fix: keep global HTTP off the event loop

WhatToChange: recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/
  What-to-Change.md
  What-to-Change-To.md
  How-to-implement-the-changes.md

What was actually done:
- Global HTTP stamp and verify run via asyncio.to_thread.
- File ledger saves chmod 0600.
- .gitignore covers coverage, mypy, logs, and editor directories.

What was not done:
- (none)

.gitignore

@@ -4,8 +4,17 @@ __pycache__/
 *.pyc
 .ruff_cache/
 .pytest_cache/
+.mypy_cache/
+.dmypy.json
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+htmlcov/
 dist/
 build/
 *.egg-info/
 .env
 .env.*
+*.log
+*.tmp
+.idea/
+.vscode/

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/Done-and-not-done.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# Done and not done
+
+WhatToChange: recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/
+
+What was actually done:
+- Global HTTP stamp and verify run via asyncio.to_thread.
+- File ledger saves chmod 0600.
+- .gitignore covers coverage, mypy, logs, and editor directories.
+
+What was not done:
+- (none)

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/How-to-implement-the-changes.md

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# How to implement the changes:
+
+Diffs are against `main` @ `1bbd0a6` with a dirty tree.
+
+1. `src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/global_client.py` — `await asyncio.to_thread(...)` around `submit` and `verify_certificate`.
+2. `src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/ledger.py` — `os.chmod(self.path, 0o600)` after `_save`.
+3. `.gitignore` — add `.coverage`, `htmlcov/`, `.mypy_cache/`, `*.log`, `.idea/`, `.vscode/`.
+4. `uv run pytest`.

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Recommended changes: event loop and ledger permissions
+
+Review of the Verae MCP timestamping server on 2026-09-21. Pins are in git-versions.md.
+
+## Install
+
+```sh
+cd /Users/marchon/research/modelcontextprotocol/verae-mcp-timestamping-server
+uv sync --group dev
+```
+
+## Usage
+
+```sh
+less recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/What-to-Change.md
+less recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/What-to-Change-To.md
+less recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/How-to-implement-the-changes.md
+```
+
+## Contributing
+
+Questions: this research workspace. PRs welcome.
+
+## License
+
+UNLICENSED © George Lambert

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/What-to-Change-To.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# What to Change To:
+
+| Component | Target behavior | Acceptance criteria | Constraints |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Global HTTP calls | `submit` and `verify_certificate` run in a worker thread | `uv run pytest` still passes, including `test_global_client.py` | Same JSON bodies and receipt fields |
+| Local receipt file | Mode `0600` after every save | New file is not group- or world-readable | Do not change the JSON shape |
+| `.gitignore` | Ignore coverage, mypy, logs, IDE dirs | `git status` does not list those artifacts | Keep `debug-trace/` tracked; those HTML traces are the stamp record |

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/What-to-Change.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# What to Change:
+
+Reviewed against `main` @ `1bbd0a6` (dirty working tree). `uv run pytest` — 14 passed.
+
+## What is working
+
+- Tools `stamp`, `verify`, and `hash_report` accept a SHA-256 hex digest and refuse to take file bytes.
+- `scope=global` posts to `https://api.veraetime.net/api/timestamp` with `wait=true`.
+- Local receipts persist in `~/.verae/mcp-timestamp-local.json`.
+- Job-complete traffic is not on JetStream. NATS use here is request/reply on `verae.ts.request`, `verae.ts.verify`, and `verae.hash.report` only when a NatsLedger is constructed. The default process uses the file ledger plus HTTPS.
+
+| Component | Problem | Evidence | Severity | Type |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `GlobalLedger.stamp` / `verify` | Blocking `urllib` and `time.sleep` run on the asyncio loop while other MCP tools wait | `global_client.py` `submit` calls `urlopen` and `time.sleep(0.25)` from `async def stamp` | high | design flaw |
+| `FileLedger._save` | Receipt file is created with the process umask, often world-readable | `ledger.py` `write_text` with no `chmod` | high | missing gate |
+| `.gitignore` | Coverage, mypy, logs, and editor dirs are not ignored | `.gitignore` listed venv and pytest only | low | missing gate |

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/git-versions.json

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[
+  {
+    "path": "/Users/marchon/research/modelcontextprotocol/verae-mcp-timestamping-server",
+    "remote": "",
+    "branch": "main",
+    "head": "1bbd0a68643e51c21bb8975e01b7f5cfc0df3a14",
+    "short": "1bbd0a6",
+    "dirty": true,
+    "describe": "1bbd0a6-dirty",
+    "porcelain": "M .gitignore\n M src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/global_client.py\n M src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/ledger.py"
+  }
+]

recommended-changes/2026-09-21-event-loop-and-ledger-perms/git-versions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# git-versions
+
+Pins at pack creation. Dirty means uncommitted files existed.
+
+- `/Users/marchon/research/modelcontextprotocol/verae-mcp-timestamping-server` `main` `1bbd0a6` (dirty) `1bbd0a6-dirty`
+  - HEAD: `1bbd0a68643e51c21bb8975e01b7f5cfc0df3a14`

src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/global_client.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ The global server is the source of truth for scope=global.
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import json
 import os
 import time
@@ -225,11 +226,12 @@ class GlobalLedger:
     ) -> list[Receipt]:
         del org_id
         digest = validate_sha256(sha256)
-        return [self.client.submit(digest, cube_id=cube_id)]
+        receipt = await asyncio.to_thread(self.client.submit, digest, cube_id)
+        return [receipt]
 
     async def verify(self, receipt_id: str, want_scope: str = "") -> VerifyResult:
         del want_scope
-        return self.client.verify_certificate(receipt_id)
+        return await asyncio.to_thread(self.client.verify_certificate, receipt_id)
 
     async def hash_report(
         self, sha256: str, org_id: str = "", want_scope: str = ""

src/verae_mcp_timestamping_server/ledger.py

@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ class FileLedger(MemoryLedger):
         self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         payload = [self._by_id[rid].model_dump() for rid in self._order]
         self.path.write_text(json.dumps(payload, indent=2) + "\n")
+        os.chmod(self.path, 0o600)
 
     async def stamp(
         self,