feat(policy): add --admin-policy flag for supplemental admin policies (#20360)

docs/reference/configuration.md

@@ -92,6 +92,13 @@ their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.
   - **Default:** `[]`
   - **Requires restart:** Yes
 
+#### `adminPolicyPaths`
+
+- **`adminPolicyPaths`** (array):
+  - **Description:** Additional admin policy files or directories to load.
+  - **Default:** `[]`
+  - **Requires restart:** Yes
+
 #### `general`
 
 - **`general.preferredEditor`** (string):

docs/reference/policy-engine.md

@@ -191,9 +191,13 @@ User, and (if configured) Admin directories.
 
 #### System-wide policies (Admin)
 
-Administrators can enforce system-wide policies (Tier 3) that override all user
+Administrators can enforce system-wide policies (Tier 4) that override all user
-and default settings. These policies must be placed in specific, secure
+and default settings. These policies can be loaded from standard system
-directories:
+locations or supplemental paths.
+
+##### Standard Locations
+
+These are the default paths the CLI searches for admin policies:
 
 | OS          | Policy Directory Path                             |
 | :---------- | :------------------------------------------------ |
@@ -201,10 +205,25 @@ directories:
 | **macOS**   | `/Library/Application Support/GeminiCli/policies` |
 | **Windows** | `C:\ProgramData\gemini-cli\policies`              |
 
-**Security Requirements:**
+##### Supplemental Admin Policies
 
-To prevent privilege escalation, the CLI enforces strict security checks on
+Administrators can also specify supplemental policy paths using:
-admin directories. If checks fail, system policies are **ignored**.
+
+- The `--admin-policy` command-line flag.
+- The `adminPolicyPaths` setting in a system settings file.
+
+These supplemental policies are assigned the same **Admin** tier (Base 4) as
+policies in standard locations.
+
+**Security Guard**: Supplemental admin policies are **ignored** if any `.toml`
+policy files are found in the standard system location. This prevents flag-based
+overrides when a central system policy has already been established.
+
+#### Security Requirements
+
+To prevent privilege escalation, the CLI enforces strict security checks on the
+**standard system policy directory**. If checks fail, the policies in that
+directory are **ignored**.
 
 - **Linux / macOS:** Must be owned by `root` (UID 0) and NOT writable by group
   or others (e.g., `chmod 755`).
@@ -214,6 +233,11 @@ admin directories. If checks fail, system policies are **ignored**.
   for non-admin groups. You may need to "Disable inheritance" in Advanced
   Security Settings._
 
+**Note:** Supplemental admin policies (provided via `--admin-policy` or
+`adminPolicyPaths` settings) are **NOT** subject to these strict ownership
+checks, as they are explicitly provided by the user or administrator in their
+current execution context.
+
 ### TOML rule schema
 
 Here is a breakdown of the fields available in a TOML policy rule:

package-lock.json

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+      "peer": true,
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+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
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+      "peer": true,
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+      "peer": true,
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       "devOptional": true,
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+      "peer": true,
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+      "peer": true,
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "acorn": "bin/acorn"
       },
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       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=16.9.0"
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+      "peer": true,
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
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       "devOptional": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
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       "dev": true,
-      "license": "0BSD"
+      "license": "0BSD",
+      "peer": true
     },
     "node_modules/tsx": {
       "version": "4.20.3",
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       "devOptional": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
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       "devOptional": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "tsc": "bin/tsc",
         "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.25.0",
         "fdir": "^6.5.0",
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@types/chai": "^5.2.2",
         "@vitest/expect": "3.2.4",
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "funding": {
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/colinhacks"
       }
@@ -17336,6 +17359,7 @@
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       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },

