Install-time supply-chain security

Stop untrusted code before it runs.

targate inspects npm packages in quarantine and runs the real installation only when they pass.

Open source · Deterministic by default · AI optional

Same package. Different outcome.

npmDIRECT INSTALL

Installs first. Trusts implicitly.

$ npm install night-owl-kitnpm http fetch GET 200 registry.npmjs.org/night-owl-kitnpm http fetch GET 200 night-owl-kit-2.4.1.tgznpm info run night-owl-kit@2.4.1 postinstall> node scripts/setup.jspostinstall › reading process.envpostinstall › accessing ~/.sshpostinstall › spawning child processpostinstall › fetching remote payloadPOST https://collect.invalid/telemetry  200 OKadded 28 packages in 2s⚠ Untrusted code already executed

INSTALLED · executed before trust

targateQUARANTINED INSTALL

Inspects first. Executes conditionally.

QUARANTINENO CODE EXECUTED

$ targate add night-owl-kit◆ Resolving night-owl-kit@2.4.1◆ Downloading tarball to quarantine◆ Verifying tarball integrity◆ Extracting package safely◆ Scanning lifecycle scripts! postinstall script detected! child_process usage detected! sensitive environment access detected! remote payload retrieval detected◆ Evaluating deterministic policy✗ Decision: BLOCK   (risk: high, source: rules)  Lifecycle command downloads and executes remote code.  The package was not installed. No package code was executed.

POSTINSTALLCHILD_PROCESSENV_ACCESSREMOTE_FETCHSENSITIVE_PATH

BLOCK · inspected before execution

npm installed it. targate interrogated it.Inspect first. Install second.

npm installs the package and its malicious postinstall runs immediately. targate downloads the same package into quarantine, inspects it without executing it, and blocks it — Decision: BLOCK (risk: high). No package code runs.

The problem

Installing a package is not just downloading files.

Lifecycle scripts may access your shell, filesystem, environment variables, credentials and network during installation — before you have read a line of the code.

npm install
├── filesystem
├── environment
├── credentials
└── network

How it works

Resolve, quarantine, inspect — then decide.

Every gate runs the same deterministic pipeline. The tarball is verified and extracted without ever running a lifecycle script.

RESOLVE

Fetch registry metadata and the exact version to install.

QUARANTINE

Download the tarball into isolation — no code executes.

VERIFY

Check the artifact's SHA-512 against every independent source.

INSPECT

Scan lifecycle scripts, contents, and native surface; query OSV.

DECIDE

A deterministic rules engine returns the verdict.

INSTALL OR BLOCK

Install only if it passes; otherwise stop before execution.

Deterministic by default

The rules engine decides. AI can only make the verdict stricter.

targate runs on a deterministic rules engine with no AI required. When an AI reviewer is configured, it can raise severity but can never turn a BLOCK into an ALLOW.

Rules engine
↓
ALLOW / REQUIRE_APPROVAL / BLOCK
↓
Optional AI review
↓
same or stricter verdict

Use cases

One gate, everywhere packages enter.

Local development

Gate targate add before a dependency ever lands on your machine.

CI & pull requests

Fail a PR on a risky dependency change with committed, reviewed approvals.

Coding agents

Make AI agents route installs through the gate instead of running npm install blind.

React Native & native surfaces

Inspect podspecs, Gradle, and prebuilt binaries that run build-time code.

Inspect first. Install second.

Code should earn trust before execution.

Read the documentation View on GitHub