Post-implementation spec sync after the call-completion batch landed (commits e4a2594..a3825f5). The sub-agent review flagged no spec drift, but comparing the implemented types against the spec sketches surfaced five details the specs didn't name — filled in here so the spec matches what was built: - client-and-adapters.md: name the shared Dispatcher (protocol/dispatch.rs) + RemoteFilter mechanism that enforces ADR-028's default-deny at dispatch time (the load-bearing security gate — checks remote_safe before building context, before any capability material reaches the handler). Add ClientError/RemoteIdentity types, the spawn_dispatch lower-level API, and the services_list_handler_peer_scoped wiring (the assembly layer must register the peer-scoped services/list handler for a CallClient's registry, not the plain one). Record the v1 TLS client-auth gap (AcceptAnyServerCertVerifier, with_no_client_auth) as OQ-29. - call-protocol.md: point the adapter dispatch-loop description at the shared Dispatcher (dispatch.rs) so readers find the mechanism ADR-017 §1 commits to. - open-questions.md: OQ-29 — CallClient TLS client-auth + remote-identity verification is a two-way-door remainder; the no-env-vars invariant is unaffected (auth_token flows via call-protocol payload, not TLS). - READMEs: current-state now reflects completion done + reviewed (207 lib + 2 integration tests); OQ-29 added to both OQ summaries.
33 KiB
status, last_updated
| status | last_updated |
|---|---|
| draft | 2026-06-26 |
alknet-call — Client and Adapters
The outbound half of the call protocol: opening connections, importing remote
operations, and the adapter contract that ties import-style adapters together.
This document covers what ADR-017 specced but the server-side implementation
(call-protocol.md, operation-registry.md) did not include — the CallClient
that opens a connection, the from_call/from_jsonschema adapters, and the
OperationAdapter trait. The server-side CallAdapter and CallConnection
dispatch loop are covered in call-protocol.md; this document covers the
client-side connection-establishment half and the adapter surface.
What
This document specifies four components, all in alknet-call:
CallClient— opens an outboundalknet/callQUIC connection and produces aCallConnection. The dispatch loop is shared with the server-sideCallAdapter(ADR-017 §1);CallClientis the connection-establishment + credential-handling half, not a parallel protocol implementation.from_call— discovers operations on a remote call-protocol endpoint viaservices/list+services/schema(already implemented inregistry/discovery.rs) and registers them in the connection's Layer 2 overlay asFromCall-provenance leaves with forwarding handlers.from_jsonschema— schema-only registration: producesHandlerRegistrationbundles with no handler, for validation, discovery, and composition-graph construction without a runtime.OperationAdaptertrait — the async trait thatfrom_call,from_openapi,from_mcp, andfrom_jsonschemaall implement.
It also records two cross-cutting architectural mechanisms that the adapter surface rests on:
- The adapter location map — which adapters live in
alknet-callvsalknet-http, and why. - The no-env-vars invariant — the architectural mechanism by which
downstream consumers'
std::env::varcredential reads are made unreachable.
And one downstream pattern this completion unblocks:
- The exchange-of-operations pattern (runner / container service) — the canonical bilateral composition this client surface enables.
Why
The server-side CallAdapter (accept path) and CallConnection (dispatch
loop) are implemented and tested. The client side is the #1 gap blocking every
downstream consumer: the runner pattern (a process that connects outward to a
hub and exposes local ops), the container-service rewrite, the bilateral
exchange, the NAPI projection, and the agent's cross-node tool dispatch all
require a CallClient. from_call is the #2 gap; the OperationAdapter
trait is the enabling gap for alknet-http's from_openapi/from_mcp.
ADR-017 specced this surface. This document is the spec that operationally
fills the gap ADR-017 left to implementation: the CallClient API, the
from_call/from_jsonschema flows, the trait signature, the adapter
location, the credential invariant, and the bilateral pattern. The gap
analysis (docs/research/alknet-call-completion/gap-analysis.md) identified
four decisions (DC-1..4) needed before implementation; DC-1 is resolved by
ADR-028, and DC-2/3/4 are two-way-door defaults recorded here and tracked as
OQs (DC-2→OQ-27, DC-3→OQ-28, DC-4→OQ-26).
