{
  "slug": "icp-cli-1-8-0-lets-icp-sync-run-without-controller-rights",
  "title": "icp-cli 1.8.0 lets icp sync run without controller rights",
  "summary": "icp-cli 1.8.0 lets icp sync upload to a canister whose controller you are not, for example an SNS-owned frontend, and makes icp cycles buy safe to script. Upgrade, then try the experimental sandboxed extensions on a local network first.",
  "desk": "Internet Computer",
  "tags": [
    "icp-cli",
    "icp-cli 1.8.0",
    "icp sync",
    "SNS frontends",
    "CLI extensions",
    "cycles"
  ],
  "format": "news",
  "published_at": "2026-10-31T15:32:26.414Z",
  "url": "https://blog.b3pay.net/icp-cli-1-8-0-lets-icp-sync-run-without-controller-rights",
  "markdown_url": "https://blog.b3pay.net/api/agent/posts/icp-cli-1-8-0-lets-icp-sync-run-without-controller-rights?format=md",
  "read_minutes": 4,
  "word_count": 914,
  "machine_written": true,
  "generated_by": "B3Pay Blog generator · claude-opus-5-5",
  "key_points": [
    "icp sync now checks that a canister is running with a query probe, not canister_status, so an identity the canister only authorizes is no longer refused.",
    "icp cycles buy --json and -q now imply --yes, and invalid --amount, --cycles or --gateway values get plain error messages, with exit status 2 for missing or negative amounts.",
    "Experimental extensions are sandboxed WebAssembly components. On mainnet they may call only the canisters they declare, and calls to the management canister are refused on every network.",
    "icp extension install records the component's sha256 and checks it before every run. --sha256 rejects a component with a different hash."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "dfinity/icp-cli v1.8.0 release",
      "url": "https://github.com/dfinity/icp-cli/releases/tag/v1.8.0"
    },
    {
      "title": "dfinity/icp-cli v1.7.0 release (icp cycles buy introduced)",
      "url": "https://github.com/dfinity/icp-cli/releases/tag/v1.7.0"
    },
    {
      "title": "feat(extension): icp extension commands and running extensions (PoC 2/2), PR #840",
      "url": "https://github.com/dfinity/icp-cli/pull/840"
    },
    {
      "title": "ICP CLI docs: Build, Deploy, Sync",
      "url": "https://cli.internetcomputer.org/1.4/concepts/build-deploy-sync/"
    }
  ],
  "content_markdown": "DFINITY released icp-cli v1.8.0 on 30 October 2026. With this version, `icp sync` no longer needs controller rights, `icp cycles buy` behaves better in scripts, and a sandboxed extension system arrives as an experimental feature. If you upload assets to canisters you do not control, such as an SNS-owned frontend, or you run `icp cycles buy` in CI, upgrade now.\n\n## What changed in icp-cli 1.8.0\n\nThe main fix is in `icp sync`. Before uploading, it checks that each canister is running. Until now that check called `canister_status`, which, in the release's words, \"only a controller or a listed status viewer may read\". An identity that the canister merely authorizes was refused before anything was uploaded. The release notes give the example of a developer preparing an SNS-owned frontend for a commit proposal. In 1.8.0 the check uses a query probe instead, the same probe `icp deploy` already runs after it starts a canister. A stopped canister is still refused with the same advice, but only after the probe's \"30-second wait\", not at once.\n\nIf you want to know why `canister_status` is restricted in the first place, see our earlier piece on [ICP's status visibility switch](/icp-s-status-visibility-switch-turns-canister-telemetry-into-an-access-policy).\n\n`icp cycles buy`, added in v1.7.0 for buying cycles with a card through CyclePay, gets four fixes:\n\n| Area | Before 1.8.0 | In 1.8.0 |\n|---|---|---|\n| `--json` / `-q` | Prompted for confirmation, or refused without a terminal | Both imply `--yes`; the quote stays off stderr |\n| Missing `--amount` and `--cycles` | No clear message | Says one of the two is needed |\n| Negative values (`-1`, `-5t`) | clap read `-5t` as an unknown flag | Says the value is negative, exit status 2 for both cases |\n| Bad `--gateway` | Printed the replica's IC0536 or an HTTP gateway routing error | Explains in words: not a canister id, no gateway served, or not routable |\n| Payment QR code | Used terminal colours, often unreadable by phone cameras | Black on white on any theme; plain drawing without colour support |\n\nCyclePay and Stripe are now named only when you use CyclePay's gateway. Any other gateway is called \"the gateway\".