Give a user or local automation root access for a limited time, then take it away automatically.
agent-temporary provides explicitly bounded passwordless sudo access on Linux and macOS. An administrator creates the grant, it has a fixed deadline, and local expiry/reboot handling revokes it automatically.
Local automation or an interactive workflow may temporarily need root. A permanent passwordless sudo grant leaves permanent authority behind. agent-temporary makes that authority time-bounded:
administrator approval
↓
temporary root access
↓
fixed expiry
↓
automatic revocation
Revocation is local; no remote controller is required.
Preferred distribution with npm:
npm install -g agent-temporary
agent-temporary-setup installThe npm installation is unprivileged. agent-temporary-setup install is the explicit privileged system installation and leaves temporary access inactive. It can install a fresh system, upgrade an older one, or report that the installed version is already current. A newer installed version is not silently downgraded.
To remove the system installation:
agent-temporary-setup uninstallnpm uninstall -g agent-temporary removes only the npm package; it does not remove the system installation.
Users without npm may use the shell bootstrap:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/synrest/agent-temporary/main/bootstrap/install.sh | shInspect it first when preferred:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/synrest/agent-temporary/main/bootstrap/install.sh -o agent-temporary-install.sh
sh agent-temporary-install.shThe bootstrap resolves a concrete release version, downloads its exact ZIP and checksum, verifies the ZIP before requesting administrator privileges, and delegates system changes to the canonical installer. It does not activate temporary access.
For manual installation, download a release archive, inspect it, then run:
sudo ./install.sh --user <target-user>Installation does not enable temporary access. After installation, use the commands below.
agent-temporary status
sudo agent-temporary on --ttl 30m
sudo agent-temporary on --ttl 2h --persist-reboot
sudo agent-temporary off
agent-temporary version
agent-temporary --helpThe default TTL is 5 minutes. The allowed range is 5 minutes through 8 hours. Use a positive integer followed by m or h, such as 5m, 30m, 1h, or 8h.
Without --persist-reboot, reboot revokes the temporary access. On macOS, --persist-reboot preserves the same grant across reboot until its original expiry; it does not create a new TTL.
status uses stable key/value output for machine-readable use. On macOS, a protected active state requires sudo agent-temporary status; inactive status can be checked without privilege.
While active, the configured user has unrestricted passwordless sudo (NOPASSWD: ALL) access. agent-temporary does not sandbox or limit what that root access can do; its safety property is the deliberate time boundary.
The grant has a fixed absolute expiry. A second activation while access is active does not renew or extend it, and cannot change its reboot-persistence setting. Use off first.
Authority is proved by exact non-interactive sudo execution, not by trusting sudo -l or policy listing alone. Revocation is local and fail-closed where validation or transaction steps fail. The implementation does not use SSH keys or authorized_keys, and does not require Netbot or a remote controller.
Supported platforms are Linux with an actually active systemd or OpenRC runtime and sudo/visudo, and macOS with launchd and sudo/visudo. Linux service-manager detection requires an active runtime; the presence of binaries alone is insufficient.
Unsupported or ambiguous platforms fail closed and are not given a synthetic service configuration.
Build the release artifacts with:
./release.shThe release contains the executable, systemd/OpenRC/launchd service definitions, VERSION, SHA256SUMS, and the canonical install.sh. It also creates a versioned ZIP and SHA-256 sidecar. The archive contains no Git metadata, runtime state, logs, or private material.
Never assume. Verify.