core/ROADMAP.md

Armature — Roadmap

Current: v0.6.18 — CI Bundle Wiring

Self-hosted extensible platform. Auth, identity, packages, Starlark sandbox, storage, realtime, and ops are kernel primitives. Everything else is an extension.

Kernel capabilities: Auth (builtin/mTLS/OIDC) · Users/teams/groups/RBAC · Surfaces/extensions/libraries/workflows · Starlark sandbox (capability-gated) · Object storage (PVC/S3) + ext_data tables · WebSocket hub + realtime pub/sub · Audit log · Notifications · Scheduled tasks

Completed history: v0.2.x–v0.5.x fully documented in CHANGELOG.md. Highlights: RBAC + settings cascade, event bus + triggers, SDK stabilization, workflow engine (multi-stage, team roles, signoff gate, public entry, SLA), package distribution, Notes surface (CM6, folders, tags, backlinks, graph), realtime primitive, Chat surface (chat-core library + surface + polish), upgrade test harness, cluster registry + HA.

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v0.6.x — Completed (MVP + Hardening)

All v0.6.x work is shipped and documented in CHANGELOG.md. Summary:

Version	Title	Key Deliverables
v0.6.0	Cluster Registry + HA	PG-backed node registry, heartbeat sweep, LISTEN/NOTIFY routing, self-eviction
v0.6.1	Backup/Restore + Docs	.swb archive format, server-side backups, docs surface + 5 guides
v0.6.2	Docs Polish + OpenAPI	Dark mode fix, topbar nav, api_schema manifest field, dynamic spec builder
v0.6.3	Dead Code Sweep	Registry install fix, dead Go/JS/HTML deletion, narrowed default bundle
v0.6.4	Admin Health/Metrics	Cluster dashboard merged into Admin tab, block renderer requires removed
v0.6.5	Renderer Pipeline	sw.renderers.register() kernel primitive, unified markdown, docs rewrite
v0.6.6	Final Hardening	Dependency auto-activation, ValidateManifest(), OIDC nonce, ICD/SDK update
v0.6.7	Native mTLS	TLS_MODE config, MTLSNativeProvider, node-to-node mTLS, armature-ca.sh
v0.6.8	Cookie Fix + UI Roadmap	Cookie SameSite fix, UI hardening roadmap published
v0.6.9	Session Lifetime Config	Admin-configurable TTLs, idle timeout, "keep me logged in"
v0.6.10	Viewport Foundation	Single layout model, CSS zoom, 100dvh, dead shell deprecated
v0.6.11	CSS Deduplication	Old primitive system retired, one class per concept
v0.6.12	Extension CSS Isolation	Prefix enforcement via linter, all 12 in-tree packages migrated
v0.6.13	Responsive & Spacing	Spacing token scale (4px grid), tablet breakpoint
v0.6.14	Visual Polish	Stale fallback colors purged, fonts self-hosted, radius tokens
v0.6.15	User Display Audit	Batch user resolve API, sw.users SDK module
v0.6.16	Usability Survey Gate	Four audit scripts, contrast/touch-target fixes
v0.6.17	Bug Fixes & Welcome	Notes folder fix, team member add fix, welcome auto-disable, zero default bundle
v0.6.18	CI Bundle Wiring	BUNDLED_PACKAGES env var wired into Gitea CI pipeline

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v0.7.x — Test Infrastructure + Quality Gate

The v0.6.x series built the kernel. v0.7.x makes it provably correct.

A full surface audit (docs/AUDIT-surfaces.md) found 7 cross-surface issues and 18 surface-specific issues across Settings, Admin, Team Admin, and Docs. Only Docs is properly built. The fix is three phases: (1) establish a shell contract and bring all four primary surfaces to parity, (2) build a runner framework for end-to-end browser tests, (3) automate those runners headlessly in CI.

Design docs:

• docs/DESIGN-shell-contract.md — two-slot topbar, three navigation patterns, surface migrations
• docs/DESIGN-surface-runners.md — runner framework, requires declarations, headless E2E
• docs/AUDIT-surfaces.md — full audit findings

