Files
alktunnels/docs/architecture/producer.md
T
glm-5.3-flash 3a447273a8 docs: resolve OQ-TN-14 — unix in via local, stdio out (alktty owns process stdio)
Split the last open substrate-placement question:

- Unix: ships with the local feature v1 (dial_unix — same halves
  shape as TCP; the wire enum already carried unix per ADR-001;
  the params task's schema list includes all three values)
- Stdio: OUT of scope — a spawned process's stdin/stdout/stderr IS
  alktty's pipe mode (LocalTtyBackend + tokio::process + Stdio::piped,
  alktty tty-local.md): three multiplexed logical streams + the
  exit-code control chunk (alktty ADR-004) + signal forwarding
  (REQ-TTY-02). A stdio bridge here would be alktty's runner mode
  with the terminal stripped out — a strictly worse duplicate that
  also drops the semantics that matter (a byte tunnel has neither
  exit codes nor signals). Remote command execution composes via
  alktty on the same channels substrate.

Updated: open-questions.md OQ-TN-14 (resolved), overview.md feature
gate + deps + OQ summary, producer.md OQ ref, OQ-TN-10 promotion
(#3 split), phase-0-findings + both POC summaries' resolution notes,
params task (schema enum includes unix), local-socket-halves task
(unix ships, stdio does NOT — with the composition rationale),
oq-tn-14-tracker task repurposed (boundary-maintenance: re-opens only
if a consumer needs stdio-without-process-semantics — which would
need its own ADR, or if the alktty/alktunnels boundary needs
sharpening).