packages/cli/src/config/config.ts

@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ export interface CliArgs {
   yolo: boolean | undefined;
   approvalMode: string | undefined;
   policy: string[] | undefined;
+  adminPolicy: string[] | undefined;
   allowedMcpServerNames: string[] | undefined;
   allowedTools: string[] | undefined;
   acp?: boolean;
@@ -97,6 +98,21 @@ export interface CliArgs {
   isCommand: boolean | undefined;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Helper to coerce comma-separated or multiple flag values into a flat array.
+ */
+const coerceCommaSeparated = (values: string[]): string[] => {
+  if (values.length === 1 && values[0] === '') {
+    return [''];
+  }
+  return values.flatMap((v) =>
+    v
+      .split(',')
+      .map((s) => s.trim())
+      .filter(Boolean),
+  );
+};
+
 export async function parseArguments(
   settings: MergedSettings,
 ): Promise<CliArgs> {
@@ -166,14 +182,15 @@ export async function parseArguments(
           nargs: 1,
           description:
             'Additional policy files or directories to load (comma-separated or multiple --policy)',
-          coerce: (policies: string[]) =>
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
-            // Handle comma-separated values
+        })
-            policies.flatMap((p) =>
+        .option('admin-policy', {
-              p
+          type: 'array',
-                .split(',')
+          string: true,
-                .map((s) => s.trim())
+          nargs: 1,
-                .filter(Boolean),
+          description:
-            ),
+            'Additional admin policy files or directories to load (comma-separated or multiple --admin-policy)',
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
         })
         .option('acp', {
           type: 'boolean',
@@ -189,11 +206,7 @@ export async function parseArguments(
           string: true,
           nargs: 1,
           description: 'Allowed MCP server names',
-          coerce: (mcpServerNames: string[]) =>
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
-            // Handle comma-separated values
-            mcpServerNames.flatMap((mcpServerName) =>
-              mcpServerName.split(',').map((m) => m.trim()),
-            ),
         })
         .option('allowed-tools', {
           type: 'array',
@@ -201,9 +214,7 @@ export async function parseArguments(
           nargs: 1,
           description:
             '[DEPRECATED: Use Policy Engine instead See https://geminicli.com/docs/core/policy-engine] Tools that are allowed to run without confirmation',
-          coerce: (tools: string[]) =>
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
-            // Handle comma-separated values
-            tools.flatMap((tool) => tool.split(',').map((t) => t.trim())),
         })
         .option('extensions', {
           alias: 'e',
@@ -212,11 +223,7 @@ export async function parseArguments(
           nargs: 1,
           description:
             'A list of extensions to use. If not provided, all extensions are used.',
-          coerce: (extensions: string[]) =>
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
-            // Handle comma-separated values
-            extensions.flatMap((extension) =>
-              extension.split(',').map((e) => e.trim()),
-            ),
         })
         .option('list-extensions', {
           alias: 'l',
@@ -258,9 +265,7 @@ export async function parseArguments(
           nargs: 1,
           description:
             'Additional directories to include in the workspace (comma-separated or multiple --include-directories)',
-          coerce: (dirs: string[]) =>
+          coerce: coerceCommaSeparated,
-            // Handle comma-separated values
-            dirs.flatMap((dir) => dir.split(',').map((d) => d.trim())),
         })
         .option('screen-reader', {
           type: 'boolean',
@@ -643,7 +648,8 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
       ...settings.mcp,
       allowed: argv.allowedMcpServerNames ?? settings.mcp?.allowed,
     },
-    policyPaths: argv.policy,
+    policyPaths: argv.policy ?? settings.policyPaths,
+    adminPolicyPaths: argv.adminPolicy ?? settings.adminPolicyPaths,
   };
 
   const { workspacePoliciesDir, policyUpdateConfirmationRequest } =

packages/cli/src/config/policy.ts

@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ export async function createPolicyEngineConfig(
     tools: settings.tools,
     mcpServers: settings.mcpServers,
     policyPaths: settings.policyPaths,
+    adminPolicyPaths: settings.adminPolicyPaths,
     workspacePoliciesDir,
   };
 

packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts

@@ -134,6 +134,18 @@ export interface SettingsSchema {
 export type MemoryImportFormat = 'tree' | 'flat';
 export type DnsResolutionOrder = 'ipv4first' | 'verbatim';
 
+const pathArraySetting = (label: string, description: string) => ({
+  type: 'array' as const,
+  label,
+  category: 'Advanced' as const,
+  requiresRestart: true as const,
+  default: [] as string[],
+  description,
+  showInDialog: false as const,
+  items: { type: 'string' as const },
+  mergeStrategy: MergeStrategy.UNION,
+});
+
 /**
  * The canonical schema for all settings.
  * The structure of this object defines the structure of the `Settings` type.
@@ -156,17 +168,15 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
     },
   },
 
