every.channel: sanitized baseline

evolution/proposals/ECP-0008-iroh-discovery-transport.md

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# ECP-0008: iroh discovery + transport design
+
+Status: Draft
+
+## Problem
+
+We need a discovery and transport layer that can survive hostile networks, reduce central points of failure, and support stream swarms across independently hosted relays.
+
+## Decision
+
+Adopt iroh as the mesh substrate with the following design:
+
+- **Dial by public key**: every node has an iroh endpoint identity; connections are established by endpoint id with automatic hole punching and relay fallback.
+- **MoQ over iroh**: run MoQ sessions over iroh QUIC connections using a dedicated ALPN (e.g. `every.channel/moq/0`).
+- **Discovery via gossip**: use iroh-gossip to disseminate stream catalogs and track announcements, keyed by `StreamId`.
+- **Transport flexibility**: support iroh custom transports (e.g. Tor) for nodes that need anonymity or censorship resistance.
+- **Multipath first**: leverage iroh’s multipath QUIC capabilities to increase resilience and adapt to changing network conditions.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Nodes can join the swarm with minimal configuration and no centralized registry.
+- The mesh can degrade gracefully under takedown pressure by routing through relays or Tor.
+
+## Alternatives considered
+
+- Centralized rendezvous servers: rejected due to fragility and governance risk.
+- Manual peer lists: rejected due to onboarding friction.
+
+## Rollout / teardown
+
+- Add an iroh transport crate that exposes a `connect` API for MoQ sessions.
+- Implement gossip-based stream catalog synchronization.
+- Add optional Tor transport profile for high-risk regions.