Loki/docs/architecture.md

Loki Architecture

Objective

Expose local Chrome tab state as provider-owned, typed service state for CultMesh/Eve consumers while keeping Chrome installation easy for the operator.

Current Mechanism

The Chrome extension observes tab metadata with explicit Chrome permissions and posts reports to Loki's localhost ingest endpoint. Chrome can also expose DevTools metadata on 127.0.0.1:{port} when started with --remote-debugging-port. Loki normalizes both sources into one snapshot and writes three documents from that snapshot.

flowchart LR
  Extension["Chrome extension"] --> Ingest["extension ingest"]
  Chrome["Chrome CDP endpoint"] --> Observe["observe CDP"]
  Config["Loki config"] --> Ingest
  Config --> Observe
  Ingest --> Combine["combined snapshot"]
  Observe --> Combine
  Combine --> Snapshot["chrome_snapshot.cc"]
  Snapshot --> Provider["provider_advertisement.cc"]
  Snapshot --> Surface["eve_surface.cc"]

Invariants

• CDP reachability is observed state, not assumed capability.
• Extension reachability is observed state, not assumed capability.
• Chrome owns page reality; Loki owns only the observation snapshot.
• .cc witnesses are the durable local state surface.
• Eve/CultUI output is derived from the same snapshot as the witness.
• No renderer or dashboard can override the daemon's observation state.

Intended Change Path

1. Add CultCacheTS-backed binary .cc persistence behind the current writer.
2. Add CultNet/CultMesh publication of the same documents.
3. Add command handling only through gamecult.eve.command.v1.
4. Add consentful CDP actions, starting with read-only page metadata and operator-approved screenshot capture.

Command Boundary

Loki currently advertises no executable tab commands. This is deliberate. A daemon that can evaluate JavaScript inside live user tabs is holding a sharp tool; it needs an explicit command document, audit log, origin, target tab id, and denial path before it should act.