A bans.json entry without a cause gets the cause admin, written back so.
Bans whose cause is admin are never dropped and do not count toward
SWWAF_MAX_BANS, so setting a ban's cause to admin keeps it. Bans
smallwebwaf makes get a reason: the limit broken or the rule matched. A
lifted ban refuses nothing, is kept, and makes no later ban longer.
smallwebwaf_bans_made_total counts admin bans an edit adds while running;
earlier_bans counts admin in place of without_cause.
Judgement call: lifted lifts at once, whatever time it gives.
Judgement call: a lifted ban still counts in earlier_bans.
Known gap: a ban dropped from behind an admin's ban on its netblock leaves that netblock's later earlier_bans.
Model: opus-5-5
SWWAF_MODE (default enforce) takes enforce or observe. In observe mode a
request that SWWAF_DENY_NETS, a ban, the country lists or a rate limit
would refuse is passed to the app, and its log line names that refusal
in would_action. The size and time limits and the 401 still apply. A
broken limit makes no ban; bans read from bans.json are kept but refuse
nothing, and Ledger.Find reads them without counting a refusal in their
notes.
Judgement call: in observe mode a broken limit does not reset the
client's counters, since the reset comes with the ban.
Judgement call: a request a ban would refuse keeps ban_expires.
Model: opus-5-5
clawbot