alknet/docs/architecture/napi-and-pubsub.md

status, last_updated

status	last_updated
reviewed	2026-06-02

NAPI Wrapper & PubSub Event Target

What

Two integration layers that enable TypeScript/JavaScript consumers to use alknet as a transport:

1. NAPI wrapper (@alkdev/alknet) — A Node.js native addon (via napi-rs) exposing connect() and serve() that return duplex streams
2. PubSub event target (@alkdev/pubsub adapter) — An implementation of the TypedEventTarget interface that routes events over alknet's SSH channel

Why

The alknet Rust binary serves CLI users. But the broader ecosystem (pubsub, operations, agent spokes) is TypeScript-first. These integration layers let TypeScript code use alknet's transport without reimplementing SSH.

The NAPI surface is intentionally minimal — it exposes transport connections as duplex streams, not the full SSH protocol. The pubsub adapter wraps those streams with EventEnvelope serialization.

Architecture

NAPI Wrapper (napi-rs)

The wrapper uses napi-rs (ADR-015) and exposes two functions (ADR-016):

// @alkdev/alknet (TypeScript side)

interface AlknetConnectOptions {
  // TCP/TLS mode
  server?: string;           // e.g., "example.com:443"
  // iroh mode
  peer?: string;             // iroh endpoint ID (base58-encoded)
  // Transport
  transport: 'tcp' | 'tls' | 'iroh';
  // Auth
  identity?: string;         // path to SSH key, or Buffer with key data
  // TLS
  tlsServerName?: string;    // SNI hostname
  insecure?: boolean;        // accept self-signed certs
  // iroh
  irohRelay?: string;       // relay URL (default: n0)
  // Proxy
  proxy?: string;            // upstream SOCKS5/HTTP proxy URL
}

interface AlknetServeOptions {
  // Transport
  transport: 'tcp' | 'tls' | 'iroh';
  // Auth
  hostKey?: string;          // path to SSH host key, or Buffer with key data
  authorizedKeys?: string;  // path to authorized_keys, or Buffer with key data
  certAuthority?: string;   // path to CA public key for cert-authority auth
  // TLS
  tlsCert?: string;          // path to TLS cert
  tlsKey?: string;           // path to TLS key
  acmeDomain?: string;      // ACME domain for auto-cert (ADR-008)
  // Listen
  listen?: string;           // listen address (default: 0.0.0.0:22)
  // iroh
  irohRelay?: string;       // relay URL (default: n0)
}

// Returns a Duplex stream for the SSH channel
function connect(options: AlknetConnectOptions): Promise<Duplex>;

// Returns a server object with close() and connection events
function serve(options: AlknetServeOptions): Promise<AlknetServer>;

interface AlknetServer {
  close(): Promise<void>;
  onConnection(callback: (stream: Duplex, info: ConnectionInfo) => void): void;
}

The NAPI layer is transport-agnostic — it doesn't know about pubsub's EventEnvelope. The pubsub adapter wraps the Duplex stream to implement TypedEventTarget. This separation ensures the NAPI wrapper is reusable for any stream-based protocol, not tied specifically to pubsub.

NAPI connect() vs CLI alknet connect

The NAPI connect() function and the CLI alknet connect command are fundamentally different operations despite sharing the same name:

• CLI alknet connect: Starts a full SSH client session with a local SOCKS5 server and optional port forwards. It manages multiple SSH channels over a single session — the user routes traffic through it via SOCKS5 or forwarded ports.
• NAPI connect(): Opens a single SSH channel and returns it as a Duplex stream. No SOCKS5 server, no port forwarding. The caller reads and writes bytes directly. This is designed for the pubsub/programmatic use case where a single bidirectional byte stream is needed.

For SOCKS5 proxy functionality, use the CLI binary (alknet connect). The NAPI wrapper is for programmatic consumers that need a raw stream.

Programmatic Configuration (ADR-011)

Both connect() and serve() accept options as plain objects. No file paths are mandatory — keys can be provided as Buffer data directly, making programmatic usage straightforward. Environment variables (ALKNET_SERVER, ALKNET_IDENTITY) provide convenience defaults.

Key material provided as Buffer must be in OpenSSH key format (the format used by ssh-keygen). Private keys: OpenSSH format (-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----). Public keys: OpenSSH format (ssh-ed25519 AAAA...). PEM-encoded keys (PKCS#1, PKCS#8) are not supported.

PubSub Event Target Adapter

This implements TypedEventTarget from @alkdev/pubsub:

// @alkdev/pubsub (new adapter: event-target-alknet.ts)

export interface AlknetEventTargetOptions {
  stream: Duplex;  // from @alkdev/alknet.connect() or serve()
}

export interface AlknetEventTarget<TEvent extends TypedEvent>
  extends TypedEventTarget<TEvent> {
  close(): void;
}

export function createAlknetEventTarget<TEvent extends TypedEvent>(
  options: AlknetEventTargetOptions
): AlknetEventTarget<TEvent>;

Wire protocol (same as other pubsub adapters):

• Framing: 4-byte big-endian length prefix + JSON payload
• Payload: EventEnvelope JSON ({ type, id, payload })
• Control: __subscribe / __unsubscribe messages for topic-based routing
• Direction: Bidirectional — dispatchEvent sends, addEventListener subscribes and receives

On the Server Side

The alknet server uses a reserved direct_tcpip destination (alknet-control:0) for the pubsub control channel (ADR-018). When a client connects to this destination:

1. The server's channel_open_direct_ip handler detects the reserved alknet-control target
2. Instead of opening a TCP connection, it bridges the channel to its local pubsub event bus
3. EventEnvelope JSON flows bidirectionally over the SSH channel

Users who prefer not to use the control channel can alternatively run a pubsub hub on a specific port and use standard port forwarding: alknet connect --forward 9736:hub:9736. This is a deployment choice, not a separate implementation — alknet's port forwarding works normally for any TCP service.

Direction Agnostic

Because alknet supports both local and remote port forwarding, the event target works in either direction:

• Worker connects to hub: alknet connect --forward 9736:hub:9736 then create WebSocket event target pointing at ws://localhost:9736
• Hub connects to worker: alknet connect --remote-forward 9736:worker:9736 — same result, opposite initiator

The pubsub adapter doesn't care which side initiated the SSH session. It just needs a byte stream.

Constraints

• The NAPI wrapper exposes duplex streams, not the full SSH channel API. Multiplexing is done at the pubsub layer.
• The pubsub wire protocol is length-prefixed JSON, matching the existing adapter pattern. Binary payloads should be base64-encoded in the EventEnvelope.payload.
• The NAPI binary size will be ~5-10MB (includes russh + tokio + cryptography). The iroh feature adds significant size; it should be an optional feature.
• Keys can be provided as file paths or Buffer data, supporting both CLI and programmatic usage patterns (ADR-011).

Open Questions

None — all resolved.

Design Decisions

ADR	Decision	Summary
007	NAPI exposes single duplex stream	No SSH multiplexing in JS, pubsub handles it
011	Programmatic-first API	No file-based config; options are structs or env vars
015	napi-rs for FFI	Standard Node.js native addon tooling
016	Both connect() and serve()	NAPI exposes client and server sides from the start
018	Control channel for pubsub	Reserved alknet-control destination for event bus