v0.7.0 — Shell Contract + Surface Audit + Rebrand Cleanup

Design doc: docs/DESIGN-shell-contract.md

Shell Infrastructure

Step	Status	Description
Shell topbar (two-slot model)	done	Kernel injects topbar into surface-extension template. Two named slots: left (defaults to manifest title) and center (flex: 1, for tabs/pickers/search). Home link, notification bell, and user menu always present.
Topbar customization API	done	sw.shell.topbar.setLeft(vnode) overrides left slot. sw.shell.topbar.setSlot(vnode) sets center slot. sw.shell.topbar.setTitle(str) shorthand for text-only left. sw.shell.topbar.hide() / .show() for full-bleed surfaces.
Kernel tab CSS	done	.sw-topbar__tabs and .sw-topbar__tab classes for consistent tab styling in the center slot. Surfaces use these for free or style their own slot content.
Notification read broadcast	done	Backend emits notification.read and notification.all_read WS events. Bell listens for .created, .read, .all_read. Cross-surface sync without refetch.
User menu reactivity	done	Emit package.changed (install/uninstall/enable/disable) and auth.changed (role/membership) WS events. UserMenu listens and re-fetches surface list. Most impactful single fix.
Shell announcement global dismiss	done	Dismissed state persisted to localStorage keyed by content hash. Dismiss once, dismissed everywhere.

Surface Migrations

Step	Status	Description
Settings → Pattern B (flat tabs)	done	Delete custom topbar + sidebar nav. 6 sections become flat tabs in topbar center slot. Content full-width. Fix Teams section: add team admin link, role display, leave action. Remove sessionStorage return URL logic.
Admin → Pattern C (category tabs + sidebar)	done	Delete custom admin-topbar. setLeft() for favicon + "Administration". setSlot() for category tabs (People / Workflows / System / Monitoring). Admin sidebar (sub-navigation) unchanged — surface-owned, below the topbar. Bell + user menu come free from shell. Delete bespoke CatIcon renderer if using standard SVGs.
Team Admin → Pattern B (flat tabs)	done	Delete custom topbar + sidebar nav. 5 sections (Members / Connections / Workflows / Settings / Activity — Groups removed) become flat tabs. Content full-width. setTitle() for team-specific name. Remove sessionStorage return URL. Fix signoff user display (user_id → sw.users.displayName()).
Team Admin: remove Groups tab	done	37-line dead-end. Read-only "No groups" with no create/docs/link. Remove until team-scoped group management is properly designed.
Docs → Pattern A (default)	done	Delete explicit Topbar import. Shell topbar auto-renders with manifest title. Docs sidebar (document list) is in content area, unaffected.

Error Handling + UX Pass

Step	Status	Description
Inline error states	done	Replace catch { toast } with inline error + retry on all list endpoints. New .sw-inline-error CSS primitive. Systematic pass across Settings, Admin, Team Admin.
Empty state guidance	done	Every "No X" message gets one-line explanation + primary action (create button or doc link). Admin Groups, Workflows, Teams; Team Admin Workflows; Settings Notifications.

Bug Fixes

Step	Status	Description
evil-chat cleanup	done	ICD security tier: finally cleanup block + tighten 409 assertion.
Workflow demo error surfacing	done	Replace silent catch with inline error + retry.
Hello dashboard removal	done	Delete packages/hello-dashboard/.

Rebrand

Step	Status	Description
Light-mode icon SVG	done	New favicon-light.svg — square icon, transparent bg, dark node fills. Rename current favicon-light.svg (wordmark) to wordmark.svg.
Dark-mode wordmark SVG	done	New wordmark-dark.svg — light text for dark backgrounds.
Light-mode raster assets	done	favicon-light-32.png, favicon-light-256.png.
PWA manifest description	done	"Self-hosted extension platform — build, compose, and run extensions."
REBRAND-SPEC.md		Land into docs/. Find/replace patterns, validation checklist, asset inventory.
base.html favicon swap	done	Verify theme swap works with new square light icon.

Tests

Step	Status	Description
Shell topbar renders for extensions	done	Home, left slot, center slot, bell, user menu present.
Topbar API (setLeft, setSlot, hide)	done	Custom content renders. Hide removes topbar.
All 4 surfaces use shell topbar	done	No double topbars. Each pattern (A/B/C) renders correctly.
User menu reactive to package install		Install → menu updates without reload.
Notification bell cross-surface sync		Dismiss on Notes → clears on Chat.
Inline error on API failure		Error + retry shown, not empty list.

v0.7.1 — Surface Runner Framework

Design doc: docs/DESIGN-surface-runners.md

Step	Status	Description
Runner framework (sw.testing)		SDK module: suite/test/assert, lifecycle hooks, structured JSON results.
requires declarations		Runner manifests declare dependencies. Missing packages → clean skip.
Cleanup enforcement		s.track(type, id) auto-deletes in afterAll. No leaked state.
Warning tier		pass / fail / warning. No silent catch swallowing.
ICD runner migration		Refactor to sw.testing. Test logic preserved.
SDK runner migration		Refactor to sw.testing. Domain suites preserved.
Runner registry surface		/s/test-runners — list runners, run-all, results dashboard.