Architecture
CallClient
CallClient opens a QUIC connection to a remote node on ALPN alknet/call,
performs credential setup, and produces a CallConnection. The
CallConnection type is already implemented (call-protocol.md §"CallConnection")
— it wraps an established Connection and holds the Layer 2 imported-ops
overlay. CallClient is the producer on the outbound side; CallAdapter's
accept path is the producer on the inbound side. Both produce the same
CallConnection and hand it to the same shared dispatch loop.
pub struct CallClient {
/// The operation registry. The peer-scoped view is a dispatch-time read
/// over this registry, not a copy (ADR-028 §5).
registry: Arc<OperationRegistry>,
identity_provider: Arc<dyn IdentityProvider>,
/// Trusted-peer mode (ADR-028 §3): when true, the dispatch path exposes
/// all External ops to the remote peer and `services/list` lists all
/// External ops, ignoring the `remote_safe` marking. When false
/// (default), only registrations with `remote_safe: true` dispatch, and
/// `services/list` hides non-remote-safe ops (ADR-028 Assumption 2).
trusted_peer: bool,
}
impl CallClient {
/// Default-deny mode: only `remote_safe: true` ops dispatch/list to the
/// remote peer (ADR-028).
pub fn new(registry: Arc<OperationRegistry>, idp: Arc<dyn IdentityProvider>) -> Self;
/// Trusted-peer mode: construct a CallClient that exposes all External
/// ops from `registry` to the remote peer, ignoring the remote-safe
/// marking. Explicit opt-in per ADR-028 §3.
pub fn trusted_peer(
registry: Arc<OperationRegistry>,
identity_provider: Arc<dyn IdentityProvider>,
) -> Self;
/// Open a QUIC connection to `addr` on ALPN `alknet/call`, perform
/// credential handshake, and return a CallConnection running the shared
/// dispatch loop. Credentials come from capabilities (ADR-014), not env
/// vars — see "No-Env-Vars Invariant" below. The dispatch loop runs on a
/// spawned task; the returned `CallConnection` is live until the remote
/// closes the connection or the caller drops it.
pub async fn connect(
&self,
addr: SocketAddr,
credentials: CallCredentials,
) -> Result<CallConnection, ClientError>;
}
The v1 mechanism is the trusted_peer: bool flag plus the remote_safe: bool
field on each HandlerRegistration (default false across all provenance,
ADR-028 §4). A richer per-peer filtering mechanism (per-peer allowlist,
capability-class tag) is the two-way-door remainder tracked as OQ-25; v1's
boolean limits exposure control to "remote-safe for any peer" vs "not," which
is acceptable for the runner/dispatch pattern (one remote peer per
CallClient).
The connection is symmetric after establishment (ADR-017 §2): both sides can
send and receive call.requested. Connection direction (who opened it) is
independent of call direction (who calls whom). The CallClient is therefore
both a caller and a callee — it dispatches incoming calls from the remote
peer against its peer-scoped registry view, and it initiates outgoing calls
through the CallConnection::call() / subscribe() / abort() API.
Shared Dispatcher
The shared dispatch loop lives in protocol/dispatch.rs as the Dispatcher
struct. This is the architectural mechanism that keeps CallClient from
becoming a parallel protocol implementation (ADR-017 §1): both CallAdapter's
accept path and CallClient's connect path construct a Dispatcher and call
run_loop — the dispatch half is one implementation, the
connection-establishment half differs (accept vs dial).
/// Peer-scoped registry filter state (ADR-028). `trusted_peer: false`
/// (default-deny for a CallClient) hides ops whose
/// `HandlerRegistration.remote_safe` is false from both dispatch and
/// `services/list`. `trusted_peer: true` (explicit opt-in, also used by the
/// CallAdapter's local accept path) bypasses the filter.
pub struct RemoteFilter { pub trusted_peer: bool }
/// Shared dispatcher for an established CallConnection. Constructed by both
/// CallAdapter (accept path) and CallClient (connect path). Holds no
/// per-connection state; the CallConnection is passed into run_loop.
pub struct Dispatcher {
pub registry: Arc<OperationRegistry>,
pub identity_provider: Arc<dyn IdentityProvider>,
pub session_source: Option<Arc<dyn SessionOverlaySource + Send + Sync>>,
pub default_timeout: Duration,
pub remote_filter: RemoteFilter,
}
The remote_filter is the dispatch-time gate that enforces ADR-028's
default-deny: dispatch_requested checks remote_filter.allows(registration.remote_safe)
before building the context or invoking the handler — a non-remote-safe op
returns NOT_FOUND before any capability material reaches the handler (the
security argument for default-deny, ADR-028 Context). The accept path
(CallAdapter) uses RemoteFilter::trusted() by convention — a direct QUIC
client is not a filtered CallClient peer in the ADR-028 sense.
