glm-5.2
cb98f42cd4
Add ADR-026 (vault key model — HD derivation) recording the foundational HD-derivation decision, 74' coin type reservation, SLIP-0010/Ed25519 default, secp256k1 feature-gating, and AES-256-GCM cipher choice. These were previously inline rationale with no ADR (W9). Extend ADR-018 with an explicit EncryptedData wire format lock — fields, encoding, and semantics are frozen; no removal without a format-version migration (W10). Resolve the remaining guard clauses and spec decisions: - W2: Capabilities must be immutable after construction (no interior mutability). Makes the Arc vs deep-copy clone semantics genuinely two-way. - W5: Published to_* specs are compatibility contracts — best-effort mappings are two-way before first publication, one-way after. Version generated specs. - W6: Salt field clarification — v2 salt is permanently unused; a future KDF is a different derivation family, not a version-indexed path; the field saves a wire-format change only. - W7: unlock_new returns Zeroizing<String> — the mnemonic is the root of trust and must not linger in freed memory. - W17: OQ-09 WASM — server-side dispatch door is honestly closed (Connection is concrete, tokio-bound), not implicitly preserved. - W18: OQ-10 git — composability fork (raw smart protocol vs call-protocol projection) is a separate decision from ERC721 scope. - W20: from_openapi must prefix imported error codes (HTTP_404) to avoid collision with protocol-level codes (NOT_FOUND). Normative rule, not naming convention. - W21: ScopedOperationEnv field is private — construction via new()/ empty(), query via allows(). Makes the future subgraph refactor non-breaking. - C13: Connection::set_identity — the endpoint does not read identity() after handle() returns (Connection is moved into the spawned task). Observability is handler-side logging. Simplest honest answer. - W1: OperationAdapter trait is async, returns Vec<HandlerRegistration>. from_call requires async discovery; ADR-022 changed the return type. - W11: CompositionAuthority::as_identity() defined — constructs a synthetic Identity (label as id, scopes, resources) not resolvable via IdentityProvider. Second Identity construction path, acknowledged. - W14: SecretKey is iroh::SecretKey (Ed25519) — consistent with the endpoint's iroh dependency. - W19: Grandchild abort propagation is inherit-by-default (option a) — invoke() with no explicit policy inherits parent's policy. ContinueRunning auto-propagates to grandchildren unless explicitly overridden.
status, last_updated
| status | last_updated |
|---|---|
| draft | 2026-06-22-20 |
Alknet Architecture
Current State
Pre-implementation. The project has completed a pivot from a three-layer model to an ALPN-as-service model. The greenfield workspace contains only alknet-vault (stable — implementation exists, pending ADR-025/026 refactor to drop irpc and remove derive_password) and research/reference material. Foundational ADRs (001–026) are in place. ADR-024 resolves the registry mutability question and the OperationContext.env type identity crisis by layering the registry by trust boundary. ADR-025 drops irpc from the vault, making it local-only by construction. ADR-026 records the HD-derivation key model as a foundational decision. The alknet-core, alknet-call, and alknet-vault crate specs are in draft.
Next step: Continue working through review #002's remaining Tier 4 findings (vault security decisions, guard clauses, ADR-writing exercises, smaller spec decisions). All open questions for the core and call crates are resolved; the vault crate's OQ-21 (remote vault) is now resolved (ADR-025 — vault is local-only by construction).
Architecture Documents
| Document | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| overview.md | draft | Workspace-level overview, crate graph, shared types, design principles |
| open-questions.md | draft | Centralized OQ tracker with door-type classifications |
| crates/core/README.md | draft | alknet-core crate index |
| crates/core/core-types.md | draft | ProtocolHandler, HandlerError, Connection, BiStream, StreamError |
| crates/core/endpoint.md | draft | ALPN router, HandlerRegistry, accept loop, shutdown |
| crates/core/auth.md | draft | AuthContext, Identity, IdentityProvider, AuthToken, resolution flow |
| crates/core/config.md | draft | StaticConfig, DynamicConfig, ArcSwap, ConfigReloadHandle |
| crates/call/README.md | draft | alknet-call crate index |
| crates/call/call-protocol.md | draft | CallAdapter, EventEnvelope framing, stream model, PendingRequestMap, bidirectional calls, streaming subscribe example |
| crates/call/operation-registry.md | draft | OperationSpec, Handler, OperationRegistry, AccessControl, capability injection, service discovery, irpc integration |
| crates/vault/README.md | draft | alknet-vault crate index |
| crates/vault/mnemonic-derivation.md | draft | BIP39, SLIP-0010, BIP-0032, derivation paths, key types |
| crates/vault/encryption.md | draft | AES-256-GCM, EncryptedData, key versioning, salt (Phase B reserved) |
| crates/vault/service.md | draft | VaultServiceHandle lifecycle, actor dispatch, cache, error model |
| crates/vault/protocol.md | draft | DerivedKey redaction, KeyType, serialization behavior |
ADR Table
| ADR | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 001 | ALPN-Based Protocol Dispatch | Accepted |
| 002 | ProtocolHandler Trait | Accepted |
| 003 | Crate Decomposition | Accepted |
| 004 | Auth as Shared Core (IdentityProvider) | Accepted |
| 005 | irpc as Call Protocol Foundation | Accepted |
| 006 | ALPN String Convention and Connection Model | Accepted |
| 007 | BiStream Type Definition | Accepted |
| 008 | Vault Integration Point | Accepted |
| 009 | One-Way Door Decision Framework | Accepted |
| 010 | ALPN Router and Endpoint | Accepted |
| 011 | AuthContext Structure and Resolution Flow | Accepted |
| 012 | Call Protocol Stream Model | Accepted |
| 013 | Rust as Canonical Implementation Language | Accepted |
| 014 | Secret Material Flow and Capability Injection | Accepted |
| 015 | Privilege Model and Authority Context | Accepted |
| 016 | Abort Cascade for Nested Calls | Accepted |
| 017 | Call Protocol Client and Adapter Contract | Accepted |
| 018 | Vault as Standalone Crate | Accepted |
| 019 | Vault Assembly-Layer-Only Access | Accepted |
| 020 | HD Derivation for Encryption Keys | Accepted |
| 021 | Key Rotation via Version-Indexed Paths | Accepted |
| 022 | Handler Registration, Provenance, and Composition Authority | Accepted |
| 023 | Operation Error Schemas | Accepted |
| 024 | Operation Registry Layering | Accepted |
| 025 | Vault Local-Only Dispatch | Accepted |
| 026 | Vault Key Model — HD Derivation | Accepted |
Open Questions
See open-questions.md for the full tracker.
