New admin tab "AI" (app/(main)/admin/_tabs/ai-policy.tsx): provider-class
toggles, server model allow-list, BYOK provider allow-list, seats/usage
(front-end for the already-real lib/ai/entitlement.ts), retrieval on/off,
consent text + version bump.
Real backend, not cosmetic: AiConsoleConfig persisted via config-manager
(lib/ai/types.ts, ai-policy.json in the CONFIG dir). New GET/PUT
/api/admin/ai/policy. Enforcement wired at every real chokepoint, not just
the picker: /api/ai/server/chat checks classesEnabled.server and the model
allow-list, /api/ai/retrieve checks retrievalEnabled, /api/ai/server/models
filters by allow-list. GET /api/ai/policy folds classesEnabled into the
classes list clients see.
Resolved the spec's 3 open questions as recommended: BYOK allow-list stays
client-side/advisory (wired into ai-assistant-settings.tsx's addProfile),
tier picker stays cosmetic, master aiAssistantEnabled toggle stays in the
existing Policy tab (this tab links to it instead of duplicating it).
Defaults preserve today's behavior exactly (classesEnabled/allowlists all
start empty/null) — turning this on changes nothing until an admin touches it.
Three pieces built together tonight since they're naturally linked (the
server-class proxy is the real entitlement enforcement chokepoint):
1. Multi-key BYOK (public class): several named provider profiles
(name/baseUrl/model), each with its own key in lib/ai/key-store.ts
(keyed by profile id, not a single fixed 'public' slot). The "Try it"
pane lets you pick which saved profile answers each question - not one
fixed default.
2. `server` class, real: app/api/ai/server/{models,chat} proxy through
this app's own backend to AI_SERVER_BASE_URL - same-origin from the
browser, no CORS/OLLAMA_ORIGINS story at all, standing in tonight for
VNC's EU/CH-hosted infra with the real Ollama on this Mac (swapping to
the real instance tomorrow is a config change).
3. Real entitlement enforcement (lib/ai/entitlement.ts), scoped to `server`
only (not local/public, per the 2026-08-05 decisions): checkAndAssignSeat()
re-validates on every /api/ai/server/chat call - first use auto-assigns a
seat if any remain, further calls from an unlicensed user get a 402 with
a specific reason. recordUsage() appends to an append-only metering
ledger (timestamp/user/model/tokens/latency) that IS the billing record.
Admin data endpoints at /api/admin/ai/entitlement (seat total, revoke) -
the visual admin console is a separate, not-yet-built task.
Two real bugs found and fixed during verification, not just claimed fixed:
- /api/ai/policy never actually added 'server' to entitlement.classes even
when AI_SERVER_BASE_URL was set (only the type comment was updated) - the
Server radio option silently never appeared until this was caught live.
- The new routes used readStalwartAuthContext(0) (hardcoded slot, SSO/reauth-
specific) instead of getStalwartCredentials() (the general multi-slot
session resolver every other authenticated route uses) - reachable but
wrong, and would have hidden a real auth gap behind "works on my slot".
Verified end-to-end for real: built + ran the actual server, logged in via
the real (non-demo) auth flow, selected Server, listed the real Ollama
models through the proxy, asked "Reply with exactly the words: SERVER CLASS
WORKS" and got back exactly that - plus confirmed on disk (not just in the
UI) that data/admin-state/ai-entitlement.json recorded the seat assignment
and ai-metering.jsonl recorded real prompt/completion token counts and
latency from the actual model call. Rejection-path logic (seat limit
reached, zero seats configured, revocation) covered by 5 new unit tests
rather than a second live round trip. Full suite: typecheck clean, lint
clean, translations 48/48, production build succeeds.
Per docs/AI-ASSISTANT-CONCEPT.md §12, P0 is deliberately generation-free:
prove platform gating and the policy round trip before any model exists
behind it. No provider is called anywhere in this change.
- lib/platform-capabilities.ts: supportsLocalLlm/localLlmNeedsCorsSetup,
mirroring the same-named module in vncmail-native so the capability
contract (§3, §11) reads identically on both clients. Web+Electron only
here — mobile is a separate codebase.
- lib/ai/types.ts: AiPolicy/AiEntitlement schema, locked in now per decision
#4 (entitlement from day one — cheap now, a live-tenant migration later).
- app/api/ai/policy/route.ts: GET, unauthenticated (users read this, like
/api/admin/policy). Composes the real FeatureGates.aiAssistantEnabled
toggle with a hardcoded unlicensed entitlement — there's no seats/billing
backend yet (P2), so nothing here can honestly claim otherwise.
- components/settings/ai-assistant-settings.tsx: fetches that policy, shows
a real (not fake) locked/unlicensed state. No model config UI yet — there
is nothing real to configure until P1/P2/P5 land.
- New admin FeatureGates.aiAssistantEnabled (default false, like
pluginsEnabled): the tab is entirely hidden until an admin opts in, so no
existing install suddenly sees a tab that does nothing.
Verified: typecheck clean, lint clean, translations test passes (48/48),
full production build succeeds with /api/ai/policy compiled in.
Bernd Rodler