core/ROADMAP.md

Switchboard Core — Roadmap

Current: v0.4.2 — Tags + Search

Fork of chat-switchboard, gutted to a pure extension platform. All AI/chat features removed from the kernel. What remains is the minimum viable platform that extensions build on.

Retained kernel capabilities

• Auth: builtin (simple), mTLS, OIDC
• Identity: users, teams, groups, permissions (RBAC)
• Packages: surfaces, extensions, libraries, workflows
• Starlark sandbox: capability-gated modules
• Storage: object storage (PVC, S3), ext_data tables
• Realtime: WebSocket hub, presence, multi-replica HA
• Ops: audit log, notifications, maintenance goroutine

Phase 0 (complete)

Step	Status	Description
1. Module rename	✅	chat-switchboard → switchboard-core
2. Delete packages	✅	15 Go packages, 29 handler files removed
3. Gut stores/models	✅	40 → 20 store interfaces, kernel-only models
4. Fresh migrations	✅	9 files × 2 dialects, 27 tables
5. Fix compilation	✅	go build ./... clean, 300+ stale route lines cut
6. Fix tests	✅	8 test packages pass, ~12K stale test lines pruned
7. Frontend gut	✅	Shell + SDK only, 50+ files of chat/notes/projects code removed
8. New ICD	✅	Full OpenAPI 3.0.3 spec — 160 operations across 22 tag groups
9. CI/CD + Dockerfile	✅	Single unified image, FE/BE split removed, DB names updated, k8s var alignment fixes (resource quantities, image name, rollout deployment name)
10. Smoke test	✅	K8s deploy live at switchboard.gobha.ai/test, nginx BASE_PATH fixed, login→admin flow verified, branding updated

v0.2.x — SDK & Triggers

The contract that extensions build against. Three trigger primitives, SDK stabilization, and the first rebuilt extension (tasks).

v0.2.0 — RBAC + Settings Cascade (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Admin → RBAC group	✅	surface.admin.access permission + Admins system group replaces role == "admin" checks. Admin bypass removed from permission middleware.
Settings cascade	✅	user_overridable flag, three-tier resolution (global → team → user), team settings API
Settings override model	✅	Shipped with settings cascade above

v0.2.1 — Default Surface + ICD

Step	Status	Description
Default surface routing	✅	/ redirects to configurable default surface. No surfaces → admin. First install becomes default. Changeable in admin settings.
ICD (API contract)	✅	Full OpenAPI 3.0.3 spec — 160 operations, 22 tag groups, reusable component schemas. Served at /api/docs.

v0.2.2 — Event Bus + Triggers

Step	Status	Description
Event bus subscriptions	✅	Extensions register event patterns in manifest. Wired via bus.Subscribe() on startup. Async handler invocation.
Webhook triggers	✅	Inbound HTTP at /api/v1/hooks/:package_id/:slug. HMAC-SHA256 verification. Synchronous Starlark handler response.
Scheduled tasks	✅	User-created cron tasks with restricted sandbox (no raw HTTP, no DB table creation). Runs as creator identity. Templates from extensions. Dedicated schedules API.
Trigger admin API	✅	CRUD for triggers + schedules. Enable/disable, execution logs, per-package listing.

v0.2.3 — SDK + Task Extension

Step	Status	Description
SDK stabilization	✅	sw.api.ext(), sw.storage, sw.theme.tokens, sw.ui, sw.slots, sw.actions — six new SDK modules for extension development
Task extension	✅	Full task surface rebuilt as Starlark extension: CRUD API, kanban/list views, event triggers, webhook integration, notifications on completion

v0.2.4 — Shell Navigation + Schedules

Step	Status	Description
SDK Topbar	✅	sw.shell.Topbar — composable navigation bar (title + extension slot + bell + user menu). Surfaces get consistent nav for free.
Schedules surface	✅	New packages/schedules/ wrapping kernel cron API. Table view, cron preview, enable/disable, manual run, execution logs.
Manifest icons	✅	icon field in manifest.json (emoji). Surfaces API returns icon. UserMenu renders per-surface icons.
UserMenu cleanup	✅	Removed dead Chat/Notes/Projects links. Menu driven by surfaces API. Core surfaces filtered.
isAdmin RBAC fix	✅	can.js isAdmin() now checks surface.admin.access grant instead of deprecated role column.