CallClient::spawn_dispatch(connection) is the lower-level API that takes a
pre-established Connection, constructs a CallConnection, builds a
Dispatcher with the appropriate RemoteFilter, spawns the dispatch task,
and returns the live CallConnection. connect() uses it after the QUIC dial
completes; tests use it to wire mock/loopback connections directly.
services/list peer-scoped serving
The services/list hide behavior (ADR-028 Assumption 2) is wired via a
separate handler factory: services_list_handler_peer_scoped(registry, trusted_peer) in registry/discovery.rs, backed by
OperationRegistry::list_operations_peer_scoped(trusted_peer). The assembly
layer constructs the CallClient's registry with this peer-scoped handler
(not the plain services_list_handler used by the CallAdapter's local
accept path) so that when the remote peer calls services/list on the
CallClient, the response hides non-remote-safe ops in default-deny mode.
The dispatch-path RemoteFilter (above) and the services/list-handler
filter are the two halves of the same default-deny posture — discovery and
dispatch filters agree.
Credential sources for connections
CallClient::connect() takes a CallCredentials bundle. Credentials come
from Capabilities (ADR-014), never from environment variables. The three
credential dimensions (ADR-017 §7):
pub struct CallCredentials {
pub tls_identity: Option<TlsIdentity>, // RFC 7250 raw key or X.509
pub auth_token: Option<AuthToken>, // call-protocol-level token
pub remote_identity: Option<RemoteIdentity>, // expected fingerprint/cert
}
/// Expected identity of the remote node (ADR-017 §7). v1 carries a
/// fingerprint string the assembly layer derives from `Capabilities`.
pub struct RemoteIdentity { pub fingerprint: String }
/// Errors produced by `CallClient::connect`.
#[non_exhaustive]
pub enum ClientError { Transport { .. }, TlsSetup { .. }, ConnectionClosed }
- TLS identity — the local node's Ed25519 raw key (RFC 7250) or X.509 cert, derived from the vault at startup (ADR-020, ADR-026, ADR-027).
- Auth token — an opaque call-protocol-level token, decrypted from the vault or derived from a shared secret.
- Remote identity verification — the expected fingerprint/cert of the remote node, stored as a capability.
These are populated by the assembly layer at CallClient construction time
from vault-derived Capabilities. The credential path is the no-env-vars
invariant (below). The concrete shapes of TlsIdentity, AuthToken, and
RemoteIdentity are implementation-detail two-way doors; the one-way
constraints are that they come from Capabilities, not env vars (ADR-014).
v1 TLS client-auth gap (OQ-29): v1 connect() builds the quinn client
config with with_no_client_auth() and an AcceptAnyServerCertVerifier — the
client does not present its TLS identity as a client cert, and does not pin the
remote's expected identity from credentials.remote_identity. This is a
two-way-door remainder: wiring the local node's RawKey/X509 identity as a
rustls client-auth cert (for servers that verify client identity) and
plugging credentials.remote_identity into a real ServerCertVerifier is
additive. The one-way constraint (credentials from Capabilities, not env
vars, ADR-014) is unaffected — the auth_token dimension flows through the
call-protocol auth_token payload field, not TLS, so the no-env-vars
invariant holds independently of this gap.
from_call
from_call discovers the remote peer's External operations and registers
them in the connection's Layer 2 overlay as FromCall-provenance leaves with
forwarding handlers. The discovery mechanism (services/list +
services/schema) is already implemented in registry/discovery.rs;
from_call is the client-side consumer of that API.
pub struct FromCallConfig {
/// Namespace prefix applied to imported operation names. Optional —
/// default no prefix. Collision on import is an error (DC-3, OQ-28),
/// not last-wins.
pub namespace_prefix: Option<String>,
/// Optional filter — import only operations whose names match. None
/// imports all External ops discovered via services/list.
pub operation_filter: Option<HashSet<String>>,
}
/// Discover the remote peer's External ops and construct HandlerRegistration
/// bundles with FromCall provenance and forwarding handlers. The caller
/// registers the bundles in the connection's overlay via
/// CallConnection::register_imported_all().
pub async fn from_call(
connection: &CallConnection,
config: FromCallConfig,
) -> Result<Vec<HandlerRegistration>, AdapterError>;
The flow (ADR-017 §3):
- Call
services/liston the remote → list ofExternaloperations. - Call
services/schemafor each → input/output JSON Schemas and declarederror_schemas(ADR-023). - For each discovered op, construct a
HandlerRegistration:specmirrors the remote op's name (with optional prefix), namespace, type, schemas, access control.handleris a forwarding handler: sendscall.requestedthrough theCallConnection, awaitscall.responded(or streams for subscriptions).provenance: FromCall,composition_authority: None,scoped_env: None(leaf — ADR-022).
