]] name/version/hash facts. Unsupported syntax is reported as a note, not silently accepted and not hard-blocked solely because unsupported. SPIRA does not resolve, fetch, suggest, or install packages from the lockfile. A lockfile hash mismatch against the provided wheel SHA is a blocking factual contradiction.

Unified policy packs are also supported:

spira-trust graph path/to/wheel-folder --policy-pack spira-policy.json --policy-sha256 <sha256>

The policy pack precedence is deterministic: environment overrides, then explicit CLI flags, then policy pack contents, then defaults. If --policy-sha256 is supplied, the pack must be self-contained. Path references inside a pinned pack are rejected before graph scan with POLICY_UNTRUSTED because the pin would otherwise protect only the wrapper file and not the referenced policy content. Each run writes effective_policy.json into the graph evidence package so audits can see which layers ran and where each value came from. A missing pack section is NOT_EVALUATED, not OK.

Baseline Drift Watch

Use drift mode when you already approved a BOM and want to know whether the current local wheel folder changed:

spira-trust drift path/to/wheel-folder --baseline baseline_bill_of_materials.json --baseline-sha256 <sha256>

Drift is a fact, not a verdict. A changed wheel, added wheel, removed wheel, or changed subtree_integrity_digest means the current folder no longer matches the baseline you pinned. It does not mean the change is bad. Policy verdicts remain separate and can still return BLOCK or WARN.

The --baseline-sha256 pin is the trust anchor. If it is supplied and the baseline file does not match, SPIRA refuses before scanning the current folder. If it is omitted, the run is allowed but the report marks the baseline as UNPINNED; NO_DRIFT then only means the wheels match that local baseline file.

Drift mode writes:

• drift_summary.txt
• drift_report.json
• current_graph/... with the current graph/BOM evidence
• optional governance package-lock evidence for the drift report

Re-baselining is intentionally not automatic. A new baseline is a human decision made after reviewing the drift.

Rebaseline

Use rebaseline mode only after reviewing drift and deciding that the current wheel folder should become the new trusted baseline:

spira-trust rebaseline path/to/wheel-folder --from-baseline old_bill_of_materials.json --baseline-sha256 <old_sha256> --output-dir new_baseline_out --yes

Without --yes, SPIRA writes a drift preview and exits with REBASELINE_REQUIRES_CONFIRMATION. With --yes, SPIRA copies the current BOM to a new baseline file and prints the new SHA-256 that must be pinned in CI. The old baseline is never mutated. CI templates must never run rebaseline automatically.

Exit Codes

0  no blocking trust failure was found
1  TRUST_BLOCK
2  TRUST_UNKNOWN

For spira-trust graph:

0  GRAPH_OK or GRAPH_OK_WITH_UNVERIFIED
1  GRAPH_BLOCK
1  GRAPH_INPUT_ERROR; invalid graph input such as an empty wheel folder
2  GRAPH_WARN

For spira-trust drift:

0  NO_DRIFT
1  BLOCK from current policy evaluation
1  DRIFT_INPUT_ERROR; invalid current input such as an empty wheel folder
2  WARN from current policy evaluation
3  DRIFT_DETECTED against the pinned baseline
4  BASELINE_UNTRUSTED; baseline sha256 pin mismatch, no drift computed

For policy-pack authentication:

5  POLICY_UNTRUSTED; policy pack sha mismatch or pinned pack references external paths
6  REBASELINE_REQUIRES_CONFIRMATION; no new baseline written without --yes

For spira-trust rebaseline, invalid current input such as an empty wheel folder is reported as REBASELINE_INPUT_ERROR with exit 1. Input errors are written as clean reports in the output directory; they must not surface raw Python tracebacks.

What The Verdicts Mean

TRUST_OK_WITH_NOTES
  No hard gap was found in the checks SPIRA ran, but there is surfaced prose
  or other context that still needs a human reading.

TRUST_WARN
  One or more structured claims are present but not raw-verifiable, or the
  uncertainty is high enough that manual review is required before trust.

