A scheduled job under a service account
A starting mandate for service: Run on schedule, read its own data, talk to the APIs it was built for with the account it was given, and stop. I did not want it spending mo…
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Play↗ / The map↗ / The mandates↗ / A scheduled job under a service account
A scheduled job under a service account
Run on schedule, read its own data, talk to the APIs it was built for with the account it was given, and stop. I did not want it spending money unattended or reaching arbitrary hosts.
Status: starting-point · authored 2026-09-09 · the site, as a starting point — not measured, not surveyed; the first thing to argue with · edit this mandate ↗
The delta
Against every profile this mandate applies to. ▲ is authority you did not ask for; ▼ is something you were counting on that is not there. The tally is at the bottom.
Legend: ▲ excess — it can, and you did not want it to · ▼ shortfall — it cannot, and you wanted it to · ✓ aligned — it can, and you wanted it to · – aligned — it cannot, and you did not want it to · ? it can, and the mandate does not say · · it cannot, and the mandate does not say
| Capability | Scheduled job (service account) |
|---|---|
| filesystem | |
| Read the project it is working on | · |
| Change the project it is working on | · |
| Read any file the account can reach | ✓ |
| Change any file the account can reach | ? |
| Delete files anywhere the account can reach | · |
| Read a retained record: shell history, past sessions | · |
| process | |
| Run programs as the account | ✓ |
| Run programs inside its own sandbox only | · |
| network | |
| Reach a permitted list of hosts | ▼ |
| Reach any host on the internet | ▲ |
| identity | |
| Read credentials stored where it runs | · |
| Act in accounts with the credentials it holds | ✓ |
| Change its own permission settings | · |
| communication | |
| Send a message to anyone | · |
| Read mail or chat it is connected to | · |
| code | |
| Commit to the repository it was pointed at | · |
| Push to a code host (any branch it can reach) | · |
| Sign commits with the key it holds | · |
| Publish packages, images or pages under the name it holds | · |
| money | |
| Spend money or tokens against an account it holds | ▲ |
| schedule | |
| Create something that outlives the turn where it runs (a cron, a service) — unstated: it is itself scheduled; whether it may schedule more of itself is a real question and the mandate does not pretend to answer it | ? |
| Create something that outlives the session, on the platform (a routine, a scheduled trigger, a new session) | · |
| browser | |
| Read every page you visit | · |
| The delta | ▲ 2 · ▼ 1 |
In words
- Scheduled job — service account: excess — Reach any host on the internet; Spend money or tokens against an account it holds. Shortfall — Reach a permitted list of hosts.
The mandate, row by row
| Capability | Position | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Run programs as the account↗ | want | |
| Read any file the account can reach↗ | want | |
| Reach a permitted list of hosts↗ | want | |
| Act in accounts with the credentials it holds↗ | want | |
| Spend money or tokens against an account it holds↗ | do not want | |
| Reach any host on the internet↗ | do not want | |
| Create something that outlives the turn where it runs (a cron, a service)↗ | unstated | unstated: it is itself scheduled; whether it may schedule more of itself is a real question and the mandate does not pretend to answer it |
You cannot deny the excess rows. The agent already has the access. What is left is how long you are prepared to live with each one and who says so — what to do next↗.