- The caller registers the bundles via
CallConnection::register_imported_all().
Re-import on reconnection (DC-2, OQ-27): from_call runs automatically on
connection establishment. The overlay is per-connection (Layer 2, ADR-024), so
a stale overlay dies with the connection; re-import on reconnect is naturally
scoped to the new connection. This is the v1 default; explicit re-import via a
future CallConnection::refresh() is additive.
Namespace collision (DC-3, OQ-28): optional prefix, default no prefix,
collision = error. A node importing from two remotes that both expose
/container/exec without prefixes should fail loudly. The operator adds
prefixes when they know they're importing from multiple sources.
Trust is transitive (recorded in operation-registry.md): a
from_call-imported operation executes the remote node's code, not yours.
The scoped env (ADR-015) bounds which operations are reachable, not what
they do. from_call means "I trust the remote node as much as my own
handlers." The abort cascade (ADR-016) crosses the node boundary transparently
through the forwarding handler's parent_request_id.
from_jsonschema
Schema-only registration: produces HandlerRegistration bundles with no
handler (FromJsonSchema provenance). Used for validation, discovery, and
composition-graph construction without a runtime — type-checking a composition
plan without executing it, building a UI of available operations without
standing up the transports, etc.
pub fn from_jsonschema(
spec: OperationSpec,
schema: serde_json::Value,
) -> HandlerRegistration;
Distinct from from_call (gap analysis DC-5, confirmed not a decision):
from_jsonschema |
from_call |
|
|---|---|---|
| Schema source | Provided directly (caller fetches, passes in) | Discovered over wire (services/list + services/schema) |
| Handler at call time | None (schema-only, FromJsonSchema provenance) |
Forwards over QUIC (FromCall provenance, leaf) |
| Use case | Type validation, discovery, composition graph construction | Actually invoking remote operations |
Keeping them separate preserves the "schema-only, no execution" use case (type checking, safe composition planning without runtime).
OperationAdapter trait
The shared shape across import-style adapters. The trait lives in
alknet-call (where the types live); the implementations live where their
transport dependencies live (see "Adapter Location Map" below).
#[async_trait]
pub trait OperationAdapter: Send + Sync {
async fn import(&self) -> Result<Vec<HandlerRegistration>, AdapterError>;
}
The trait is async because from_call requires async discovery
(services/list + services/schema over a QUIC connection). Sync adapters
(from_openapi, from_mcp reading a static spec) trivially satisfy an async
trait — their import() bodies contain no .await points. This is locked by
ADR-017 §5.
The error type (DC-4, OQ-26) is Result<Vec<HandlerRegistration>, AdapterError> where AdapterError is a crate-level enum covering the
failure modes real implementations hit: discovery transport failure
(from_call remote unreachable), schema parse failure (from_openapi,
from_jsonschema), unauthorized (HTTP 401 for from_openapi,
from_mcp). The exact AdapterError variants are the two-way-door
remainder; the presence of an error type is filled in here. ADR-017 §5
showed async fn import(&self) -> Vec<HandlerRegistration> with no error
type; the spec omitted the error type as an implementation-detail two-way
door, recorded here.
Implementations:
FromCall— QUIC-backed (inalknet-call).FromJsonSchema— pure parse, no transport (inalknet-call).FromOpenAPI— HTTP-backed (inalknet-http).FromMCP— MCP streamable-HTTP-backed (inalknet-http, feature-gated).
The to_* adapters (to_openapi, to_mcp) are outbound projections, not
OperationAdapter implementations — they consume the registry, they don't
produce entries for it (ADR-017 §5).
