FIX: AIRTInitializer container crash and parameters.example.json typo (#1648)

Author: varunj-msft

infra/parameters.example.json

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
       "value": "YOUR_DATABASE_NAME"
     },
     "pyritInitializer": {
-      "value": "targets airt"
+      "value": "target airt"
     },
     "envSecretName": {
       "value": "env-global"

pyrit/setup/initializers/airt.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 """
 
 import json
+import logging
 import os
 from collections.abc import Callable
 
@@ -38,6 +39,8 @@
 from pyrit.score.float_scale.self_ask_scale_scorer import SelfAskScaleScorer
 from pyrit.setup.initializers.pyrit_initializer import PyRITInitializer
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 
 class AIRTInitializer(PyRITInitializer):
     """
@@ -275,32 +278,43 @@ def _setup_adversarial_targets(self, *, endpoint: str, api_key: str, model_name:
 
     def _validate_operation_fields(self) -> None:
         """
-        Check that mandatory global memory labels (operation, operator)
-        are populated.
+        Ensure operator and operation are populated in GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS.
+
+        Reads operator/operation from .pyrit_conf if it exists, then merges
+        them into GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS. In container/GUI deployments where
+        .pyrit_conf is not present, the labels are set per-user by the GUI
+        at runtime, so this method is a no-op.
 
         Raises:
-            ValueError: If mandatory global memory labels are missing.
+            ValueError: If .pyrit_conf exists but is missing operator or operation.
         """
-        with open(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH) as f:
-            data = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.SafeLoader)
+        raw_labels = os.environ.get("GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS")
+        labels = dict(json.loads(raw_labels)) if raw_labels else {}
 
-        if "operator" not in data:
-            raise ValueError(
-                "Error: `operator` was not set in .pyrit_conf. This is a required value for the AIRTInitializer."
-            )
+        if DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH.exists():
+            with open(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH) as f:
+                data = yaml.load(f, Loader=yaml.SafeLoader) or {}
 
-        if "operation" not in data:
-            raise ValueError(
-                "Error: `operation` was not set in .pyrit_conf. This is a required value for the AIRTInitializer."
-            )
+            if "operator" not in data:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "Error: `operator` was not set in .pyrit_conf. This is a required value for the AIRTInitializer."
+                )
 
-        raw_labels = os.environ.get("GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS")
-        labels = dict(json.loads(raw_labels)) if raw_labels else {}
+            if "operation" not in data:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "Error: `operation` was not set in .pyrit_conf. This is a required value for the AIRTInitializer."
+                )
 
-        if "operator" not in labels:
-            labels["operator"] = data["operator"]
+            if "operator" not in labels:
+                labels["operator"] = data["operator"]
 
-        if "operation" not in labels:
-            labels["operation"] = data["operation"]
+            if "operation" not in labels:
+                labels["operation"] = data["operation"]
 
-        os.environ["GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS"] = json.dumps(labels)
+            os.environ["GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS"] = json.dumps(labels)
+        else:
+            logger.info(
+                "No .pyrit_conf found at %s — skipping operator/operation validation. "
+                "In GUI mode, these labels are set per-user at runtime.",
+                DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH,
+            )

tests/unit/setup/test_airt_initializer.py

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
 # Licensed under the MIT license.
 
+import json
 import os
 import sys
 from unittest.mock import patch
@@ -214,6 +215,65 @@ def test_validate_missing_operation_raises_error(self, tmp_path):
         ):
             init._validate_operation_fields()
 
+    def test_validate_operation_fields_skips_when_pyrit_conf_missing(self, tmp_path):
+        """Test that _validate_operation_fields does not crash when .pyrit_conf is missing.
+
+        In container/GUI deployments, .pyrit_conf does not exist. The method should
+        skip validation gracefully instead of raising FileNotFoundError.
+        """
+        nonexistent_path = tmp_path / "nonexistent" / ".pyrit_conf"
+        init = AIRTInitializer()
+        with patch("pyrit.setup.initializers.airt.DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH", nonexistent_path):
+            # Should not raise
+            init._validate_operation_fields()
+
+    def test_validate_operation_fields_preserves_existing_labels_when_pyrit_conf_missing(self, tmp_path):
+        """Test that existing GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS are preserved when .pyrit_conf is missing."""
+        nonexistent_path = tmp_path / "nonexistent" / ".pyrit_conf"
+        init = AIRTInitializer()
+        with (
+            patch("pyrit.setup.initializers.airt.DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH", nonexistent_path),
+            patch.dict("os.environ", {"GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS": '{"operator": "gui_user", "operation": "gui_op"}'}),
+        ):
+            init._validate_operation_fields()
+            # Existing labels should remain untouched
+            labels = json.loads(os.environ["GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS"])
+            assert labels["operator"] == "gui_user"
+            assert labels["operation"] == "gui_op"
+
+    def test_validate_operation_fields_merges_conf_into_labels(self, tmp_path):
+        """Test that .pyrit_conf values are merged into GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS when labels are missing."""
+        conf_file = tmp_path / ".pyrit_conf"
+        conf_file.write_text(yaml.dump({"operator": "conf_user", "operation": "conf_op"}))
+        init = AIRTInitializer()
+        with (
+            patch("pyrit.setup.initializers.airt.DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH", conf_file),
+            patch.dict("os.environ", {}, clear=False),
+        ):
+            # Remove GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS if present
+            os.environ.pop("GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS", None)
+            init._validate_operation_fields()
+            labels = json.loads(os.environ["GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS"])
+            assert labels["operator"] == "conf_user"
+            assert labels["operation"] == "conf_op"
+
+    def test_validate_operation_fields_does_not_overwrite_existing_labels(self, tmp_path):
+        """Test that .pyrit_conf values do not overwrite existing GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS entries."""
+        conf_file = tmp_path / ".pyrit_conf"
+        conf_file.write_text(yaml.dump({"operator": "conf_user", "operation": "conf_op"}))
+        init = AIRTInitializer()
+        with (
+            patch("pyrit.setup.initializers.airt.DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH", conf_file),
+            patch.dict(
+                "os.environ",
+                {"GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS": '{"operator": "existing_user", "operation": "existing_op"}'},
+            ),
+        ):
+            init._validate_operation_fields()
+            labels = json.loads(os.environ["GLOBAL_MEMORY_LABELS"])
+            assert labels["operator"] == "existing_user"
+            assert labels["operation"] == "existing_op"
+
     def test_validate_db_connection_raises_error(self):
         """Test that validate raises error when AZURE_SQL_DB_CONNECTION_STRING is missing."""
         del os.environ["AZURE_SQL_DB_CONNECTION_STRING"]