-  policyPaths: {
+  policyPaths: pathArraySetting(
-    type: 'array',
+    'Policy Paths',
-    label: 'Policy Paths',
+    'Additional policy files or directories to load.',
-    category: 'Advanced',
+  ),
-    requiresRestart: true,
+
-    default: [] as string[],
+  adminPolicyPaths: pathArraySetting(
-    description: 'Additional policy files or directories to load.',
+    'Admin Policy Paths',
-    showInDialog: false,
+    'Additional admin policy files or directories to load.',
-    items: { type: 'string' },
+  ),
-    mergeStrategy: MergeStrategy.UNION,
-  },
 
   general: {
     type: 'object',
@@ -2677,6 +2687,8 @@ type InferSettings<T extends SettingsSchema> = {
         ? boolean
         : T[K]['default'] extends string
           ? string
+          : T[K]['default'] extends ReadonlyArray<infer U>
+            ? U[]
             : T[K]['default'];
 };
 
@@ -2691,6 +2703,8 @@ type InferMergedSettings<T extends SettingsSchema> = {
         ? boolean
         : T[K]['default'] extends string
           ? string
+          : T[K]['default'] extends ReadonlyArray<infer U>
+            ? U[]
             : T[K]['default'];
 };
 

packages/cli/src/gemini.test.tsx

@@ -481,6 +481,7 @@ describe('gemini.tsx main function kitty protocol', () => {
       yolo: undefined,
       approvalMode: undefined,
       policy: undefined,
+      adminPolicy: undefined,
       allowedMcpServerNames: undefined,
       allowedTools: undefined,
       experimentalAcp: undefined,

packages/cli/src/ui/components/__snapshots__/ConfigInitDisplay.test.tsx.snap

@@ -29,3 +29,9 @@ exports[`ConfigInitDisplay > updates message on McpClientUpdate event 1`] = `
 Spinner Connecting to MCP servers... (1/2) - Waiting for: server2
 "
 `;
+
+exports[`ConfigInitDisplay > updates message on McpClientUpdate event 2`] = `
+"
+Spinner Connecting to MCP servers... (1/2) - Waiting for: server2
+"
+`;

packages/core/src/policy/config.ts

@@ -39,6 +39,26 @@ const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
 const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
 export const DEFAULT_CORE_POLICIES_DIR = path.join(__dirname, 'policies');
 
+// Cache to prevent duplicate warnings in the same process
+const emittedWarnings = new Set<string>();
+
+/**
+ * Emits a warning feedback event only once per process.
+ */
+function emitWarningOnce(message: string): void {
+  if (!emittedWarnings.has(message)) {
+    coreEvents.emitFeedback('warning', message);
+    emittedWarnings.add(message);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clears the emitted warnings cache. Used primarily for tests.
+ */
+export function clearEmittedPolicyWarnings(): void {
+  emittedWarnings.clear();
+}
+
 // Policy tier constants for priority calculation
 export const DEFAULT_POLICY_TIER = 1;
 export const EXTENSION_POLICY_TIER = 2;
@@ -89,33 +109,29 @@ export function getAlwaysAllowPriorityFraction(): number {
  * @param policyPaths Optional user-provided policy paths (from --policy flag).
  *   When provided, these replace the default user policies directory.
  * @param workspacePoliciesDir Optional path to a directory containing workspace policies.
+ * @param adminPolicyPaths Optional admin-provided policy paths (from --admin-policy flag).
+ *   When provided, these supplement the default system policies directory.
  */
 export function getPolicyDirectories(
   defaultPoliciesDir?: string,
   policyPaths?: string[],
   workspacePoliciesDir?: string,
+  adminPolicyPaths?: string[],
 ): string[] {
-  const dirs = [];
+  return [
-
     // Admin tier (highest priority)
-  dirs.push(Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir());
+    Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir(),
+    ...(adminPolicyPaths ?? []),
 
     // User tier (second highest priority)
-  if (policyPaths && policyPaths.length > 0) {
+    ...(policyPaths ?? [Storage.getUserPoliciesDir()]),
-    dirs.push(...policyPaths);
-  } else {
-    dirs.push(Storage.getUserPoliciesDir());
-  }
 
