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ng-eventually/docs/fork-inbox-fallback.md
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Sylvain Duchesne bea9f51d91 docs: own the current-NextGraph-state knowledge + boundary (lib side)
This library presents a mature-NextGraph SDK face to consumers while
compensating for the current SDK's gaps via a shared-wallet simulation. It
therefore OWNS all current-state + simulation knowledge — moved here out of the
Festipod app repo, which must treat this library as a finished SDK.

New docs/:
- nextgraph-current-state.md — what the current SDK/broker do and don't expose
  (5 store types, document=repo, per-document ReadCap, inbox not exposed, iframe
  RPC proxy, mono-user/no-global-data, wallet import constraint). Keeps the
  nextgraph-rs source pointers.
- simulation.md — how the lib emulates the mature behaviour on one shared wallet
  (shim, store!=document two axes, docCreate→private store, RepoNotFound scope
  rule, @ng-org double-proxy DataCloneError, emulated ReadCap/inbox/curator).
- decisions/ — the current-SDK ADRs (private-store-nuri-scope, sparql-delete,
  shared-wallet-login, discovery mechanism).
- fork-inbox-fallback.md — the Rust-patch/self-host route not taken.
- migration-guide.md — the checklist for when real NextGraph matures.

README: boundary framing from the lib's side + docs/ index; replaced the stale
"scaffold/stubbed" status with the actually-implemented mechanisms per source.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-03 23:23:23 +02:00

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# Fallback — forking NextGraph to expose the inbox (path NOT taken)
**Status:** NOT taken — short-circuited by this lib's **emulated inbox**
(`inbox.ts`, see [`simulation.md`](./simulation.md)). Kept as the fallback plan if
a **native** broker inbox ever becomes necessary — chiefly for the **crypto
anonymity** the emulation does not provide (native `from = None` sealed deposit).
Current NextGraph does not expose the inbox to the JS SDK: the verifier has no
`InboxPost` arm and no wasm helper seals a deposit (see
[`nextgraph-current-state.md`](./nextgraph-current-state.md) § Inbox). Two ways to
get a real inbox: **emulate it** (what this lib does) or **fork the engine** (this
document). The emulation won; this is the archived alternative.
## Strategic posture
The fork would be **explicitly temporary, not for upstream**. Hypothesis:
NextGraph will eventually expose its **own** JS-SDK inbox solution, possibly
different. When it lands, drop the fork and adapt. No PR is targeted. This posture
is the reason the emulation was preferred: it avoids maintaining a fork + hosting
a full stack for a feature the upstream will likely ship differently.
## Layer 1 — the Rust patch: 4 files (vanilla broker)
1. **`engine/net/src/types.rs`** — `InboxMsgContent::Link` is a **unit** variant
(stub); give it a payload (or a `Notification` variant) carrying the target
NURI + link to the deposited reference. Add an `InboxPost::new_link(...)`
builder modeled on `new_contact_details`. `from = None` → anonymity.
2. **`engine/verifier/src/request_processor.rs`** — add the missing command arm
(there is no `InboxPost` arm). Ideally a high-level command (`NotifyInbox`) that
builds the post on the Rust side (keeps crypto sealing in Rust). Model on
`SocialQueryStart`.
3. **`sdk/js/lib-wasm/src/lib.rs`** — expose `pub async fn inbox_post_link(
session_id, to_inbox_nuri, to_profile_nuri, link, anonymous)`, modeled on
`social_query_start`.
4. **`engine/verifier/src/inbox_processor.rs`** (`process_inbox`) — a receive arm
that **materializes** the message into a document in the owner's store (model on
the `ContactDetails` handler). The app then reads via ORM/SPARQL — no new
inbox-read API.
**Identity resolution** (known/anonymous): free via app-side SPARQL (JOIN the
sender inbox NURI against `social:contact` docs). **Discovering the owner's
inbox**: embed the owner's `public_store` inbox NURI in the entity document or
public profile (the QR profile-share flow already carries it).
## Layer 2 — deployment (from the fork)
The patched verifier runs **in the iframe ng-app** (see integration model in
[`nextgraph-current-state.md`](./nextgraph-current-state.md)) → **build and
self-host `ngd` + the ng-app** from the fork, then rebuild Festipod's `@ng-org/web`
with `NG_REDIR_SERVER`/`NG_DEV*` pointing at that ng-app. **No rewrite of the
third-party integration** (stays iframe). The broker's inbox routing is already
native, but since the patched ng-app is self-hosted, the **whole stack ships from
the fork** (one source tree).
### Coolify hosting — 3 web pieces
1. **`ngd`** — stateful WebSocket daemon: container with a **persistent volume**
for `--base-path` (RocksDB + keys + PeerId, never wiped), `--domain` mode behind
Coolify's Traefik. Build: official Dockerfiles are broken → write a **custom
multi-stage Rust Dockerfile** (RocksDB needs llvm/clang). First boot is
**interactive** (admin-wallet invitation link) → script via `ngcli` or do it
once by hand then persist in the volume.
2. **ng-app** (iframe frontend, patched wasm) — **static build**
(`pnpm webfilebuild`). Served statically.
3. **Routing**: one domain serves the ng-app static AND proxies the WebSocket to
`ngd`.
### Layer 1 (JS libs) — patched client npm packages
Maintain patched client packages, not just the wasm. The generic forwarding
*technically* reaches a wasm method without touching the JS, but that's an untyped
**hack** — quick test only. To modify for real:
- **`@ng-org/web`** — modified anyway (broker URL) → add `inbox_post_link` to the
typed API surface + `.d.ts`.
- **Streamed methods** (if inbox *reads* ever stream) — need an entry on both
sides. For write-only (request/response) — unneeded.
- **`@ng-org/orm`** — only if inbox writes join the ORM flow. Otherwise unneeded.
## Layer 3 — consumer integration
Exposing the method is not enough; the consumer must model the entity + its inbox
NURI, write the registration, deposit into the host inbox, and read/resolve
notifications. Several of these are **already done** in the shared-wallet emulation
(registration wired on the emulated `inbox.post`), which is precisely why this fork
was not needed.
## Why this fallback still matters
The emulated inbox stores `from = null` as *absence of a triple*; it does not seal
deposits, so it does not provide the target's **crypto** anonymity. If a consumer
needs true anonymous-but-verifiable deposits to a non-connected host, only a native
inbox (`from = None` sealed) delivers it — and this fork is the route. Until then,
the emulation is sufficient.