logos-liblogos/docs/spec.md

Logos Core Library

Overall Description

Logos Core is a modular runtime platform for hosting and orchestrating independently developed modules. It provides a C-API shared library (liblogos_core) and a pluggable runtime system that together enable a module-based architecture for decentralised applications. The runtime system separates two orthogonal concerns — containers (how a module process is launched, managed, and communicates) and module loaders (how a specific type of module binary is resolved and loaded). These are composed into a CompositeRuntime that implements the ModuleRuntime interface. The default configuration pairs a SubprocessContainer (Boost.Process v2) with a QtPluginRuntime (Qt plugin loader) to spawn a logos_host_qt process per module.

The platform is designed to:

• Load, start, stop, and introspect modules at runtime
• Isolate each module in its own process for robustness and security
• Provide transparent inter-module RPC via a remote object registry
• Support token-based authentication for secure module-to-module communication
• Expose a C API so that host applications in any language can drive the runtime
• Support diverse container strategies (subprocess, Docker, in-process) and module formats (Qt plugin, WASM) through composable abstractions

Definitions & Acronyms

Term	Definition
Module	An independently developed module that implements PluginInterface and is dynamically loaded by the core
Core Library	liblogos_core — the shared library that provides the C API for module management
Module Host	logos_host_qt — a lightweight executable that loads a single Qt module in its own process (a logos_host symlink exists for backward compatibility)
Module Container	An abstract interface (ModuleContainer) that defines how a module's execution environment is managed — process lifecycle, I/O, and credential delivery (e.g. subprocess, Docker, in-process)
Module Loader	An abstract interface (ModuleLoader) that defines how a specific type of module binary is resolved and prepared for loading — host binary resolution and CLI argument construction (e.g. Qt plugin, WASM)
Module Runtime	An abstract interface (ModuleRuntime) that encapsulates a complete strategy for loading and managing modules. Implemented by CompositeRuntime, which pairs a ModuleContainer with a ModuleLoader
Composite Runtime	A concrete ModuleRuntime that composes a ModuleContainer and a ModuleLoader, delegating process lifecycle to the container and module-type resolution to the loader
Runtime Registry	The central registry (RuntimeRegistry) that selects the appropriate ModuleRuntime for a given module based on its format descriptor
Core Manager	A built-in module that exposes core functionality via RPC, allowing modules to manage the core without linking against the C API
Capability Module	A built-in module that handles authorization tokens for inter-module communication
RPC	Remote Procedure Call — the mechanism by which modules invoke methods on each other
IPC	Inter-Process Communication — the underlying transport
Token	A UUID-based authentication credential issued by the core or capability module for securing RPC calls
SDK	The logos-cpp-sdk — client library that abstracts connection management, token handling, and asynchronous invocation

Domain Model

System Architecture

At a high level, the Logos Core consists of:

Core Library — The C/C++ shared library (liblogos_core) that provides the API functions for lifecycle management, module loading/unloading, and introspection.

Runtime Registry — A central registry of ModuleRuntime implementations. When a module is loaded, the registry selects the first runtime whose canHandle() returns true for the module's descriptor. This decouples the core from any specific loading mechanism.

Module Containers — Pluggable implementations of the ModuleContainer interface that define the execution environment for modules. The default SubprocessContainer spawns a separate process per module using Boost.Process v2, manages I/O pipes, and handles token delivery over Unix sockets. Future containers could include Docker, in-process, or sandboxed environments.

Module Loaders — Pluggable implementations of the ModuleLoader interface that define how a specific type of module binary is prepared for loading. The default QtPluginRuntime resolves the logos_host_qt binary and constructs the appropriate CLI arguments. Future loaders could handle WASM (Extism), native shared libraries, or scripting runtimes.

Composite Runtime — A ModuleRuntime implementation that composes a ModuleContainer with a ModuleLoader. Its load() method first asks the loader to resolve the host binary and build arguments, then delegates process launch to the container. All other operations (sendToken, terminate, hasModule, pid) are forwarded to the container. The default composite runtime pairs SubprocessContainer with QtPluginRuntime.

