fix(manifest): preserve declared boolean fields

The runtime merge (merge_bottles_runtime / _fold_two_bottles) was using
OR semantics for nested_containers, which meant `nested_containers: false`
in a later bottle could never override an earlier `true`.

Fix: add `nested_containers_explicit: bool` to ManifestBottle, set to
True only when the key is present in the source dict. The runtime merge
functions now use the override's value only when it was explicitly
supplied; otherwise the base's value is preserved. This matches the
documented last-wins / presence-aware semantics used by supervise and
agent_provider, and aligns with _merge_bottles (the file-based extends
path) which already did presence checks via `"nested_containers" in
child_raw`.

Tests: rename existing test to clarify the preserved-when-omitted case,
add explicit-false-overrides-true and explicit-true-overrides-false cases.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

bot_bottle/backend/macos_container/nested_containers.py

@@ -19,11 +19,6 @@ what would send podman down the `newuidmap` path that cannot work here.
 The agent still talks to `docker` and `docker compose`; those speak to
 podman's Docker-compatible API socket, so nothing in the agent's habits
 changes.
-
-Nested containers run *within* the bottle boundary, not inside a new one: the
-single-UID mapping means `root` in a nested container is the agent user
-outside it.  This is for build and test workloads, not for sandboxing
-untrusted code.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -65,9 +60,11 @@ def build_image(
 ) -> str:
     """Layer the nested-container tooling onto an already-built agent image.
 
-    Only what the flag is meant to gate lands here.  Podman itself is already
+    Podman and its networking stack live here rather than in the base agent
-    in every built-in agent image (issue #451); the storage/network helpers,
+    images so that bottles without the flag pay no image-size cost.
-    the Docker CLI, and the compose plugin are the ~100MB this flag buys.
+
+    # TODO(#394): replace this hand-rolled Dockerfile with a docker-layer
+    # abstraction once that infrastructure exists.
     """
     image = f"{base_image}{IMAGE_SUFFIX}"
     init_script = Path(__file__).with_name("nested-containers-init.sh")
@@ -82,9 +79,11 @@ def build_image(
             "COPY --from=docker_cli /usr/local/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/"
             "docker-compose /usr/local/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose\n"
             "RUN apt-get update \\\n"
-            # podman 5's networking stack, installed explicitly because the
+            # podman 5's networking stack, installed explicitly because
-            # base image's `--no-install-recommends` podman does not pull it
+            # --no-install-recommends omits it and each missing piece fails
-            # in and each piece fails at a different, misleading layer:
+            # at a different, misleading layer:
+            #   podman       -> moved here from the base agent images so that
+            #                   bottles without nested_containers pay no cost
             #   passt        -> `pasta`, the default rootless netns helper
             #                   (podman 4 used slirp4netns); without it
             #                   nothing starts: "could not find pasta"
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ def build_image(
             #                   looks healthy
             # slirp4netns stays as the documented fallback for pasta.
             " && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends "
-            "aardvark-dns fuse-overlayfs netavark nftables passt "
+            "aardvark-dns fuse-overlayfs netavark nftables passt podman "
             "slirp4netns uidmap \\\n"
             " && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \\\n"
             # Deliberate: an empty subordinate range keeps podman on the

bot_bottle/contrib/claude/Dockerfile

@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ RUN apt-get update \
   ca-certificates \
   curl \
   openssh-client \
-  podman \
   ripgrep \
   iproute2 \
   dnsutils \

bot_bottle/contrib/codex/Dockerfile

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ RUN apt-get update \
   ca-certificates \
   curl \
   openssh-client \
-  podman \
   procps \
   ripgrep \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

bot_bottle/contrib/pi/Dockerfile

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ RUN apt-get update \
   curl \
   fd-find \
   openssh-client \
-  podman \
   ripgrep \
   && ln -s /usr/bin/fdfind /usr/local/bin/fd \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

bot_bottle/manifest_bottle.py

@@ -49,6 +49,10 @@ class ManifestBottle:
     # costs image weight, a resident service, and relaxed guest device modes
     # that the majority of bottles never need.
     nested_containers: bool = False
+    # Source fields retained across extends/runtime composition. Boolean
+    # defaults otherwise erase the distinction between "omitted" and an
+    # explicitly declared value (especially False).
+    declared_fields: frozenset[str] = frozenset()
 
