apm approve / apm deny

Synopsis

apm approve [PACKAGE_REF...] [OPTIONS]
apm deny [PACKAGE_REF...] [OPTIONS]

Description

APM blocks executable primitives (hooks, bin/ executables) from dependency packages by default. The allowExecutables block in apm.yml records which packages have been explicitly approved to deploy executables.

apm approve adds a package to the allowlist. apm deny removes it.

How the gate works

When apm install encounters a dependency that ships hooks or bin/ executables:

If allowExecutables is absent from apm.yml, everything is approved (backward-compatible, no gate).
If allowExecutables is present (even empty {}), only listed packages may deploy executables.
In interactive mode, apm install prompts for each unapproved package. In CI (non-interactive), unapproved executables cause a hard error.

Local project content (the root .apm/ directory) is always trusted.

What is gated

Type	Gated	Notes
Hooks (`.apm/hooks/`, `hooks/`)	Yes	Auto-fire in IDE on lifecycle events
Bin executables (`bin/`)	Yes	Deployed to agent PATH via symlinks
MCP servers	No	Enforcement deferred to a future release
Text primitives (skills, agents, instructions)	No	No code execution risk

Options

`apm approve`

Flag	Description
`PACKAGE_REF`	One or more packages to approve (e.g. `ci-hooks@acme`).
`--pending`	List all packages with unapproved executables.
`--all`	Approve all currently blocked packages.

`apm deny`

Flag	Description
`PACKAGE_REF`	One or more packages to deny (removes from allowlist).

Manifest format

Approvals are stored in apm.yml under allowExecutables, keyed by name#version with per-type boolean flags:

allowExecutables:
  "ci-hooks@acme#1.2.0":
    hooks: true
    bin: true
  "dev-tools@org#0.5.0":
    hooks: true

Version pinning means approval must be renewed when a package updates.

Examples

Approve a specific package:

apm approve ci-hooks@acme

Show all blocked packages:

apm approve --pending

Approve everything (migration helper):

apm approve --all

Revoke approval:

apm deny ci-hooks@acme

Non-interactive / CI usage

In CI environments (CI=true, APM_NON_INTERACTIVE=1, or when stdin is not a TTY), apm install fails with exit code 1 if any dependency has unapproved executables. Pre-approve packages in apm.yml before CI runs:

# One-time setup: approve all current dependencies
apm approve --all
git add apm.yml
git commit -m "Approve executable dependencies"