     // Workspace Tier (third highest)
-  if (workspacePoliciesDir) {
+    workspacePoliciesDir,
-    dirs.push(workspacePoliciesDir);
-  }
 
     // Default tier (lowest priority)
-  dirs.push(defaultPoliciesDir ?? DEFAULT_CORE_POLICIES_DIR);
+    defaultPoliciesDir ?? DEFAULT_CORE_POLICIES_DIR,
-
+  ].filter((dir): dir is string => !!dir);
-  return dirs;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -124,37 +140,40 @@ export function getPolicyDirectories(
  */
 export function getPolicyTier(
   dir: string,
-  defaultPoliciesDir?: string,
+  context: {
-  workspacePoliciesDir?: string,
+    defaultPoliciesDir?: string;
+    workspacePoliciesDir?: string;
+    adminPolicyPaths?: Set<string>;
+    systemPoliciesDir: string;
+    userPoliciesDir: string;
+  },
 ): number {
-  const USER_POLICIES_DIR = Storage.getUserPoliciesDir();
-  const ADMIN_POLICIES_DIR = Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir();
-
   const normalizedDir = path.resolve(dir);
-  const normalizedUser = path.resolve(USER_POLICIES_DIR);
-  const normalizedAdmin = path.resolve(ADMIN_POLICIES_DIR);
 
+  if (normalizedDir === context.systemPoliciesDir) {
+    return ADMIN_POLICY_TIER;
+  }
+  if (context.adminPolicyPaths?.has(normalizedDir)) {
+    return ADMIN_POLICY_TIER;
+  }
+  if (normalizedDir === context.userPoliciesDir) {
+    return USER_POLICY_TIER;
+  }
   if (
-    defaultPoliciesDir &&
+    context.workspacePoliciesDir &&
-    normalizedDir === path.resolve(defaultPoliciesDir)
+    normalizedDir === path.resolve(context.workspacePoliciesDir)
+  ) {
+    return WORKSPACE_POLICY_TIER;
+  }
+  if (
+    context.defaultPoliciesDir &&
+    normalizedDir === path.resolve(context.defaultPoliciesDir)
   ) {
     return DEFAULT_POLICY_TIER;
   }
   if (normalizedDir === path.resolve(DEFAULT_CORE_POLICIES_DIR)) {
     return DEFAULT_POLICY_TIER;
   }
-  if (normalizedDir === normalizedUser) {
-    return USER_POLICY_TIER;
-  }
-  if (
-    workspacePoliciesDir &&
-    normalizedDir === path.resolve(workspacePoliciesDir)
-  ) {
-    return WORKSPACE_POLICY_TIER;
-  }
-  if (normalizedDir === normalizedAdmin) {
-    return ADMIN_POLICY_TIER;
-  }
 
   return DEFAULT_POLICY_TIER;
 }
@@ -178,21 +197,24 @@ export function formatPolicyError(error: PolicyFileError): string {
 