Adapter Location Map
The decomposition principle: the adapter trait lives where the types live
(alknet-call); the adapter implementations live where their transport
dependencies live.
alknet-call (lean — no HTTP client, no HTTP server)
├── OperationAdapter trait (the contract — async, per ADR-017 §5)
├── from_call (QUIC — discovers remote ops via call protocol)
├── from_jsonschema (pure parse — caller fetches the doc, passes it in)
└── CallClient (outbound connection opener — the #1 gap)
alknet-http (owns HTTP server + HTTP client — separate crate, separate Phase 0)
├── ProtocolHandler for h2/http1.1/h3 (axum server — inbound HTTP)
├── from_openapi (parse OpenAPI doc + reqwest forwarding handler)
├── to_openapi (generate OpenAPI doc from local registry)
├── from_mcp (feature-gated) (import remote MCP tools over streamable HTTP — reqwest)
└── to_mcp (feature-gated) (expose local ops as MCP tools over streamable HTTP — axum)
Not built: MCP stdio transport
— stdio = spawn arbitrary executable = built-in RCE ("download untrusted MCP servers")
— streamable HTTP is the only supported MCP transport in alknet
— recorded as an explicit security position, not a feature gap
alknet-call never sees the HTTP client. The from_openapi/from_mcp
forwarding handlers are opaque Arc<dyn Handler> from the registry's
perspective — constructed by alknet_http::from_openapi() at registration
time, stored in HandlerRegistration, dispatched by the CallAdapter which
doesn't know reqwest is involved. alknet-call stays lean (no reqwest, no
axum); alknet-http owns both HTTP directions.
ADR-003 dependency note: alknet-http implementing from_openapi/
from_mcp means alknet-http depends on alknet-call (for OperationSpec,
Handler, HandlerRegistration, OperationAdapter). ADR-003's rule is "no
handler crate depends on another handler crate" — but alknet-call is both
a handler and the protocol foundation that alknet-agent and alknet-napi
already consume. alknet-http depending on alknet-call is "HTTP uses the
call protocol types," not "HTTP depends on SSH." This is within the spirit of
ADR-003 (alknet-call is protocol-foundation, not a peer handler). The
alknet-http spec should note this explicitly; a one-line amendment to
ADR-003 clarifying that alknet-call is a protocol-foundation crate is
deferred to the alknet-http Phase 0.
No-Env-Vars Invariant
The architectural mechanism for the env-var problem in downstream consumers
(the Rust port of Vercel's AI SDK at /workspace/aisdk/, whose providers all
read std::env::var("OPENAI_API_KEY") in their Default impls). The fix is
not to modify those consumers — it's that the env-var path is never taken
because the assembly layer never calls Default::default().
The credential injection path:
vault (seed)
→ assembly layer (derive + decrypt at startup, per ADR-014/019/025)
→ Capabilities (non-serializable, zeroized, immutable — ADR-014)
→ HandlerRegistration.capabilities (ADR-022, the registration bundle)
→ OperationContext.capabilities (per-request, populated by dispatch
path from the bundle — ADR-022 §6)
→ from_openapi handler reads context.capabilities.get("openai")
→ injects into HTTP Authorization header
→ reqwest request goes out with vault-derived credential
The from_openapi/from_mcp forwarding handlers (in alknet-http) are the
credential injection point. They read from context.capabilities, not from
std::env::var. The downstream consumers' Default impls reading env vars
are simply never called — the assembly layer constructs providers with
vault-derived credentials through the builder API, or the provider's HTTP
calls are routed through from_openapi operations that carry the credential
in Capabilities.
This is a spec-level invariant in alknet-call, not a runtime convention.
The dispatch path (build_root_context and OperationEnv::invoke() per
ADR-022 §6) populates OperationContext.capabilities from the registration
bundle. The invariant is: no handler reads outbound credentials from any
source other than OperationContext.capabilities. This is already the
architectural intent of ADR-014; this document records it as an explicit
invariant that the from_openapi/from_mcp handler implementations (in
alknet-http) are verified against.
Exchange-of-Operations Pattern (Runner / Container Service)
The canonical downstream pattern this completion unblocks, recorded here so
Phase 1 specs can reference it. Concrete example: the container service at
/workspace/@alkdev/dispatch (axum + russh SSH client for "reverse git
runner" over Docker/vast.ai) gets rewritten as a call-protocol service.
Bilateral exchange:
Container service (runs on a vast.ai/docker instance):
Defines Local ops: /container/exec, /container/list, /container/logs...
