88 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
4 KiB
Markdown
# Methanium Transport Protocol
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MTP is a modular transport protocol built on QUIC. It provides version-negotiable type maps, a binary codec, cryptographic primitives (classical and post-quantum), and host/client connection management with mutual authentication.
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## Getting Started
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Add the `mtp` crate with your desired features:
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```toml
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[dependencies]
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mtp = { path = "..", features = ["client", "crypto"] }
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```
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The `mtp` umbrella crate re-exports all sub-crates behind feature flags:
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| Feature | Pulls in | Enables |
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| -------- | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
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| `crypto` | `mtp::crypto` | AEAD, signatures, KEM, KDF, hashing |
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| `host` | `mtp::host`, `mtp::codec::registry` | QUIC server, version negotiation |
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| `client` | `mtp::client` | QUIC client connections |
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Core crates (`codec`, `transport`, `common`, `type_map`) are always available.
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```rust
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use mtp::codec::{CommunicationValue, DataValue};
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use mtp::type_map::{CommunicationType, DataType, TypeMap};
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use mtp::transport::{Sender, Receiver};
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#[cfg(feature = "crypto")]
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use mtp::crypto::ChaCha20Poly1305;
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```
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## Sub-crates
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All sub-crates are re-exported through the `mtp` facade and can be referenced as `mtp::codec`, `mtp::transport`, `mtp::common`, `mtp::type_map`, `mtp::crypto`, `mtp::host`, `mtp::client`.
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### Codec
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The codec crate handles binary encoding and decoding of MTP packets using Communication Types and Data Types resolved through the type-map registry.
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**Data Value types:**
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- Container (key-value map of typed entries)
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- Encrypted Container (requires `crypto`)
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- Signed Container (requires `crypto`)
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- SignedEncrypted Container (requires `crypto`)
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- Signed Integer (i128)
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- Unsigned Integer (u128)
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- Boolean
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- Float (exponent + mantissa)
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- String
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- Array
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- Bytes
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- Null
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Encoding and decoding use a `TypeMap` to resolve type names to wire IDs. The `CommunicationValue` struct provides the frame format (type, flags, optional id/sender/receiver, data payload, optional signature).
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### Transport
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The transport crate wraps QUIC using `wtransport`. It provides `Sender`/`Receiver` for bidirectional message passing over uni-directional QUIC streams. Supports two send modes: persistent stream and single-stream-per-message.
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### Host
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The host crate provides `MTPHost` with built-in version negotiation and optional authenticated login/registration (requires `crypto`). Accepts connections, negotiates protocol version, and returns `MTPConnection` handles.
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### Client
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The client crate provides `MTPClient` that connects to an MTP host. Supports `connect` (unauthenticated), `auth_connect` (login), and `auth_register` (registration) when built with `crypto`.
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### Common
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Common defines shared error types (`CodecError`, `CommunicationError`) used across all crates.
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### Type Map
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The type-map build script reads a YAML configuration to generate `CommunicationType` and `DataType` enums at compile time. The runtime crate provides `TypeMap`, `Version`, `CommunicationTypeId`, `DataTypeId`, and the multi-version `Registry` (requires `registry` feature).
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### Crypto Stack
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| Crate | Audited? | Notes |
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| ---------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
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| ml-dsa | No | NIST vectors pass; regression bug fixed Jan 2026 |
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| ed25519-dalek | Yes | Used by Signal, Diem |
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| chacha20poly1305 | Yes | NCC Group audit, Dec 2019 |
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| aes-gcm | Yes | NCC Group audit, Dec 2019 |
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| hkdf | No | Simple construction; well-reviewed |
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| sha2 | No | Standard construction; widely reviewed |
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| zeroize | No | Simple; widely used |
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| mlkem-tls | No | mlkem-rs backend unaudited |
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