v0.2.5 — UI Polish + Dead Code Audit

Step	Status	Description
UI bug pass	✅	Reviewed admin, settings, login, welcome surfaces in light/dark themes. Fixed settings crash (models API undefined). Removed dead chat settings from both user and admin settings.
Dead code sweep	✅	Removed ~700 lines: orphaned CSS, dead Go types, stale event code, unused test helpers, dead settings UI (chat defaults, system prompt, default model, policies, web search, compaction, memory).
Template cleanup	✅	Removed stale CSS link tags and orphaned chat-pane.html. Updated doc comments throughout.
Package proof-of-concept status	✅	Created README.md for tasks + schedules with graduation criteria. Added missing manifest icons.
Welcome surface	✅	New fallback surface when no extensions installed. Topbar + welcome card with admin link. Replaces /admin as final redirect target.
Default surface routing	✅	Resolution chain: user preference → global config → first extension → /welcome. Users can set personal default in Settings > General. Admin sets global default in Admin > Settings.
Admin navigation	✅	Replaced Back button with UserMenu in admin topbar. Eliminates back-button infinite loop.

v0.2.6 — Admin Settings Audit

Step	Status	Description
Admin settings E2E	✅	All 7 admin settings sections verified (default surface, registration, banner, message bar, footer, vault, email). Dead code removed: sectionCategory() pruned of AI/routing/channel vestiges, PublicSettings() stripped of chat-era fields (system_prompt, retention_ttl, paste_to_file, allow_user_personas), dead PolicyDefaults removed (allow_raw_model_access, default_model), dead policy lookups removed (kb_direct_access), test seed data cleaned.
Packages surface	✅	Package list loads (17 total/17 enabled), type filters work, enable/disable visible, settings/export buttons present, core package (admin) protected. Removed dead chat from CORE_IDS.

v0.2.7 — User Settings Audit

Step	Status	Description
User settings E2E	✅	All 6 user settings sections verified (General, Appearance, Profile, Teams, Connections, Notifications). Dead code removed: BYOK nav section + state, personas gate filter, Message Font Size slider, auth.permissions.changed listener. localStorage key renamed cs-appearance → sb-appearance with one-time migration.
Visibility gating	✅	Dead BYOK/personas policy lookups removed from bootstrap and permissions handlers. allow_user_byok removed from PublicSettings. PolicyDefaults cleaned of allow_user_byok and allow_user_personas. Dead msgFont early-apply removed from base template. Stale policy-gating test assertions replaced. No empty nav sections remain.

v0.2.8 — Team Admin Settings Audit (Pass 1)

Step	Status	Description
Team admin E2E	✅	Audited team member management, settings cascade, role assignment. Removed dead code: HasPrivateProviderRequirement (BYOK vestige), UserRole on TeamMember (deprecated role column), allow_team_providers policy default, dead personas/providers/models ICD tests.
Workflow stage UI cleanup	✅	Removed dead personas dropdown, history_mode selector, stale chat_only mode. Updated STAGE_MODES to match backend CHECK constraint (form_only, form_chat, review, custom). Removed stale comments referencing deleted files.

v0.2.9 — Builtin Extension Retirement

Step	Status	Description
Retire builtin seeder	✅	Removed SeedBuiltinPackages, seed_packages.go, Dockerfile COPY, and extensions/builtin/ directory. These extensions are dormant until a chat surface exists to consume them.
Convert to regular packages	✅	Repackaged 6 extensions as standard directories in packages/ with js/ layout and "requires": ["chat"] manifest metadata. Built via build.sh like all other packages. No auto-install — explicit install only.

