chore: refactor exec-server to prepare it for standalone MCP use (#6944)

This PR reorganizes things slightly so that:

- Instead of a single multitool executable, `codex-exec-server`, we now
have two executables:
  - `codex-exec-mcp-server` to launch the MCP server
- `codex-execve-wrapper` is the `execve(2)` wrapper to use with the
`BASH_EXEC_WRAPPER` environment variable
- `BASH_EXEC_WRAPPER` must be a single executable: it cannot be a
command string composed of an executable with args (i.e., it no longer
adds the `escalate` subcommand, as before)
- `codex-exec-mcp-server` takes `--bash` and `--execve` as options.
Though if `--execve` is not specified, the MCP server will check the
directory containing `std::env::current_exe()` and attempt to use the
file named `codex-execve-wrapper` within it. In development, this works
out since these executables are side-by-side in the `target/debug`
folder.

With respect to testing, this also fixes an important bug in
`dummy_exec_policy()`, as I was using `ends_with()` as if it applied to
a `String`, but in this case, it is used with a `&Path`, so the
semantics are slightly different.

Putting this all together, I was able to test this by running the
following:

```
~/code/codex/codex-rs$ npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector \
    ./target/debug/codex-exec-mcp-server --bash ~/code/bash/bash
```

If I try to run `git status` in `/Users/mbolin/code/codex` via the
`shell` tool from the MCP server:

<img width="1589" height="1335" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9db6aea8-7fbc-4675-8b1f-ec446685d6c4"
/>

then I get prompted with the following elicitation, as expected:

<img width="1589" height="1335" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/21b68fe0-494d-4562-9bad-0ddc55fc846d"
/>

Though a current limitation is that the `shell` tool defaults to a
timeout of 10s, which means I only have 10s to respond to the
elicitation. Ideally, the time spent waiting for a response from a human
should not count against the timeout for the command execution. I will
address this in a subsequent PR.

---

Note `~/code/bash/bash` was created by doing:

```
cd ~/code
git clone https://github.com/bminor/bash
cd bash
git checkout a8a1c2fac029404d3f42cd39f5a20f24b6e4fe4b
<apply the patch below>
./configure
make
```

The patch:

```
diff --git a/execute_cmd.c b/execute_cmd.c
index 070f5119..d20ad2b9 100644
--- a/execute_cmd.c
+++ b/execute_cmd.c
@@ -6129,6 +6129,19 @@ shell_execve (char *command, char **args, char **env)
   char sample[HASH_BANG_BUFSIZ];
   size_t larray;

+  char* exec_wrapper = getenv("BASH_EXEC_WRAPPER");
+  if (exec_wrapper && *exec_wrapper && !whitespace (*exec_wrapper))
+    {
+      char *orig_command = command;
+
+      larray = strvec_len (args);
+
+      memmove (args + 2, args, (++larray) * sizeof (char *));
+      args[0] = exec_wrapper;
+      args[1] = orig_command;
+      command = exec_wrapper;
+    }
+
```

Author: bolinfest

codex-rs/exec-server/Cargo.toml

@@ -4,8 +4,16 @@ name = "codex-exec-server"
 version = { workspace = true }
 
 [[bin]]
-name = "codex-exec-server"
-path = "src/main.rs"
+name = "codex-execve-wrapper"
+path = "src/bin/main_execve_wrapper.rs"
+
+[[bin]]
+name = "codex-exec-mcp-server"
+path = "src/bin/main_mcp_server.rs"
+
+[lib]
+name = "codex_exec_server"
+path = "src/lib.rs"
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true

codex-rs/exec-server/src/bin/main_execve_wrapper.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#[cfg(not(unix))]
+fn main() {
+    eprintln!("codex-execve-wrapper is only implemented for UNIX");
+    std::process::exit(1);
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+pub use codex_exec_server::main_execve_wrapper as main;

codex-rs/exec-server/src/bin/main_mcp_server.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#[cfg(not(unix))]
+fn main() {
+    eprintln!("codex-exec-mcp-server is only implemented for UNIX");
+    std::process::exit(1);
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+pub use codex_exec_server::main_mcp_server as main;

codex-rs/exec-server/src/lib.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#[cfg(unix)]
+mod posix;
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+pub use posix::main_execve_wrapper;
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+pub use posix::main_mcp_server;

codex-rs/exec-server/src/main.rs

@@ -56,15 +56,12 @@
 //!   o<-----x
 //!
 use std::path::Path;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 use clap::Parser;
-use clap::Subcommand;
 use tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter;
 use tracing_subscriber::{self};
 
-use crate::posix::escalate_protocol::EscalateAction;
-use crate::posix::escalate_server::EscalateServer;
-use crate::posix::escalation_policy::EscalationPolicy;
 use crate::posix::mcp_escalation_policy::ExecPolicyOutcome;
 
 mod escalate_client;
@@ -75,124 +72,84 @@ mod mcp;
 mod mcp_escalation_policy;
 mod socket;
 