 /**
  * Filters out insecure policy directories (specifically the system policy directory).
+ * Supplemental admin policy paths are NOT subject to strict security checks as they
+ * are explicitly provided by the user/administrator via flags or settings.
  * Emits warnings if insecure directories are found.
  */
 async function filterSecurePolicyDirectories(
   dirs: string[],
+  systemPoliciesDir: string,
 ): Promise<string[]> {
-  const systemPoliciesDir = path.resolve(Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir());
-
   const results = await Promise.all(
     dirs.map(async (dir) => {
-      // Only check security for system policies
+      const normalizedDir = path.resolve(dir);
-      if (path.resolve(dir) === systemPoliciesDir) {
+      const isSystemPolicy = normalizedDir === systemPoliciesDir;
+
+      if (isSystemPolicy) {
         const { secure, reason } = await isDirectorySecure(dir);
         if (!secure) {
           const msg = `Security Warning: Skipping system policies from ${dir}: ${reason}`;
-          coreEvents.emitFeedback('warning', msg);
+          emitWarningOnce(msg);
           return null;
         }
       }
@@ -271,41 +293,71 @@ export async function createPolicyEngineConfig(
   approvalMode: ApprovalMode,
   defaultPoliciesDir?: string,
 ): Promise<PolicyEngineConfig> {
+  const systemPoliciesDir = path.resolve(Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir());
+  const userPoliciesDir = path.resolve(Storage.getUserPoliciesDir());
+  let adminPolicyPaths = settings.adminPolicyPaths;
+
+  // Security: Ignore supplemental admin policies if the system directory already contains policies.
+  // This prevents flag-based overrides when a central system policy is established.
+  if (adminPolicyPaths?.length) {
+    try {
+      const files = await fs.readdir(systemPoliciesDir);
+      if (files.some((f) => f.endsWith('.toml'))) {
+        const msg = `Security Warning: Ignoring --admin-policy because system policies are already defined in ${systemPoliciesDir}`;
+        emitWarningOnce(msg);
+        adminPolicyPaths = undefined;
+      }
+    } catch (e) {
+      if (!isNodeError(e) || e.code !== 'ENOENT') {
+        debugLogger.warn(
+          `Failed to check system policies in ${systemPoliciesDir}`,
+          e,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   const policyDirs = getPolicyDirectories(
     defaultPoliciesDir,
     settings.policyPaths,
     settings.workspacePoliciesDir,
+    adminPolicyPaths,
   );
-  const securePolicyDirs = await filterSecurePolicyDirectories(policyDirs);
 
-  const normalizedAdminPoliciesDir = path.resolve(
+  const adminPolicyPathsSet = adminPolicyPaths
-    Storage.getSystemPoliciesDir(),
+    ? new Set(adminPolicyPaths.map((p) => path.resolve(p)))
+    : undefined;
+
+  const securePolicyDirs = await filterSecurePolicyDirectories(
+    policyDirs,
+    systemPoliciesDir,
   );
 
+  const tierContext = {
+    defaultPoliciesDir,
+    workspacePoliciesDir: settings.workspacePoliciesDir,
+    adminPolicyPaths: adminPolicyPathsSet,
+    systemPoliciesDir,
+    userPoliciesDir,
+  };
+
+  const userProvidedPaths = settings.policyPaths
+    ? new Set(settings.policyPaths.map((p) => path.resolve(p)))
+    : new Set<string>();
+
   // Load policies from TOML files
   const {
     rules: tomlRules,
     checkers: tomlCheckers,
     errors,
   } = await loadPoliciesFromToml(securePolicyDirs, (p) => {
-    const tier = getPolicyTier(
-      p,
-      defaultPoliciesDir,
-      settings.workspacePoliciesDir,
-    );
-
-    // If it's a user-provided path that isn't already categorized as ADMIN,
-    // treat it as USER tier.
-    if (
-      settings.policyPaths?.some(
-        (userPath) => path.resolve(userPath) === path.resolve(p),
-      )
-    ) {
     const normalizedPath = path.resolve(p);
-      if (normalizedPath !== normalizedAdminPoliciesDir) {
+    const tier = getPolicyTier(normalizedPath, tierContext);
+
+    // If it's a user-provided path that isn't already categorized as ADMIN, treat it as USER tier.
+    if (userProvidedPaths.has(normalizedPath) && tier !== ADMIN_POLICY_TIER) {
       return USER_POLICY_TIER;
     }
-    }
 
     return tier;
   });

packages/core/src/policy/types.ts

@@ -311,6 +311,8 @@ export interface PolicySettings {
   mcpServers?: Record<string, { trust?: boolean }>;
   // User provided policies that will replace the USER level policies in ~/.gemini/policies
   policyPaths?: string[];
+  // Admin provided policies that will supplement the ADMIN level policies
+  adminPolicyPaths?: string[];
   workspacePoliciesDir?: string;
 }
 

schemas/settings.schema.json

@@ -32,6 +32,16 @@
         "type": "string"
       }
     },
+    "adminPolicyPaths": {
+      "title": "Admin Policy Paths",
+      "description": "Additional admin policy files or directories to load.",
+      "markdownDescription": "Additional admin policy files or directories to load.\n\n- Category: `Advanced`\n- Requires restart: `yes`\n- Default: `[]`",
+      "default": [],
+      "type": "array",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "string"
+      }
+    },
     "general": {
       "title": "General",
       "description": "General application settings.",