\n\nThe experimental part is extensions: third-party commands added to `icp`. An extension is a WebAssembly component that runs sandboxed. It has no filesystem, environment variables, sockets or processes. It can do only three things: make canister calls as the resolved identity on the resolved network, show a yes/no prompt, and show the user an http(s) URL to visit. On mainnet it may call only the canisters it declares. On other networks this allowlist is not enforced, so you can try an extension against a local network. Calls to the management canister are refused on every network.\n\n## Who is affected\n\n- **SNS and DAO frontend teams.** If your identity is in a canister's asset permissions but not in its controller list, `icp sync` now works. Before, you needed a controller or a status viewer entry just to get past the pre-check.\n- **CI and agent scripts that buy cycles.** A `--json` or `-q` run no longer waits for a prompt or fails for lack of a terminal. Stdout stays machine-readable.\n- **Scripts that parse errors.** Gateway errors are now plain sentences, not IC0536 codes. If you match on the old error text, update your matching. Missing and negative amounts now both exit with status 2.\n- **Tool authors.** Extensions give you a way to ship a command such as `icp cyclepay` without users granting it filesystem or network access. A built-in command always wins over an extension with the same name.\n\nThe extension design builds on the plugin-style direction we covered in [ICP's developer workflow gets a modular command center](/icp-s-developer-workflow-gets-a-modular-command-center).\n\n## What to do now\n\n1. Install 1.8.0 with the release's installer script (macOS and Linux):\n\n```sh\ncurl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/dfinity/icp-cli/releases/download/v1.8.0/icp-cli-installer.sh | sh\n```\n\nOn Windows:\n\n```sh\npowershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c \"irm https://github.com/dfinity/icp-cli/releases/download/v1.8.0/icp-cli-installer.ps1 | iex\"\n```\n\nPrebuilt archives with `.sha256` checksums are also published for Apple Silicon and Intel macOS, x64 Windows, and ARM64 and x64 Linux.\n\n2. If you added a controller or status viewer only so that `icp sync` would pass, re-run `icp sync` with the authorized identity. Then decide whether the extra permission is still needed.\n3. In CI, remove workarounds such as piping `yes` into `icp cycles buy`. With 1.8.0, `--json` or `-q` is enough to skip confirmation.\n4. Update any error matching that looked for IC0536 or clap's unknown-flag message. Check for exit status 2 on missing or negative amounts.\n5. To try extensions, use the commands from the 1.8.0 release notes:\n\n```sh\n# install from an https URL or local path as `icp <NAME>`, pinned to a hash\nicp extension install <NAME> <SOURCE> --sha256 <HASH>\n\n# inspect and manage installed extensions\nicp extension list --json\nicp extension show <NAME> --json\nicp extension uninstall <NAME>\n```\n\nBefore asking for approval, `install` shows the extension, its sha256 and the mainnet canisters it will call, and it flags ledgers. `--yes` skips the prompt. The recorded sha256 is checked before every run. Installing under a name that is already installed replaces it. Because any name works, you can run a test build next to the stable one, for example `cyclepay-beta` beside `cyclepay`. Extension commands get help, parse errors and shell completion like built-in commands. Flags such as `--identity` and `-e`/`-n` are handled by icp itself before the extension runs.\n\nFor more depth, see our guide [Motoko 2.0 tutorial: write and test your first canister](/motoko-2-0-tutorial-write-and-test-your-first-canister).\n\n## Caveats\n\nExtensions are listed under \"Experimental\" in the release notes, and the merged pull requests behind them (#839 and #840) are titled as a proof of concept. Expect changes. The canister allowlist applies only on mainnet. On a local network an extension can call any canister except the management canister, so test there with identities that hold nothing of value. Also note that with the new probe, `icp sync` against a stopped canister now takes about 30 seconds to fail.",
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