Core Manager — A built-in module that runs in the core process and exposes core functionality as RPC methods, allowing remote modules to manage the core without linking against the C API directly.

Module Host — A lightweight executable (logos_host) that loads a single module in its own process. On startup it first receives an authentication token from the container (via Unix socket), then loads the Qt plugin and initializes LogosAPI with that token. This separation ensures container concerns (credential delivery) are handled independently from runtime concerns (plugin loading).

Capability Module — A built-in module that handles authorization for inter-module communication by issuing tokens and notifying both communicating parties.

Remote Object Registry — A registry that maintains a mapping of module names to remote object replicas and forwards method calls/events.

Process Architecture

Each module runs in its own process for isolation:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Host Application                                    │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  liblogos_core                                 │  │
│  │  ├─ RuntimeRegistry                            │  │
│  │  │   └─ CompositeRuntime (default)              │  │
│  │  │       ├─ SubprocessContainer (container)     │  │
│  │  │       └─ QtPluginRuntime (loader)            │  │
│  │  ├─ Core Manager (built-in module)             │  │
│  │  ├─ Capability Module (built-in module)        │  │
│  │  └─ Remote Object Registry                     │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│           │ IPC (local socket)                        │
│     ┌─────┼─────────┐                                │
│     ▼     ▼         ▼                                 │
│  ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐                             │
│  │host │ │host │ │host │  (logos_host_qt processes)   │
│  │mod A│ │mod B│ │mod C│                               │
│  └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘                             │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

• The core uses a RuntimeRegistry to select the appropriate ModuleRuntime for each module
• The default CompositeRuntime pairs a SubprocessContainer with a QtPluginRuntime
• SubprocessContainer manages process lifecycle (spawn, terminate, token delivery) using Boost.Process v2
• QtPluginRuntime resolves the logos_host_qt binary and builds CLI arguments for Qt plugin modules
• Modules with format == "qt-plugin" or no explicit format are handled by the default composite runtime
• Communication happens via the Logos API. Each module's transport set is configured per-module by the host: by default modules listen on a LocalSocket only, but the host can register a LogosTransportSet (LocalSocket, TCP, TCP+TLS) per module via logos_core_set_module_transports and the loader threads it through to the child via --transport-set
• Faulty or untrusted modules cannot crash the core or other modules
• Modules can be written in different languages as long as they implement the RPC protocol
• Alternative containers (Docker, in-process) and loaders (WASM, Extism) can be composed and registered

Token-Based Authentication

Since the remote object registry has no built-in security mechanisms, all RPC calls require an authentication token. This is transparent to module developers when using the SDK:

1. Core → Module: When a module is loaded, the core generates a UUID token and sends it to the module process via the container's sendToken() mechanism (currently a Unix domain socket managed by SubprocessContainer). The socket name is logos_token_<module-name> (scoped by LOGOS_INSTANCE_ID when set); the module name is treated as untrusted input and validated against an allowlist before any path is built (see Module name validation), so an untrusted name cannot turn removeServer()/listen() into a file-unlink/clobber primitive. On the child side, SubprocessTokenReceiver receives the token before the module loader initializes the plugin. The module uses this token to authenticate calls from the core.

