alkstore/docs/architecture/core-contract.md

---
status: draft
last_updated: 2026-10-05
---

# Core contract

The unified, engine-agnostic surface a `Store` exposes. This document
specifies WHAT the contract is; the per-engine specs map it onto their
machinery; ADRs carry the WHY. The starting artifact is the honker-rs
surface (the Phase 0 §Interface finding) scoped to the
inventory-confirmed features — [ADR-002](decisions/002-feature-scope.md)
— and pinned against it. The base surface is pinned by
[ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) (contract v1 partition,
`TxHandle` representation, wake type, reserved strings, error
taxonomy, config split); ADR-009/ADR-010 add the first *post-v1
contract extensions* (scheduler collapse surface, `QueueOpts` depth —
versioning discipline for such extensions is OQ-10's); the
*obligations* are this document.

## Concepts

- **Store** — what a consumer opens from a connection string or file
  path ([ADR-001](decisions/001-crate-split.md)): one handle, the engine
  behind it chosen at open time. Consumer code never branches on
  engine type (guiding principle 4).
- **Mechanism** — one of the surface's coordination families: notify,
  streams, queues (+outbox), locks, scheduler. Delivery guarantees are
  pinned per mechanism in [ADR-006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md)'s
  table (notify/streams/queues), extended with the locks row by
  [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md), the scheduler row
  and collapse by [ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md).
  *(Guiding principles are defined in `docs/research/phase-0.md`
  §Vision and cited by number throughout this directory.)*
- **Wake** — the opaque "something changed, re-read" signal the wake
  contract delivers ([ADR-006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md)).
  The contract's central abstraction.
- **TxHandle** — the caller-held transaction object whose `*_tx`
  methods make side effects commit-atomic with a business write
  ([ADR-007](decisions/007-transactional-seam.md)). Contract shape:
  the `*_tx` methods live on the `TxHandle` trait itself — engines
  implement it for their concrete handle, no downcast
  ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §2).

## The seam

Per [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §6, the trait is
constructed by engine crates (durability knobs, pool sizing, watcher
cadence are engine options — [deployment.md](deployment.md) carries
the facts); the contract is the trait surface it returns:

```text
Store::begin_tx() -> Box<dyn TxHandle + Send>

trait TxHandle {
    enqueue_tx(name, opts, payload) -> job_id
    publish_tx(stream, payload) -> event_id
    notify_tx(channel, payload)
    save_offset_tx(stream, consumer, offset)
    commit(self: Box<Self>) -> Result<()>   // or rollback
}
```

Mechanism handles come off the store (or, for transactional variants,
off the handle):

```text
store.notify(channel, payload)          handle.notify_tx(channel, payload)
store.stream(name) -> Stream            handle.publish_tx / save_offset_tx
store.queue(name, opts) -> Queue        handle.enqueue_tx
store.try_lock(name, owner, ttl) -> Option<Lock>
store.listen(channel) -> Box<dyn WakeReceiver>
store.outbox(name) -> Outbox
store.schedule(name, spec, queue, payload, opts) -> Result<Schedule>
store.unschedule(name) -> bool
store.run_schedules(stop) -> Result<()>
```

Payloads cross the trait as core value types (non-generic trait
methods — object safety of the boxed handles,
[ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §2); `payload_as<T>`
decodes on concrete returned values (`Job`, `StreamEvent`). The
`with_tx` closure wrapper ships over the handle shape (the POC-verified
composition direction, [ADR-007](decisions/007-transactional-seam.md)).
Mechanism handles (`Stream`, `Queue`, `Outbox`, `Lock`) are core-owned
trait objects like the tx handle — engine types never appear in
consumer signatures; their trait methods pin at implementation,
mirroring the `TxHandle` pattern ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md)
§2's rationale applies identically).

## Mechanism contracts

### notify / listen

Fire-and-forget signals, commit-atomic when sent in a transaction
([ADR-007](decisions/007-transactional-seam.md)). No durability, no
replay, no per-listener retry; a listener attached after a commit
never sees it.

