alknet/docs/architecture/storage.md

status, last_updated

status	last_updated
draft	2026-06-07

Storage

Phase note: alknet-storage is a future crate (Phase 2+). This spec defines its contract — the data model, the IdentityProvider impl, the irpc service protocol — so that alknet-core can define the traits (IdentityProvider) that storage will later implement. The crate itself hasn't been built yet. Phase 1 uses ConfigIdentityProvider backed by ArcSwap<DynamicConfig>.

What

The alknet-storage crate will provide SQLite-backed graph storage, identity management, access control, and reactivity via honker. It mirrors the TypeScript @alkdev/storage package's design while leveraging Rust's type system and honker's built-in pub/sub.

Why

alknet-core needs persistent identity data (authorized keys, accounts, ACLs) and a way to store and query graph-structured data (call graphs, operation graphs, metagraph). But alknet-core cannot take a database dependency. The solution: alknet-storage implements alknet-core's IdentityProvider trait, providing SQLite-backed identity resolution without core knowing about SQLite.

The metagraph (three-level type system: GraphType → NodeType → EdgeType → Graph → Node → Edge) is the foundation for ACL, flowgraph persistence, and any future graph-structured data.

Architecture

Crate Structure

alknet-storage/
├── metagraph/     — GraphType, NodeType, EdgeType persistence
├── identity/      — accounts, organizations, peer_credentials, api_keys, audit_logs
├── acl/           — PrincipalNode, DelegatesEdge, access control graph
├── secrets/       — Encrypted node type, encrypt/decrypt bridge
├── honker/        — honker integration: notify, stream, queue
├── graph/         — GraphInstance, Node, Edge CRUD with schema validation
└── schema/        — JSON Schema definitions (serde + jsonschema)

Metagraph Data Model

Three-level type system:

1. GraphType — A class of graphs (e.g., "call-graph", "acl", "task-dependencies"). Defines structural constraints.
2. NodeType — A category of node within a graph type. Each has a JSON Schema for attribute validation.
3. EdgeType — A category of edge within a graph type. Each has a JSON Schema and optional source/target constraints.

Graph instances belong to a graph type and contain nodes and edges conforming to those type definitions.

SQLite Table Schema

Common columns: id TEXT PK, metadata TEXT JSON DEFAULT '{}', created_at INTEGER TIMESTAMP, updated_at INTEGER TIMESTAMP.

Table	Key columns
graph_types	id, name (UNIQUE), config JSON, version, scope
node_types	id, graph_type_id FK, name, schema JSON
edge_types	id, graph_type_id FK, name, schema JSON, allowed_source/target types
graphs	id, graph_type_id FK, name, description, status, owner_id, project_id
nodes	id, graph_id FK, key (UNIQUE per graph), attributes JSON
edges	id, graph_id FK, key, source_node_key, target_node_key, attributes JSON, undirected

No FK constraints across database files. Referential integrity is enforced at the application layer.

System DB vs Tenant DB

• System DB (system.db): Identity tables (accounts, organizations, peer_credentials, api_keys, audit_logs) + system-scoped graph types.
• Tenant DB (tenant-{orgId}.db): Metagraph tables + tenant-scoped graph types.

Identity Tables

Table	Key columns
accounts	email (UNIQUE), display_name, access_level (admin/user/service), status
organizations	name (UNIQUE), slug (UNIQUE), owner_id FK → accounts
organization_members	org_id FK, account_id FK, membership_level (owner/admin/member)
api_keys	owner_id FK, key_hash (UNIQUE), name, enabled, expires_at, revoked_at
peer_credentials	owner_id FK, credential_type (ssh_key/cert_authority), fingerprint (UNIQUE), public_key_data
audit_logs	action, owner_id FK, credential_id, org_id FK, details JSON

ACL as Metagraph

The ACL graph is a directed, non-multi metagraph:

• PrincipalNode: IdentityType (Account, Org, Service, Role) + identity_id + scopes + resources
• ResourceNode: The thing being accessed
• Edges: can_read, can_write, can_execute, belongs_to, delegates

Delegation edges carry narrowed_scopes — the delegate can only exercise scopes that are a subset of the delegator's.

