Redacted Vast.ai Support Manifest
Overview
A useful bundle binds exact resource IDs, CLI version, timestamps, states, and redacted errors. It does not archive the entire environment, shell history, account profile, or secret-bearing generated curl commands.
Prerequisites
- Incident window, affected instance/endpoint/workergroup IDs, and symptom
- Evidence classification, retention period, support case owner, and approved destination
- Redaction rules for API keys, URLs, emails, storage credentials, model inputs, and customer data
Instructions
Step 1: Freeze the collection plan
List each command, field, time range, and justification before reading data. Exclude environment dumps and home-directory archives.
Step 2: Collect control-plane facts
Record CLI version, redacted show user, structured instance or Serverless state, offer/template identity, and timestamps.
Step 3: Collect bounded logs
Retrieve only the relevant container, endpoint, or workergroup log window and filter known credential and payload fields.
Step 4: Capture request diagnostics safely
Use --explain or equivalent call metadata only when the output is reviewed for bearer tokens and query credentials before storage.
Step 5: Redact and inventory
Replace sensitive values consistently, retain resource IDs needed by support, and create file hashes plus a redaction attestation.
Step 6: Validate the bundle
Have a second pass search for key patterns, private keys, URLs with credentials, emails, and workload secrets before sharing.
Authentication
Prefer a read-only scoped key. Never store VAST_API_KEY, key-file contents, SSH private material, webhook secrets, cloud credentials, or Authorization headers in the bundle.
Tool Discipline
Use Read and Grep to inspect manifests, configuration, provider output, and existing tests before proposing a mutation. Use Write or Edit only for the approved plan, implementation, test, or redacted receipt; do not create, update, destroy, or fund Vast.ai resources without explicit operator approval.
Output
- Collection scope and command manifest
- Redacted evidence files with hashes and time bounds
- Redaction attestation, retention date, and support handoff receipt
Return incident window, resource IDs, collected fields, excluded classes, file hashes, redaction result, and recipient.
Examples
A support manifest contains CLI version, one offline instance record, the last 100 redacted log lines, template hash, timestamps, and checksums; it excludes environment variables and generated Authorization headers.
Error Handling
| Failure | Response |
|---|---|
| A secret detector fires | Quarantine the bundle, rotate exposed credentials if necessary, and rebuild from source. |
| Requested data exceeds the incident window | Exclude it unless the case owner documents a need. |
| Resource has already been destroyed | Use retained external receipts; do not fabricate live state. |
| Support asks for raw credentials | Refuse and provide a redacted reproduction instead. |