v0.3.x — Workflow Architecture

Workflows are the core platform capability. This series implements the full multi-step automation system with team role integration and finalizes the extension lifecycle model.

v0.3.0 — Schema Redesign + Stage CRUD Modernization (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Workflow schema redesign	✅	Dropped persona_id, history_mode from workflow_stages. Renamed transition_rules → stage_config. Updated stage_mode CHECK to (form, review, delegated, automated). Added audience, stage_type, starlark_hook, branch_rules. Both PG + SQLite.
Model + store updates	✅	Go structs, constants, and PG/SQLite queries updated. New ValidStageTypes, ValidAudiences maps. Routing engine reads branch_rules directly.
Handler + Starlark updates	✅	Stage CRUD validation for new fields. Package export/import updated. Hook handler reads stage_config. Starlark module exposes audience, stage_type.
Frontend updates	✅	Team-admin and admin stage editors updated with new modes, audience selector, stage type selector, conditional Starlark hook input. Fixed admin STAGE_MODES bug.

v0.3.1 — Instance + Assignment Tables + Store (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Instance schema	✅	workflow_instances table in 007_workflows.sql (PG + SQLite). Tracks execution state: workflow_version, current_stage, stage_data, status, entry_token.
Assignment schema	✅	workflow_assignments table. Per-stage queue: instance_id, stage, team_id, assigned_to, status, review_data. Optimistic claim lock.
Models + store interface	✅	WorkflowInstance, WorkflowAssignment structs. 15 store methods for instance lifecycle and assignments across PG + SQLite.
Event types	✅	workflow.started, workflow.cancelled, workflow.error added to bus route table.

v0.3.2 — Workflow Engine + Handlers (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Store tests	✅	Round-trip tests for all 15 v0.3.1 store methods (instance + assignment CRUD). TruncateAll updated for new tables.
Stage execution engine	✅	server/workflow/engine.go — Start, Advance (with branch_rules), Cancel. Merges stage_data, creates assignments, emits events.
Automated stages	✅	server/workflow/automated.go — fire Starlark hook, auto-advance, cycle guard (max 10 consecutive).
Instance handlers	✅	HTTP API: Start, GetInstance, Advance, Cancel, ListInstances. Team-scoped mirrors.
Assignment handlers	✅	HTTP API: Claim, Unclaim, Complete, Cancel, ListByTeam, ListMine. Claimer identity verification.
Starlark module expansion	✅	workflow.get_instance(), workflow.list_instances() (read-only). Mutating builtins deferred pending interface extraction.

v0.3.3 — Public Entry + Background Jobs (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Public entry	✅	StartPublic, ResumePublic, AdvancePublic — token-based anonymous workflow participation. Public routes at /api/v1/public/workflows/. Audience-gated: only public stages can be advanced anonymously.
SLA scanner	✅	Background goroutine (5-min interval) checking active instances against per-stage sla_seconds. Fires workflow.sla_breach event, marks breach in instance metadata (idempotent).
Staleness sweep	✅	Per-workflow staleness_timeout_hours column. Scanner marks idle instances as stale, cancels open assignments, fires workflow.stale event.

v0.3.4 — Team Roles + Multi-party Validation (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Team roles	✅	Removed CHECK constraint on team_members.role. Custom roles stored in teams.settings["roles"]. Team roles API (GET/PUT /teams/:teamId/roles). Role-based stage assignment via stage_config.required_role. Frontend: dynamic role selects, role management panel.
Multi-party sign-off	✅	workflow_signoffs table (both dialects). StageConfig.validation with required_approvals, required_role, reject_action. Engine validation gate in advanceInternal. SubmitSignoff engine method. Signoff HTTP API (POST/GET /instances/:iid/signoffs). Frontend signoff panel in monitor tab.
Extension lifecycle	✅	Design doc: docs/DESIGN-EXTENSION-LIFECYCLE.md. Permanent vs PoC classification, graduation criteria, install model.
Trigger composition	✅	Design doc: docs/DESIGN-TRIGGER-COMPOSITION.md. Triggers/schedules can start workflows, workflows emit events, no circular invocation.