   Listener authentication (CWE-940). The token socket lives at a predictable path ($TMPDIR/logos_token_<name>[_<instanceId>]) in a world-writable temp directory, so a local co-tenant could pre-bind that path before the legitimate child calls listen(). A bare connect() only proves something is listening — not that it is the child the core spawned. Before writing the token, the parent therefore authenticates the connected peer's kernel-reported credentials: it requires the peer to run as the core's own effective uid, and — when the child's pid is known (the normal load path, where launch() records it before sendToken() runs) — to be exactly that process. The check uses SO_PEERCRED on Linux (uid + pid) and, on macOS, getpeereid() for the uid plus getsockopt(SOL_LOCAL, LOCAL_PEERPID) for the pid — so both platforms enforce the uid + pid gate. Any mismatch is fatal: the parent refuses to write the token rather than risk leaking it to a squatter, and the send fails. Residual risk: when the child pid is unknown (the placeholder path used by some callers) only the uid gate applies, so a same-uid co-tenant could still receive the token; and even with the pid gate a same-uid attacker can in principle race for the path between the child's listen() and the parent's connect(). Closing that window entirely requires handing the child a pre-connected socketpair() fd instead of a named path, eliminating the predictable socket altogether — a planned hardening. The child/receiver side (SubprocessTokenReceiver) has a symmetric exposure — it accepts the connecting peer without a credential check — and needs the mirror-image hardening; the socketpair() redesign would close both halves at once.

2. Module → Module: When modules need to communicate, they request authorization from the Capability Module, which issues a token and notifies both parties. The modules then use this token for subsequent requests.

3. Token Storage: Each module stores tokens in a thread-safe TokenManager (part of the SDK). ModuleProxy validates tokens before dispatching method calls.

Token-handoff socket hardening

The Core → Module handoff socket lives at a public, predictable path under the world-writable temp directory ($TMPDIR, default /tmp), so the local IPC channel is hardened against a same-host attacker injecting or intercepting the auth token.

Threat (F-012). On a shared/multi-user host, an attacker under a different uid knows a module (e.g. chat_module) is about to load — module names are not secret — and races the parent by repeatedly connecting to the predictable socket path /tmp/logos_token_chat_module. If it wins the connection, it sends a token T of its choosing; the child accepts T verbatim as its auth credential. The attacker then presents T on inter-module calls and is authorized as that module, bypassing the capability/token gate.

The hardening closes this on both sides of the handoff:

• Owner-only socket node. The child binds the QLocalServer with UserAccessOption, creating the socket node with mode 0600. A process running under a different uid cannot connect() to it, closing the window where a co-tenant could race the parent and hand the child an attacker-chosen token.
• Mutual peer-uid authentication. Both sides verify the other end's uid before trusting it, via a Qt-free helper (socketPeerIsSameUid(), SO_PEERCRED on Linux / getpeereuid() on BSD/macOS). The child rejects any connecting peer whose uid is not its own; the parent refuses to write the token to a listener it did not authenticate as the same uid (guarding against a hostile listener planted at the predictable path). The check fails closed — a bad fd or syscall error is treated as untrusted.

This authenticates the connecting uid, not the specific parent/child process; a same-uid sibling could still race the socket. Closing that residual gap (a per-user 0700 socket directory and/or a pid check) is left as future hardening.

Module Metadata

Every module ships a metadata.json referenced by Qt's Q_PLUGIN_METADATA macro. Required fields:

Field	Purpose
name	Unique module identifier. Enforced, not advisory: it must match the installed package name at discovery time and the plugin's name() return value at load time — a mismatch on either is refused (see Discovery and Loading).
version	Semantic version string
description	Human-readable description
author	Module author or organization
type	Module type (e.g., "core")
category	Module category for organization
main	Main module class name
dependencies	Array of required module names
capabilities	Array of capabilities this module provides
include	Optional array of extra files (shared libs, resources) to bundle

Module name validation

A module's name originates from its embedded plugin metadata, which is untrusted input — a malicious installed .lgx can declare any name. That name is then used as a single filesystem path segment for the per-module token-handoff socket (logos_token_<name> resolved under the temp directory by unix_socket_path.h), as the registry map key, and as the RPC target.

The attack (CWE-22): a malicious module declares name='../<x>' (or a name colliding with another module's socket). The / or .. escapes the temp directory and moves where the parent connects to deliver the auth token and where the child binds its listener. A local attacker who pre-binds that resolved path captures the per-module auth token — which grants the module's full RPC privileges.