- `notify(channel, payload)` — payload ≤ 8000 bytes on Postgres
  (client-side checked, typed `PayloadTooLarge` before the round
  trip, verified by POC #2); no limit on SQLite. The error variant is
  contract-wide (callers match it identically on both engines), the
  *occurrence* is the documented engine asymmetry
  ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §5) — see also
  OQ-08.
- `listen(channel) -> Box<dyn WakeReceiver>` — starts from "now";
  delivers opaque `Wake { channel }` signals
  ([ADR-006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md)), never
  payloads or ids ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §3).
  Wakes are at-least-once, possibly coalesced (SQLite) or per-notify
  (Postgres), possibly repeated after reconnect. **Consumers must be
  idempotent on wake.**
- Failure surfaces as channel events, never silence: watcher death
  closes the receiver (`recv() -> None`, SQLite); the synthetic
  reconnect-wake (a reserved channel
  ([ADR-004](decisions/004-postgres-driver.md))) covers Postgres
  connection gaps.
- Channel name is the one piece of semantic content a wake carries —
  the invalidation key for caching subscribers.

### streams

Durable pub/sub with per-consumer offsets
([ADR-006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md)). The durable
cousin of notify: publish is commit-atomic; every committed event is
readable by every consumer whose offset hasn't passed it;
replay-on-attach is the default; offsets are explicit and
transaction-aware (`save_offset_tx` gives exactly-once-within-a-
business-tx shape).

- `publish` / `publish_tx` / `publish_with_key` — append to the
  stream's durable log.
- `read_since` / `read_from_consumer(offset)` — cursor-based reads;
  `get_offset(consumer)` — checkpoint inspection.
- `save_offset` / `save_offset_tx` — consumer checkpoint, explicit;
  **the contract's save is always explicit** (no auto-checkpoint
  cadence — honker's per-binding ambiguity is not inherited). The
  subscription handle exposes no `save_every` / auto-save-on-drop
  ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §8).
- `subscribe(consumer) -> Box<dyn EventReceiver>` — durable
  consumption: attach, read to current tail, resume after restart
  from the stored offset; explicit `save_offset` on the receiver
  (shape in [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §8).

### queues

Durable at-least-once work
([ADR-002](decisions/002-feature-scope.md)). Depth pinned by
[ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md); contract-level
obligations:

- `enqueue` / `enqueue_tx` — commit-atomic; `EnqueueOpts { delay,
  run_at, priority, max_attempts, expires }`; queue-level
  `QueueOpts { visibility_timeout_s, max_attempts, backoff_base_s,
  dead_letter_retention_s }` ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md)
  §3/§4).
- `claim_one` / `claim_batch` — exactly-once handout under concurrency
  (POC-pinned on both engines); claim ordering: priority DESC, then
  ready-time, then enqueue order (FIFO under equal priority).
- Job handle: `ack / retry / fail / heartbeat`. `ack` deletes the row;
  `heartbeat(extend)` is *renewal* — an absolute reset of the claim
  deadline (extend is the new full deadline from now, **not additive**
  to elapsed time); late heartbeat refused; **a reclaim consumes an
  attempt**; `retry(err, None)` computes the queue's equal-jitter
  exponential delay (range pinned by
  [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §3), `retry(err,
  Some(d))` overrides; `fail` = immediate dead-letter. Dead letters:
  move-to-dead storage, `get_job` sees dead rows (with
  `last_error`/`died_at`), retention via `dead_letter_retention_s`
  (default forever), no redrive API
  ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §1–§4).
  `QueueOpts` stamp onto the job row at enqueue (§3a) — queues are
  names, not config owners. The remaining v1-skeleton ops (`ack_batch`,
  `cancel` — unconditional delete, not an interrupt) pin in
  [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §1.
- `sweep_expired(queue)` — moves *every* past-expiry row (any state)
  to dead + enforces dead-letter retention — the no-stranded-rows
  property ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §5);
  cadence recipe in [queues.md](queues.md) (no ambient sweeper).

### named locks

TTL-bounded coordination locks, transactional-friendly:

- `try_lock(name, owner, ttl)` — acquire or fail (`Option<Lock>` —
  no-work is a value, not an error); `renew` and `release` on the
  lock handle. Release on explicit unlock or TTL expiry.
  Re-acquirable after expiry (POC-pinned on Postgres; on SQLite it
  rests on the forked substrate's lock machinery — the SQLite-side pin
  is in the verification backlog below).
- **Guarantee row** ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md)
  §7): mutual exclusion bounded by TTL + renewal — after TTL expiry
  exclusion lapses *silently* (no revocation event); holders must
  `renew` within TTL; expiry is a loss of exclusivity, not an error.
- Lock names are shared-namespace (reserved-prefix rules below,
  [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §4).

