[DRAFT RFC] Browser-based auth & one-command client provisioning

[saadqbal]

Draft for discussion — not for merge yet. Inline comments welcome on docs/rfcs/0001-cli-auth-and-client-provisioning.md.

Tracking epic: #54

What this is

Design RFC for replacing the current onboarding (sign up on web → hand-create a client at /clients → copy Client ID + password → paste into installer) with:

sign in (browser device flow) → name this machine + confirm location → done

Why it's mostly additive, not a rewrite

Grounded survey of backend / client-runtime / cli found that most of the model already exists:

• Client = EdgeDevice; human-readable name (first_name) and structured location (location → Electricity Maps ZONE_CHOICES) already exist and feed a working carbon pipeline.
• Provisioning API POST /edge-device/ already exists.
• A maintained Go CLI already exists and is installed by the client installer — the right home for login + client create.
• Only real gap: an RFC 8628 device-authorization grant on the backend (no device flow / PAT today).

Please weigh in on (RFC §11)

1. Is air-gapped / no-egress on-prem a real segment? (decides whether the token/enrollment-key fallback is first-class)
2. Location-change semantics — future-only vs re-baseline historical gCO₂?
3. Namespace ↔ name reconciliation if we derive the slug from the display name.
4. RBAC, multi-client-per-host, re-parenting — phase 1 or block?

Not in scope yet

Sub-tickets across backend / cli / client (§12) come after the design firms up.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[LukasWodka]

👋 Heads-up — Code review queue is at 16 / 8

Above the WIP limit. The team convention is to review existing PRs before opening new work.

Open PRs currently in Code review (oldest first):

• averaging-service#102 — chore(kanban): declare staging as prod-truth branch via .kanban.yml · author: @LukasWodka · no reviewer assigned
• averaging-service#103 — fix(averaging): correctness foundations — DP, shape guard, sklearn weighting, bounded ensembles (#73) · author: @LukasWodka · reviewer: @shujaatTracebloc
• averaging-service#98 — ci: add fr-gate caller workflow · author: @LukasWodka · no reviewer assigned
• backend#732 — feat(experiments): add per-experiment aggregation_strategy field (#730) · author: @LukasWodka · reviewer: @saqlainsyed007, @shujaatTracebloc
• data-ingestors#146 — test(schema): lock category enum to the engine's TaskCategory (anti-drift) · author: @LukasWodka · reviewer: @saadqbal
• data-ingestors#148 — Develop to prod · author: @divyasinghds · reviewer: @saadqbal
• design-system#19 — fix: un-track coverage/ and node_modules/ from git · author: @LukasWodka · no reviewer assigned
• design-system#22 — ci: add Vitest test workflow · author: @LukasWodka · reviewer: @aptracebloc
• design-system#23 — ci: add fr-gate caller workflow · author: @LukasWodka · no reviewer assigned
• docs#47 — docs(environment-setup): #192 namespace/workspace flow (hold for client#192) · author: @LukasWodka · reviewer: @saadqbal

Pull from review before opening new work. (This is a nudge from the kanban WIP check, not a block.)