v0.3.5 — Settings Audit + ICD + Tests

Step	Status	Description
Clone endpoint	✅	POST /api/v1/workflows/:id/clone — deep copy workflow + stages. Handler-level composition of existing store methods.
Integration tests	✅	7 engine-level tests in workflow_engine_test.go: full lifecycle, branch routing, public entry, signoff gate, rejection, cancel-clears-assignments, error cases. 28 total tests.
Settings audit pass 2	✅	Added staleness_timeout_hours field to workflow editor. Added collapsible branch_rules JSON editor in stage form.
ICD update	✅	Fixed stale Workflow/Stage schemas. Added WorkflowInstance, WorkflowAssignment, WorkflowSignoff schemas. Added ~20 new endpoints: instances, assignments, signoffs, public entry, clone, team roles.

v0.3.6 — Example Workflows + Interactive Demo

Four installable .pkg workflow packages that prove the engine works end-to-end, plus a demo surface for guided exploration. See docs/DEMO-WORKFLOWS.md for full stage definitions and Starlark code.

Step	Status	Description
Bug Report Triage	✅	Public entry, progressive fieldsets, severity-based branch routing, team assignment, SLA timer. Pure-manifest .pkg.
Employee Onboarding	✅	Starlark automated stages (db.insert, notifications.send), signoff gate with required_role, rejection reroute. .pkg with script.star.
Content Approval	✅	Multi-party signoff (quorum of 2), rejection reroute creating review cycle. .pkg demonstrating signoff + reroute loop.
Webhook Notifier	✅	Starlark http.post + connections.get for outbound webhooks, delivery logging to ext_data. Proves HTTP + connections modules.
Demo surface	✅	Browser-tier walkthrough: workflow cards, stage diagrams, Starlark viewer, "Try It" buttons, API curl examples. Auto-installed, removable.
Engine context fix	✅	Add started_by to automated stage Starlark context dict (backward-compatible).
SLA package installer	✅	Added sla_seconds support to workflowPkgStage struct and install/export paths.
Snapshot format fix	✅	parseSnapshotStages helper handles both wrapped and legacy snapshot formats.
Workflow adoption	✅	POST /teams/:teamId/workflows/:id/adopt + GET .../available. Team-admin "Adopt Global" button. TeamID in WorkflowPatch.
Extension SDK boot	✅	base.html loads Preact globals + boot() for extension surfaces (was missing since Scorched Earth IV).
Admin teams tab fix	✅	Extract .data from paginated response in admin teams list.
Documentation	✅	docs/DEMO-WORKFLOWS.md: feature capability matrix, stage flows, API walkthrough, per-package READMEs.
Review pass		Docker E2E walkthrough: install all packages, adopt into team, activate, publish, run each workflow end-to-end. Fix remaining UI/UX issues.

v0.3.7 — Package Audit (complete)

Verified all 16 packages install correctly. Packages with unmet requires auto-set to dormant.

Step	Status	Description
Manifest fixes	✅	Fixed 6 chat-extension manifests ("name" → "title", was blocking install). Added explicit "type": "surface" to hello-dashboard, icd-test-runner, sdk-test-runner.
Dormant status	✅	Added dormant to packages.status CHECK constraint (both dialects). Installer auto-detects unmet requires and sets status=dormant, enabled=false. Enable endpoint returns 409 for dormant packages.
Functional audit	✅	Navigated to every surface in browser. 7 working: schedules, tasks, team-activity-log, git-board, hello-dashboard, icd-test-runner, sdk-test-runner. 2 broken: dashboard + editor (depend on removed sw.* imperative SDK) — tagged requires: ["legacy-sdk"] → dormant.
Chat-dependency tagging	✅	6 chat-dependent extensions (csv-table, diff-viewer, js-sandbox, katex-renderer, mermaid-renderer, regex-tester) install as dormant. git-board and gitea-client are standalone.
Dependency check fix	✅	Relaxed library dependency validation to allow pending_review libraries (gitea-client declares permissions). Only suspended/dormant libraries blocked.
Admin UI	✅	Dormant badge, disabled Enable button with tooltip, Dormant stat card in admin packages view.
Tests	✅	4 handler tests (SetStatus dormant, enable blocked, surfaces exclude dormant, admin list includes dormant). All existing tests pass.

