# Admin scope tightening — personal resources are owner-only (#36)

Decision (2026-09-30, user): **all personal resources are visible and
operable by their owner ONLY.** Compared to a normal user, an admin gains
exactly three things: system switch control (registration toggle), user
management, and the ability to create/modify **global** resources. Admins are
curators of the global library, not tenant overseers.

Issue: #36. The pre-existing global-create gate (403 for non-admins on
`scope: 'global'` create) was already correct; this change removed every
`owner-or-admin` READ/MUTATE bypass.

## The rule

| Row | Read | Mutate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| personal (`ownerId` set) | owner only — everyone else (admin included) gets **404** (existence-hiding) | owner only |
| global (`ownerId` null) | everyone | **admin only** (`canManage`) |

Machines, credentials, MCP servers, profiles, resources, LLM providers carry
the scope; machine-scoped surfaces (jobs, agents, sessions listing,
inventory, workspace listing, runtime-config, config view) inherit their
machine's ownership.

## What changed where

- `machines.ts` — `visible()` owner-only; `GET /api/machines` lists own for
  every role; the module doc dropped "or an admin".
- `jobs.ts` / `runtime-config.ts` / `inventory.ts` / `workspace.ts` —
  `visibleMachine` / `visible` owner-only; the now-dead `MACHINE_OWNER_ONLY`
  403 branches were REMOVED (a non-owner never gets past the 404).
- `jobs/service.ts` `cancel` — owner-only.
- `status.ts` (posture) — every figure is `self` for every role; the
  `scopes` map stays on the wire but never says `all`. The web readout strip
  dropped its `all`/`own` markers (dead branches) and the i18n keys went with
  them.
- `mcp-servers.ts` — `/status` filters to own-personal + global for every
  role; `ownsOrAdmin` → `canManage` (global → admin, personal → owner).
- `credentials.ts`, `llm-providers.ts`, `resources.ts`, `profiles.ts` —
  same `canManage` shape; visibility helpers (`visibleTo`/`serverVisible`/
  `visibleProfile`/…) lost their `|| role === 'admin'` arm and the unused
  `role` param.
- `registry.ts`, `marketplace.ts`, `client-config.ts` — profile/server
  visibility checks aligned (admin no longer resolves another user's personal
  profile/server, including via `/mcp?profile=` and machine-PAT bundles).
- `plugins/realtime.ts` — the `admins` socket room is GONE: `machine:status`,
  `job:update`, `inventory:updated` emit to `user:<ownerId>` only.

## Tests

`packages/server/test/admin-scope.test.ts` (machine routes 404 for admin on a
foreign machine; foreign personal credential/mcp unmanageable by admin while
global rows remain admin turf; mcp status filtered) + updated assertions in
machines/jobs/runtime-config/config-view/status-filter/status-posture (the
old expectations — admin sees all, `MACHINE_OWNER_ONLY` 403, posture `all` —
were the codified OLD behavior and flipped).