@kratex/cli

Node.js supply-chain enforcement at install and at runtime.

Static scanners find known-bad packages. Kratex controls what every package, known or unknown, can actually do: which files it can read, which hosts it can reach, which processes it can spawn. Rules run at install time to gate lifecycle scripts and at runtime to intercept live operations, attributed to first-party versus third-party code.

npm i -g @kratex/cli

Requires Node.js 22.15+ or 24+.

Get started

kratex init           # bind this directory; writes kratex.config.json
kratex ci             # policy-gated install
kratex run node app.js

kratex ci and kratex install run npm ci / npm install --ignore-scripts, then evaluate each package's lifecycle scripts against the policy before running them. kratex run injects the same enforcement into your running Node process.

Out of the box, the default policy enables six block-tier rules (credential exfiltration, wallet directory reads, lifecycle network/shell escapes, self-propagation) and audits everything else. Tighten or loosen by editing kratex.config.json. See Policy below.

Commands

Command	What it does
`kratex run <command>`	Run any Node command under active policy
`kratex install`	`npm install --ignore-scripts` + lifecycle gating
`kratex ci`	`npm ci --ignore-scripts` + lifecycle gating
`kratex audit`	npm dependency and signature audit
`kratex init`	Bind this directory; writes `kratex.config.json`
`kratex policy validate`	Parse and summarize active policy
`kratex profile docker`	Print a hardened Dockerfile derived from policy
`kratex doctor`	Check local setup and config

kratex run accepts a script shorthand: kratex run serve expands to npm run serve.

Policy

Policy lives in kratex.config.json in the directory you ran kratex init from. It is plain JSON — version it with the rest of your repo.

Rules specify:

Subject: first-party code, third-party code, or a named package.
Target: a filesystem path, network host, process command, environment variable, or install lifecycle script.
Effect: allow, audit, or block.

Unmatched operations are allowed by default. Six built-in block-tier rules fire regardless of policy mode and cannot be overridden by user rules:

third-party-credential-read: reads of ~/.npmrc, ~/.aws/**, ~/.ssh/**, browser profile directories.
third-party-wallet-read: reads of crypto wallet directories (~/.electrum/**, ~/Library/Application Support/Solana/**, etc.).
third-party-lifecycle-network: network calls from preinstall/install/postinstall scripts.
third-party-lifecycle-shell-{sh,bash,zsh,dash}: shell command spawns from lifecycle scripts.
third-party-self-propagation-fs: writes to other packages' package.json files at runtime.

The full policy schema lives in @kratex/shared/policy/schema.ts.

Authentication (optional)

kratex login / kratex logout / kratex whoami connect the CLI to an optional hosted policy and telemetry service. These commands are not required to use the CLI — the local policy file is the source of truth either way. Skip this section if you are running Kratex without a hosted backend.

License

Apache License 2.0. See the root LICENSE.