@tao.js/transport-tck

Transport conformance kit for tao.js — the executable form of the ENVELOPE-SPEC.md §9 wire contract and the transport-relevant behavioral invariants (§10).

A custom transport (message queue, WebSocket, BroadcastChannel, another language's implementation behind a loopback) proves it honors the TAO signal-plane contract by passing this kit. The built-in @tao.js/socket.io transport passes it; so should yours.

Usage

Give the kit a factory producing a connected pair of Kernels bridged by your transport (loopback in-process is fine), from any test runner:

import { Kernel } from '@tao.js/core';
import { assertTransportCompliance } from '@tao.js/transport-tck';

test('my transport honors the wire contract', async () => {
  await assertTransportCompliance(async () => {
    const a = new Kernel();
    const b = new Kernel();
    const link = await connectMyTransport(a, b); // your code
    return { a, b, close: () => link.teardown() };
  });
});

runTransportCompliance(makeLink, opts) returns structured results instead of throwing: { pass, results: [{ name, pass, detail }] }. A fresh link is created per check. opts.timeoutMs (default 2000) bounds each delivery wait.

What it checks

1. delivery — a signal entered on A reaches handlers on B, trigram and datagram intact, exactly once.
2. echo suppression + bidirectional reflex — the arriving signal is not sent back to its origin, but descendants chained on the receiving side are.
3. multi-hop emission — every hop of a chain crosses, not just the entry.
4. chain continuity — with a Tracer on both ends, one cascade crossing A→B→A carries one traceId with exact cross-process parentage.
5. cascade scoping — sender-side cascade tags (process-local affinity, live references) never cross; affinity is translated by the transport, not copied.

Most custom transports should build on the boundary primitives in @tao.js/utils (wireEnvelope, enterFromWire, createTransport) — transports built on them pass this kit by construction.