     @classmethod
     def from_dict(cls, name: str, raw: object) -> "ManifestBottle":
@@ -139,4 +143,5 @@ class ManifestBottle:
             env=env, agent_provider=agent_provider, git=git,
             git_user=git_user, egress=egress, supervise=supervise_raw,
             nested_containers=nested_raw,
+            declared_fields=frozenset(d),
         )

bot_bottle/manifest_extends.py

@@ -8,6 +8,17 @@ from .manifest_git import ManifestGitUser, parse_git_gate_config
 from .manifest_util import ManifestError, as_json_object
 
 
+def _overlay_declared_bool(
+    base: ManifestBottle,
+    override: ManifestBottle,
+    field: str,
+) -> bool:
+    """Overlay a defaulted boolean only when override declared it."""
+    value = getattr(override if field in override.declared_fields else base, field)
+    assert isinstance(value, bool)
+    return value
+
+
 def merge_bottles_runtime(bottles: "list[ManifestBottle]") -> "ManifestBottle":
     """Merge an ordered list of pre-resolved ManifestBottle objects.
 
@@ -15,16 +26,13 @@ def merge_bottles_runtime(bottles: "list[ManifestBottle]") -> "ManifestBottle":
     the same field-merge rules as the file-based extends machinery:
       env: dict merge, later wins; git_user: per-field overlay, later
       wins on non-empty; git (repos): union by name, later wins; egress
-      routes: concatenate; agent_provider, supervise: later
+      routes: concatenate; agent_provider, supervise, nested_containers:
-      replaces; nested_containers: OR (see below).
+      later replaces (presence-aware).
 
-    nested_containers is OR'd rather than replaced because these objects
+    Defaulted booleans use presence-aware replacement: if the later bottle
-    are already resolved: a bottle that never mentions the key is
+    was loaded from a source that explicitly declared the key, its value
-    indistinguishable from one that sets it false, so "later replaces"
+    wins (so an explicit `false` can override an earlier `true`). If the
-    would let any bottle composed after a container-enabled one silently
+    later bottle never mentioned the key, the earlier value is preserved.
-    drop the capability. The file-based `extends:` path still sees the
-    raw keys, so there an explicit `nested_containers: false` in a child
-    turns it back off.
     """
     if not bottles:
         raise ValueError("merge_bottles_runtime requires at least one bottle")
@@ -62,8 +70,11 @@ def _merge_two_bottles_runtime(base: "ManifestBottle", override: "ManifestBottle
         git=merged_git,
         git_user=merged_git_user,
         egress=merged_egress,
-        supervise=override.supervise,
+        supervise=_overlay_declared_bool(base, override, "supervise"),
-        nested_containers=base.nested_containers or override.nested_containers,
+        nested_containers=_overlay_declared_bool(
+            base, override, "nested_containers"
+        ),
+        declared_fields=base.declared_fields | override.declared_fields,
     )
 
 
@@ -215,8 +226,11 @@ def _fold_two_bottles(
         git=merged_git,
         git_user=merged_git_user,
         egress=merged_egress,
-        supervise=later.supervise,
+        supervise=_overlay_declared_bool(earlier, later, "supervise"),
-        nested_containers=earlier.nested_containers or later.nested_containers,
+        nested_containers=_overlay_declared_bool(
+            earlier, later, "nested_containers"
+        ),
+        declared_fields=earlier.declared_fields | later.declared_fields,
     ), merged_repos_raw
 
