feat(cli): inject policy inputs from CSV/JSON files at attestation add

Add a repeatable --policy-input-from-file <input>[:<column>]=<file> flag to `chainloop attestation add` that extracts...

The source file is recorded as an EVIDENCE material, cross-linked to the evaluated material via a generic chainloop.m...

CSV parsing reuses the existing sigcheck parser; JSON accepts a string array, an array of objects, or an object mappi...

Assisted-by: Claude Code
Signed-off-by: Miguel Martinez Trivino <miguel@chainloop.dev>

Chainloop-Trace-Sessions: fe524d3a-ae31-482c-8675-45df3bfe4d81

Author: migmartri

app/cli/cmd/attestation_add.go

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ func newAttestationAddCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	var artifactCASConn *grpc.ClientConn
 	var annotationsFlag []string
 	var noStrictValidation bool
+	var policyInputFromFileFlag []string
 
 	// OCI registry credentials can be passed as flags or environment variables
 	var registryServer, registryUsername, registryPassword string
@@ -91,6 +92,13 @@ func newAttestationAddCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				return err
 			}
 
+			// Parse and resolve the policy input files (column -> policy input).
+			// Done once here; the resolved local paths are reused across retries.
+			policyInputFiles, err := resolvePolicyInputFiles(policyInputFromFileFlag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
 			// In some cases, the attestation state is stored remotely. To control concurrency we use
 			// optimistic locking. We retry the operation if the state has changed since we last read it.
 			return runWithBackoffRetry(
@@ -110,7 +118,7 @@ func newAttestationAddCmd() *cobra.Command {
 						}
 					}
 					// TODO: take the material output and show render it
-					resp, err := a.Run(cmd.Context(), attestationID, name, rawValuePath, kind, annotations)
+					resp, err := a.Run(cmd.Context(), attestationID, name, rawValuePath, kind, annotations, policyInputFiles)
 					if err != nil {
 						return err
 					}
@@ -146,6 +154,7 @@ func newAttestationAddCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	flagAttestationID(cmd)
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&kind, "kind", "", fmt.Sprintf("kind of the material to be recorded: %q", schemaapi.ListAvailableMaterialKind()))
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&noStrictValidation, "no-strict-validation", false, "skip strict schema validation for structured materials (SBOM_CYCLONEDX_JSON, OPENAPI_SPEC, ASYNCAPI_SPEC, OSSF_SCORECARD_JSON)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringArrayVar(&policyInputFromFileFlag, "policy-input-from-file", nil, "feed a policy input from a column of a CSV or JSON file, in the format <input>=<file>[:<column>] (e.g. ignored_paths=exception.csv:Path); <column> is a single top-level column/field name and defaults to the input name; repeatable. The file is also recorded as EVIDENCE.")
 
 	// Optional OCI registry credentials
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&registryServer, "registry-server", "", fmt.Sprintf("OCI repository server, ($%s)", registryServerEnvVarName))
@@ -167,6 +176,38 @@ func newAttestationAddCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	return cmd
 }
 
+// resolvePolicyInputFiles parses each --policy-input-from-file value and
+// resolves its file reference to a local path (downloading URLs to a temporary
+// file, mirroring how --value is handled).
+func resolvePolicyInputFiles(raw []string) ([]*action.PolicyInputFromFile, error) {
+	if len(raw) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+
+	result := make([]*action.PolicyInputFromFile, 0, len(raw))
+	for _, r := range raw {
+		pif, err := action.ParsePolicyInputFromFile(r)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		path, err := resourceloader.GetPathForResource(pif.File)
+		if err != nil {
+			var uerr *resourceloader.UnrecognizedSchemeError
+			if errors.As(err, &uerr) {
+				path = pif.File
+			} else {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("loading policy input file: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		pif.File = path
+
+		result = append(result, pif)
+	}
+
+	return result, nil
+}
+
 // displayMaterialInfo prints the material information in a table format.
 func displayMaterialInfo(status *action.AttestationStatusMaterial, policyEvaluations []*action.PolicyEvaluation) error {
 	if status == nil {

