> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://warden.buildlab.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Every artefact Warden ships, what it is for, and how you get it.

Warden ships **executables and an image**. It is not a library you add to an agent's dependencies.

## The artefacts

| Artefact | What it is | How you get it |
| - | - | - |
| [`warden`](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/gateway) | The gateway server, and its CLI | [Homebrew](https://warden.buildlab.in/install/homebrew.md) · [`go install`](https://warden.buildlab.in/install/go-install) · [release binaries](https://warden.buildlab.in/install/releases.md) · [source](https://warden.buildlab.in/install/source.md) |
| [`warden-mcp`](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/mcp-server) | MCP server exposing the gateway to agents | Same release archive and Homebrew formula as `warden` |
| [`wardencert`](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/wardencert) | Connector certification harness | From a clone of the source — needs access |
| [Container image](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/container.md) | Distroless image of the gateway, non-root | `ghcr.io/abhishek-mallick/warden` |
| [Compose stack](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/container.md) | Warden plus a seeded PostgreSQL, one command | In the source repository — needs access |
| [Go module](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/go-module.md) | The source, importable in principle | `github.com/Abhishek-Mallick/Warden` — private, and **not a supported API** |
| [SDKs](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/sdks.md) | Python / TypeScript clients | Planned. The HTTP API is small enough to call directly |

> [!NOTE]
>
> `warden` and `warden-mcp` ship in the same archive and the same Homebrew formula: an agent host usually needs the shim, and an operator usually needs the gateway, and keeping them in step avoids a version skew between the two halves of one conversation.

## Which do I need?

> [card] [I want to try it](https://warden.buildlab.in/quickstart.md)
>
> The compose stack. Warden, a PostgreSQL, and seed data in one command.

> [card] [I run the database](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/gateway.md)
>
> The gateway, from Homebrew or the container image, pointed at your database with a policy.

> [card] [I build the agent](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/mcp-server.md)
>
> The MCP server if your agent speaks MCP; otherwise call the HTTP data plane directly.

> [card] [I am reviewing this for security](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/wardencert.md)
>
> The certification harness, plus the capability ladder your connection prints at startup.

## What a deployment looks like

```
  agent process                gateway host                 database host
  ┌───────────────┐            ┌──────────────────┐         ┌───────────┐
  │ your agent    │  HTTPS     │ warden serve     │  driver │ PostgreSQL│
  │  + warden-mcp │ ─────────▶ │  policy + audit  │ ───────▶│           │
  └───────────────┘   agent    │  credentials     │         └───────────┘
                       key     └──────────────────┘
                                      ▲
                                      │ operator token
                                 reviewers, operator view
```

The agent holds an agent key, never a database credential. Reviewers hold operator tokens with separate capabilities. The database credential exists only in the gateway's configuration.

## Open artefacts, closed source

The source repository is private. Everything you install from is public:

| | Visibility | Why |
| - | - | - |
| `warden-dist` — release archives and checksums | Public | Homebrew and `curl` fetch assets anonymously |
| `homebrew-tap` — the generated formula | Public | `brew tap` clones it without credentials |
| `ghcr.io/abhishek-mallick/warden` — the image | Public | `docker pull` without a login |
| `Abhishek-Mallick/Warden` — the source | Private | |

Neither public repository contains source code. `warden-mcp` is the one component whose
code is meant to be read, and it contains no enforcement logic by design — see
[the MCP server](https://warden.buildlab.in/offerings/mcp-server.md).

## Versioning and support

* **Releases are tagged `vX.Y.Z`** and carry binaries for macOS and Linux on both CPU architectures, plus a `checksums.txt`. See [releases and verification](https://warden.buildlab.in/install/releases.md).
* **Pre-1.0.** The HTTP API, the policy file, and the configuration file may change between minor versions. Breaking changes are called out in the release notes.
* **The certification suite is the compatibility contract for connectors.** A connector that passes `wardencert -strict` behaves as this documentation describes; one that does not is not shipped.

## Licence

Warden is **proprietary**. The binaries are freely downloadable; the source is not
published. You may install and run them for your own internal purposes, including in
production. You may not redistribute them, offer them as a service, or reverse engineer
them.

The full terms ship inside every release archive as `LICENSE.md`, alongside
`THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md` — the open-source libraries Warden links carry their own
licences, and those notices travel with the binary as those licences require.


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