The core therefore validates the name against an allowlist at the registry trust boundary (ModuleRegistry::processModuleInternal), so every downstream consumer inherits the guarantee, and again defensively at the socket sinks (SubprocessContainer::sendTokenToProcess and SubprocessTokenReceiver::receive) so the socket filename never depends on raw input even if a future path bypasses registration. The shared rule (logos::isValidModuleName in src/logos_core/module_name_validation.h):

• non-empty and at most 64 bytes;
• every byte is [A-Za-z0-9_-] — rejecting /, \, whitespace, NUL, . and any other separator;
• . and .. are rejected outright.

A module whose name fails validation is dropped during discovery (logged and skipped), never registered, and never loaded.

Features & Requirements

Module Lifecycle

Discovery

1. Core scans configured module directories for .so, .dylib, or .dll files
2. For each file, metadata is extracted via QPluginLoader
3. A module's identity is bound to the trusted package name (the manifest.json name the package manager scanned and dedupes on), not to the name a plugin embeds in its own metadata. If a plugin's embedded name disagrees with its package name, the plugin is refused (not registered under either name). This prevents a package installed under an innocuous name from shipping a binary that claims a privileged identity (e.g. capability_module) and inheriting that module's token/trust relationships.
4. The name is validated against the module-name allowlist (see Module name validation); modules with an invalid name are logged and skipped
5. Modules are added to the "known" list without being loaded
6. Multiple module directories can be configured

The module name comes from untrusted plugin JSON metadata and later becomes a filesystem/socket path segment (the per-module token socket logos_token_<name> and the instance-persistence directory). It is therefore validated against an allowlist at the trust boundary: during processing (ModuleRegistry::processModuleInternal) a module whose name is not a valid identifier — empty, ., .., longer than 64 bytes, or containing any byte outside [A-Za-z0-9_-] (so any path separator, whitespace or embedded NUL) — is rejected and never added to the registry. The same check is applied as defense-in-depth at the token-socket sink in the host child (SubprocessTokenReceiver::receive), because a directly-invoked host re-derives the name from the --name CLI argument without going through the registry; the LOGOS_INSTANCE_ID it also appends is checked as a safe path segment (logos::isSafePathSegment). This prevents a crafted name such as seg/../victim from escaping the socket/temp directory and driving LocalServer::removeServer() into unlinking an attacker-chosen file. See logos::isValidModuleName (src/logos_core/module_name_validation.h) and the Module name validation section.

Loading

1. Core locates the module file for the requested module name
2. Core resolves dependencies and loads them first (topological sort with circular dependency detection)
3. If a persistence base path is configured, core resolves an instance ID and persistence directory for the module (reusing an existing instance or creating a new one)
4. Core builds a ModuleDescriptor (name, path, format, module dirs, persistence path, transport-set JSON if registered via logos_core_set_module_transports)
5. Core asks the RuntimeRegistry to select() a runtime for the descriptor (the default CompositeRuntime handles "qt-plugin" format and modules with no explicit format)
6. The selected runtime's load() is called: a. The ModuleLoader resolves the host binary (e.g. logos_host_qt) and builds CLI arguments (including --transport-set if configured) b. The ModuleContainer launches the process with the resolved binary and arguments
7. Core generates a UUID authentication token
8. Core sends the token to the module via the runtime's sendToken() (delegates to the container, which authenticates the receiving peer's credentials before writing the secret — see Token-Based Authentication)
9. Host process receives the token via SubprocessTokenReceiver (container concern), then loads the module plugin and calls initLogos(LogosAPI*) (loader/runtime concern). As a defense-in-depth identity check, the host refuses to initialize the plugin if its name() does not match the name it was loaded as (the trusted registry key passed by the core) — a binary cannot run, or receive tokens, under a name it does not implement
10. The LogosAPI instance exposes modulePath, instanceId, and instancePersistencePath as properties
11. Host process registers the module with the remote object registry
12. Core waits for registration and records the module as loaded (along with the runtime and handle)

Unloading

1. The module's host process is terminated
2. The module is removed from the loaded modules list
3. Associated tokens and state are cleaned up

Cascade Unloading

logos_core_unload_module(name, true) unloads the named module together with every currently loaded module that transitively depends on it. Teardown order is leaves-first (dependents before dependencies) so no process is left briefly pointing at a terminated parent. The call is serialised with ordinary load/unload operations under a single lock span — a late-arriving load cannot interleave between tearing down the dependents and the target.

