RangeSpec

RangeSpec is an offline-first manifest format and command-line tool for declaring what an authorized security range may do before a test begins.

It records targets, permitted actions, time limits, rate limits, safe state, stop conditions, recovery evidence, approvals, and evidence-handling rules in a versioned JSON document. The CLI validates those declarations, produces stable fingerprints, redacts sensitive fields, and compares revisions.

RangeSpec is an early Tropiro open-source project. It does not authorize work by itself, execute tests, scan networks, exploit targets, or replace contracts and human approval.

GitHub Action

A repository can make RangeSpec validation a required check before a lab or security-testing workflow runs:

- name: Validate declared scope
  id: rangespec
  uses: tropiro/rangespec@v0.2.1
  with:
    manifest: range/authorized-test.json
    execution-ready: "true"

The action returns the canonical manifest fingerprint as steps.rangespec.outputs.fingerprint. The manifest path must stay inside the checked-out repository. Validation is local and deterministic: the action does not execute tests against a target, contact Claude, or read an API key.

For time-window checks that must be reproducible, pass an explicit timestamp:

with:
  manifest: range/authorized-test.json
  execution-ready: "true"
  at: "2026-10-08T20:00:00Z"

See the complete example workflow.

Demonstrated workflow

From this directory:

uv sync --all-extras --dev
uv run rangespec validate examples/gateway-valid.json \
  --execution-ready \
  --at 2026-10-08T20:00:00Z
uv run rangespec fingerprint examples/gateway-valid.json
uv run rangespec review examples/gateway-valid.json --provider local
./scripts/check.sh

The valid example describes only documentation-range addresses and a simulated gateway. The --at value makes the demonstration reproducible rather than depending on the current clock.

Commands

• validate: run schema and semantic checks; optionally require an execution-ready approved manifest.
• normalize: write stable, human-readable JSON through an atomic verified replacement.
• fingerprint: calculate a SHA-256 digest over canonical JSON.
• redact: create a wrapped export with declared JSON Pointer paths and sensitive key names replaced.
• diff: compare two manifests after redaction.
• review: run an advisory completeness review. The default provider is local and deterministic.
• schema: print the authoritative bundled JSON Schema.

Every failure is returned with a stable code and JSON Pointer path. CLI exit codes are documented by rangespec --help.

Optional Claude review

The optional Anthropic provider sends only the redacted manifest and requests a structured completeness review. It cannot change the manifest or authorize a test.

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="..."
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-5-5"
uv run --extra anthropic rangespec review examples/gateway-valid.json \
  --provider anthropic

No model is selected silently: pass --model or set ANTHROPIC_MODEL. Never put an API key in a manifest, command argument, repository file, or captured output.

Safety boundary

RangeSpec intentionally has no network-execution feature. A later runner may consume a validated manifest, but it must independently enforce the same target and action allowlists. Ownership of a manifest is not proof of authorization.

Read THREAT_MODEL.md before building an integration.

Development

./scripts/check.sh installs the locked development environment and runs lock verification, formatting checks, lint, strict type checking, tests, a package build, and the deterministic example workflow.

The gate also exercises the GitHub Action entrypoint with the documented execution-ready example and verifies that its output fingerprint is stable.

See CONTRIBUTING.md and SECURITY.md.