diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b70e90d..6785ae0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,26 @@ First release candidate. Surface is end-to-end working for the
 Production deployment against an untrusted publisher requires the
 catalog-signing chain landed in a follow-up RC (see "Known gaps").
 
+### Added — `proc.exec` capability
+
+- **New capability `proc.exec`.** An app may declare permission to spawn one
+  local executable — the CLI it fronts. This unblocks the app-store "CLI
+  adapter" archetype (translate `pilotctl appstore call <app> <args>` into a
+  local subprocess invocation).
+- **Hardened target.** The grant target must name exactly one binary: an
+  absolute path (`/usr/local/bin/tool`) or a bare command name (`gh`),
+  `[A-Za-z0-9._-]` segments only. A `*` wildcard, a path with `..`, spaces, or
+  any shell metacharacter is rejected at validation — a `proc.exec` grant can
+  never mean "run anything".
+- **Declaration-only, like `audit.log`.** The app execs the child itself, so
+  there is no per-call broker hook; the capability is the install-consented,
+  validated declaration of intent. CLI apps ship `protection: guarded`.
+- **Catalogue-only.** `proc.exec` is intentionally NOT added to the sideload
+  allow-list, so an unreviewed `--local` app can never carry it — CLI apps
+  install through the reviewed catalogue. OS-level exec sandboxing
+  (`sandbox-exec` / seccomp `execve` allow-list) remains the documented next
+  hardening step (`SideloadOSSandboxTODO`).
+
 ### Security & hardening — broker + supervisor
 
 - **Broker authorization (deny-by-default).** Every brokered call is
diff --git a/pkg/manifest/manifest.go b/pkg/manifest/manifest.go
index 5421b48..188c75b 100644
--- a/pkg/manifest/manifest.go
+++ b/pkg/manifest/manifest.go
@@ -75,10 +75,12 @@ type Binary struct {
 // every privileged op and grants are the only thing that authorizes them.
 type Grant struct {
 	// Cap: "fs.read" | "fs.write" | "net.dial" | "net.call" | "ipc.call" |
-	//      "key.sign" | "audit.log" | ...
+	//      "key.sign" | "audit.log" | "proc.exec" | ...
 	Cap string `json:"cap"`
 
-	// Target: path pattern, host pattern, "<app>.<method>", or sign-purpose.
+	// Target: path pattern, host pattern, "<app>.<method>", sign-purpose, or
+	// (for proc.exec) the single executable the app may spawn — an absolute path
+	// or a bare command name.
 	Target string `json:"target"`
 