### outbox

A helper over queues, not a separate mechanism: enqueue inside the
business transaction + the delivery/consumption worker entry points.
Same evidence base and guarantee as queues
([ADR-002](decisions/002-feature-scope.md)).

### scheduler

Collapsed into queues per [ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md):
`schedule(name, spec, queue, payload, opts)` (upsert by name),
`unschedule(name)`, and the opt-in `run_schedules(stop)` runner
(leader-elected where the engine has peers — the leadership lock is
the reserved name `__alkstore_scheduler`). Schedules never fire
without a runner (no ambient timers). v1 spec grammar:
`@every <n><unit>` only (`s|m|h|d`); cron strings are rejected
(`InvalidSpec`) pending a consumer-inventory row naming wall-clock
cron. Boundary guarantee:
[ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md) §4 (at-least-once per
elapsed boundary, bounded catch-up with skip-forward past the cap).

## Cross-cutting contracts

### Delivery-guarantee table

The per-mechanism table in
[ADR-006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md) is the contract
of record for notify/streams/queues; the locks row is
[ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §7's and the scheduler
row is [ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md) §4's. This spec
inherits them and adds the consumer obligations:

- wake idempotence (notify's at-least-once, coalescing behavior);
- explicit offset saves (streams);
- visibility-timeout budgeting — heartbeat inside the deadline for
  long work; the dual-execution window and reclaim-eats-attempt rules
  are documented consumer obligations
  ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §2);
- running `run_schedules` for schedules to fire at all, and scheduling
  sweep cadences via the collapse recipe — timeliness is the
  consumer's, correctness-of-transition the engine's
  ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §6);
- `*_tx` operations are *only* durable after the caller's commit —
  rollback drops job rows, event rows, notifications, and offset saves
  together (the no-ghosts property, POC-pinned on both engines).

### Errors

`thiserror`-typed, per the family standard. Pinned by
[ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §5: one top-level
`Error`, with v1 variants `PayloadTooLarge` (universal; produced
pg-side, contract-wide matchable), `ReservedName`, `InvalidName`,
`Closed`, `Codec`, and the opaque `Database` fallback (engine detail
preserved via the source chain). Post-v1 additions:
`InvalidSpec` (schedule spec grammar) and `LeadershipLost`
(`run_schedules` return on leadership loss) — both from
[ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md) §6, the only
taxonomy deltas so far. Pinning rule: a variant exists only when
callers can act differently on it. Queue claim "no work" and job/lock
boolean results are values, not errors; dead-letter is observable
state (`get_job`), not an error.

### Capability surface

None in contract v1. Whether the `Store` exposes engine capabilities
at all — and if so, which (payload limits, host semantics,
wake-cadence knobs) — is OQ-08's decision
([deployment.md](deployment.md)).

### Naming / reserved namespace

Consumer-visible names (channels, streams, queues, locks, and
schedule names) share engine-visible namespaces on Postgres (LISTEN
channel names are server-global per database). Pinned by
[ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §4 (schedule names
added by [ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md) §1):

- Reserved prefix **`__alkstore_`**, engine-independent, applies
  across all name kinds; the one v1-reserved string is
  `__alkstore_listener_reconnected__` (the Postgres reconnect-wake
  channel, [ADR-004](decisions/004-postgres-driver.md)).
- Reserved-prefix names are rejected at every entry point — the
  name-bearing methods *and their `*_tx` counterparts* — with the
  typed `ReservedName` error; empty names with `InvalidName`
  ([ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) §4). Stream-consumer
  names are consumer-local identifiers, not a reserved-namespace kind.
- Engine-derived names in consumer namespaces carry the reserved
  prefix (the outbox's backing queue is derived under the prefix —
  honker's `_outbox:{name}` scheme is not inherited verbatim).
- SQLite: the substrate's `__alkstore_*` internal table family is
  storage-internal (not consumer namespace) — re-owned from upstream's
  `_honker_*` by the fork ([ADR-011](decisions/011-sqlite-substrate-fork.md),
  designed per [ADR-012](decisions/012-forked-substrate-design.md)).
  Postgres: engine tables are
  schema-scoped — one engine-owned schema
  ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §8) — the
  *channel* namespace is this section's.

