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ADR-0076: objectql is the data engine — relocate metadata management (protocol) out of it; enforce the boundary; defer the engine repo-split

Status: Proposed (2026-06-28, rev. 4 — data-driven; centerpiece corrected to protocol relocation) — v12 assessment Follow-up: ADR-0078 — segments the ObjectStackProtocol god-interface (the deeper contract shape this ADR did not address; engine stays a pure primitive). Deciders: ObjectStack Protocol Architects Builds on: ADR-0005 (sys_metadata overlay substrate), ADR-0025 (plugin package distribution), ADR-0033 (open-core boundary), ADR-0048 (package id is the addressing unit), ADR-0066 (secure-by-default, posture-gated bypass) Consumers: new @objectstack/metadata-protocol (receives protocol + sys-metadata-repository + metadata-diagnostics), @objectstack/objectql (loses protocol → becomes a lean data engine; keeps a back-compat re-export), @objectstack/metadata-core (gains the SysMetadataEngine interface), @objectstack/plugin-security, @objectstack/plugin-sharing, @objectstack/spec, and out-of-tree embedders — notably ../objectbase (its gateway).

Premise: objectql was conceived as "a metadata-driven ORM that replaces TypeORM." It has outgrown that framing: it is a metadata-driven data engine sitting on top of knex (driver-sql → knex@^3.2.10). The complexity the team feels is not the engine; it is everything layered above and beside it — including protocol.ts (268KB of sys_metadata management / draft-publish / package ownership / locks) which lives inside the objectql package by historical accident, not by design.

Trigger: ../objectbase's gateway wants to embed only the objectql engine without the platform. While scoping that, a sharper observation surfaced: protocol.ts is metadata-domain code mis-located in the data-engine package. Measurement confirms it (below). Relocating it — not a subpath, not a repo split — is the correct, cheap, now move that makes objectql lean by construction.

TL;DR

  1. knex is a SQL query builder objectql already uses, not an ORM to switch to. Retreating forfeits the one-library / one-object-model goal and removes none of the felt complexity.
  2. protocol.ts does not belong in the objectql package. It implements ObjectStackProtocol (the contract lives in @objectstack/spec), manages sys_metadata, locks, commits, package ownership — pure metadata-domain work. It uses the engine only as storage, through a 5-method SysMetadataEngine interface injected at runtime.
  3. Measured coupling makes the relocation cheap. Last month: protocol.ts changed 47×; only 3 (6%) also touched engine.ts, while 20 (43%) touched metadata-core/metadata/spec. Blast radius of the move is 2 source files (plugin.ts wiring, index.ts re-export). Its two helpers (sys-metadata-repository, metadata-diagnostics) depend only on metadata-core/spec/types and move with it.
  4. Decision (now): relocate protocol + helpers into a new @objectstack/metadata-protocol package between metadata-core (pure contracts) and metadata (plugin). objectql becomes a lean data engine by construction — the 268KB genuinely leaves the package; the gateway depends on objectql with no protocol. Add a boundary ratchet so the engine stays pure. Add the capability/profile contract for optional permissions. Formula stays in core.
  5. Decision (later, separate concern): extracting the engine itself into a standalone repo remains trigger-gated on its cross-package commit ratio (currently 88% for engine.ts/registry.ts). That is orthogonal to — and unblocked by — the protocol relocation.

Context: the layers

Layer What it is Where it lives today Where it should live
SQL generation dialect/pool/binding knex (in driver-sql) unchanged
Data engine QueryAST→driver; CRUD; hooks; validation; formula objectql/src/{engine,registry,validation,hook-wrappers} unchanged (this is @objectstack/objectql)
Metadata management ObjectStackProtocol impl; sys_metadata CRUD; draft/publish; locks; ownership; diagnostics objectql/src/protocol.ts (mis-located) + metadata-core + metadata plugin new @objectstack/metadata-protocol
Governance RLS, sharing, field perms plugin-security, plugin-sharing (already separate) unchanged

Decision data

protocol.ts commits last month:        47
  also touched engine.ts:               3  (6%)    ← protocol↔engine ≈ decoupled
  also touched metadata-core/metadata/spec: 20  (43%)  ← its real neighbors
import sites of ObjectStackProtocolImplementation (source): plugin.ts, index.ts   (+ co-located helpers)
engine surface protocol needs: SysMetadataEngine = { find, findOne, insert, update, delete, transaction? }  (injected)

(for contrast) engine.ts/registry.ts commits last month: 50, of which 44 (88%) cross-package → engine itself NOT separable yet

Decision

D1 — Relocate protocol out of objectql into @objectstack/metadata-protocol [new — the centerpiece]

  • Move protocol.ts, sys-metadata-repository.ts, metadata-diagnostics.ts from @objectstack/objectql into a new @objectstack/metadata-protocol package.
  • Move the SysMetadataEngine interface into @objectstack/metadata-core; metadata-protocol depends on metadata-core + spec + core (for IDataEngine) + types — not on the objectql package. The concrete engine is injected at runtime (as today).
  • @objectstack/objectql re-exports ObjectStackProtocolImplementation from the new package for back-compat (the only two source importers — plugin.ts, index.ts — are updated; plugin.ts keeps wiring it, now imported from metadata-protocol).
  • Result: objectql is a lean data engine by construction — 268KB of metadata logic physically leaves the engine package. The gateway depends on @objectstack/objectql and never pulls protocol. (This replaces the rev.3 ./core subpath proposal, which was a workaround for the false premise that protocol must stay in objectql. A subpath remains an optional later polish to also exclude the small ObjectQLPlugin/kernel-factory glue.)