 	// Condition is optional. If absent, the grant is unconditional.
diff --git a/pkg/manifest/procexec_test.go b/pkg/manifest/procexec_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f53ba90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/manifest/procexec_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+package manifest
+
+import "testing"
+
+// proc.exec is a known capability and accepts an absolute-path target.
+func TestValidate_ProcExecAbsolutePath(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	m := mustValid(t)
+	m.Grants = append(m.Grants, Grant{Cap: "proc.exec", Target: "/usr/local/bin/weathercli"})
+	if errs := m.Validate(); len(errs) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("proc.exec with an absolute path must validate, got: %v", errs)
+	}
+}
+
+// proc.exec accepts a bare command name (resolved via PATH).
+func TestValidate_ProcExecBareCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	for _, cmd := range []string{"gh", "python3", "my-tool", "ripgrep"} {
+		m := mustValid(t)
+		m.Grants = append(m.Grants, Grant{Cap: "proc.exec", Target: cmd})
+		if errs := m.Validate(); len(errs) != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("proc.exec %q must validate, got: %v", cmd, errs)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// A proc.exec target must name exactly one binary: no wildcard, no shell, no
+// spaces, no path traversal. Each of these must be rejected.
+func TestValidate_ProcExecRejectsUnsafeTargets(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	bad := []string{
+		"*",                    // wildcard — "run anything" is never allowed
+		"/usr/bin/*",           // path wildcard
+		"sh -c 'rm -rf /'",     // shell string with spaces
+		"foo;bar",              // command separator
+		"foo|bar",              // pipe
+		"foo`id`",              // command substitution
+		"foo$(id)",             // command substitution
+		"../../bin/evil",       // path traversal
+		"/opt/../etc/cron.d/x", // traversal inside an absolute path
+		"tool\nsecond",         // newline injection
+	}
+	for _, target := range bad {
+		m := mustValid(t)
+		m.Grants = append(m.Grants, Grant{Cap: "proc.exec", Target: target})
+		if !hasErrorContaining(m.Validate(), "proc.exec") {
+			t.Errorf("proc.exec target %q must be rejected, but validation passed", target)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// An empty proc.exec target hits the generic empty-target error (not the
+// proc.exec-specific one), same as any other cap.
+func TestValidate_ProcExecEmptyTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	m := mustValid(t)
+	m.Grants = append(m.Grants, Grant{Cap: "proc.exec", Target: "  "})
+	if !hasErrorContaining(m.Validate(), "target must not be empty") {
+		t.Errorf("empty proc.exec target should hit the empty-target error, got: %v", m.Validate())
+	}
+}
+
+// Security boundary: proc.exec is NOT in the sideload allow-list, so a CLI app
+// (which carries a proc.exec grant) can never be sideloaded — it must go through
+// the reviewed catalogue. This pins that boundary against accidental widening.
+func TestEnforceSideloadPolicy_RejectsProcExec(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	if _, ok := SideloadAllowedCaps["proc.exec"]; ok {
+		t.Fatal("proc.exec must NOT be in the sideload allow-list (it is catalogue-only)")
+	}
+	m := baseSideloadOK()
+	m.Grants = append(m.Grants, Grant{Cap: "proc.exec", Target: "/usr/local/bin/tool"})
+	if err := EnforceSideloadPolicy(m); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("sideload policy must reject a proc.exec grant")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/manifest/validate.go b/pkg/manifest/validate.go
index d9a76de..9156bc3 100644
--- a/pkg/manifest/validate.go
+++ b/pkg/manifest/validate.go
@@ -19,8 +19,22 @@ var KnownCaps = map[string]bool{
 	"ipc.call":  true,
 	"key.sign":  true,
 	"audit.log": true,
+	// proc.exec: the app may spawn a local subprocess (the CLI it fronts). The
+	// target names the single executable it may run — an absolute path or a bare
+	// command name, never a wildcard or a shell string. Like audit.log this is a
+	// declared, install-consented capability the app enforces itself (it execs
+	// the child directly), not a per-call brokered one. See procExecTargetPattern.
+	"proc.exec": true,
 }
 
+// procExecTargetPattern constrains a proc.exec target to a single executable:
+// either an absolute path (/usr/local/bin/tool) or a bare command name resolved
+// via PATH (gh, python3, my-tool). Segments are limited to [A-Za-z0-9._-], so
+// spaces, shell metacharacters, and a "*" wildcard are all rejected — a
+// proc.exec grant must name exactly one binary, never "run anything". A ".."
+// path segment is rejected separately (see validateProcExecTarget).
+var procExecTargetPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`^/?[A-Za-z0-9._-]+(/[A-Za-z0-9._-]+)*$`)
+
 // Known condition kinds.
 var KnownConditionKinds = map[string]bool{
 	"rate":                  true,
@@ -192,6 +206,8 @@ func validateGrant(i int, g Grant) []error {
 	}
 	if strings.TrimSpace(g.Target) == "" {
 		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("grants[%d].target must not be empty", i))
+	} else if g.Cap == "proc.exec" {
+		errs = append(errs, validateProcExecTarget(i, g.Target)...)
 	}
 	if g.Condition != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, validateCondition(fmt.Sprintf("grants[%d].if", i), *g.Condition)...)
@@ -199,6 +215,21 @@ func validateGrant(i int, g Grant) []error {
 	return errs
 }
 
+// validateProcExecTarget enforces the proc.exec target shape: a single
+// executable named as an absolute path or a bare command, with no path
+// traversal, no shell, and no wildcard. This keeps the install-consented
+// surface explicit ("this app may run: <exactly one binary>").
+func validateProcExecTarget(i int, target string) []error {
+	t := strings.TrimSpace(target)
+	if strings.Contains(t, "..") {
+		return []error{fmt.Errorf("grants[%d].target %q for proc.exec must not contain %q", i, target, "..")}
+	}
+	if !procExecTargetPattern.MatchString(t) {
+		return []error{fmt.Errorf("grants[%d].target %q for proc.exec must be an absolute path or a bare command name (no wildcard, spaces, or shell metacharacters)", i, target)}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func validateCondition(path string, c Condition) []error {
 	var errs []error
 	hasLeaf := c.Kind != "" || len(c.Params) > 0