(real handlers — calls bollard or vast.ai API)
Connects to hub as a CallClient (outbound connection — runner pattern)
Hub (central server):
Runs CallAdapter (server) on alknet/call (already implemented)
When the container service connects:
hub runs from_call → discovers /container/* via services/list + services/schema
registers them as FromCall provenance (leaf, forwarding handlers) in the
connection's Layer 2 overlay (ADR-024)
Now the hub (or anything connected to the hub) can call /container/exec
The from_call handler forwards over the connection back to the container service
Bilateral: the container service ALSO runs from_call against the hub,
discovers the hub's External ops, and can call them.
Connection direction (container → hub) is independent of call direction
(both can call each other) per ADR-017 §2.
What this requires:
CallClient— the container service uses it to open the outbound connection to the hub. The #1 gap.from_call— both sides run it to populate their Layer 2 overlays with the other side'sExternalops. The #2 gap.OperationAdaptertrait —from_callimplements it. The #3 gap (enabling, not blocking —from_callcan be built as a free function before the trait exists, but the trait is needed foralknet-http's adapters).
Why the container service doesn't need alknet-ssh: under the call
protocol, the container service is a CallClient that dials the hub's
alknet/call ALPN directly over QUIC — no SSH in the loop. SSH port
forwarding becomes the transitional mechanism for targets that can't run a
call-protocol client (the alknet-ssh phase-0 findings document this
transition). Once the container service runs a CallClient, SSH is out of
the path entirely.
This is the "dev runner" pattern: a call-protocol client that connects back
to a hub and exposes core dev tools (bash, fs, etc.) as operations. The agent
service (alknet-agent, downstream) is the consumer that orchestrates these
via env.invoke().
Implementation Priority Order
Based on the gap analysis and the downstream unblock chain:
-
CallClient(critical) — outbound connection opener. Without it, no runner, no container service, no bilateral exchange. Reuses the existingCallConnectionfor the dispatch loop; adds only the connection-establishment + credential-handling half. The single highest-value piece of work in the entirealknet-callcompletion. -
from_call(critical, depends onCallClient) — consumes the already-implementedservices/list+services/schemadiscovery API. -
OperationAdaptertrait (enabling) — the async trait. Small, standalone, unblocksalknet-httpPhase 1. -
from_jsonschema(medium, standalone) — schema-only registration, no handler. Small. -
DC-1 resolution (peer-scoped registry filtering, ADR-028) — the security dimension of
CallClient's registry. Addressed in parallel with #1 — it's a filtering layer on the registry theCallClientexposes, not a blocker for the connection-establishment work.
What This Completion Unblocks
| Downstream crate | What it needs from alknet-call | Status without completion |
|---|---|---|
| alknet-http | OperationAdapter trait (to implement from_openapi/from_mcp) |
Blocked — can't define HTTP-backed adapters without the trait |
| alknet-ssh | Stable alknet-call types (no adapter dependency) | Not blocked — ssh depends on alknet-core, not alknet-call's adapters. Proceeds in parallel. |
| alknet-agent | CallClient (tool dispatch), from_call (remote tool import), OperationAdapter (provider adapters) |
Blocked on CallClient + from_call |
| Container service (dispatch rewrite) | CallClient + from_call |
Blocked — this is the primary consumer |
| Runner pattern (dev runner, opencode runner) | CallClient + from_call |
Blocked — the runner IS a CallClient |
| alknet-napi | CallClient (Node.js calls remote ops) |
Blocked — NAPI projects CallClient to JS |
Constraints
- No HTTP in alknet-call.
from_openapi/from_mcp/to_openapi/to_mcplive inalknet-http. TheOperationAdaptertrait and the QUIC-backed adapters (from_call,from_jsonschema) live inalknet-call. See Adapter Location Map. - No secret material on the wire.
CallCredentialscarries vault-derived material for the outbound connection (TLS identity, auth token); the call protocol's wire format carries no private keys, API keys, or decrypted credentials (ADR-014). The no-env-vars invariant (above) is the dispatch-side corollary. - Peer-scoped registry is default-deny. A
CallClientexposes no operations to the remote peer unless marked remote-safe. Trusted-peer opt-in is explicit (ADR-028). from_callre-import is auto-on-reconnect. v1 default; the overlay is per-connection so re-import is naturally scoped (DC-2, OQ-27).from_callnamespace collision is an error. Default no prefix; the operator adds prefixes when importing from multiple sources (DC-3, OQ-28).OperationAdapter::import()returnsResult. Failures surface asAdapterError(DC-4, OQ-26).- MCP stdio transport is not built. Streamable HTTP is the only supported MCP transport in alknet. stdio = spawn arbitrary executable = built-in RCE. Recorded as an explicit security position, not a feature gap.
