Protocols
Wire formats, communication standards, and protocol specifications with reference implementations.
What Are Protocols?
Protocols are specification-first — the spec is the product, the implementation is secondary. Every protocol must have a formal SPEC.md document that defines the wire format, semantics, error handling, and versioning.
Principles
| Principle | Requirement |
|---|---|
| External Dependencies | Zero (reference implementation) |
| Tuulbelt Dependencies | Allowed |
| Scope | Specification-focused |
| Interface | Spec + Reference Implementation |
| Documentation | SPEC.md required |
Governance
Protocols require high governance:
- Specification completeness review
- Edge case and error handling coverage
- Versioning and evolution strategy
- Cross-language compatibility verification
Available Protocols
No protocols implemented yet. Coming soon!
Planned Protocols
| Protocol | Description | Language |
|---|---|---|
| wire-protocol | Self-describing binary TLV format | Rust |
| message-envelope | Standard request/response wrapper | TypeScript |
| pubsub-protocol | Minimalist pub-sub wire format | Rust |
| rpc-protocol | Simple RPC over TCP/Unix sockets | Rust |
Creating a Protocol
bash
/new-protocol <name>See Contributing Guide for details.