How I give agents a safe path to publish internal packages

Description and use

Agents receive only the necessary read or write permissions for publishing packages, using separate tokens and role checks, reducing supply chain risk.

Problem

Agents often receive broad publishing access by default, which can compromise the package supply chain.

Outcome

Agents can perform release tasks without having blanket publishing rights, reducing risk to the package supply chain while maintaining clear human ownership of package access.

Workflow

• 1. Create a personal access token for package manager traffic using Omni Line.
• 2. Assign the token a registry:read scope for tasks like installing dependencies, inspecting packages, or preparing changes.
• 3. Assign a separate registry:write token only for workflows explicitly intended to publish.
• 4. Use Omni Line to intersect token scopes with the user’s organization role, preventing over‑privilege.
• 5. Explicitly request agents to perform actions such as updating versions, running tests, building packages, and preparing releases.
• 6. Only invoke the publish action when it is the requested task, not as an implied final step.
• 7. Revoke or rotate dedicated workflow tokens when automation changes or scopes need narrowing.
• 8. Keep the full token out of the repository, displaying it only once at creation.

Evidence

i can give an agent registry:read when it needs to install internal dependencies, inspect a package, or prepare a change.

Source

i only use registry:write for a workflow that is intended to publish.

Source