 
@@ -274,13 +288,9 @@ def _merge_bottles(
         if "agent_provider" in child_raw
         else parent.agent_provider
     )
-    merged_supervise = (
+    merged_supervise = _overlay_declared_bool(parent, child, "supervise")
-        child.supervise if "supervise" in child_raw else parent.supervise
+    merged_nested_containers = _overlay_declared_bool(
-    )
+        parent, child, "nested_containers"
-    merged_nested_containers = (
-        child.nested_containers
-        if "nested_containers" in child_raw
-        else parent.nested_containers
     )
     validate_egress_routes(name, merged_egress.routes)
 
@@ -292,6 +302,7 @@ def _merge_bottles(
         egress=merged_egress,
         supervise=merged_supervise,
         nested_containers=merged_nested_containers,
+        declared_fields=parent.declared_fields | child.declared_fields,
     )
 
 

tests/unit/test_builtin_agent_images.py

@@ -21,10 +21,12 @@ class TestBuiltinAgentImages(unittest.TestCase):
                     r"(?m)^FROM node:22-trixie-slim\s*$",
                 )
 
-    def test_all_install_podman(self):
+    def test_none_install_podman(self):
+        # podman lives in the nested-containers derived layer (nested_containers.py),
+        # not in the base agent images, so bottles without the flag pay no cost.
         for dockerfile in _AGENT_DOCKERFILES:
             with self.subTest(provider=dockerfile.parent.name):
-                self.assertRegex(
+                self.assertNotRegex(
                     dockerfile.read_text(),
                     re.compile(r"(?m)^\s*podman(?:\s|\\|$)"),
                 )

tests/unit/test_macos_nested_containers.py

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class TestNestedContainersImage(unittest.TestCase):
             calls.append((image, context, dockerfile))
             text = Path(dockerfile).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
             self.assertIn("FROM agent:base", text)
-            self.assertIn("aardvark-dns fuse-overlayfs netavark nftables passt", text)
+            self.assertIn("aardvark-dns fuse-overlayfs netavark nftables passt podman", text)
             self.assertIn("USER node", text)
             self.assertTrue((Path(context) / "nested-containers-init.sh").is_file())
 
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ class TestNestedContainersImage(unittest.TestCase):
             seen.append(Path(dockerfile).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
 
         nested_containers.build_image("agent:base", build)
-        for package in ("passt", "nftables", "aardvark-dns"):
+        for package in ("podman", "passt", "nftables", "aardvark-dns"):
             self.assertIn(package, seen[0])
 
     def test_strips_subordinate_ranges_so_podman_avoids_newuidmap(self) -> None:

tests/unit/test_manifest_bottle_merge.py

@@ -56,16 +56,56 @@ class TestMergeBottlesRuntime(unittest.TestCase):
         result = merge_bottles_runtime([base, override])
         self.assertFalse(result.supervise)
 
-    def test_nested_containers_survives_a_later_bottle(self):
+    def test_supervise_survives_a_later_bottle_that_omits_the_key(self):
-        """OR, not replace: a resolved bottle that never mentioned the key is
+        disabled = _bottle(supervise=False)
-        indistinguishable from one that set it false, so `--bottle with-docker
+        quiet = _bottle(env={"X": "1"})
-        --bottle claude-dev` must not silently drop the capability."""
+        self.assertFalse(merge_bottles_runtime([disabled, quiet]).supervise)
+
+    def test_supervise_explicit_true_overrides_earlier_false(self):
+        disabled = _bottle(supervise=False)
+        enabled = _bottle(supervise=True)
+        self.assertTrue(merge_bottles_runtime([disabled, enabled]).supervise)
+
+    def test_nested_containers_survives_a_later_bottle_that_omits_the_key(self):
+        """A bottle that never mentions nested_containers must not silently
+        drop the capability: `--bottle with-docker --bottle claude-dev`."""
         enabled = _bottle(nested_containers=True)
         quiet = _bottle(env={"X": "1"})
         self.assertTrue(merge_bottles_runtime([enabled, quiet]).nested_containers)
         self.assertTrue(merge_bottles_runtime([quiet, enabled]).nested_containers)
         self.assertFalse(merge_bottles_runtime([quiet, quiet]).nested_containers)
 
