Connect

Connect is a host-neutral integration protocol plus reference adapters for connecting a subscription provider to a client. Panels and clients sit at the edge of this contract; the protocol does not depend on a particular panel brand or proxy kernel.

The first repository release ships two packages:

• org.zerodenet.connect.zboard: provider-side reference adapter for ZBoard.
• org.zerodenet.connect.znet-sink: client-side reference adapter for ZNet Sink.

A different panel can connect by implementing the provider side of the published protocol. A different client can implement the consumer side and map delivered subscriptions into its own configuration pipeline. Kernel selection and execution remain entirely behind the client host; changing Zero to another kernel does not change the Connect protocol.

The first release authorizes an account, registers a device, renews that authorization, lists entitled subscriptions, delivers a selected subscription through the client's existing subscription-to-configuration pipeline, and presents provider messages in a read-only client view with host notifications for newly unread items.

Compatibility model

• A panel that natively implements the provider contract is directly compatible; it does not need to imitate ZBoard endpoints or token behavior.
• A panel without native support may ship a provider adapter, as zboard/ does initially.
• A client implements the consumer contract once, then maps subscriptions to whichever kernels it supports. The provider never chooses or controls that kernel.
• Marketplace host targets describe installable adapter packages, not the set of remote providers or kernels compatible with the protocol.

Current status

This repository contains the P0 protocol and installable reference adapters for ZBoard and ZNet Sink. The ZBoard adapter serves its manifest-declared public routes through the host's generic plugin route API; the client adapter performs provider verification, device authorization, managed subscription application/manual refresh, read-only messages, and the same renewal/subscription/ message chain under a host-owned scheduled task. The same signed packages have passed installed- host and cross-product acceptance on committed, unmodified host baselines. The client package now uses the signed multi-file application format rather than the earlier Base64 JSON envelope.

See the clean-host capability audit for the host boundary and the plugin capability status for what Connect itself already implements.

Layout

protocol/       shared versioned protocol inventory; no host implementation
zboard/         ZBoard package, native provider runtime, pages, and domain code
znet-sink/      ZNet Sink component, signed management page, and binding code
marketplace/    unified-product registration and release templates
tests/interop/  cross-host contract checks and fixtures
docs/           architecture, evidence baselines, gaps, and delivery status

Run the dependency-free checks with:

make check

Packaging, signing, publishing, and host installation remain separate gates. No signing key belongs in this repository. make dev VERSION=0.0.2-dev.YYYYMMDDHHMM builds and independently verifies five ZBoard packages plus one ZNet Sink package only when zboard/release-readiness.json records the accepted committed host baselines. Publication still requires a release tag and a successful GitHub workflow; a local build alone is not a published Connect release.