feat: add read-only mode for GitOps-managed deployments by frank-bee · Pull Request #1346 · kagent-dev/kagent

frank-bee · 2026-02-20T19:16:41Z

Summary

Add ReadOnlyAuthorizer to the backend that only allows GET operations, activated via KAGENT_READ_ONLY=true env var
Add ReadOnlyProvider React context for the frontend, reading NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY env var
Conditionally hide all create/edit/delete UI controls when read-only mode is active
Add route guards on /agents/new and /models/new pages
Skip the onboarding wizard in read-only mode
Show "managed via GitOps" messaging in empty states

This enables GitOps-managed deployments (FluxCD, ArgoCD) where agents, models, and MCP servers are defined declaratively as Kubernetes CRDs and the UI serves as a read-only dashboard.

Environment Variables

Variable	Component	Default	Description
`KAGENT_READ_ONLY`	Controller	`false`	Enables read-only mode on the API
`NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY`	UI	`false`	Enables read-only mode in the frontend

Files Changed

Backend (Go):

go/internal/httpserver/auth/authz.go — new ReadOnlyAuthorizer
go/cmd/controller/main.go — env var wiring

Frontend (Next.js):

ui/src/components/ReadOnlyProvider.tsx — new React context
ui/src/app/layout.tsx — wrap app in ReadOnlyProvider, add force-dynamic
10 component/page files — conditional rendering of write controls

Test plan

Set KAGENT_READ_ONLY=true + NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY=true, verify all write controls are hidden
Verify API rejects POST/PUT/DELETE with clear error message
Verify chat functionality still works (read-only hides management, not chat)
Verify defaults: without env vars, everything works as before
Run make -C go test and make -C ui build

Closes #1344
Related: #1270, #593

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds an opt-in read-only mode intended for GitOps-managed deployments, enforcing (or signaling) read-only behavior in the API layer and hiding/guarding write-related UI flows in the Next.js frontend.

Changes:

Backend: introduce ReadOnlyAuthorizer and wire it via KAGENT_READ_ONLY=true.
Frontend: add ReadOnlyProvider context driven by NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY, and hide/disable create/edit/delete controls.
Frontend: add route guards for “new” pages and skip onboarding while in read-only mode; update empty states with GitOps messaging.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 14 out of 14 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
go/internal/httpserver/auth/authz.go	Adds `ReadOnlyAuthorizer` that rejects non-GET verbs.
go/cmd/controller/main.go	Selects `ReadOnlyAuthorizer` vs `NoopAuthorizer` via `KAGENT_READ_ONLY`.
ui/src/components/ReadOnlyProvider.tsx	New React context + hook to expose read-only state.
ui/src/app/layout.tsx	Wraps app with `ReadOnlyProvider`; forces dynamic rendering; reads env flag.
ui/src/components/Header.tsx	Hides “Create” dropdowns when read-only.
ui/src/components/AppInitializer.tsx	Skips onboarding wizard when read-only.
ui/src/components/AgentList.tsx	Updates empty state messaging; hides create button when read-only.
ui/src/components/AgentCard.tsx	Hides edit/delete controls when read-only.
ui/src/components/sidebars/AgentDetailsSidebar.tsx	Hides agent edit button when read-only.
ui/src/components/sidebars/ChatItem.tsx	Hides chat deletion option when read-only.
ui/src/app/models/page.tsx	Hides “New Model” and edit/delete actions when read-only.
ui/src/app/models/new/page.tsx	Redirects away (route guard) when read-only.
ui/src/app/agents/new/page.tsx	Redirects away (route guard) when read-only.
ui/src/app/servers/page.tsx	Hides server add/delete controls; updates empty state messaging when read-only.

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Copilot · 2026-02-20T19:21:59Z

go/internal/httpserver/auth/authz.go

+func (a *ReadOnlyAuthorizer) Check(ctx context.Context, principal auth.Principal, verb auth.Verb, resource auth.Resource) error {
+	if verb != auth.VerbGet {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read-only mode: %s operations are not permitted", verb)
+	}


The current implementation blanket-denies all non-GET verbs for every resource type, but the PR description/test plan indicates chat should remain functional in read-only mode. Consider either (a) using the resource argument to allow specific non-GET operations needed for chat (e.g., sessions/events) while still blocking GitOps-managed resources, or (b) updating the PR description to clarify that backend read-only enforcement only applies to certain resource handlers.

