Heimdall/README.md
Meta Vens c7cf78bbbc README: front door with value, problem, entry points, live versus planned
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-22 20:03:50 +02:00

5.4 KiB

Heimdall

Heimdall is the shared auth authority taking shape for GameCult-hosted experiments.

The point is painfully simple:

  • stop rebuilding Discord/Patreon login glue in every app
  • keep provider OAuth, linked identities, grants, entitlements, and session issuance in one place
  • let app runtimes verify signed claims locally so "shared auth" does not become "everything phones home for every request"
  • keep app-domain data separate so "shared auth" does not become "shared swamp"

Front Door

  • Value: one shared auth authority: provider OAuth (Discord, Patreon, GitHub, Twitch, YouTube, Spotify), linked identities, grants, entitlements and session issuance, with Ed25519-signed claims that app backends verify locally.
  • Problem: every GameCult app was rebuilding Discord/Patreon login glue. Heimdall centralizes identity authority and keeps app-domain data in the apps.
  • Entry points:
    • src/index.ts and src/app.ts: the Fastify service. src/signing.ts and src/claims.ts issue JWTs and serve /.well-known/jwks.json; src/oauth.ts and src/providers.ts own provider flows.
    • src/verifier.ts: the local verifier helper an app backend imports to validate Heimdall JWTs without phoning home.
    • src/odin-publication.ts and plugins/gamecult.heimdall.access: the redacted Odin/Eve provider advertisement and the gamecult.heimdall.access plugin (docs/eve-access-plugin.md).
    • docs/architecture.md, docs/service-contract.md, docs/verse-service-contract.md, docs/app-profiles/: the contracts.
    • pnpm install, pnpm dev, pnpm test (see Dev Commands).
  • Live: a stateful first slice: signing and JWKS, OAuth state for six providers, in-memory and Postgres stores, a real Discord callback path for the Repixelizer flow, sealed provider tokens, the loopback CultNet operation boundary, Idunn health publication, and the deployed Ghostlight Eve host consuming the discovered boundary.
  • Planned: the two-account and eight-account Ghostlight human canaries, refresh and revocation flows, admin surfaces, and broader inspection projections beyond the redacted access boundary.

Current Shape

This repo now has a stateful first slice instead of a decorative skeleton.

Landed right now:

  • a TypeScript/Fastify service scaffold under src/
  • Ed25519 JWT signing plus /.well-known/jwks.json
  • file-backed signing-key loading/bootstrap so restart does not vaporize the service identity when you configure a real key path
  • signed OAuth start-state scaffolding for Discord, Patreon, GitHub, Twitch, YouTube, and Spotify
  • durable auth/control-plane storage with in-memory and Postgres backends
  • account, linked-identity, session, persistent OAuth attempt, grant, entitlement snapshot, and audit persistence
  • a real Discord OAuth callback path for the first Repixelizer access flow
  • direct backend callback handoff for same-host or Yggdrasil-reachable app backends
  • AES-256-GCM sealing for managed provider tokens at rest
  • a one-time browser completion exchange kept as fallback for opener postMessage handoff
  • app profile surfaces for Repixelizer, StreamPixels, and Spotiverse
  • signed claim issuance for app-local verification experiments
  • a local verifier helper in src/verifier.ts so app backends can validate Heimdall JWTs without phoning home on every guarded request
  • a read-only Odin/Eve provider advertisement export that names redacted CultCache witness document shapes and paths without touching live secrets
  • a daemon-owned CultCache boundary witness at GC_ACCESS_CULTCACHE_PATH containing the Heimdall provider advertisement, command boundary, transport profile, and Idunn daemon-health summary
  • optional Idunn daemon-health publication over cultnet.transport.rudp.v0 when GC_ACCESS_IDUNN_RUDP_HEALTH is configured
  • the gamecult.heimdall.access Eve plugin with executable describe, validate, and project operations plus a browser reference adapter
  • a loopback-only CultNet operation boundary on port 4101 for authenticated heimdall.auth.begin and heimdall.auth.complete; app payloads and completion claims are AES-256-GCM wrapped and HMAC-bound to expiry, nonce, operation, runtime, and idempotency identity
  • redacted provider, command-boundary, plugin, and transport records published through Odin under unique typed catalog keys; secret-bearing auth state never enters the catalog
  • the deployed Ghostlight Eve host consumes that discovered boundary and keeps routine app-session verification local

Remaining work:

  • the two-account and eight-account Ghostlight human canaries
  • refresh/revocation flows and admin surfaces
  • broader admin and inspection projections beyond the redacted access boundary

Canonical docs:

  • docs/architecture.md
  • docs/implementation-plan.md
  • docs/service-contract.md
  • docs/verse-service-contract.md
  • docs/app-profiles/repixelizer.md
  • docs/app-profiles/streampixels.md
  • docs/app-profiles/spotiverse.md
  • state/map.yaml
  • notes/fresh-workspace-handoff.md

Dev Commands

pnpm install
pnpm dev
pnpm test
pnpm build
pnpm export:provider-advertisement

Working Loop

  1. Rehydrate from canonical state.
  2. Keep identity authority central and app-domain data local.
  3. Prefer a Yggdrasil-hosted shared service over duplicated per-app provider stacks.
  4. Let app backends verify signed claims locally instead of begging Heimdall on every guarded route.
  5. Commit finished passes before the notes start breeding.