@cordfuse/crosstalk 6.0.0-alpha.9 → 7.0.0-alpha.2

This diff represents the content of publicly available package versions that have been released to one of the supported registries. The information contained in this diff is provided for informational purposes only and reflects changes between package versions as they appear in their respective public registries.
Files changed (46) hide show
  1. package/README.md +26 -0
  2. package/bin/crosstalk.js +60 -74
  3. package/commands/channel.js +69 -0
  4. package/commands/chat.js +174 -0
  5. package/commands/down.js +37 -0
  6. package/commands/init.js +105 -0
  7. package/commands/logs.js +39 -0
  8. package/commands/pull.js +24 -0
  9. package/commands/replies.js +39 -0
  10. package/commands/restart.js +24 -0
  11. package/commands/run.js +121 -0
  12. package/commands/status.js +52 -0
  13. package/commands/up.js +129 -0
  14. package/commands/version.js +30 -0
  15. package/lib/api-client.js +80 -0
  16. package/lib/argv.js +28 -0
  17. package/lib/errors.js +19 -0
  18. package/lib/transport.js +51 -0
  19. package/package.json +5 -21
  20. package/src/activation.ts +0 -104
  21. package/src/actor.ts +0 -131
  22. package/src/attach.ts +0 -118
  23. package/src/channel.ts +0 -49
  24. package/src/chat.ts +0 -142
  25. package/src/dispatch.ts +0 -531
  26. package/src/dlq.ts +0 -216
  27. package/src/filenames.ts +0 -28
  28. package/src/frontmatter.ts +0 -26
  29. package/src/init.ts +0 -138
  30. package/src/open.ts +0 -207
  31. package/src/replies.ts +0 -59
  32. package/src/send.ts +0 -122
  33. package/src/state.ts +0 -173
  34. package/src/status.ts +0 -75
  35. package/src/stop.ts +0 -37
  36. package/src/transport.ts +0 -213
  37. package/src/turnq.ts +0 -91
  38. package/src/upgrade.ts +0 -211
  39. package/src/wake.ts +0 -7
  40. package/template/CLAUDE.md +0 -12
  41. package/template/gitignore +0 -4
  42. package/template/upstream/CROSSTALK-VERSION +0 -1
  43. package/template/upstream/CROSSTALK.md +0 -298
  44. package/template/upstream/OPERATOR.md +0 -60
  45. package/template/upstream/PROTOCOL.md +0 -80
  46. package/template/upstream/actors/concierge.md +0 -36
package/src/turnq.ts DELETED
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
1
- // Advisory turn coordination via @cordfuse/turnq.
2
- //
3
- // The lock is an OPTIMIZATION, never a correctness requirement — git
4
- // arbitrates (collision-free filenames + push rejection/rebase retry).
5
- // So: wait a bounded time for the turn, then proceed without it. A turnq
6
- // bug or outage can never wedge a dispatcher; it just costs an occasional
7
- // rebase. Failures are loud (errors.log), never silently fallen back.
8
- //
9
- // Env vars:
10
- // TURNQ_URL — optional, e.g. http://turnq:3003 (unset → local flock)
11
- // TURNQ_API_KEY — required when TURNQ_URL is set
12
- // TURNQ_CHANNEL — optional namespace prefix (default: "crosstalk")
13
-
14
- import { createCoordinator } from '@cordfuse/turnq/coordinator';
15
- import { logError } from './state.js';
16
-
17
- const TURN_WAIT_MS = 15_000;
18
-
19
- interface Coordinator {
20
- withTurn<T>(channel: string, fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T>;
21
- close(): void;
22
- }
23
-
24
- let coordinatorPromise: Promise<Coordinator> | null = null;
25
-
26
- function getCoordinator(): Promise<Coordinator> {
27
- if (!coordinatorPromise) {
28
- const url = process.env['TURNQ_URL'];
29
- const apiKey = process.env['TURNQ_API_KEY'];
30
- coordinatorPromise = createCoordinator(
31
- url ? { url, apiKey, fallback: false } : {},
32
- );
33
- }
34
- return coordinatorPromise;
35
- }
36
-
37
- function channelFor(name: string): string {
38
- const prefix = process.env['TURNQ_CHANNEL'] ?? 'crosstalk';
39
- return `${prefix}/${name}`;
40
- }
41
-
42
- // Run `fn` while holding the named turn if it can be acquired within
43
- // TURN_WAIT_MS; otherwise (timeout, coordinator error, server down) log
44
- // and run `fn` anyway. `fn` runs exactly once — the `ran` guard is safe
45
- // because the event loop is single-threaded.
