diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index f305e7f..61a1214 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -149,6 +149,14 @@ implementation agents.
     `alkgit-transport` (smart protocol), `alkgit-http` (http front door),
     `alkgit-ssh` (ssh front door), `alkgitd` (binary).
 
+15. **Composability boundary ("ALPN as a service")** — `alkgit-core` +
+    `alkgit-transport` are front-door-blind: they consume (identity, repo
+    id, duplex stream, limits) and depend on alkcall types only, never on
+    alkhttp/alkgit-ssh, and carry no http/channel-specific types below the
+    stream. The http and ssh crates are replaceable adapters; a downstream
+    app embeds core + transport and brings its own front doors. v1 is the
+    reduction to storage + ACL + protocol adapters.
+
 ## Verification Commands
 
 Run these before committing. All must pass.
diff --git a/docs/research/alk-stack.md b/docs/research/alk-stack.md
index ca515a7..04845bf 100644
--- a/docs/research/alk-stack.md
+++ b/docs/research/alk-stack.md
@@ -72,7 +72,10 @@ Both interfaces converge on the same core: **a `BiStream`-like duplex
 session + repo identity + caller identity** → `alkgit-transport` runs the
 smart protocol and produces/consumes packs via `alkgit-core`. The interfaces
 are thin adapters; all policy (auth, ACL, limits) lives before the transport
-layer gets the stream.
+layer gets the stream. This is the same "ALPN as a service" shape as
+alktty/alktunnels/alksocks: the git member of the family, one core, many
+front doors, and nothing below the transport boundary knows or cares which
+door produced the stream.
 
 ## What to verify before architecture commits (POC candidates)
 
@@ -87,6 +90,19 @@ layer gets the stream.
    as raw duplex streams rather than chunk-framed channels if needed.
 4. **alktls ACME**: config shape for the http endpoint; likely trivial.
 
+## Composability boundary (what "ALPN as a service" implies here)
+
+Same family pattern as alktty/alktunnels/alksocks (alknet decomposition):
+one core that is front-door-blind, adapters that each speak one door. For
+alkgit the boundary is concrete:
+
+- `alkgit-core` + `alkgit-transport` depend on alkcall types only
+  (`BiStream`, identity/ACL types); they never depend on alkhttp or
+  alkgit-ssh, and carry no http/channel-specific types below the stream.
+- The http and ssh crates are replaceable: a downstream app (gitea-like)
+  embeds the core + transport and brings its own front doors.
+- Admin API = alkcall ops, usable as-is or replaced by a downstream app.
+
 ## Version pins in workspace manifests
 
 - `alkcall 0.8` (published), `alkhttp 0.5` (published), `alktls 0.1`
diff --git a/docs/research/vision.md b/docs/research/vision.md
index 5d66554..07d3777 100644
--- a/docs/research/vision.md
+++ b/docs/research/vision.md
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ is designed from day one, not retrofitted.
 3. **No plaintext secrets at rest** — alkvault or nothing.
 4. **Thin interfaces, one core** — http and ssh are adapters that authenticate,
    resolve a repo, and hand a duplex stream to the transport layer. Policy
-   lives in exactly one place.
+   lives in exactly one place. The core never knows which front door is
+   talking (see "ALPN as a service" below).
 5. **Honest capability advertisement** — the git protocol advertises only
    what we actually serve (this is both protocol correctness and the
    security pattern: promise/enforce in the same place).
@@ -75,6 +76,41 @@ is designed from day one, not retrofitted.
 | `alkgit-ssh` | ssh front door (git commands over alkcall channels) |
 | `alkgitd` | binary: config, assembly, TLS/ACME, serving loops |
 
+## Composability: "ALPN as a service"
+
+alkgit is the git member of the alk "ALPN as a service" family — alktty,
+alktunnels, and alksocks (socks5) follow the same pattern, and the alknet
+mono-repo is being decomposed into exactly these pieces for rewrite. The
+pattern's load-bearing rule: **`alkgit-core` + `alkgit-transport` never know
+which front door is talking.** The transport layer consumes (identity, repo
+id, duplex stream, limits) and speaks git; everything above the stream is
+the adapter's problem. That is what keeps alkgit composable for downstream
+use:
+
+- A future gitea/gitlab-like application should be able to embed
+  `alkgit-core` + `alkgit-transport` (or talk to `alkgitd`) and add its own
+  UI/issues/PR layer without forking anything here.
+- The admin API is a set of alkcall ops, not an embedded web framework —
+  a downstream app can either use it or replace it.
+- Nothing in the core may reach upward into alkhttp/alkssh concerns
+  (no http types, no channel types below the transport boundary).
+
+The v1 reduction follows from this: **storage + ACL + protocol adapters**.
+A simple static/template web UI for the public repo listing is explicitly
+out of scope here (would be a separate downstream thing on top).
+
+## Primary deployment target
+
+Our own use case is the design anchor: **public self-hosted repos with
+anonymous clone over http, authenticated push, no gitea-style app features
+in use**. So:
+
+- Anonymous *fetch* (clone/fetch advertisement + pack) on explicitly-public
+  repos is a first-class path, not an afterthought.
+- Push is always authenticated, on every repo, no exceptions.
+- ACL must be simple enough to reason about completely: repo visibility
+  (public/private) + identity-based read/write, nothing richer in v1.
+
 ## What phase 0 must still produce before phase 1
 
 - [x] gitoxide capability + version research (`gitoxide.md`)