Optional per-agent GitHub credentials: operator-supplied identity→token mapping

Context

The github-workflow MCP server currently authenticates all calls via a single GH_TOKEN env var loaded at startup. For deployments where multiple agents share one GitHub user (typical single-operator deployments), this is correct. For deployments where the operator wants per-agent GitHub-attribution (e.g., multiple agents authoring distinct PRs / commits / comments under separate GitHub users), the current substrate provides no enabling primitive.

This ticket is preventive operational substrate / MX hardening. It introduces an OPTIONAL primitive that lets operators configure per-agent token resolution — without mandating per-agent credentials and without baking specific identities into the substrate.

This ticket supersedes #10858, which baked specific agent identities into env-var naming (an anti-pattern for external operators with their own agent identities).

The Problem

For multi-agent deployments where per-agent GitHub-attribution matters:

• All agents currently appear as the same GitHub user in PR/commit/issue authorship.
• Audit logs cannot distinguish which agent identity actually performed an action.
• Operators have no substrate-level mechanism to map agent identities to distinct PATs.

The Architectural Reality

• RequestContextService.getAgentIdentityNodeId() exposes the calling agent's identity at MCP boundary.
• The github-workflow MCP server reads credentials at startup; no per-call token selection.
• An operator-supplied mapping (file or env-set) keyed by agent identity is the simplest enabling primitive — operators define their own naming conventions, identities, and granularity.

The Fix

1. Optional config file at operator-defined path:
   • Env var NEO_GH_CREDENTIALS_FILE (default unset → falls through to legacy single-token behavior)
   • File format: JSON object mapping agent identity → PAT

      {
     "@neo-opus-ada": "ghp_xxx",
     "@neo-gemini-pro": "ghp_yyy",
     "@external-deployment-agent-1": "ghp_zzz"
   }

   • Gitignored; operator-managed; permission 0600 recommended.
2. Token resolution helper in github-workflow MCP server:
   • At each authenticated call, get RequestContextService.getAgentIdentityNodeId().
   • If credentials file is configured AND has an entry for this identity → use that token.
   • Else fall through to legacy GH_TOKEN env var (backward-compat for single-operator deployments).
   • Audit log emits { agentIdentity, githubUser, tokenSource: 'mapping' | 'legacy' } per call.
3. Documentation in learn/agentos/per-agent-credentials.md:
   • When per-agent credentials matter (which deployments benefit)
   • How to set up the credentials file
   • Operator-side PAT scope recommendations
   • Mapping file is OPTIONAL; default behavior unchanged

Contract Ledger Matrix

Acceptance Criteria

• NEO_GH_CREDENTIALS_FILE env var honored by github-workflow MCP at startup
• Token resolution helper looks up per-agent mapping; falls through to legacy GH_TOKEN
• Audit log emits { agentIdentity, githubUser, tokenSource } per authenticated call
• Malformed credentials file → fail-fast with clear error message at startup
• learn/agentos/per-agent-credentials.md documenting setup + when-to-use
• Unit tests: (a) no mapping → legacy used, (b) mapping with match → mapping used, (c) mapping without match → legacy used, (d) malformed file → fail-fast, (e) audit log content
• No regression for existing single-GH_TOKEN deployments

Out of Scope

• Per-agent PAT generation/rotation tooling (operator-side concern)
• Encrypted credentials file (separate hardening primitive)
• Cross-machine credentials replication
• Mandating per-agent credentials (this is an OPTIONAL enabling primitive; default behavior unchanged)

Avoided Traps / Gold Standards Rejected

• Per-agent env-var naming convention (e.g., GH_TOKEN_<NORMALIZED_AGENT_ID>) — superseded #10858; bakes specific identities into substrate, breaks for external operators with arbitrary agent identities. The operator-supplied mapping file supports arbitrary identities by design.
• Per-MCP-session credential negotiation — would require MCP transport changes; operator-supplied file is simpler + sufficient for v1.
• Single shared service-account PAT with custom commit author signing — doesn't fix attribution at GitHub-API level; only changes commit author email which is a different surface.
• OAuth flows replacing PAT — out of scope; current substrate uses PAT.

Related

• Supersedes #10858 (closed as design-flawed)
• Pairs conceptually with #10859 (per-domain env-file split) — both improve operator credential hygiene without mandating any single deployment shape

Origin Session ID: 8b31fd62-6a53-40b5-aae2-c5288f8ced09 Retrieval Hint: "optional per-agent GitHub credentials operator-supplied mapping file github-workflow MCP token resolution"