Dependency Resolution

• Dependencies are declared in each module's metadata.json
• logos_core_load_module(name, true) performs topological sort
• Circular dependencies are detected and cause the load to fail (returns 0)
• Missing/unknown dependencies cause the load to fail (returns 0)
• The resolver itself (DependencyResolver::resolve) returns a ResolveResult containing the partial topological order, a list of missing dependency names, and a cycle flag. The load path treats any resolution error as a hard failure; the teardown path (unloadModuleWithDependents) uses the partial order best-effort
• Dependencies are loaded in correct order before the requesting module
• The core maintains an in-process dependency graph with both forward and reverse edges. The reverse edges are re-derived from the forward edges at the tail of every discovery or metadata-processing pass, so cascade unload and dependent queries answer from memory without re-reading manifests from disk.

Process Monitoring

• CPU percentage, CPU time, and memory usage tracked per module process
• Statistics returned as JSON via logos_core_get_module_stats()
• Core Manager process is excluded from stats
• Not available on iOS

Thread Safety

The C API is designed to be safe for use from multi-threaded host applications:

• Load/unload operations (load_module, unload_module) are serialised — only one runs at a time, so rapid concurrent load/unload cycles on the same or different modules do not produce data races. The cascade variant (with_dependents=true) holds the lock for its full leaves-first teardown.
• Read-only queries (get_known_modules, get_loaded_modules) use a shared reader-writer lock and may execute concurrently with each other and with load/unload operations.
• Module discovery (refresh_modules) is protected by the registry's own write lock.
• Lifecycle functions (init, start, cleanup) are not thread-safe and must be called from a single thread.

Dev vs Portable Builds

The platform supports two build variants:

• Dev build (default): Module loading looks for LGX variants with -dev suffix (e.g., linux-amd64-dev). Used in Nix/development environments.
• Portable build: Looks for portable variants without suffix (e.g., linux-amd64). Used in self-contained distributed applications.

API Description

Core Lifecycle

Function	Purpose
logos_core_init(argc, argv)	Initialize global state, optionally set module directory. Creates a QCoreApplication if one does not exist.
logos_core_add_modules_dir(path)	Add a module directory to scan (duplicates ignored).
logos_core_start()	Scan module directories, process metadata, create Core Manager, load built-in modules, start remote object registry.
logos_core_cleanup()	Unload all modules, stop processes, clean up global state.