## Verification backlog

Contract properties POC-pinned on one engine only (or sketched rather
than surface-verified) — the contract test suite must pin both engines
before the engine specs are called `stable`:

- **Named-lock TTL/expiry re-acquisition on SQLite** — pinned on
  Postgres (pg POC's lock probe); on SQLite it rests on the forked
  substrate's lock machinery (its `lock_renew` verified in the quality
  read; the re-acquire-does-not-refresh-TTL behavior is upstream's,
  inherited deliberately) — pin it in the contract suite.
- **Wake semantics under `WakeReceiver` shapes** — POCs verified
  wake delivery/coalescing through their own probe types; the pinned
  `Wake { channel }` / recv forms (§3 of
  [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md)) need the contract
  suite's own property tests on both engines.
- **`save_offset_tx` exactly-once-within-a-business-tx shape** — both
  POCs verified it through their *sketch* implementations (SQLite's
  offset-save was a plain SQL upsert, not the forked substrate's full
  surface;
  the pg side likewise through its probe), so the property must be
  re-pinned against the real engines' `save_offset_tx` in the
  contract suite.
- **Concurrent `try_lock` loser/error behavior** on SQLite (the pg
  side returns cleanly; the substrate's busy-path under lock
  contention is the thing to pin).
- **Scheduler + depth properties on Postgres** — the SQLite side's
  tick/leader/catch-up machinery inherits the forked substrate's
  test-pinned implementation; the pg engine's re-derived tick (boundary
  advance,
  64-cap skip-forward, leadership-loss discipline) and the
  [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) depth properties
  (visibility reclaim consuming attempts, dead-letter moves, the
  no-stranded-rows sweep) pin in the contract suite at
  implementation.
- **Backoff-curve and stamp-resolution equivalence across engines** —
  the equal-jitter curve ([ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md)
  §3) and the opts-stamping resolution (§3a) are computed engine-side
  per [ADR-012](decisions/012-forked-substrate-design.md) §2's
  contract-blind boundary; the contract suite must pin both engines'
  arithmetic to identical outputs.

## Design Decisions

| ADR | Decision | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| [001](decisions/001-crate-split.md) | Crate split | core + per-engine crates; single-driver binaries |
| [002](decisions/002-feature-scope.md) | Feature scope | inventory-confirmed features only; cut-flags explicit |
| [006](decisions/006-wake-and-delivery-contract.md) | Wake contract | opaque wake + re-read; notify-vs-streams guarantee split |
| [007](decisions/007-transactional-seam.md) | Tx seam | caller-held handle, `*_tx` methods, native commit-atomicity |
| [008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md) | Contract v1 pinning | surface partition, `TxHandle` trait shape, `Wake` type, reserved strings, error taxonomy, config split, locks guarantee row |
| [009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md) | Scheduler collapse (post-v1 extension) | queues + `schedule()`/`run_schedules`, `@every`-only v1, boundary guarantee row |
| [010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) | Queue depth (post-v1 extension) | visibility/renewal, opts stamping, backoff curve, dead-letter, sweep, layout |
| [011](decisions/011-sqlite-substrate-fork.md) | Substrate fork | SQLite substrate owned (`__alkstore_*` naming); queue ops re-derived on contract v1 |
| [012](decisions/012-forked-substrate-design.md) | Fork design | contract-blind substrate boundary; engine-side formula arithmetic pinned equivalent by the contract suite |

## Open Questions

Open questions are tracked in
[open-questions.md](open-questions.md). Key
questions affecting this document:

- **OQ-10**: contract versioning discipline across engine crates
  ([open](open-questions.md))
- **OQ-08**: capability-surface shape ([open](open-questions.md))

Resolved on this document's surface: **OQ-09** (scheduler collapse —
[ADR-009](decisions/009-scheduler-collapse.md)) and **OQ-05** (queue
semantics depth — [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md)),
2026-10-05.