46
- export async function withLock<T>(transportRoot: string, name: string, fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
47
- let ran = false;
48
- const runOnce = (): Promise<T> => {
49
- ran = true;
50
- return fn();
51
- };
52
-
53
- let coordinator: Coordinator;
54
- try {
55
- coordinator = await getCoordinator();
56
- } catch (err) {
57
- coordinatorPromise = null;
58
- logError(transportRoot, 'turnq', `coordinator init failed — proceeding without lock: ${(err as Error).message}`);
59
- return runOnce();
60
- }
61
-
62
- return new Promise<T>((resolve, reject) => {
63
- const timer = setTimeout(() => {
64
- if (ran) return;
65
- logError(transportRoot, 'turnq', `turn '${name}' not granted within ${TURN_WAIT_MS}ms — proceeding without lock`);
66
- runOnce().then(resolve, reject);
67
- }, TURN_WAIT_MS);
68
- timer.unref?.();
69
-
70
- coordinator
71
- .withTurn(channelFor(name), async () => {
72
- clearTimeout(timer);
73
- if (ran) return; // timeout path already ran fn; release the turn immediately
74
- await runOnce().then(resolve, reject);
75
- })
76
- .catch((err) => {
77
- clearTimeout(timer);
78
- if (ran) return;
79
- logError(transportRoot, 'turnq', `turn '${name}' failed — proceeding without lock: ${(err as Error).message}`);
80
- runOnce().then(resolve, reject);
81
- });
82
- });
83
- }
84
-
85
- export async function closeCoordinator(): Promise<void> {
86
- if (!coordinatorPromise) return;
87
- try {
88
- (await coordinatorPromise).close();
89
- } catch { /* best-effort */ }
90
- coordinatorPromise = null;
91
- }
package/src/upgrade.ts DELETED
@@ -1,211 +0,0 @@
1
- // crosstalk upgrade — sync the transport's upstream/ against the runtime's
2
- // bundled template.
3
- //
4
- // The transport's upstream/ contains runtime-managed files: spec, agent
5
- // orientation prompts, protocol version pin, default actor profiles. When
6
- // the operator updates their runtime (via `npm update -g @cordfuse/crosstalk`),
7
- // the bundled template ships with a newer spec; this command copies those
8
- // files into the operator's transport so they catch up.
9
- //
10
- // What this command DOES touch:
11
- // - upstream/CROSSTALK.md, PROTOCOL.md, OPERATOR.md
12
- // - upstream/CROSSTALK-VERSION
13
- // - upstream/actors/ (default actor profile starter set)
14
- //
15
- // What this command NEVER touches:
16
- // - local/ — operator-owned actor profiles and identity
17
- // - hosts/ — operator-owned host files
18
- // - data/ — channels and memories
19
- // - root pointer files (CLAUDE.md etc.) — only updated if a --pointers flag
20
- // is passed, since they rarely change and overwriting them surprises
21
- // operators who've customized them
22
- // (Dispatcher state — cursors, dlq, error logs — lives outside the repo
23
- // in the state dir and is never in scope.)