+/// Default value of --execve option relative to the current executable.
+/// Note this must match the name of the binary as specified in Cargo.toml.
+const CODEX_EXECVE_WRAPPER_EXE_NAME: &str = "codex-execve-wrapper";
+
 #[derive(Parser)]
-#[command(version)]
-pub struct Cli {
-    #[command(subcommand)]
-    subcommand: Option<Commands>,
+struct McpServerCli {
+    /// Executable to delegate execve(2) calls to in Bash.
+    #[arg(long = "execve")]
+    execve_wrapper: Option<PathBuf>,
+
+    /// Path to Bash that has been patched to support execve() wrapping.
+    #[arg(long = "bash")]
+    bash_path: Option<PathBuf>,
 }
 
-#[derive(Subcommand)]
-enum Commands {
-    Escalate(EscalateArgs),
-    ShellExec(ShellExecArgs),
+#[tokio::main]
+pub async fn main_mcp_server() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+        .with_env_filter(EnvFilter::from_default_env())
+        .with_writer(std::io::stderr)
+        .with_ansi(false)
+        .init();
+
+    let cli = McpServerCli::parse();
+    let execve_wrapper = match cli.execve_wrapper {
+        Some(path) => path,
+        None => {
+            let cwd = std::env::current_exe()?;
+            cwd.parent()
+                .map(|p| p.join(CODEX_EXECVE_WRAPPER_EXE_NAME))
+                .ok_or_else(|| {
+                    anyhow::anyhow!("failed to determine execve wrapper path from current exe")
+                })?
+        }
+    };
+    let bash_path = match cli.bash_path {
+        Some(path) => path,
+        None => mcp::get_bash_path()?,
+    };
+
+    tracing::info!("Starting MCP server");
+    let service = mcp::serve(bash_path, execve_wrapper, dummy_exec_policy)
+        .await
+        .inspect_err(|e| {
+            tracing::error!("serving error: {:?}", e);
+        })?;
+
+    service.waiting().await?;
+    Ok(())
 }
 
-/// Invoked from within the sandbox to (potentially) escalate permissions.
-#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
-struct EscalateArgs {
+#[derive(Parser)]
+pub struct ExecveWrapperCli {
     file: String,
 
     #[arg(trailing_var_arg = true)]
     argv: Vec<String>,
 }
 
-impl EscalateArgs {
-    /// This is the escalate client. It talks to the escalate server to determine whether to exec()
-    /// the command directly or to proxy to the escalate server.
-    async fn run(self) -> anyhow::Result<i32> {
-        let EscalateArgs { file, argv } = self;
-        escalate_client::run(file, argv).await
-    }
-}
-
-/// Debugging command to emulate an MCP "shell" tool call.
-#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
-struct ShellExecArgs {
-    command: String,
-}
-
 #[tokio::main]
-pub async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let cli = Cli::parse();
+pub async fn main_execve_wrapper() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     tracing_subscriber::fmt()
         .with_env_filter(EnvFilter::from_default_env())
         .with_writer(std::io::stderr)
         .with_ansi(false)
         .init();
 
-    match cli.subcommand {
-        Some(Commands::Escalate(args)) => {
-            std::process::exit(args.run().await?);
-        }
-        Some(Commands::ShellExec(args)) => {
-            let bash_path = mcp::get_bash_path()?;
-            let escalate_server = EscalateServer::new(bash_path, DummyEscalationPolicy {});
-            let result = escalate_server
-                .exec(
-                    args.command.clone(),
-                    std::env::vars().collect(),
-                    std::env::current_dir()?,
-                    None,
-                )
-                .await?;
-            println!("{result:?}");
-            std::process::exit(result.exit_code);
-        }
-        None => {
-            let bash_path = mcp::get_bash_path()?;
-
-            tracing::info!("Starting MCP server");
-            let service = mcp::serve(bash_path, dummy_exec_policy)
-                .await
-                .inspect_err(|e| {
-                    tracing::error!("serving error: {:?}", e);
-                })?;
-
-            service.waiting().await?;
-            Ok(())
-        }
-    }
+    let ExecveWrapperCli { file, argv } = ExecveWrapperCli::parse();
+    let exit_code = escalate_client::run(file, argv).await?;
+    std::process::exit(exit_code);
 }
 