v0.3.8 — Distribution

Builder image for faster builds, bundled packages for zero-config first run.

Step	Status	Description
Builder image	✅	Dockerfile.builder with cached Go modules + Node vendor libs for faster custom builds.
Bundled packages	✅	Dockerfile stage builds all 12 non-dormant packages into production image. InstallBundledPackages auto-installs on first run (skip-if-present). SKIP_BUNDLED_PACKAGES=true to disable. BUNDLED_PACKAGES allowlist for selective install (Helm/K8s). Migration 012 adds bundled source to CHECK constraint.
Distribution docs	✅	docs/DISTRIBUTION.md — quick start, bundled packages, builder image, custom builds, production deployment.
Tests	✅	6 handler tests (fresh install, skip existing, missing dir, empty dir, dormant handling, allowlist filtering). All existing tests pass.

v0.4.x — Notes Surface

Obsidian-style notes rebuilt as an installable surface package. Zero platform special-casing. Proves the full extension stack E2E.

v0.4.0 — Core Notes CRUD + Markdown Editor

Step	Status	Description
Package scaffold	✅	packages/notes/ with manifest, script.star, JS, CSS, README. Type: full, tier: starlark.
Notes CRUD backend	✅	Starlark on_request() — list, create, get, update, delete, search, stats. Lightweight list projection (no body).
Notes table	✅	ext_notes_notes — title, body (TEXT), folder_id, pinned, archived, creator_id, updated_at.
Markdown editor	✅	Preact+htm frontend: sidebar note list, title input, markdown textarea, auto-save (1s debounce).
Live preview	✅	Inline markdown renderer (~100 lines): headings, bold, italic, code, links, lists, blockquotes, hr.
Search	✅	Client-side LIKE search over title/body. Search bar in sidebar.
Pin/archive	✅	Pin notes to top, soft-delete via archive, hard delete with ?hard=1.

v0.4.1 — Folders + Navigation Tree (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Folders table	✅	ext_notes_folders — name, parent_id, creator_id, sort_order. Indexed on parent_id and creator_id.
Folder CRUD API	✅	5 Starlark handlers: list, create, update, delete folders + POST /notes/move. Delete cascade orphans notes and reparents child folders.
Folder tree UI	✅	FolderTree + FolderNode components. Flat-to-tree builder, expand/collapse, depth indentation, inline rename via context menu.
Folder filtering	✅	Click folder → filter notes. "All Notes" / "Unfiled" virtual views. New notes inherit active folder.
Editor folder select	✅	Dropdown with nested hierarchy (└ prefix). Moves notes between folders via move-note API.
Updated stats	✅	Stats include unfiled and folders counts.

v0.4.2 — Tags + Search (complete)

Step	Status	Description
Tags table	✅	ext_notes_tags — note_id, tag. Indexed on both columns for bidirectional lookup.
Tag CRUD API	✅	3 Starlark handlers: list all unique tags, get tags for note, replace tags for note (delete+reinsert). Tags normalized: lowercase, trimmed, deduped.
Tags in list/get/search	✅	_list_notes batch-fetches all tags in one query, attaches tags array to each item. _get_note includes tags. _search_notes matches against tags.
Tag cascade delete	✅	Hard-deleting a note also deletes its tag rows. Stats include tags count.
Tag input in editor	✅	TagInput component: removable pills + text field, comma/Enter to add, autocomplete dropdown from all tags.
Tag pills on cards	✅	NoteCard renders up to 3 tag pills with "+N" overflow.
Tag filter in sidebar	✅	TagFilter component: clickable pills, toggle active tag, client-side note filtering.
Drag-and-drop	✅	NoteCard is draggable. FolderNode, "All Notes", and "Unfiled" are drop targets. Uses existing move-note API.
Folder context menu	✅	Replaced prompt() hack with proper right-click popup menu: Add subfolder, Rename, Delete. Positioned at click coordinates, dismissed on outside click.