24
- //
25
- // Usage:
26
- // crosstalk upgrade — sync upstream/ from runtime template
27
- // crosstalk upgrade --dry-run — show what would change, no writes
28
- // crosstalk upgrade --pointers — also overwrite the entry pointer files
29
-
30
- import { existsSync, readFileSync, cpSync, statSync, readdirSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
31
- import { resolve, join, dirname } from 'path';
32
- import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
33
-
34
- const transportRoot = resolve(process.cwd());
35
- const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
36
- const dryRun = argv.includes('--dry-run');
37
- const updatePointers = argv.includes('--pointers');
38
-
39
- const POINTER_FILES = [
40
- 'CLAUDE.md', 'AGENTS.md', 'GEMINI.md', 'QWEN.md', 'ANTIGRAVITY.md', 'OPENCODE.md',
41
- '.windsurfrules',
42
- '.amazonq/rules/crosstalk.md',
43
- '.continue/rules/crosstalk.md',
44
- '.cursor/rules/crosstalk.mdc',
45
- '.github/copilot-instructions.md',
46
- ];
47
-
48
- function locateTemplate(): string {
49
- const thisFileDir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
50
- const runtimeRoot = resolve(thisFileDir, '..');
51
- const candidates = [
52
- join(runtimeRoot, 'template'),
53
- join(runtimeRoot, '..', 'transport'),
54
- ];
55
- const found = candidates.find((c) => existsSync(join(c, 'upstream', 'CROSSTALK-VERSION')));
56
- if (!found) {
57
- console.error('crosstalk upgrade: cannot find the bundled transport template.');
58
- console.error('Looked in:');
59
- for (const c of candidates) console.error(` ${c}`);
60
- process.exit(1);
61
- }
62
- return found;
63
- }
64
-
65
- function readVersion(p: string): string | null {
66
- try { return readFileSync(p, 'utf-8').trim(); } catch { return null; }
67
- }
68
-
69
- function listFilesRelative(dir: string): string[] {
70
- const out: string[] = [];
71
- const walk = (d: string, prefix: string): void => {
72
- if (!existsSync(d)) return;
73
- for (const entry of readdirSync(d)) {
74
- const full = join(d, entry);
75
- const rel = prefix ? `${prefix}/${entry}` : entry;
76
- const st = statSync(full);
77
- if (st.isDirectory()) walk(full, rel);
78
- else out.push(rel);
79
- }
80
- };
81
- walk(dir, '');
82
- return out;
83
- }
84
-
85
- function classifyChange(templatePath: string, transportPath: string): 'add' | 'modify' | 'unchanged' {
86
- if (!existsSync(transportPath)) return 'add';
87
- const a = readFileSync(templatePath, 'utf-8');
88
- const b = readFileSync(transportPath, 'utf-8');
89
- return a === b ? 'unchanged' : 'modify';
90
- }
91
-
92
- // ── Sanity checks ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
93
-
94
- const transportVersionPath = join(transportRoot, 'upstream', 'CROSSTALK-VERSION');
95
- if (!existsSync(transportVersionPath)) {
96
- console.error(`crosstalk upgrade: not a transport (no upstream/CROSSTALK-VERSION).`);
97
- console.error(`Run from inside a transport directory, or use 'crosstalk init' to scaffold one.`);
98
- process.exit(2);
99
- }
100
-
101
- const templateDir = locateTemplate();
102
- const templateUpstream = join(templateDir, 'upstream');
103
- const transportUpstream = join(transportRoot, 'upstream');
104
-
105
- const fromVersion = readVersion(transportVersionPath) ?? '?';
106
- const toVersion = readVersion(join(templateUpstream, 'CROSSTALK-VERSION')) ?? '?';
107
-
108
- // Detect downgrade.
