verstak-docs/07_Full_Implementation_Roadmap.md

Verstak2 Full Implementation Roadmap

1. Goal

Bring Verstak2 to a complete standalone local-first desktop product:

• core platform and UI shell can run without official plugins;
• official plugins provide the user-facing tools;
• vault data stays human-readable and local-first;
• sync, browser capture, activity, journal, preview, search, and secrets are plugin/runtime extensions, not mandatory core modules;
• no compatibility bridge to the first Verstak version is introduced.

2. Non-negotiable Constraints

• No v1 migration bridge or temporary compatibility layer.
• No notes/files/editor/activity/journal/browser inbox feature may become a required core module.
• User documents remain ordinary vault files unless a feature explicitly needs protected storage, such as secrets.
• Overview.md is an ordinary Markdown filename, not a special UI entity.
• New plugin-facing behavior must go through public Verstak2 API contracts and SDK/schema updates.
• Every significant step must be verified, committed, and pushed separately.

3. Current Baseline

Implemented:

• plugin discovery, manifest validation, lifecycle states, enable/disable;
• capability, permission, contribution, event, settings, storage foundations;
• bundled frontend plugin host and VerstakPluginAPI;
• Command Palette UI host for commands contributions;
• Status Bar UI host for statusBarItems, vault status, and settings menu;
• workspace top-level folder model and workspace item host;
• Files Core text API with safe path policy and sync operation recording;
• public files.openExternal / files.showInFolder API and Files plugin usage;
• mode-aware Workbench open/edit provider routing and default editor plugin;
• official Files plugin, Notes plugin, Markdown Editor plugin, Search plugin, Sync plugin, and platform-test plugin;
• browser inbox local receiver and minimal official Browser Inbox plugin;
• sync server with device/user auth and operation push/pull;
• SDK manifest/types/schema coverage for current plugin APIs;
• automated Go, frontend, official plugin, SDK, and real-sync smoke checks.

Known remaining gaps:

• fileActions, noteActions, and contextMenuEntries are exposed through the desktop contribution summary and hosted by the official Files/Notes surfaces.
• Sidecar host is not implemented.
• Files/Notes are usable but not complete: restore, binary streaming, watcher, richer conflict UX, and Notes trash/delete UX are still incomplete.
• Activity, journal, browser inbox conversion workflow, indexed search, secrets, and templates plugins are not complete product features.
• File/image preview exists as a basic provider, but image rendering still needs binary streaming support for inline previews.
• Browser extension repository has protocol, queue, and Chromium/Firefox build scaffold; desktop has a local receiver and mounted-view inbox plugin, but no pairing model, domain binding, or conversion workflow yet.
• Packaging/update/release workflow is not product-grade yet.

4. Implementation Phases

Phase 1 - Platform Runtime Completion

Goal: finish generic host surfaces that plugins need before adding more product plugins.

Tasks:

• implement Command Palette UI for commands contributions;
• host statusBarItems;
• define and host generic contextMenuEntries;
• host fileActions and noteActions through Files/Notes surfaces;
• add lifecycle events for workspace creation, rename, trash, selection;
• replace deprecated workspace compatibility wrappers in frontend code where practical;
• document each public API in SDK schemas and desktop runtime docs.

Verification:

• focused e2e/smoke tests for command palette, status bar, action surfaces, and contribution lifecycle;
• go test ./..., frontend build/e2e, official plugin checks, SDK tests.

Phase 2 - Files And Notes Product Surface

Goal: make Files and Notes feel like complete daily-use tools while keeping storage as ordinary Markdown/files.

Tasks:

• improve Notes list filtering, sorting, and filtered empty states;
• improve Notes rename/conflict UX;
• add Notes delete/trash through Files API with confirmation;
• add Files restore metadata view;
• add Files restore command later;
• define external open/show-in-folder as a public v2 API, replacing fallback;
• add watcher-based refresh for Files/Notes after external changes;
• add safe binary read/streaming contract only after text workflows are stable.

Verification:

• plugin smoke tests and desktop e2e for create/open/rename/trash/reload;
• no .verstak/notes, no special Overview.md, no direct backend bypasses.