D2 — Boundary ratchet keeps the engine pure [new — keystone]

A CI test asserts @objectstack/objectql does not import @objectstack/metadata-protocol / plugin / kernel (the dependency points one way: metadata-protocol → objectql-public-interface, never back). This makes the relocation durable and creates backpressure against the engine re-absorbing metadata/platform concerns — the root cause of the original complexity. Fits the team's existing ratchet culture (liveness / api-surface / authz-matrix).

D3 — Capability + profile contract for optional governance [new, extends ADR-0066]

Required capabilities are derived from object declarations (RLS block → rls; requiredPermissions → permissions; sharing → sharing). Plugins declare provides: [...]. The host validates at boot; default fail-closed. A host may run without the authz surface via an explicit profile: 'trusted' | 'internal' — two-key: build-time plugin absence + explicit runtime assertion; production env-gated. Lifts ADR-0066 posture-gated bypass to the assembly layer.

D4 — Formula stays in core [ruled]

@objectstack/formula is used by engine.ts (formula fields), validation/rule-validator.ts, hook-wrappers.ts, seed-loader.ts — a hard dependency of the engine. cel-js is small and not the complexity driver.

D5 — One object model, authored once [existing → ruled]

Definitions live in @objectstack/spec (zero runtime deps); gateway and backend import the same *.object.ts and call the same engine; only the installed capability set differs.

D6 — Capabilities attach uniformly across assembly modes [existing → ruled]

RLS/permissions/sharing attach via engine middleware (ql.registerMiddleware(...)) + hooks — kernel-independent. Ratify this as the public, supported capability-attachment API.

D7 — Engine repo-split is a separate, trigger-gated future phase [sequencing]

Extracting the engine into a standalone repo (the objectui sibling-link, no-publish model) is gated on the engine's cross-package commit ratio (currently 88%) falling. This ADR's relocation (D1) is independent of and unblocked by D7. objectui separates cleanly because it is a stable downstream leaf; the engine is an upstream foundation still in 88% cross-cutting co-evolution — separating it now would reproduce the overhead that caused the earlier @objectql/core merge-back.

Feasibility (verified against current source)

Claim Status Evidence
protocol is metadata-domain, not engine ✅ implements ObjectStackProtocol (spec/api); manages sys_metadata/locks/commits/ownership
protocol decoupled from the engine ✅ 6% commit co-change with engine.ts; needs only the 5-method SysMetadataEngine (injected)
relocation blast radius is tiny ✅ only plugin.ts + index.ts import the impl; helpers depend only on metadata-core/spec/types
splitting protocol saves engine deps ✅ (for the engine package) protocol's deps (spec/*, core, metadata-core) leave with it; engine keeps only its own
engine itself separable now ❌ 88% of engine/registry commits cross-package → D7 deferred

Worked example

// Gateway (objectbase) — depends on the (now lean) engine; protocol is simply not in the package
import { ObjectQL } from '@objectstack/objectql';
import { MemoryDriver } from '@objectstack/driver-memory';
import { Account } from '@shared/objects/account.object'; // SAME definition as the backend

const engine = new ObjectQL({ profile: 'trusted' });
engine.registerDriver(new MemoryDriver(), true);
await engine.init();
engine.registry.registerObject(Account);
await engine.find('account', { where: { active: true } });

// Backend — adds metadata management + governance on top of the same engine
import { createObjectQLKernel } from '@objectstack/objectql';
import { ObjectStackProtocolImplementation } from '@objectstack/metadata-protocol';
import { SecurityPlugin } from '@objectstack/plugin-security';

Phasing

  1. P1 — Relocate protocol to @objectstack/metadata-protocol (move 3 files; move SysMetadataEngine into metadata-core; update plugin.ts import + index.ts re-export). Behavior unchanged.
  2. P2 — Boundary ratchet (objectql must not import metadata-protocol/plugin/kernel) + export-surface ratchet.
  3. P3 — Capability/profile contract (the only substantial new code).
  4. P4 — Standalone embed example + smoke under examples/.
  5. Later (D7) — engine repo-split when the cross-package ratio drops.

Consequences

  • + objectql is lean by construction; protocol lands in its proper domain; real enforced package boundary (not a convention); gateway unblocked; all without breaking downstream (re-export shim).
  • + Cheap and low-risk now (6% coupling, 2-file blast radius, narrow injected interface).
  • − One new package in the fixed version group; a major-version bump for the moved export (mitigated by the re-export shim).
  • Risk (highest): capability/profile under-specified → silent authz bypass. Mitigation: default fail-closed; trusted two-key + prod env-gate; authz-matrix ratchet.
  • Risk: tsup DTS stricter than tsc / turbo build-order during the package move. Mitigation: incremental, watch DTS.

Open questions (with recommended positions)

  1. protocol's new home — resolved: a dedicated @objectstack/metadata-protocol between metadata-core (kept pure) and the metadata plugin (avoids dragging chokidar/fs deps onto pure runtime protocol logic).
  2. SysMetadataEngine interface home — recommend @objectstack/metadata-core (it is a contract; metadata-protocol depends on metadata-core anyway).
  3. Capability granularity — derive from object declarations; do not overload per-user requiredPermissions.
  4. trusted profile — two-key (build-time absence + explicit runtime assertion), prod env-allowlisted.
  5. D7 trigger threshold — what cross-package ratio (from 88%) over what window signals "extract the engine"? Track in CI; set on first review.