Verified: taskgraph valid (12 tasks, no cycles)
2026-09-07 19:44:03 +00:00

190 lines
8.9 KiB
Markdown

---
status: draft
last_updated: 2026-09-07
---
# alktunnels — Producer Half
The producer half: the `channels/tunnel/sub` open op — its spec, its
establisher (dial + listen shapes), its pump handler, and its
registration. The producer is whoever can reach the tunnel target;
connection direction is irrelevant (OQ-TN-03's hub model). The reverse
POC validated the producer running on the connect side of its own
connection (`from_connection_with_serving`).
Design decisions: [ADR-001](decisions/001-open-params-layout.md)
(params), [ADR-002](decisions/002-alpn-strategy.md) (ALPN),
[ADR-003](decisions/003-codec-and-udp-framing.md) (codec),
[ADR-004](decisions/004-no-backend-trait.md) (no backend trait). This
document is the normative WHAT.
## The Open-Op Spec
```text
operation id: channels/tunnel/sub
op type: Sub (reply = one { channel_id } envelope; data plane on the BiStream)
ALPN marker: alk/tunnel (ChannelOpenSpec)
visibility: External
input schema: { resource: string (required), substrate: enum [tcp, udp, unix] (required) }
output schema: { channel_id: integer > 0 }
access control: required_scopes: ["tunnel:open"]
description: SHOULD carry a human-readable hint (round-trips through discovery, OQ-TN-08)
```
Registration is via `ChannelCore::register_openable_with_establisher`
(alkcall ADR-049 §5): the registry schema-validates input, runs the
ACL, allocates the channel (connection-owner rule, ADR-047 §5), runs
the establisher as the awaited bounded establishment phase, then
spawns the pump handler. The generic channel ops
(`channel/close`, `channel/control`, `channel/resources/subscribe`)
register separately via `ChannelOperations::register_on` — the
producer (or its assembly layer) MUST register them on the serving
registry so peers can manage channels out-of-band (the recipe alkcall
review 007 §Part B verified — `alkcall/docs/reviews/
007-establishment-follow-ups-review.md`; R-01 = the `Establishment`
plan payload, R-02 = the `OpenHandler` lifetime contract).
**Registration timing:** the openable may register AFTER
`from_connection_with_serving` returns (the connect-side serving
posture — the reverse POC's W2): the dispatcher reads through the
shared `Arc<OperationRegistry>` per dispatch. Late registration is a
supported assembly shape, not a race.
## The Establisher
The establisher is the open op's awaited, bounded establishment phase
(alkcall ADR-049 §1/§2): validate params semantically, consult
ownership if wired, dial/accept the substrate, and return
`Establishment::new(plan)` — the dialed handle rides the typed-opaque
plan (`ChannelPlan = Arc<dyn Any + Send + Sync>`; the `+ Sync` bound
constrains plan payloads — socket-backed handles carry it naturally,
reverse POC F-1, documented upstream). On failure:
`EstablishmentError` (the typed reason codes) → the wrapper tears the
channel down and replies `channel:open_failed`.
**Two shapes** (both return the same plan-flow; ADR-004):
### 1. Dial establisher (the `-L`/forward shape)
Registry lookup of `(resource, substrate)` → backing → dial →
halves. The dial function is substrate code injected at assembly
(ADR-004: the establisher closure closes over it); the protocol crate
never sees a socket type. Failure mapping:
| Producer condition | Typed reason |
|---|---|
| resource not in the registry (or wrong substrate) | `unknown_resource` |
| dial refused / timed out / unreachable | `dial_failed` |
| bind/connect resource exhaustion (fds, ports, slots) | `resource_shortage` |
| establisher-internal failure | `handler_error` |
| the bound exceeded | `timeout` (wrapper-level) |
### 2. Listen establisher (the producer-side listener variant)
For a producer whose resource is a LISTENER (SSH `-R` far-side
listener; a hub exposing its own port to a third party): the same
open op, the same params; the establisher pops the next accepted
connection from an assembly-owned listener queue and returns it as
the plan payload. The listener lifecycle (bind, accept loop, cancel)
is assembly code — the protocol never binds (OQ-TN-04). Error
mapping: an empty queue during establishment is `resource_shortage`;
a closed listener is `dial_failed`-class. No new wire surface — the
listen variant is plan-flow with a different halves source.
**Identity:** the establisher receives the **per-call opener
identity** (the dispatch-resolved identity overlaid onto the
install-time context — alkcall 0.7.0 CF-006). On hub-forwarded opens
it sees the end client, not the hub. `auth` carries the opener's
identity plus the transport-truthful fields (`alpn`, `remote_addr`,
`tls_client_fingerprint`) — never rewritten. Consult it for
ownership-scoped resources if the assembly layer wants
`OwnershipProvider` checks here (OQ-TN-08's optional half).
**Concurrency:** each open's establisher result flows to ITS pump
handler — concurrent opens of the same resource are independent
(the R-01 plan flow — alkcall review 007 R-01, the
`Establishment::new(plan)` payload; the forward POC's resource-keyed
handoff race is structurally gone, confirmed under concurrency by the
reverse POC).
## The Pump Handler
The `OpenHandler` (alkcall ADR-049/050 shape:
`Fn(Value, Option<ChannelPlan>, Connection, AuthContext) ->
JoinHandle<()>`):
1. Downcast the plan to the concrete handle type
(`Arc::downcast::<TargetHandle>` — establisher and handler agree
on the type; alkcall never inspects it).
2. `conn.accept_bi()` — the channel's yield-once `BiStream`.
3. `pump_bidi(bidi, handle.read, handle.write)`**awaited inline**
inside the handler's task. The returned `JoinHandle` MUST track
the data-plane lifetime (R-02): the wrapper awaits it and its
completion triggers channel teardown. **Early return =
teardown-at-birth** — both pumps see instant EOF with zero bytes;
the "spawn-and-forget" shape is the one bug class the R-02
telemetry (yield-once flag + birth-teardown debug hint) diagnoses
at runtime. Hand-rolling the two-pump shape is out (ADR-050).
4. UDP: the plan payload is the FRAMED adapter (ADR-003) — the pump
is unchanged; the codec lives at the substrate/pump boundary.
**The handler is substrate-agnostic by construction:** it cannot know
whether the halves came from TCP, UDP, a unix socket, or an
in-process pipe, and must not (AGENTS.md convention 7).
## Registration API (the spec surface)
```rust
pub fn register_tunnel_openable(
core: &ChannelCore, // the manager + policy pair
registry: &ResourceRegistry, // assembly-owned: (resource, substrate) -> backing
on_registry: &Arc<OperationRegistry>, // the session's dispatch registry
// (the per-session fork per alkcall ADR-047 §4
// amendment, 2026-09-03 — NOT the connection
// overlay; Layer-2-registered open ops resolve
// NOT_FOUND, review 004 F-01)
auth: AuthContext, // the install-time context (per-call overlay is upstream's)
dial: DialFn, // substrate halves function (ADR-004; `local` feature or assembly)
) -> Result<(), String>
```
- `ResourceRegistry` (assembly construct, OQ-TN-11): maps
`(resource, substrate)` → backing. The POCs' `HashMap` shape is the
candidate; the collision domain is the producer's registry
(ADR-001 — two producers on one connection may expose the same
resource name independently).
- The scope constant `TUNNEL_OPEN_SCOPE = "tunnel:open"`; the open-op
spec builder is public so assembly layers can compose variants
(e.g. extra ACL fields) without forking the wire shape.
- The pump handler factory is public for the same reason.
## Access control posture
Tunnels reach local networks — the open gate is the security boundary
(OQ-TN-08):
- The registry runs `AccessControl` before the establisher (the ACL
rides `register_openable`; free via alkcall).
- `TUNNEL_OPEN_SCOPE` is the base gate; the assembly layer MAY add
resource-scoped checks via the establisher (ownership on the
resource name) — the protocol provides the seam, not the policy.
- No target allowlists, no tunnel-specific policy machinery in v1 —
the far side owns the resource (OQ-TN-08 resolution); discovery is
the ACL-filtered ops listing.
## Open Questions
- **OQ-TN-11**: resource naming collision domain + lifecycle
(partially resolved — the per-producer registry is the leading
candidate)
- **OQ-TN-14**: resolved (split: unix in, stdio out — alktty's pipe
mode owns process stdio; see open-questions.md)
## References
- [wire.md](wire.md) (the open op's wire surface),
[overview.md](overview.md) (module map)
- Forward POC `docs/research/poc-summary.md`; reverse POC
`docs/research/reverse-poc-summary.md` (both producer shapes ran)
- alkcall ADR-047/049 (open ops + establishment), ADR-050 (`pump_bidi`),
ledger CF-005/CF-006 (identity precedence + per-call opener)