Keep PII out of default-level WTA logs by vanzue · Pull Request #261 · microsoft/intelligent-terminal

vanzue · 2026-06-10T02:11:15Z

What

Audit and fix of WTA logs that emitted personal data at default log levels (info! / warn! / error!). The shipped release default filter is info (tools/wta/src/logging.rs), so anything at info+ lands in users' on-disk logs out of the box.

The repo convention is that user/agent content is logged only at trace! (off by default), via *.content targets. This PR brings the stragglers in line.

Findings & fixes

cwd (initial scope). run_delegate, acp_load_session (boot-time + inbound), agents_view resume dispatch, and master new_session logged the full working directory at info/warn. Each default line now logs has_cwd / length; the full path moves to the matching *.content trace!.

Tier 1 — user content / arbitrary files. master forwards fs/read_text_file / fs/write_text_file (the file the agent reads/writes) and the on-disk session title (often derived from the user's prompt) at info!. Default line now logs length + op only; full path / title move to master.content / session_hook.content trace!.

Tier 2 — fixed tool/runtime paths whose only PII is the Windows username. Hooks-installer config/plugin/marketplace/bundle paths, the master-pipe discovery file, and the agent-pane origin record. New crate::logging::redact_user_path() rewrites the %LOCALAPPDATA% / %APPDATA% / %USERPROFILE% prefix to a placeholder, so these stay debuggable at info/warn without leaking the username.

Tier 3 — captured subprocess output. Plugin-CLI stdout / stderr / args move to the agent_hooks.content trace!; only exe + exit status stay at default. (wtcli stdout/stderr reviewed and left as-is — tool diagnostics: pane GUIDs / protocol errors, no user content.)

Out of scope

debug!-level logs — dev-only, never the shipped info default (e.g. coordinator_log, acp_log_built_prompt, delegate_with_context).
Tier 4 agent command lines (app.rs, client.rs, master) — these are the user-configured agent invocation, not runtime user data.
err / error Display fields — diagnostic and essential; not reliably PII.

Verification

cargo build passes (no new warnings). New redact_user_path unit tests + existing logging tests green. No behavior change at WTA_LOG=trace.

Co-authored-by: Copilot 223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adjusts WTA delegate logging in tools/wta to avoid emitting the current working directory (cwd) at default log levels, moving that path to the existing trace-gated delegate.content channel to reduce PII exposure in shipped (info) logs.

Changes:

In run_delegate, remove cwd from the info! log and include it only in the delegate.content trace! log.
In delegate_with_context, remove cwd from the debug! log (leaving cwd only in the delegate.content trace! log alongside the command line).

vanzue · 2026-06-10T02:25:18Z

+    // Log the prompt length, not the text — the prompt is user content. `cwd`
+    // is a filesystem path (carries the username / folder names), so it is
+    // personal data too: keep it on the trace-only content channel.
+    tracing::info!(prompt_chars = prompt.map(|p| p.chars().count()), agent = agent_cmd, "run_delegate started");
+    tracing::trace!(target: "delegate.content", prompt = ?prompt, cwd, "run_delegate prompt");


Good catch — you're right, the delegate logs were not the only default-level cwd leak. Rather than narrow the claim, I followed the second option and gated all of them in fef9dfa:

acp_load_session (the two you pointed at, ~2570/2578) plus the inbound load_session handler at ~5422

agents_view dispatch_resume / dispatch_resume_in_agent_pane (warn + info, app.rs)

master new_session (mod.rs)

Each default-level line now logs has_cwd (bool) instead of the path; the full cwd moved to a sibling trace! on the matching *.content target. The two remaining cwd-in-log sites (coordinator_log, acp_log_built_prompt) are debug! level — dev-only, never the shipped info default — so left as-is. PR description updated.

run_delegate logged cwd at info! level. cwd is a filesystem path carrying the Windows username and folder names, so it is personal data, yet info is the shipped release default. Move cwd onto the existing trace-only delegate.content channel so nothing personal lands in wta-delegate.log at the default filter; the info line keeps only prompt_chars and the agent command name. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Addresses Copilot review on PR #261: the delegate path was not the only default-level cwd leak. run_delegate's acp_load_session, app.rs dispatch_resume / dispatch_resume_in_agent_pane (agents_view) and the inbound load_session handler, plus master's new_session, all emitted the full cwd path at info!/warn! — which the shipped info filter writes. Each default-level line now logs has_cwd (a bool) instead of the path; the full cwd moves to a sibling trace! on the matching *.content target (delegate.content / acp_load_session.content / agents_view.content / master.content), consistent with the repo convention that user/agent content only lands at trace. debug!-level cwd logs (coordinator_log, acp_log_built_prompt) are left as-is since debug is dev-only and never the shipped default. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Full sweep of info/warn/error logs for personal data (the previous commits only covered cwd). Three classes addressed: Tier 1 (user content / arbitrary files): master forwards fs/read|write_text_file and the on-disk session title at info!. The agent-controlled file path and the title (often derived from the user's prompt) now log only length/op at info; the full value moves to the trace-only master.content / session_hook.content channel. Tier 2 (fixed tool/runtime paths whose only PII is the Windows username): hooks-installer config/plugin/marketplace/bundle paths, the master-pipe discovery file, and the agent-pane origin record. New crate::logging::redact_user_path() rewrites the %LOCALAPPDATA%/%APPDATA%/%USERPROFILE% prefix to a placeholder, so these stay debuggable at info/warn without leaking the username. Tier 3 (captured subprocess output): the plugin-CLI stdout/stderr/args move to the agent_hooks.content trace; only exe + exit status stay at default. wtcli stdout/stderr were reviewed and left as-is (tool diagnostics: pane GUIDs / protocol errors, no user content). Out of scope: debug!-level logs (dev-only) and Tier 4 agent command lines (user-configured, not runtime PII). cargo build + logging unit tests pass. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

+        if let Some(prefix) = std::env::var_os(var) {
+            let prefix = prefix.to_string_lossy();
+            if prefix.is_empty() {
+                continue;
+            }
+            // `get(..len)` is None when `len` is not a char boundary, so this
+            // never panics on a non-ASCII username.
+            if let Some(head) = s.get(..prefix.len()) {
+                if head.eq_ignore_ascii_case(&prefix) {
+                    return format!("{placeholder}{}", &s[prefix.len()..]);
+                }
+            }
+        }


Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 10, 2026 02:11

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vanzue force-pushed the dev/vanzue/log-cwd-trace-only branch from 27e904d to 9fa16d7 Compare June 10, 2026 02:17

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 10, 2026 02:24

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vanzue force-pushed the dev/vanzue/log-cwd-trace-only branch from 90d04ee to ef54b3d Compare June 10, 2026 03:06

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 10, 2026 03:06

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of vanzue June 10, 2026 03:07 View session

vanzue changed the title ~~Keep delegate cwd path out of default-level logs~~ Keep PII out of default-level WTA logs Jun 10, 2026

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 10, 2026

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Keep PII out of default-level WTA logs#261

Keep PII out of default-level WTA logs#261
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dev/vanzue/log-cwd-trace-only

vanzue commented Jun 10, 2026 •

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vanzue commented Jun 10, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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vanzue commented Jun 10, 2026 •

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