Not an issue. The authorization check is not applied as global middleware — it's called selectively inside individual handlers via a Check() helper in handlers/helpers.go.

Only these handlers call Check(): Agents, ModelConfig, Memory, ToolServers. Session/chat endpoints (/api/sessions/*, /api/sessions/{id}/events POST) never call the authorizer, so chat works fine in read-only mode.

The current blanket deny on non-GET is correct for the resources that use it (GitOps-managed: agents, models, servers).

Copilot · 2026-02-20T19:22:00Z

ui/src/app/layout.tsx

@@ -19,22 +22,26 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
 };

 export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
+  const readOnly = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY === "true";
+


export const dynamic = "force-dynamic" in the root layout forces the entire app to be dynamically rendered and disables most static optimization/caching. If the only goal is to derive a single boolean flag from env, consider alternatives that avoid globally forcing dynamic rendering (e.g., accept build-time config for the UI, or scope dynamic behavior to a smaller boundary) to reduce performance and hosting costs.

Intentional. The env var NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY needs to be read at container runtime (not build time) since this is deployed as a Docker image with configurable env vars. force-dynamic is required for that.

Scoping it per-page would add boilerplate for negligible gain — this is a K8s dashboard app, not a public-facing website where static optimization matters.

Copilot · 2026-02-20T19:22:00Z

go/internal/httpserver/auth/authz.go

+type ReadOnlyAuthorizer struct{}
+
+func (a *ReadOnlyAuthorizer) Check(ctx context.Context, principal auth.Principal, verb auth.Verb, resource auth.Resource) error {
+	if verb != auth.VerbGet {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read-only mode: %s operations are not permitted", verb)
+	}
+	return nil
+}


Add unit tests for ReadOnlyAuthorizer to verify it allows GET and rejects POST/PUT/DELETE with the expected error. There are already middleware tests in this package (e.g., authn_test.go), so covering this new authorizer here would help prevent regressions when expanding authz usage across more handlers.

Already done — see authz_test.go added in this PR with table-driven tests covering both ReadOnlyAuthorizer (allows GET, rejects POST/PUT/DELETE) and NoopAuthorizer (allows all verbs).

Add a read-only mode that disables all write operations (create, update, delete) in both the backend API and the UI. This is useful for GitOps-managed deployments where resources are managed exclusively via Kubernetes CRDs. Backend: - Add ReadOnlyAuthorizer to auth package that only allows GET operations - Wire KAGENT_READ_ONLY env var in controller main.go Frontend: - Add ReadOnlyProvider React context reading NEXT_PUBLIC_READ_ONLY env var - Conditionally hide create/edit/delete controls across all UI components - Add route guards on /agents/new and /models/new pages - Skip onboarding wizard in read-only mode - Show "managed via GitOps" messaging in empty states Closes kagent-dev#1344 Signed-off-by: Frank Bernhardt <Frank.Bernhardt@quantum-machines.co>

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 20, 2026 19:16

frank-bee requested review from EItanya, ilackarms, peterj and yuval-k as code owners February 20, 2026 19:16

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of frank-bee February 20, 2026 19:17 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 20, 2026

View reviewed changes

frank-bee force-pushed the feat/read-only-mode branch from 4d83eae to 02d3bb0 Compare February 20, 2026 19:24

opspawn mentioned this pull request Feb 21, 2026

feat: add read-only mode for GitOps deployments #1349

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feat: add read-only mode for GitOps-managed deployments#1346

feat: add read-only mode for GitOps-managed deployments#1346
frank-bee wants to merge 1 commit intokagent-dev:mainfrom
frank-bee:feat/read-only-mode

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frank-bee commented Feb 20, 2026

Summary

Environment Variables

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