The 'WebTransport proxy' concept was conflating two distinct things; this pass separates them: 1. In-process ALPN-stream-proxy (ADR-040, in alknet-http): the h3 handler hands a WebTransport stream to another ALPN handler (SshAdapter, GitAdapter, etc.) as a Connection, so a browser with a WASM parser can reach any ALPN service via WebTransport. Path-based routing (the CONNECT path declares the target: /alknet/ssh -> SshAdapter). HttpAdapter gains Arc<HandlerRegistry> for the lookup. The browser's WASM parser implements BiStream (ADR-007) over the WebTransport stream. SSH-over-WebTransport is HTTPS-shaped at the network layer (anti-censorship: the 'VPN-like without being a VPN' use case on a clean foundation). russh-sftp demonstrates WASM targeting is feasible; SSH is the next target. 2. Standalone relay service (OQ-38, future alknet-relay crate): a full relay - fork of iroh-relay - with WebTransport proxy fallback for NAT traversal. This is infrastructure, not a mode of the h3 handler. OQ-38 reframed to be the standalone-relay scope question (distinct from the in-process proxy now resolved by ADR-040). webtransport.md updated: three stream destinations (call protocol, ALPN-handler proxy, other sub-protocols) with path-based routing; new 'ALPN-stream-proxy' section covering the WASM client side, auth model (bearer token gates the session; protocol's own auth gates the protocol session), and the HandlerRegistry reference. README/overview ADR tables and OQ summaries updated for ADR-040.
Alknet
Status: Pre-alpha — This project is undergoing a major architectural pivot to an ALPN-as-service model. The previous implementation has been archived and a greenfield rebuild is in progress.
A self-hostable networking toolkit built on QUIC+TLS with ALPN-based protocol dispatch. Each protocol handler (SSH, SFTP, Git, HTTP, DNS, messaging, call protocol) registers an ALPN string on a shared endpoint. The ALPN negotiation during the TLS/QUIC handshake routes connections to the correct handler before any application bytes are read.
Core Insight
A service IS an ALPN. One endpoint, one port, many protocols — dispatched by the TLS handshake, not by application-level peeking or separate listeners.
Crates
| Crate | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
alknet-vault |
stable | Local key vault: BIP39/SLIP-0010/AES-GCM key derivation and encryption |
alknet-core |
planned | ProtocolHandler trait, ALPN router, auth/identity, config |
alknet-ssh |
planned | SSH handler (russh), SOCKS5, port forwarding |
alknet-call |
planned | JSON-RPC call protocol (EventEnvelope framing) |
alknet-fs |
planned | Content-addressed file storage (iroh-blobs backend) |
alknet-sftp |
planned | SFTP handler (russh-sftp protocol core) |
alknet-git |
planned | Git smart protocol handler (gix) |
alknet-http |
planned | HTTP handler (axum, REST API, MCP) |
alknet-dns |
planned | DNS handler (hickory-proto, pkarr) |
alknet-msg |
planned | E2E encrypted messaging, mixnet support |
alknet |
planned | CLI binary (assembles and registers handlers) |
Documentation
- ALPN-as-service architecture — pivot proposal
- Cleanup plan — greenfield transition plan
- SDD process — spec-driven development process
- Research references — iroh, russh, russh-sftp deep dives
Reference implementation (previous architecture) is preserved at /workspace/@alkdev/alknet-main/.
License
Licensed under either of
- Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
- MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
at your option.
Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in this work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0 license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or conditions.