+    def test_nested_containers_explicit_false_overrides_earlier_true(self):
+        """An explicit nested_containers: false in a later bottle must win
+        over an earlier true (last-wins, presence-aware)."""
+        enabled = _bottle(nested_containers=True)
+        disabled = _bottle(nested_containers=False)
+        self.assertFalse(merge_bottles_runtime([enabled, disabled]).nested_containers)
+
+    def test_nested_containers_explicit_true_overrides_earlier_false(self):
+        enabled = _bottle(nested_containers=True)
+        disabled = _bottle(nested_containers=False)
+        self.assertTrue(merge_bottles_runtime([disabled, enabled]).nested_containers)
+
+    def test_extended_boolean_values_remain_explicit_at_runtime(self):
+        idx = _index(
+            bottles={
+                "enabled": {"nested_containers": True, "supervise": True},
+                "parent": {},
+                "disabled_child": {
+                    "extends": "parent",
+                    "nested_containers": False,
+                    "supervise": False,
+                },
+            },
+            agents={"impl": {"bottle": "enabled", "skills": [], "prompt": ""}},
+        )
+        result = idx.load_for_agent(
+            "impl", ("enabled", "disabled_child")
+        ).bottle
+        self.assertFalse(result.nested_containers)
+        self.assertFalse(result.supervise)
+
     def test_three_bottles_merged_left_to_right(self):
         b1 = _bottle(env={"A": "1", "B": "1", "C": "1"})
         b2 = _bottle(env={"B": "2", "C": "2"})

tests/unit/test_manifest_extends.py

@@ -68,6 +68,23 @@ class TestExtendsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue(m.bottles["base"].supervise)
         self.assertFalse(m.bottles["off"].supervise)
 
+    def test_child_overrides_nested_containers_scalar(self):
+        m = _build(
+            base={"nested_containers": True},
+            off={"extends": "base", "nested_containers": False},
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(m.bottles["base"].nested_containers)
+        self.assertFalse(m.bottles["off"].nested_containers)
+
+    def test_inherited_boolean_declaration_is_preserved(self):
+        m = _build(
+            base={"nested_containers": True, "supervise": False},
+            child={"extends": "base"},
+        )
+        child = m.bottles["child"]
+        self.assertIn("nested_containers", child.declared_fields)
+        self.assertIn("supervise", child.declared_fields)
+
     def test_parent_resolved_once_for_multiple_children(self):
         # Two children sharing one parent: both inherit; the parent
         # is resolved once + cached. (Cache behavior is internal; we
@@ -477,6 +494,26 @@ class TestExtendsMultiParent(unittest.TestCase):
         )
         self.assertTrue(m.bottles["child"].supervise)
 
+    def test_later_parent_omitting_boole_preserves_earlier_values(self):
+        m = _build(
+            p1={"nested_containers": True, "supervise": False},
+            p2={"env": {"FROM_P2": "1"}},
+            child={"extends": ["p1", "p2"]},
+        )
+        child = m.bottles["child"]
+        self.assertTrue(child.nested_containers)
+        self.assertFalse(child.supervise)
+
+    def test_later_parent_explicit_boole_override_earlier_values(self):
+        m = _build(
+            p1={"nested_containers": True, "supervise": False},
+            p2={"nested_containers": False, "supervise": True},
+            child={"extends": ["p1", "p2"]},
+        )
+        child = m.bottles["child"]
+        self.assertFalse(child.nested_containers)
+        self.assertTrue(child.supervise)
+
     def test_child_supervise_overrides_all_parents(self):
         m = _build(
             p1={"supervise": True},