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goblins skill

Q: What is the difference between ($ ...) and (<- ...)?

($ ...) performs a synchronous call intended for local (same-vat) interactions. (<- ...) is asynchronous and used for calls that may cross vat or peer boundaries; it supports remote delivery and callbacks.

Q: What is a vat in goblins?

A vat is an isolated execution context that hosts actors and an actormap. It enforces capability isolation so behaviors only run with the references explicitly provided.

safe

/skills/goblins

This skill explains and applies a distributed object capability approach to enable secure peer-to-peer interactions using CapTP.

npx playbooks add skill plurigrid/asi --skill goblins

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SKILL.md

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---
name: goblins
description: Distributed object capability system (6.5K lines info).
metadata:
  trit: 0
---

# goblins

Distributed object capability system (6.5K lines info).

## Model

```
peer → vat → actormap → {refr: behavior}
```

## Operators

```scheme
($  obj method args...)   ; Sync (near only)
(<- obj method args...)   ; Async (near/far)
```

## Vat

```scheme
(define vat (spawn-vat))
(define greeter
  (vat-spawn vat
    (lambda (bcom)
      (lambda (name)
        (format #f "Hello, ~a!" name)))))

($ greeter "World")  ; => "Hello, World!"
```

## OCapN

Object Capability Network for secure p2p via CapTP.

Overview

This skill describes goblins, a distributed object-capability system built around vats, actor maps, and capability references. It explains the core model, communication operators, and the use of CapTP for secure peer-to-peer capability transfer. The content focuses on practical patterns for building secure, distributed applications with object capabilities.

How this skill works

goblins models computation as peer → vat → actormap → {refr: behavior}, where a vat isolates execution and actormap holds capability references mapped to behaviors. Two primary operators are provided: ($ obj method args...) for synchronous, local-only calls, and (<- obj method args...) for asynchronous calls that may cross vat or peer boundaries. CapTP (Object Capability Network) handles secure capability exchange and peer-to-peer message delivery.

When to use it

Building distributed systems that require strong encapsulation and least-privilege interactions.
Creating p2p applications that need secure capability transfer and revocation semantics.
Implementing microservices or multi-tenant hosts where isolation between units is essential.
Prototyping actor-style concurrency with clear local vs. remote call semantics.
Managing IoT fleets where devices hold distinct capabilities and need controlled delegation.

Best practices

Keep sensitive resources behind vat boundaries to enforce capability-based access control.
Use ($ ...) for synchronous local interactions and (<- ...) for asynchronous remote or cross-vat calls.
Design small, composable behaviors (refr -> behavior) and map them in the actormap for clarity.
Rely on CapTP handshakes for establishing trust and avoid sending raw credentials over the network.
Plan lifecycle and cleanup for vats and refs to avoid stale capabilities and memory leaks.

Example use cases

A secure p2p messaging app where capabilities grant limited access to send, read, or revoke messages.
A multi-tenant server that isolates tenant logic inside vats while sharing a minimal gateway capability.
An IoT orchestration layer where device capabilities are minted and delegated dynamically via CapTP.
A distributed computation platform that composes small behaviors across peers with explicit async calls.

FAQ

What is the difference between ($ ...) and (<- ...)?

($ ...) performs a synchronous call intended for local (same-vat) interactions. (<- ...) is asynchronous and used for calls that may cross vat or peer boundaries; it supports remote delivery and callbacks.

What is a vat in goblins?

A vat is an isolated execution context that hosts actors and an actormap. It enforces capability isolation so behaviors only run with the references explicitly provided.