StorageIdentityProvider (Future — Phase 2+)

Implements alknet-core's IdentityProvider trait (ADR-029). This is defined here as a contract. When alknet-storage is built, it will provide this implementation. Phase 1 uses ConfigIdentityProvider backed by ArcSwap.

impl IdentityProvider for StorageIdentityProvider {
    fn resolve_from_fingerprint(&self, fingerprint: &str) -> Option<Identity> {
        // 1. Find peer_credentials row by fingerprint
        // 2. Resolve to account → organization membership → effective scopes
        // 3. Return Identity { id: account_uuid, scopes, resources }
    }

    fn resolve_from_token(&self, token: &AuthToken) -> Option<Identity> {
        // 1. Verify Ed25519 signature against api_keys or peer_credentials
        // 2. Resolve to account → effective scopes
        // 3. Return Identity { id: account_uuid, scopes, resources }
    }
}

StorageProtocol irpc Service

#[rpc_requests(message = StorageMessage)]
enum StorageProtocol {
    #[rpc(tx=oneshot::Sender<Graph>)]
    #[wrap(CreateGraph)]
    CreateGraph { graph_type_id: String, name: String },

    #[rpc(tx=oneshot::Sender<Node>)]
    #[wrap(AddNode)]
    AddNode { graph_id: String, key: String, attributes: Value },

    // ... (full protocol in research/services.md)
}

Honker Integration

Feature	Use case
stream_publish / subscribe	Durable pub/sub for node/edge/membership changes
notify / listen	Ephemeral pub/sub for real-time control channel events
queue / claim / ack	Task queue for async operations

Per ADR-032, honker streams are domain events internal to the storage service. They are projected to call protocol EventEnvelope events when crossing service boundaries.

Encrypted Data

alknet-storage references alknet-secret's EncryptedData wire format for storing encrypted nodes (API keys, OAuth tokens). The format (key_version, salt, iv, ciphertext) is shared by type-level compatibility, not a crate dependency. alknet-secret encrypts; alknet-storage stores the blob.

Crate Dependencies

[dependencies]
honker = "0.x"
rusqlite = { version = "0.x", features = ["bundled"] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1"
jsonschema = "0.x"
petgraph = "0.x"
irpc = "0.x"

Does NOT depend on alknet-core or alknet-secret. Implements alknet-core's IdentityProvider trait by conforming to its signature, not by direct crate dependency.

Constraints

• alknet-storage does NOT depend on alknet-core as a crate. It implements the IdentityProvider trait by conforming to the signature. The CLI binary wires them together.
• alknet-storage does NOT depend on alknet-secret. They share the EncryptedData wire format by type-level compatibility, not a crate dependency.
• WAL mode for concurrent reads during writes. Single writer per .db file.
• JSON Schema validation uses the jsonschema crate at runtime (replaces TypeBox from TypeScript).
• Per ADR-032, honker stream events never cross service boundaries without projection to EventEnvelope.

Open Questions

• OQ-SVC-03: How does the secret service integrate with the existing EncryptedDataSchema from @alkdev/storage? The Rust implementation replaces PBKDF2 password-based encryption with derived AES-256-GCM keys. The EncryptedData format is a superset — old format can be migrated by re-encrypting with the new key.

• OQ-SVC-04: Should workers cache derived keys locally? Yes, with a TTL (default: 1 hour). The head can revoke by invalidating the session.

• OQ-SVC-05: How does the smart contract (NFT-based ACL) interact with the secret service? The Ethereum signing key (m/44'/60'/0'/0/0) is derived from the same seed. The smart contract is a separate concern.

Design Decisions

ADR	Decision	Summary
027	Crate decomposition	alknet-storage is independent of core and secret
029	Identity as core type	alknet-storage implements IdentityProvider trait
032	Event boundary	Honker streams stay internal; projection to EventEnvelope at boundaries

References

• research/storage.md — Full metagraph, identity, ACL, honker definitions
• research/services.md — StorageProtocol, StorageIdentityProvider
• research/integration-plan.md — Phase 2.2
• identity.md — IdentityProvider trait, Identity struct
• secret-service.md — EncryptedData format, derivation paths