109
- const parseMM = (v: string): [number, number] => {
110
- const m = v.match(/^(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
111
- return m ? [Number(m[1]), Number(m[2])] : [0, 0];
112
- };
113
- const [fromMaj, fromMin] = parseMM(fromVersion);
114
- const [toMaj, toMin] = parseMM(toVersion);
115
- const isDowngrade = toMaj < fromMaj || (toMaj === fromMaj && toMin < fromMin);
116
- if (isDowngrade) {
117
- console.error(`crosstalk upgrade: bundled template is OLDER than your transport.`);
118
- console.error(` transport: ${fromVersion}`);
119
- console.error(` template: ${toVersion}`);
120
- console.error(`Your runtime is older than the runtime that scaffolded this transport.`);
121
- console.error(`To upgrade your runtime: npm update -g @cordfuse/crosstalk`);
122
- process.exit(3);
123
- }
124
-
125
- console.log(`crosstalk upgrade${dryRun ? ' (dry-run)' : ''}`);
126
- console.log('');
127
- console.log(` transport CROSSTALK-VERSION: ${fromVersion}`);
128
- console.log(` template CROSSTALK-VERSION: ${toVersion}`);
129
- console.log('');
130
-
131
- // ── Plan the changes ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
132
-
133
- const upstreamFiles = listFilesRelative(templateUpstream);
134
- const changes: { rel: string; kind: 'add' | 'modify' | 'unchanged' }[] = [];
135
-
136
- for (const rel of upstreamFiles) {
137
- const fromPath = join(templateUpstream, rel);
138
- const toPath = join(transportUpstream, rel);
139
- changes.push({ rel, kind: classifyChange(fromPath, toPath) });
140
- }
141
-
142
- const adds = changes.filter((c) => c.kind === 'add');
143
- const mods = changes.filter((c) => c.kind === 'modify');
144
- const same = changes.filter((c) => c.kind === 'unchanged');
145
-
146
- console.log(`upstream/ changes:`);
147
- console.log(` ${adds.length} new file${adds.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}`);
148
- console.log(` ${mods.length} modified`);
149
- console.log(` ${same.length} unchanged`);
150
-
151
- if (adds.length > 0 || mods.length > 0) {
152
- console.log('');
153
- for (const c of [...adds, ...mods].slice(0, 20)) {
154
- console.log(` [${c.kind === 'add' ? '+' : '~'}] upstream/${c.rel}`);
155
- }
156
- if (adds.length + mods.length > 20) {
157
- console.log(` … and ${adds.length + mods.length - 20} more`);
158
- }
159
- }
160
-
161
- if (updatePointers) {
162
- console.log('');
163
- console.log(`pointer files (with --pointers):`);
164
- for (const pf of POINTER_FILES) {
165
- const fromPath = join(templateDir, pf);
166
- const toPath = join(transportRoot, pf);
167
- if (!existsSync(fromPath)) continue;
168
- const kind = classifyChange(fromPath, toPath);
169
- if (kind !== 'unchanged') console.log(` [${kind === 'add' ? '+' : '~'}] ${pf}`);
170
- }
171
- }
172
-
173
- // ── Apply or stop ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
174
-
175
- if (dryRun) {
176
- console.log('');
177
- console.log('Dry run — no changes written. Re-run without --dry-run to apply.');
178
- process.exit(0);
179
- }
180
-
181
- if (adds.length === 0 && mods.length === 0 && !updatePointers) {
182
- console.log('');
183
- console.log('Already in sync. Nothing to do.');
184
- process.exit(0);
185
- }
186
-
187
- console.log('');
188
- console.log('Applying...');
189
-
190
- // Copy upstream/ recursively. cpSync with force=true handles both add and modify.
191
- cpSync(templateUpstream, transportUpstream, { recursive: true, force: true });
192
- console.log(` ✓ upstream/ synced`);
193
-
194
- if (updatePointers) {
195
- for (const pf of POINTER_FILES) {
196
- const fromPath = join(templateDir, pf);
197
- const toPath = join(transportRoot, pf);
198
- if (!existsSync(fromPath)) continue;
199
- mkdirSync(dirname(toPath), { recursive: true });
200
- cpSync(fromPath, toPath, { force: true });
201
- }
202
- console.log(` ✓ pointer files synced`);
203
- }
204
-
205
- console.log('');
206
- console.log(`Spec ${fromVersion} → ${toVersion}.`);
207
- console.log(`Commit the upstream/ changes when ready:`);
208
- console.log(` git add upstream/${updatePointers ? ' ' + POINTER_FILES.slice(0, 3).join(' ') + ' ...' : ''}`);
209
- console.log(` git commit -m "spec: upgrade to ${toVersion}"`);
210
- console.log('');
211
- console.log('Your local/, hosts/, and data/ were not touched.');
package/src/wake.ts DELETED
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
1
- // crosstalk wake — poke the local dispatcher to tick immediately.
2
-
3
- import { resolve } from 'path';
4
- import { sendWakeSignal } from './state.js';
5
-
6
- sendWakeSignal(resolve(process.cwd()));
7
- console.log('wake signal sent');
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
1
- # Crosstalk transport
2
-
3
- You are inside a Crosstalk transport — a git repo that carries async
4
- messages between AI agents across machines.
