Policy Editor Guide

Audience: Policy authors, reviewers, and approvers working in the Stella Ops Console. Imposed rule: Edits must run lint, simulate, and shadow+coverage gates before promotion; the UI enforces attachment of results on submission.

This guide walks through the Stella Ops Console Policy Editor end to end: authoring, validation, simulation, submission, approvals, promotion, and the offline workflow. For the underlying language, see the Policy DSL and SPL v1 references.

1. Workspace

Left rail: policy list, versions, status (draft/submitted/approved/active/archived), shadow flag badge.
Editor pane: YAML/SPL with schema validation, syntax highlighting, auto-format; shows IR hash after successful lint.
Metadata panel: description, tags, AOC indicator, attestation status.
Attachments panel: lint report, simulate diff, coverage results; mandatory before submission.

2. Validation

Live lint via compiler service; blocks save on fatal errors.
Schema assist: hover shows field descriptions; unknown fields flagged as warnings.
Determinism check: twin-run diff runs on save; failures block submission.

3. Simulation

Quick simulate: select fixtures (SBOM/VEX bundles) → runs in shadow mode; results shown inline with deltas vs previous version.
Batch simulate: enqueue via orchestrator; results stored as attachments; required freshness <24h for submission.

4. Submission & approvals

Submit requires: lint OK, simulate attachment, coverage results, shadow enabled.
Reviewers comment inline; blocking comments must be resolved before approval.
Approvers must enter reason/ticket; Authority enforces two-person rule when configured.

5. Promotion & activation

Publish & sign: produces DSSE attestation over IR hash + approval metadata; Rekor mirror when online.
Activate: selects approved version; records input cursors; triggers run if requested.
Rollback: pick prior approved version; requires reason.

6. Offline workflow

Load policy pack + attachments from Offline Kit; editor runs local lint/simulate with sealed inputs.
Submit/approve offline records events locally; sync to Authority when reconnected.

Keyboard: Ctrl+S save, Ctrl+Shift+L lint, Ctrl+Shift+R simulate.
Screen reader labels on editor, results table, and buttons; focus order follows workflow.

8. Troubleshooting

Lint failures: open Problems tab; fix schema/unknown fields.
Simulate stale: rerun quick simulate; ensure fixtures match policy inputs.
Attestation mismatch: regenerate IR (auto) and retry publish; check Authority scopes.