v0.7.2 — Package Runners + CI Gate

Step	Status	Description
Notes runner		CRUD, folders, tags, backlinks, search, rendering.
Chat runner		requires: ["chat", "chat-core"]. Channels, messaging, renderers.
Schedules runner		CRUD, cron, toggle, Starlark exec.
Workflow runner		requires: ["content-approval"]. Install detection, stages, signoff.
Renderer runner		requires: ["mermaid-renderer"]. Register contract, post-render hooks.
Runner result API		POST /api/v1/test-runners/run, GET /results. CI can curl and assert.
CI integration		test-runners stage in Gitea CI. PG + SQLite. Zero failures = pass.

v0.7.3 — Headless E2E Automation

Step	Status	Description
Playwright test harness		ci/e2e-surface-test.sh — docker-compose, chromium, run-all, assert.
Screenshot-on-failure		Full-page screenshot + console log. CI artifacts.
Navigation smoke test		Playwright visits every surface. Asserts topbar, no JS errors, home link works.
Visual regression baseline		Optional screenshot diff. Not a gate — report for review.
CI pipeline integration		After unit tests + API runners. Failure blocks merge.

v0.7.4 — Documentation + Deferred Surface Work

Step	Status	Description
Permissions & Groups guide		RBAC model, permission slugs with descriptions, group scoping, settings cascade.
Workflows user guide		Entry modes, stages, team roles, signoff gates, SLA, public forms.
Docs content refresh		Review all 5 existing docs for accuracy at v0.7.x.
Extension config section docs		Document config_section manifest field for Settings/Admin extensibility.
Team Admin Workflows evaluation		723-line inline designer — extract to surface or split into files. Decision doc if needed.

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Post-v0.7.x

• LLM participation (llm-bridge extension)
• Rich media extensions: image generation, code sandbox, STT/TTS
• Desktop app (Tauri or Electron)
• Sidecar tier: container-based extensions
• Federation: cross-instance package sharing
• Plugin marketplace with signing and review

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Design Decisions Log

Decision	Rationale
Tasks → extension	Three trigger primitives replace the monolithic scheduler.
Sessions removed	Workflow instances with dedicated storage replace kernel sessions.
custom stage mode	Delegates to a surface package, proving extension composability.
Providers removed from kernel	Connections + Starlark provider.complete as the interface.
Kernel permissions simplified	6 platform permissions. Extensions define their own.
Preact+htm retained	3KB runtime, no build step, KISS.
Single Docker image	Go binary + assets + migrations.
Admin → RBAC group	Grant check replaces role check.
Settings cascade	Scope auth + user_overridable. Two orthogonal axes.
No new migrations pre-MVP	Proper versioned migrations post-MVP.
Chat as extension, not kernel	Zero kernel awareness. Proves extensibility thesis.
PG as consensus layer	UNLOGGED node_registry + LISTEN/NOTIFY. No etcd/Consul/Redis.
Two trigger tiers	Extension-declared (full sandbox) vs user ad-hoc (restricted).
Builtin package rationale	Must enhance kernel surfaces or demonstrate platform capabilities.
Two-slot topbar model	Left slot (title/branding) + center slot (flex: 1, tabs/pickers). Two named slots cover every navigation pattern: simple title (Pattern A), flat tabs full-width (Pattern B), category tabs + surface-owned sidebar (Pattern C). Surfaces without sub-items get full content width; surfaces with hierarchical navigation add their own sidebar below the topbar. Shell provides the stage; surface decides the theater.
All four primary surfaces migrate to shell topbar	Admin was "keep custom topbar" initially. The two-slot model makes it unnecessary — category tabs fit in the center slot, sidebar is surface-owned below. One topbar implementation replaces four. Bell + user menu + reactivity come free on every surface.
Settings / Team Admin → flat tabs (Pattern B)	Both had thin sidebars (~140px) that consumed width without justification. 5–6 sections fit cleanly in topbar tabs. Full-width content is a better use of space for these surfaces.
Team Admin Groups removed	37-line read-only dead-end. Admin Groups has full CRUD. Restore when properly designed.
Docs is the reference surface	Only surface with shell Topbar, bell, user menu, inline errors. Others converge.
Surface runners over expanding ICD	Different test tier, different failure class.
Headless E2E via Playwright	Runners produce structured JSON; Playwright navigates and reads output.