 // TODO: replace with execpolicy2
 
-struct DummyEscalationPolicy;
-
-#[async_trait::async_trait]
-impl EscalationPolicy for DummyEscalationPolicy {
-    async fn determine_action(
-        &self,
-        file: &Path,
-        argv: &[String],
-        workdir: &Path,
-    ) -> Result<EscalateAction, rmcp::ErrorData> {
-        let outcome = dummy_exec_policy(file, argv, workdir);
-        let action = match outcome {
-            ExecPolicyOutcome::Allow {
-                run_with_escalated_permissions,
-            } => {
-                if run_with_escalated_permissions {
-                    EscalateAction::Escalate
-                } else {
-                    EscalateAction::Run
-                }
-            }
-            ExecPolicyOutcome::Forbidden => EscalateAction::Deny {
-                reason: Some("Execution forbidden by policy".to_string()),
-            },
-            ExecPolicyOutcome::Prompt { .. } => EscalateAction::Deny {
-                reason: Some("Could not prompt user for permission".to_string()),
-            },
-        };
-        Ok(action)
-    }
-}
-
 fn dummy_exec_policy(file: &Path, argv: &[String], _workdir: &Path) -> ExecPolicyOutcome {
-    if file.ends_with("/rm") {
+    if file.ends_with("rm") {
         ExecPolicyOutcome::Forbidden
-    } else if file.ends_with("/git") {
+    } else if file.ends_with("git") {
         ExecPolicyOutcome::Prompt {
             run_with_escalated_permissions: false,
         }

codex-rs/exec-server/src/posix.rs

@@ -27,16 +27,18 @@ use crate::posix::socket::AsyncSocket;
 
 pub(crate) struct EscalateServer {
     bash_path: PathBuf,
+    execve_wrapper: PathBuf,
     policy: Arc<dyn EscalationPolicy>,
 }
 
 impl EscalateServer {
-    pub fn new<P>(bash_path: PathBuf, policy: P) -> Self
+    pub fn new<P>(bash_path: PathBuf, execve_wrapper: PathBuf, policy: P) -> Self
     where
         P: EscalationPolicy + Send + Sync + 'static,
     {
         Self {
             bash_path,
+            execve_wrapper,
             policy: Arc::new(policy),
         }
     }
@@ -60,8 +62,15 @@ impl EscalateServer {
         );
         env.insert(
             BASH_EXEC_WRAPPER_ENV_VAR.to_string(),
-            format!("{} escalate", std::env::current_exe()?.to_string_lossy()),
+            self.execve_wrapper.to_string_lossy().to_string(),
         );
+
+        // TODO: use the sandbox policy and cwd from the calling client.
+        // Note that sandbox_cwd is ignored for ReadOnly, but needs to be legit
+        // for `SandboxPolicy::WorkspaceWrite`.
+        let sandbox_policy = SandboxPolicy::ReadOnly;
+        let sandbox_cwd = PathBuf::from("/__NONEXISTENT__");
+
         let result = process_exec_tool_call(
             codex_core::exec::ExecParams {
                 command: vec![
@@ -77,9 +86,8 @@ impl EscalateServer {
                 arg0: None,
             },
             get_platform_sandbox().unwrap_or(SandboxType::None),
-            // TODO: use the sandbox policy and cwd from the calling client
-            &SandboxPolicy::ReadOnly,
-            &PathBuf::from("/__NONEXISTENT__"), // This is ignored for ReadOnly
+            &sandbox_policy,
+            &sandbox_cwd,
             &None,
             None,
         )

codex-rs/exec-server/src/posix/escalate_server.rs

@@ -65,15 +65,17 @@ impl From<escalate_server::ExecResult> for ExecResult {
 pub struct ExecTool {
     tool_router: ToolRouter<ExecTool>,
     bash_path: PathBuf,
+    execve_wrapper: PathBuf,
     policy: ExecPolicy,
 }
 
 #[tool_router]
 impl ExecTool {
-    pub fn new(bash_path: PathBuf, policy: ExecPolicy) -> Self {
+    pub fn new(bash_path: PathBuf, execve_wrapper: PathBuf, policy: ExecPolicy) -> Self {
         Self {
             tool_router: Self::tool_router(),
             bash_path,
+            execve_wrapper,
             policy,
         }
     }
@@ -87,6 +89,7 @@ impl ExecTool {
     ) -> Result<CallToolResult, McpError> {
         let escalate_server = EscalateServer::new(
             self.bash_path.clone(),
+            self.execve_wrapper.clone(),
             McpEscalationPolicy::new(self.policy, context),
         );
         let result = escalate_server
@@ -130,8 +133,9 @@ impl ServerHandler for ExecTool {
 
 pub(crate) async fn serve(
     bash_path: PathBuf,
+    execve_wrapper: PathBuf,
     policy: ExecPolicy,
 ) -> Result<RunningService<RoleServer, ExecTool>, rmcp::service::ServerInitializeError> {
-    let tool = ExecTool::new(bash_path, policy);
+    let tool = ExecTool::new(bash_path, execve_wrapper, policy);
     tool.serve(stdio()).await
 }