Resolved one-way doors:
- OQ-01: BiStream type — trait with Connection parameter (ADR-007)
- OQ-02: AuthContext timing — hybrid model (ADR-004)
- OQ-03: ALPN naming —
alknet/prefix, no version (ADR-006) - OQ-05: Multi-connectivity endpoint — quinn + iroh, both feature-gated (ADR-010)
- OQ-06: ALPN per connection, not per stream (ADR-006)
- OQ-08: Vault integration — CLI-embedded, assembly-layer only (ADR-008, ADR-014)
- OQ-16: Safe vault operations for call protocol exposure — none for now (ADR-014)
- OQ-18: Privilege model —
internal= authority switch, External/Internal visibility, handler identity + scoped env (ADR-015) - OQ-17: Abort cascade —
call.abortedcascades to descendants; defaultabort-dependents,continue-runningopt-in (ADR-016) - OQ-15: Call protocol client and adapter contract —
CallClientopens connections;from_callimports remote ops; connection direction independent of call direction (ADR-017)
Resolved two-way doors:
- OQ-04: Dynamic handler registration — static at startup (ADR-010); scoped to the
HandlerRegistry(ALPN-level) by ADR-024, which governsOperationRegistrymutability separately - OQ-07: Call protocol scope — bidirectional streams, EventEnvelope, ID-based correlation (ADR-012)
- OQ-11: Handler-level auth resolution observability — handlers store resolved identity on Connection (Option B); two identity scopes: connection-level (observability) and per-request (ACL)
- OQ-12: TLS identity provisioning — two use cases: RFC 7250 raw keys (default, P2P) and X.509 certs (domain-hosted, browsers). ACME is a proven pattern.
- OQ-13: Operation path format —
/{service}/{op}is the correct design for alknet-call, not a simplification - OQ-14: Batch operation semantics — multiple correlated
call.requestedevents is the correct protocol design, not a simplification - OQ-19: Session-scoped registries — agent-written operations via
OperationEnvtrait layering; protocol doesn't need changes;OperationEnvmust remain a trait. Generalized by ADR-024 to cover connection-scoped overlays as well. - OQ-20: Encryption key derivation — HD derivation from BIP39 seed, not PBKDF2; salt field unused in v2 (wire-format compat) (ADR-020)
- OQ-21: Remote vault access — resolved (ADR-025): vault is local-only by construction; remote access requires a separate vault-server crate with its own ADR
- OQ-22: Key rotation — version-indexed derivation paths;
rotatemethod re-encrypts (ADR-021) - OQ-23: Handler identity registration path — registration bundle with provenance, composition authority, scoped env, capabilities (ADR-022)
- OQ-24: Operation error schemas — declared domain errors with typed
detailspayload; adapter fidelity forfrom_openapi/to_openapi(ADR-023)
Deferred (not active):
- OQ-09: WASM target boundaries — design constraint, not deliverable
- OQ-10: Git adapter scope — start with smart protocol, add ERC721 later
Document Lifecycle
| Status | Meaning | Transitions |
|---|---|---|
draft |
Under active development. May change significantly. | → reviewed when open questions are resolved |
reviewed |
Architecture is final. Implementation may begin. Changes require review. | → stable when implementation is complete and verified |
stable |
Locked. Changes require review and may warrant an ADR. | → deprecated when superseded |
deprecated |
Superseded. Kept for reference. | Removed when no longer referenced |
References
- Pivot proposal:
docs/research/pivot/alpn-service-architecture.md - Cleanup plan:
docs/research/pivot/cleanup-plan.md - SDD process:
docs/sdd_process.md - Reference implementation:
/workspace/@alkdev/alknet-main/