Module Management

Function	Purpose
logos_core_get_loaded_modules() → char**	Return null-terminated array of loaded module names. Caller must free.
logos_core_get_known_modules() → char**	Return null-terminated array of all discovered modules. Caller must free.
logos_core_load_module(name, with_dependencies) → int	Load a module by name. When with_dependencies is true, resolves the dependency tree and loads in topological order. Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure.
logos_core_unload_module(name, with_dependents) → int	Terminate the module's process and remove it. When with_dependents is true, cascade unloads every loaded transitive dependent leaves-first. Returns 1 only if every step succeeded.
logos_core_get_module_dependencies(name, recursive) → char**	Return null-terminated array of modules that name depends on (forward edges). With recursive=true, walks the forward dependency graph transitively via BFS. Unknown names yield an empty array. Caller must free.
logos_core_get_module_dependents(name, recursive) → char**	Return null-terminated array of modules that depend on name (reverse edges). With recursive=true, walks the reverse dependency graph transitively via BFS. Unknown names yield an empty array. Caller must free.
logos_core_process_module(path) → char*	Read a module file's metadata and register it as known without loading. Returns the module name or NULL. Caller must free.
logos_core_set_module_transports(name, json)	Register a per-module LogosTransportSet (JSON, see logos-cpp-sdk shape) for the named module. The runtime forwards it to the child via --transport-set so the child's LogosAPIProvider binds every transport instead of only the global default LocalSocket. Must be called before the module is loaded. NULL or empty clears any previously-registered entry.
logos_core_set_access_policy(json)	Install the inter-module access policy: a JSON document with version, mode (e.g. enforce), and restrictions mapping each target module to its allowedCallers allowlist. Core parses it and, once capability_module loads, registers the concrete per-target restrictions with it via registerRestriction (authenticated by capability_module's auth token, so only the trusted core channel can register or relax restrictions — a peer module cannot); capability_module then refuses to mint a token (in requestModule) for a caller not in a restricted target's allowlist, so the call can never proceed. Only mode: "enforce" activates gating. Under an enforce policy, restrictions are also derived automatically from the dependency graph — a module may only call modules it declared as a dependency, so for each loaded target core registers its loaded dependents plus a trusted set (core, core_service) as the allowed callers (re-pushed on every load/unload). An explicit restrictions entry overrides the derived set for that target verbatim. Call before modules load. NULL or empty clears any previously-set policy.

Token and Monitoring

Function	Purpose
logos_core_get_token(key) → char*	Return the auth token for a key. Caller must free. NULL if not found.
logos_core_get_module_stats() → char*	Return JSON array of CPU/memory stats per loaded module. Caller must free. Not available on iOS.

Core Manager Module (RPC Surface)

The Core Manager is a built-in module exposing core functionality to remote modules:

Method	Purpose
setModulesDirectory(directory)	Set the module search directory.
start()	Start the core's registry and load built-in modules.
cleanup()	Unload all modules and shut down.
getLoadedModules() → std::vector<std::string>	Return names of loaded modules.
getKnownModules() → QJsonArray	Return all known modules with loaded flag.
loadModule(name) → bool	Load a module by name.
unloadModule(name) → bool	Unload a module by name.
processModule(filePath) → std::string	Read a module file's metadata and register it.
getModuleMethods(name) → QJsonArray	Introspect a module's methods via Qt meta-object system.

Module Implementation

A complete module must implement the Logos Module interface.

Inter-Module Communication

Modules communicate using the SDK's generated C++ wrappers:

logos-><module_name>.<method>(args...)       // call a remote method
logos-><module_name>.on("event", callback)   // subscribe to events
logos-><module_name>.trigger("event", data)  // emit an event

The SDK abstracts away registry lookup, token management, and async invocation.

Supported Platforms

• macOS (aarch64-darwin, x86_64-darwin)
• Linux (aarch64-linux, x86_64-linux)

Future Work

• Signature support — Signing and verifying module packages. Required to fully close the Module Identity & Trust residual: enforcing REQUIRE-mode signature checks for reserved/privileged module names so a malicious package cannot claim a privileged name (e.g. capability_module) by winning scan-time dedup from a user-writable directory
• Additional containers — Register alternative ModuleContainer implementations (e.g. Docker, in-process, sandboxed) that can be composed with any loader
• Additional loaders — Register alternative ModuleLoader implementations (e.g. WASM/Extism, native shared libraries) that can be composed with any container
• Cross-language modules — Modules in languages other than C++
• Move away from Qt — Logos API will move away from Qt. Process management has been migrated from Qt (QProcess) to Boost.Process v2, and Qt container/utility types (QString, QStringList, QHash, QDir, QFile, QUuid) have been replaced with standard C++ and Boost equivalents (std::string, std::vector, std::unordered_map, std::filesystem, boost::uuids). The container/loader separation (ModuleContainer / ModuleLoader / CompositeRuntime / RuntimeRegistry) decouples the core from any specific loading or execution strategy. Remaining Qt dependencies (event loop, module loading, remote objects) are isolated in QtPluginRuntime, SubprocessTokenReceiver, and the logos_host_qt binary.