5
-
6
- Read these before doing anything here:
7
-
8
- 1. `upstream/PROTOCOL.md` — how to behave when dispatched (start here)
9
- 2. `upstream/CROSSTALK.md` — the full protocol spec, if you need details
10
-
11
- Do not edit files under `data/` by hand — messages are written only by
12
- `crosstalk send` and the dispatcher.
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
1
- .DS_Store
2
- Thumbs.db
3
- node_modules/
4
- .turnq/
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
1
- 6.0
@@ -1,298 +0,0 @@
1
- # Crosstalk
2
-
3
- Version: 6.0
4
-
5
- Crosstalk is a shared file format over git that lets humans and AI agents communicate
6
- asynchronously across machines. The git repository is the message bus. No special
7
- software is required to participate beyond git itself.
8
-
9
- Design rule for this spec: every feature must be explainable in one sentence.
10
- The runtime records facts at write time; it never reconstructs them by inference
11
- at read time.
12
-
13
- ---
14
-
15
- ## Participants
16
-
17
- **Humans** — operators who post messages directly or via a chat tool and read replies.
18
-
19
- **Machines** — agents (Claude, Codex, etc.) invoked by a dispatcher to process
20
- messages addressed to them and reply.
21
-
22
- The most common machine participant is a **worker**: `to: concierge` means
23
- "I need something done." The worker acts and replies. The sender may be human
24
- or machine; the worker does not distinguish.
25
-
26
- ---
27
-
28
- ## Transport layout
29
-
30
- ```
31
- <transport>/
32
- upstream/ # runtime-managed: spec, agent orientation, defaults
33
- CROSSTALK.md # this file
34
- CROSSTALK-VERSION # must be exactly: 6.0
35
- PROTOCOL.md # agent orientation prompt
36
- actors/<name>.md # default actor profiles
37
- local/ # operator-owned: never touched by the runtime
38
- actors/<name>.md # custom actor profiles (override upstream by name)
39
- hosts/
40
- <alias>.md # one per machine running a dispatcher
41
- data/
42
- channels/<uuid>/
43
- CHANNEL.md # optional channel metadata
44
- YYYY/MM/DD/HHMMSSmmmZ-<hex>.md # messages
45
- memories/<stamp>-<hex>.md # shared persistent notes
46
- ```
47
-
48
- That is the complete committed surface. **Dispatcher bookkeeping (cursors, dead-letter
49
- queue, error logs, lock state) is machine-local state and never lives in the repo** —
50
- it is kept under `$CROSSTALK_STATE_DIR` (default `~/.local/state/crosstalk/<transport-id>/`,
51
- where `<transport-id>` is derived from the origin URL). The repo carries conversation;
52
- each machine carries its own progress through it.
53
-
54
- ---
55
-
56
- ## Channels
57
-
58
- A channel is a UUID v4 directory under `data/channels/`. Any participant may create
59
- one by creating the directory and committing. An optional `CHANNEL.md` declares
60
- metadata:
61
-
62
- ```
63
- ---
64
- name: dogfood-sprint
65
- created_by: steve
66
- created_at: 2026-06-09T17:00:00.000Z
67
- parent: <uuid> # optional — makes this a subchannel
68
- ---
69
-
70
- Free-form description. Serves as a mini system prompt scoped to the channel.
71
- ```
72
-
73
- `name` is required and unique within the transport; the other fields are optional.
74
- A subchannel is just a channel with a `parent:`; it reports back by posting to the
75
- parent channel. There is no close signal — a finished channel simply goes quiet.
76
-
77
- ---
78
-
79
- ## Messages
80
-
81
- Every message is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter:
82
-
83
- ```
84
- ---
85
- from: alice
86
- to: concierge
87
- type: text
88
- timestamp: 2026-06-09T19:00:00.000Z
89
- ---
90
-
91
- Message body here.