Phase 3 - Sync Hardening

Goal: make cross-device sync reliable enough for real vaults.

Tasks:

• define conflict UX contract for desktop and sync plugin;
• add server/device revocation checks for sync auth paths;
• persist and display sync errors in Sync plugin;
• add retry/backoff for sync client operations;
• add real two-vault sync smoke scenarios for create/update/move/trash folders and files;
• document deployment and backup procedures for verstak-sync-server.

Verification:

• sync server go test ./...;
• desktop real sync smoke;
• official Sync plugin settings/status tests.

Phase 4 - Preview, Search, Activity, Journal

Goal: add the next visible product layer as replaceable plugins.

Tasks:

• keep Markdown preview inside verstak.markdown-editor, with no separate provider competing for .md files;
• implement basic image metadata preview plugin;
• implement baseline verstak.search workspace plugin and expose searchProviders in contribution summaries;
• add type-as-you-search behavior and vault path/name matches to verstak.search;
• implement baseline verstak.activity event log plugin with workspace-scoped storage, global aggregation, and public event subscriptions;
• expose verstak.activity and verstak.browser-inbox as global sidebar views while keeping their workspace items;
• implement persistent search index and cross-provider runtime hosting;
• implement activity reconstruction and worklog suggestions;
• implement journal/worklog plugin that can consume activity suggestions.

Verification:

• provider selection tests;
• plugin lifecycle tests proving optional dependencies degrade cleanly.

Phase 5 - Browser Inbox

Goal: capture browser context into the local vault through a public local receiver and an official inbox plugin.

Tasks:

• define browser capture payload protocol;
• implement minimal verstak.browser-inbox plugin with workspace-scoped pending queues and a global aggregate view;
• implement browser extension capture scaffold for URL, selected text, page title, and link captures;
• define local receiver permission/pairing model;
• add domain-to-workspace binding;
• convert inbox entries into notes/links/files/activity events through public plugin APIs.

Verification:

• extension build checks;
• local receiver API tests;
• inbox plugin smoke/e2e tests.

Phase 6 - Secrets

Goal: provide protected storage for credentials without turning secrets into notes or plain files.

Tasks:

• define secret-store capability and permissions;
• implement encrypted local secret storage;
• add UI-only official secrets plugin;
• integrate secret references with workspaces without exposing raw values to unrelated plugins.

Verification:

• permission denial tests;
• storage encryption and no-plaintext regression checks.

Phase 7 - Sidecar/Sandbox Boundary

Goal: move from trusted bundled plugin JavaScript toward safer plugin execution.

Tasks:

• implement sidecar launch protocol and local RPC;
• permission-scope sidecar APIs;
• stop sidecars on plugin disable;
• surface sidecar logs and health in Plugin Manager;
• document supported sidecar languages and packaging rules.

Verification:

• sidecar health and permission tests;
• disable/failure lifecycle tests.

Phase 8 - Packaging, Update, Release

Goal: produce installable, recoverable releases.

Tasks:

• define release artifact matrix for desktop, official plugins, SDK, sync server, and browser extension;
• add plugin package signing/verification or equivalent integrity checks;
• add backup/restore docs for vault and sync server;
• add crash/log collection for local diagnostics;
• build release smoke checklist.

Verification:

• clean build from clone;
• packaged desktop starts with bundled official plugins;
• documented recovery path works on a sample vault.

5. Immediate Execution Order

1. Command Palette UI host in verstak-desktop.
2. Status bar item host in verstak-desktop.
3. External open public v2 API to replace Files fallback.
4. Notes trash/delete UX in verstak-official-plugins.
5. Sync hardening pass with expanded real two-vault smoke.
6. [~] Browser inbox protocol design, extension scaffold, local receiver, and minimal inbox plugin are implemented; pairing, domain binding, and conversion workflows remain.

This order finishes generic platform surfaces before building product features that depend on them.

6. Stop Conditions

Work can continue autonomously until one of these occurs:

• a decision requires product policy not present in docs;
• implementation needs credentials, signing keys, or external infrastructure;
• a repeated blocker appears after three evidence-based attempts;
• a repository has user changes that directly conflict with the next edit.