v0.4.3 — Backlinks + Wikilinks (planned)

• note_links table (source, target, link_text)
• [[wikilink]] extraction on save
• Backlinks panel, clickable links in preview

v0.4.4 — Rich Editor + Import/Export (planned)

• Vendored CodeMirror 6 markdown bundle
• Markdown file import/export

v0.5.0 — MVP

Extension and operations tracks converge. First externally usable release.

• Package registry (browse, install, update, uninstall)
• Package distribution model (no auto-install; explicit install only)
• Health monitoring dashboard
• Backup/restore tooling
• Documentation site

Post-MVP

• Chat extension (provider registry, streaming, personas, tool system)
• 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
• Mermaid diagrams extension (nice-to-have)

Design Decisions Log

Decision	Rationale
Tasks → extension	Scheduler was the most entangled kernel component (~3,400 lines). Rebuilding as extension validates the trigger system and removes the worst compilation debt. Three trigger primitives (time, webhook, event) replace the monolithic scheduler.
Sessions removed	Channel-based sessions coupled to deleted chat system. Workflow instances need new storage model — either ext_data tables or a dedicated kernel table.
chat_only → custom	Stage mode chat_only implied chat as a kernel concept. Renamed to custom which delegates to a surface package, proving extension composability.
Providers removed from kernel	Provider configs, model catalog, routing policies — all moved to extension track. Kernel provides credential storage (connections) and the Starlark provider.complete module as the interface.
Kernel permissions simplified	From 16 chat-centric permissions to 6 platform permissions. Extensions define their own capability requirements in manifests.
Preact+htm retained	3KB runtime, no build step, works for extension authors without bundler config. KISS.
Single Docker image	Drop the frontend/backend split. Go binary + assets + migrations in one image. Simpler deployment, fewer moving parts.
Admin → RBAC group	The role column is pre-RBAC. v0.2.0 replaces it with a seeded "Admins" group + surface.admin.access grant. All users auto-join "Everyone" group. Admin middleware becomes a grant check, not a role check.
Settings cascade	RBAC controls scope auth (who can set at what level). user_overridable flag controls whether lower scopes can override higher. Two orthogonal axes, composes cleanly with extension manifests.
No new migrations pre-MVP	Edit existing migration SQL files in place. No migration chains until schema is in production.
Notes over Editor	First surface is Obsidian-style notes (rich text, folders, backlinks) instead of a code editor. Notes is a stronger E2E proof — it exercises ext_data, storage, and the SDK more fully than a pure-browser CM6 editor.
No built-in auto-install	Extensions ship in the repo but are not auto-installed. Distribution model TBD — explicit install only. Keeps the kernel clean and avoids opinionated defaults.
Chat → post-MVP	Chat extension (providers, streaming, personas) is valuable but not MVP-critical. The platform must prove itself with simpler surfaces first. Chat moves to post-MVP track.
Two trigger tiers	Event + webhook triggers are extension-declared (manifest contract, full sandbox). Scheduled tasks are user-created ad-hoc (restricted sandbox — no raw HTTP, no DB table creation, connections-only outbound). Separation keeps extension contracts static and user automation safe.
Scheduled task identity	Tasks run as their creator (RBAC-scoped). Admin-created tasks can opt into system context. Creator deactivation pauses the schedule. Ensures audit trail and permission boundaries.