92
- ```
93
-
94
- ### Frontmatter fields
95
-
96
- | Field | Required | Notes |
97
- |---|---|---|
98
- | `from` | yes | logical actor name — unverified; trust boundary is repo access |
99
- | `to` | yes | name, list of names, or `all`; may carry `@host` suffix (see Routing) |
100
- | `type` | yes | always `text` in 6.0 |
101
- | `timestamp` | yes | ISO 8601 UTC |
102
- | `re` | no | relPath (or list of relPaths) of the message(s) this one answers — **written by the runtime, never by hand** |
103
- | `tier` | no | requested model tier for the recipient (see Host files) |
104
-
105
- Readers must ignore unknown fields.
106
-
107
- ### The `re:` field — causality is recorded, not inferred
108
-
109
- A message **without** `re:` is a new task. A message **with** `re:` is a reply to the
110
- message(s) at the listed relPath(s) (paths relative to the channel directory). Like
111
- `to:`, the field is a string for one target and a list for several — a reply that
112
- answers a batch records **every** message it answers, so batching never makes an
113
- answered message look unanswered.
114
-
115
- The runtime sets `re:` from facts it directly observes:
116
-
117
- - When an actor answers via stdout, the runtime writes the reply with `re:` listing
118
- every message in the dispatched batch from that asker.
119
- - When a dispatched actor uses `crosstalk send`, the runtime injects the triggering
120
- relPath(s) into the environment and `send` records them automatically. An actor can
121
- suppress this (`--new`) to start genuinely new work.
122
- - Messages written by operators (chat tools, hand-authored) carry no `re:` — they
123
- are new tasks by definition.
124
-
125
- Actors never compute or hand-write `re:`. Because the field is set by the machinery
126
- that already knows the answer, a confused or dishonest actor cannot mislabel a reply
127
- as a task or vice versa.
128
-
129
- ### Filenames
130
-
131
- `data/channels/<uuid>/YYYY/MM/DD/HHMMSSmmmZ-<hex>.md` — current UTC time plus a
132
- hex suffix of at least 8 characters from a CSPRNG. Filenames sort chronologically
133
- and are collision-free by construction, so concurrent writers on different machines
134
- never produce git conflicts in message files.
135
-
136
- ---
137
-
138
- ## Activation — when does a message wake its addressee?
139
-
140
- One rule:
141
-
142
- > **A message wakes its addressee if it has no `re:` (a new task), or any `re:`
143
- > entry points at a message the addressee sent.**
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-
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- Consequences:
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-
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- - Tasks always wake the actor they address.
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- - A reply wakes whoever asked the question, and no one else.
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- - A reply addressed to someone who never asked (an FYI, a broadcast copy) is visible
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- in the channel but does not wake them — fan-in cannot oscillate.
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- - Self-sent messages never wake their sender.
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-
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- There are no other wake conditions and no inference. The dispatcher evaluates this
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- rule with two field reads.
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-
156
- ---
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-
158
- ## Delivery semantics
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-
160
- **At-least-once.** Each dispatcher tracks a per-actor, per-channel cursor (local
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- state, not in the repo) recording the git commit the channel was last scanned at —
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- "new" means *added to git since that commit*, never "later filename timestamp",
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- because messages reach origin in push order, not timestamp order. If a machine
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- crashes mid-tick, the next tick re-dispatches anything not yet past the cursor;
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- a duplicate reply may land in the channel.
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-
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- For idempotent work (lookups, computation, advice) duplicates are harmless. For
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- non-idempotent side effects, the actor must check the channel for evidence of prior
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- completion before acting. Crosstalk does not provide exactly-once semantics.
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-
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- **Batched delivery.** When a dispatcher wakes an actor, it hands over ALL pending
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- messages addressed to that actor in that channel in a single invocation. One
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- activation drains the mailbox — a coordinator that fanned out to 10 peers wakes
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- once and sees all 10 replies together.
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-
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- The transport is an **append-only log**. No retraction, no deletion at the protocol
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- level. Retention is the operator's concern at the git/storage layer.
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-
179
- ---
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-
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- ## Actors
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-
183
- Each participant has a profile at `local/actors/<name>.md` (operator-owned) or
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- `upstream/actors/<name>.md` (defaults; `local/` wins on name collision). The body
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- is the actor's system prompt.
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-
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- ```
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- ---
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- name: concierge
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- description: "General-purpose worker and coordinator."