TRUST_BLOCK
  SPIRA found blocking evidence such as RECORD/package-lock integrity failure
  or a condition-matched contradiction.

GRAPH_OK
  All provided graph nodes passed the checks SPIRA ran and no declared local
  relationship introduced a warning or block.

GRAPH_OK_WITH_UNVERIFIED
  No blocking contradiction was found, but at least one declared relationship
  pointed to an artifact that was not provided locally. This is not a clean
  closure claim; the summary reports the number of unverified nodes.

GRAPH_WARN
  The graph has non-terminal risk, such as strict-closure missing artifacts or
  a warning propagated from a child package.

GRAPH_BLOCK
  A provided artifact was blocked, or a blocking child propagated through a
  declared/runtime relationship.

See docs/verdicts.md for the local explanation of verdicts, contradictions, and common fixes.

What It Checks Automatically

For Python wheels, zips, and folders, v1 mechanically checks structured surfaces where the raw format is explicit:

• METADATA package name and version
• Requires-Dist
• Requires-Python
• Development Status classifiers as claimed-but-not-raw-proof
• wheel RECORD hashes against archive contents
• SPIRA package-lock and not_claimed boundaries on the review report

The trust decision is then routed through SPIRA's packaged local decision adapter, whose bundled Python source is SHA-verified before use.

Graph mode uses PEP 503 package-name normalization only: lowercase plus collapsing -, _, and . runs into -. It does not perform Unicode confusable folding or fuzzy matching. Homoglyph and byte-level path mismatches remain the responsibility of the single-artifact review layer.

Multiple local versions of the same package are kept as distinct graph nodes using package name, version, and artifact hash. If a declared relationship matches more than one local wheel, graph mode marks that relationship as ambiguous instead of choosing a version silently. Ambiguity on a declared runtime relationship is fail-closed as GRAPH_BLOCK.

Graph mode also fails closed on structural graph hazards:

• circular declared relationships are GRAPH_BLOCK
• pinned version conflicts reachable from the same root are GRAPH_BLOCK
• supported range constraints that no provided local version satisfies are GRAPH_BLOCK
• supported range constraints that are unsatisfiable by construction are GRAPH_BLOCK
• selected malformed or unsatisfiable environment-marker classes are GRAPH_BLOCK (empty marker, unbalanced quotes, dangling boolean operator, comparison without value, and obvious conflicting python_version bounds)
• artifact sets larger than the v1 scale limit are GRAPH_BLOCK before per-artifact review begins

Range checks are local only. They evaluate the wheel versions you provided on disk; they never fetch, suggest, infer, or invent another version.

V2 range checks support only numeric tuple versions with these operators: ==, !=, <, <=, >, >=, plus comma intersection such as >=1,<2. The compatible-release operator ~= and non-numeric PEP 440 forms such as rc, dev, local versions, epochs, and wildcards become UNVERIFIED notes. They do not silently pass and they do not hard-block solely because SPIRA does not parse them.

Graph mode does not claim to be a complete PEP 440 or PEP 508 validator.

Safety Boundaries

• Archive extraction blocks traversal paths and enforces file/member/byte limits.
• v1 does not import or execute code from the artifact under review.
• Runtime probes are disabled in v1 until a real sandbox exists.
• Free text is surfaced as NEEDS_HUMAN_JUDGMENT; it is not auto-classified.

What It Does Not Do

• It is not a malware scanner.
• It is not a security certification.
• It does not perform a complete package audit.
• It does not check CVEs.
• It does not resolve or download dependencies.
• It does not execute package code.
• It does not detect typosquatting when the package is internally consistent.
• It does not auto-interpret README or long free-text prose.
• It does not prove that a package is good, safe, or production-ready.

Pilot Question

For a pilot user, the useful question is not "is SPIRA impressive?" It is:

Did this verdict and evidence help you decide anything about the package you chose?

Honest negative feedback is valid output. If the report is confusing, too noisy, or not useful, that is exactly what the pilot is meant to discover.