Design Decisions
| Decision | ADR | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Call protocol client and adapter contract | ADR-017 | CallClient opens connections; from_call imports remote ops; connection direction independent of call direction; trait is async; adapters produce HandlerRegistration bundles |
| Peer-scoped registry filtering (DC-1) | ADR-028 | Default-deny; remote_safe: bool on HandlerRegistration; trusted-peer opt-in; one-way door on the security dimension |
| Secret material flow and capability injection | ADR-014 | The no-env-vars invariant's foundation; capabilities injected at assembly layer |
| Handler registration, provenance, and composition authority | ADR-022 | The registration bundle adapters produce; composition_authority: None for leaves |
| Operation registry layering | ADR-024 | Layer 2 per-connection overlay where from_call imports land |
| Privilege model and authority context | ADR-015 | Adapter-registered ops are Internal by default; default-deny posture |
| Abort cascade for nested calls | ADR-016 | Cross-node abort through from_call forwarding handler's parent_request_id |
| Operation error schemas | ADR-023 | error_schemas mirrored by from_call from remote op's spec |
| TLS identity redesign | ADR-027 | RFC 7250 raw key / X.509 cert dimensions of CallCredentials |
| HD derivation for encryption keys | ADR-020 | Vault-derived TLS identity material |
| Vault key model | ADR-026 | Vault-derived TLS identity material |
| Vault local-only dispatch | ADR-025 | Vault access at assembly layer only; the credential injection path's first hop |
| Crate decomposition | ADR-003 | alknet-http depends on alknet-call (protocol-foundation exception, noted in Adapter Location Map) |
| One-way door decision framework | ADR-009 | Door-type classification for DC-1..4 |
Open Questions
See open-questions.md for full details.
- OQ-25 (open, two-way): Remote-safe marking shape —
remote_safe: boolv1 vs per-peer allowlist vs capability-class tag. The existence of filtering is locked by ADR-028; the shape is the two-way-door remainder. - OQ-26 (open, two-way):
AdapterErrorenum variants (DC-4). The presence of an error type is recorded here; the variants are implementation-detail. - OQ-27 (open, two-way):
from_callre-import trigger — auto-on-reconnect (v1 default, recorded here) vs explicitCallConnection::refresh(). v1 is auto-on-reconnect; the explicit path is additive. - OQ-28 (open, two-way):
from_callnamespace collision behavior — error on collision (v1 default, recorded here) vs last-wins. - OQ-29 (open, two-way):
CallClientTLS client-auth + remote-identity verification — v1 connects withwith_no_client_auth()andAcceptAnyServerCertVerifier(does not present a client cert, does not pin the remote's expected identity fromcredentials.remote_identity). Wiring the local node's RawKey/X509 identity as a rustls client-auth cert and pluggingremote_identityinto a realServerCertVerifieris additive. The one-way constraint (credentials fromCapabilities, ADR-014) is unaffected —auth_tokenflows through the call-protocol payload, not TLS.
References
- ADR-017: Call Protocol Client and Adapter Contract (the spec this document operationally fills)
- ADR-028: Peer-Scoped Registry Filtering for CallClient Inbound Dispatch (resolves DC-1)
call-protocol.md—CallAdapter,CallConnection, dispatch loop, stream model (the server-side complement to this document)operation-registry.md—HandlerRegistration, provenance, capability injection, service discovery (the discovery APIfrom_callconsumes)docs/research/alknet-call-completion/gap-analysis.md— DC-1..4, the implementation-state audit, the downstream unblock chain/workspace/@alkdev/operations/— TypeScript prior art (from_openapi.ts,from_mcp.ts,from_schema.ts,scanner.ts)/workspace/@alkdev/dispatch/— concrete downstream consumer (container service / "reverse git runner") this completion unblocks/workspace/aisdk/— downstream consumer (Rust port of Vercel AI SDK); the no-env-vars invariant makes itsstd::env::varreads unreachable/workspace/rust-sdk/— MCP Rust SDK (rmcp); streamable HTTP transport foralknet-http'sfrom_mcp/to_mcp(separate crate, separate Phase 0)docs/research/alknet-ssh/phase-0-findings.md— alknet-ssh Phase 0; confirms ssh depends on alknet-core not alknet-call's adapters, so it proceeds in parallel with this completion