191
- ---
192
-
193
- ## System Prompt
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- You are the general-purpose worker in this Crosstalk transport. ...
195
- ```
196
-
197
- `name` (matching the filename stem) and `description` are required; the rest of the
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- frontmatter is free. Actors are added, edited, and removed by committing files.
199
-
200
- ---
201
-
202
- ## Host files
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-
204
- A host file at `hosts/<alias>.md` declares one machine running a dispatcher and the
205
- actors it serves. Each operator commits and maintains their own.
206
-
207
- ```
208
- ---
209
- alias: cachy
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- hostname: steve-cachyos
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- actors:
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- concierge:
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- claude: claude --print --dangerously-skip-permissions
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- junior-developer:
215
- haiku:
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- cli: claude --model claude-haiku-4-5 --print --dangerously-skip-permissions
217
- count: 5
218
- ---
219
- ```
220
-
221
- | Field | Required | Notes |
222
- |---|---|---|
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- | `alias` | yes | the host's name in `actor@host` addressing |
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- | `hostname` | no | OS hostname, used for dispatcher auto-detection |
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- | `actors` | yes | actor → tier map |
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-
227
- A **tier** is a named CLI slot. The bare-string shorthand means `count: 1`; the
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- object form adds `count:` (parallel invocations) per tier. Tier names are
229
- operator-defined labels (`haiku`, `opus`, `flash`); senders may request one with
230
- the `tier:` message field, and the dispatcher falls back to the first declared
231
- tier when the requested one doesn't exist.
232
-
233
- On startup a dispatcher finds its own host file by matching `hostname:` (or via an
234
- explicit `--host <alias>` override). No match → log clearly and idle; never crash.
235
-
236
- ---
237
-
238
- ## Routing
239
-
240
- The `to:` field accepts:
241
-
242
- - `to: concierge` — bare name. Every host that declares the actor dispatches it.
243
- - `to: junior-developer@cachy` — narrowed to the host whose `alias` is `cachy`;
244
- other hosts skip it (and log the skip, so wrong-host routes are visible).
245
- - `to: [a, b@mac]` — lists mix freely.
246
- - `to: all` — every participant.
247
-
248
- The actor name is everything before the `@`; the host alias is everything after.
249
- The `re:` activation rule ignores host suffixes — only addressing honors them.
250
-
251
- Use bare names for work-pool patterns where any machine will do; use `@host` when
252
- the orchestration depends on which machine runs the work. This addressing is the
253
- entirety of Crosstalk's multi-host model.
254
-
255
- ---
256
-
257
- ## Identity and trust
258
-
259
- `from:` is an unverified string. The trust boundary is repository access: anyone who
260
- can push can claim any name. `to:` is a routing hint, not access control — every
261
- message is visible to anyone with repo access. Operators who need confidentiality
262
- or verified identity must secure the repository itself.
263
-
264
- ---
265
-
266
- ## Memories
267
-
268
- Shared persistent notes any participant may read or write, at
269
- `data/memories/YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSmmmZ-<hex>.md`:
270
-
271
- ```
272
- ---
273
- from: concierge
274
- timestamp: 2026-06-09T19:00:00.000Z
275
- subject: Steve prefers TypeScript for all new tooling
276
- scope: global # or a channel uuid
277
- supersedes: <filename> # optional — replaces an earlier memory
278
- ---
279
-
280
- Body.
281
- ```
282
-
283
- When loading, skip any memory named in another memory's `supersedes:`. Agents use
284
- `data/memories/` instead of their model-native memory systems.
285
-
286
- ---
287
-
288
- ## Coordination
289
-
290
- Git is self-coordinating: filenames are collision-free and non-fast-forward pushes
291
- are rejected and retried with `git pull --rebase`. A transport therefore works with
292
- no coordinator at all.
293
-
294
- Dispatchers MAY use a turn coordinator (cordfuse/turnq) to reduce push contention —
295
- locally via file lock, or across hosts via a shared turnq server. Coordination is
296
- **advisory**: a dispatcher waits for its turn with a bounded timeout and proceeds
297
- anyway on timeout or coordinator failure, letting git arbitrate. A coordinator
298
- outage may cost push retries; it can never stall message processing.