OPERATIONS

Security model

Remote machine control is sensitive. Caterm combines authenticated owner and member checks with capabilities that the machine operator explicitly configures.

Trust boundaries

• Identity: the API validates Firebase signatures, issuer, audience, expiration, and token timestamps.
• Ownership: device use requires ownership or an active share; device management requires ownership.
• Enrollment: codes are short-lived and single-use; persistent credentials can be rotated or revoked.
• Files: operations are constrained to the daemon's configured root.
• Remote control: desktop viewing and input depend on local screen and input permissions.
• Codex: the selected working directory stays within the configured agent root; tool access follows the local CLI permission policy.
• Terminal: local shell streaming is enabled by default, can be disabled locally, and is not confined by the file root.
• Sharing: a device share grants all locally enabled capabilities. Conversation history and controls stay private to their creator; local files and agent credentials remain shared.

Production checklist

• Serve the web application and API from the same HTTPS origin.
• Use strong PostgreSQL and TURN secrets and keep them outside browser build variables.
• Choose the daemon account deliberately: agent and terminal processes inherit its OS privileges, including root.
• Choose the smallest practical file root.
• Disable terminal access when it is not required.
• Review device history and revoke devices you no longer recognize.
• Collect server logs without request bodies or authorization headers.

What Caterm does not provide

Caterm is not a replacement for host patching, disk encryption, backups, endpoint protection, network controls, or organizational access reviews. Firebase ID token validation also does not currently provide immediate account-revocation checks before a token expires.