app/cli/cmd/policy_input_file_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+//
+// Copyright 2026 The Chainloop Authors.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/chainloop-dev/chainloop/app/cli/pkg/action"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestResolvePolicyInputFiles(t *testing.T) {
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		raw     []string
+		want    []*action.PolicyInputFromFile
+		wantNil bool
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "nil input returns nil",
+			raw:     nil,
+			wantNil: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "empty input returns nil",
+			raw:     []string{},
+			wantNil: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "malformed value propagates the parse error",
+			raw:     []string{"missing-equals"},
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "scheme-less missing path keeps the original file value",
+			raw:  []string{"ignored_paths=/does/not/exist.csv:Path"},
+			want: []*action.PolicyInputFromFile{
+				{Input: "ignored_paths", Column: "Path", File: "/does/not/exist.csv"},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple entries keep order and default the column",
+			raw: []string{
+				"ignored_paths=/no/exist1.csv",
+				"paths=/no/exist2.json:Glob",
+			},
+			want: []*action.PolicyInputFromFile{
+				{Input: "ignored_paths", Column: "ignored_paths", File: "/no/exist1.csv"},
+				{Input: "paths", Column: "Glob", File: "/no/exist2.json"},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "unresolvable env reference errors",
+			raw:     []string{"ignored_paths=env://CHAINLOOP_TEST_DEFINITELY_UNSET_VAR"},
+			wantErr: true,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := resolvePolicyInputFiles(tc.raw)
+			if tc.wantErr {
+				assert.Error(t, err)
+				return
+			}
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			if tc.wantNil {
+				assert.Nil(t, got)
+				return
+			}
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.want, got)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestResolvePolicyInputFilesExistingFile checks that an on-disk file is
+// resolved to its own path (no temporary copy).
+func TestResolvePolicyInputFilesExistingFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "exception.csv")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte("Path\nc:\\a.dll\n"), 0600))
+
+	got, err := resolvePolicyInputFiles([]string{"ignored_paths=" + path + ":Path"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, got, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, &action.PolicyInputFromFile{Input: "ignored_paths", Column: "Path", File: path}, got[0])
+}
+
+// TestResolvePolicyInputFilesResolvesEnv checks that a non-file reference (here
+// env://) is downloaded to a local temporary path that differs from the
+// original reference.
+func TestResolvePolicyInputFilesResolvesEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("CHAINLOOP_TEST_POLICY_INPUT", `["c:\\a.dll"]`)
+
+	got, err := resolvePolicyInputFiles([]string{"ignored_paths=env://CHAINLOOP_TEST_POLICY_INPUT"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, got, 1)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "ignored_paths", got[0].Input)
+	assert.Equal(t, "ignored_paths", got[0].Column)
+	// The env reference is materialized to a real local file.
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "env://CHAINLOOP_TEST_POLICY_INPUT", got[0].File)
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(got[0].File)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, `["c:\\a.dll"]`, string(content))
+}

app/cli/documentation/cli-reference.mdx

@@ -249,16 +249,17 @@ chainloop attestation add --value https://example.com/sbom.json
 Options
 
 ```
---annotation strings         additional annotation in the format of key=value
---attestation-id string      Unique identifier of the in-progress attestation
--h, --help                       help for add
---kind string                kind of the material to be recorded: ["ARTIFACT" "ASYNCAPI_SPEC" "ATTESTATION" "BLACKDUCK_SCA_JSON" "CERTCC_DRANZER" "CHAINLOOP_AI_AGENT_CONFIG" "CHAINLOOP_AI_CODING_SESSION" "CHAINLOOP_PR_INFO" "CHAINLOOP_RUNNER_CONTEXT" "CONTAINER_IMAGE" "CSAF_INFORMATIONAL_ADVISORY" "CSAF_SECURITY_ADVISORY" "CSAF_SECURITY_INCIDENT_RESPONSE" "CSAF_VEX" "EVIDENCE" "GHAS_CODE_SCAN" "GHAS_DEPENDENCY_SCAN" "GHAS_SECRET_SCAN" "GITLAB_SECURITY_REPORT" "GITLEAKS_JSON" "GRAPHQL_SPEC" "HELM_CHART" "JACOCO_XML" "JUNIT_XML" "OPENAPI_SPEC" "OPENVEX" "OSSF_SCORECARD_JSON" "RADAMSA_CRASHES" "RADAMSA_REPORT" "SARIF" "SBOM_CYCLONEDX_JSON" "SBOM_SPDX_JSON" "SLSA_PROVENANCE" "STRING" "SYSINTERNALS_ACCESSCHK" "SYSINTERNALS_SIGCHECK" "TWISTCLI_SCAN_JSON" "YELP_DETECT_SECRETS_BASELINE" "ZAP_DAST_ZIP"]
---name string                name of the material as shown in the contract
---no-strict-validation       skip strict schema validation for structured materials (SBOM_CYCLONEDX_JSON, OPENAPI_SPEC, ASYNCAPI_SPEC, OSSF_SCORECARD_JSON)
---registry-password string   registry password, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_PASSWORD)
---registry-server string     OCI repository server, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_SERVER)
---registry-username string   registry username, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_USERNAME)
---value string               value to be recorded
+--annotation strings                   additional annotation in the format of key=value
+--attestation-id string                Unique identifier of the in-progress attestation
+-h, --help                                 help for add
+--kind string                          kind of the material to be recorded: ["ARTIFACT" "ASYNCAPI_SPEC" "ATTESTATION" "BLACKDUCK_SCA_JSON" "CERTCC_DRANZER" "CHAINLOOP_AI_AGENT_CONFIG" "CHAINLOOP_AI_CODING_SESSION" "CHAINLOOP_PR_INFO" "CHAINLOOP_RUNNER_CONTEXT" "CONTAINER_IMAGE" "CSAF_INFORMATIONAL_ADVISORY" "CSAF_SECURITY_ADVISORY" "CSAF_SECURITY_INCIDENT_RESPONSE" "CSAF_VEX" "EVIDENCE" "GHAS_CODE_SCAN" "GHAS_DEPENDENCY_SCAN" "GHAS_SECRET_SCAN" "GITLAB_SECURITY_REPORT" "GITLEAKS_JSON" "GRAPHQL_SPEC" "HELM_CHART" "JACOCO_XML" "JUNIT_XML" "OPENAPI_SPEC" "OPENVEX" "OSSF_SCORECARD_JSON" "RADAMSA_CRASHES" "RADAMSA_REPORT" "SARIF" "SBOM_CYCLONEDX_JSON" "SBOM_SPDX_JSON" "SLSA_PROVENANCE" "STRING" "SYSINTERNALS_ACCESSCHK" "SYSINTERNALS_SIGCHECK" "TWISTCLI_SCAN_JSON" "YELP_DETECT_SECRETS_BASELINE" "ZAP_DAST_ZIP"]
+--name string                          name of the material as shown in the contract
+--no-strict-validation                 skip strict schema validation for structured materials (SBOM_CYCLONEDX_JSON, OPENAPI_SPEC, ASYNCAPI_SPEC, OSSF_SCORECARD_JSON)
+--policy-input-from-file stringArray   feed a policy input from a column of a CSV or JSON file, in the format <input>=<file>[:<column>] (e.g. ignored_paths=exception.csv:Path); <column> is a single top-level column/field name and defaults to the input name; repeatable. The file is also recorded as EVIDENCE.
+--registry-password string             registry password, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_PASSWORD)
+--registry-server string               OCI repository server, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_SERVER)
+--registry-username string             registry username, ($CHAINLOOP_REGISTRY_USERNAME)
+--value string                         value to be recorded
 ```
 
 Options inherited from parent commands