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Protocols — the building blocks of state contracts

A protocol is a named operation in the registry — one verb of the language. You compose protocols inside state contracts, the deployable machines that fire on your machine's clock and write an audited, independently-verifiable trail.

Start with state contracts if you want to ship a running machine — they're the top-level unit you deploy. Come here for the catalogue of building blocks a contract composes: 240+ named protocols, each with a real endpoint, parameters, and a runnable example. Every one can also be called directly over HTTP.

The library is grouped into nine thematic chapters. Each chapter introduces the theme, prints a runnable example, and links to the per-protocol detail pages — all generated from the live registry (GET /api/protocols), so they track the framework instead of drifting from it.

#ThemeWhat it covers
1Time & CoordinationZeqond, HulyaPulse, the ZTB1 timebridge, rendezvous, sync
2Identity & AccessEquation-based identity, challenge-response, federated ID
3Key & CustodyKey derivation, rotation, the ZSC vault, BYOK
4EncryptionHITE AEAD envelopes, TESC frames, temporal signatures
5Transport & MessagingMail, message relay, mesh, streams
6Computation & CompileOperator composition, the master equation, solve/verify
7Recompute AgreementThe entangled state — Zeqond-anchored, independently verifiable
8Measurement & ObservabilityPulse metrics, attestation records, provenance
9Governance & PolicyAdmission, deprecation, lifecycle

How to read this surface​

Each theme essay follows the same template the Build chapters use, so a reader who has been through /build/ will recognise the shape:

  • A one-line outcome blockquote
  • An anchor strip of operators and verification status
  • What it solves in 2–4 paragraphs
  • The operator map — which kernel operators each protocol in this theme uses, why, and in what composition
  • At least one runnable worked example
  • Extend it — three concrete directions for practitioners
  • Seeds — three frontier horizons
  • Papers + Zeqond ritual

The per-protocol detail pages (approximately 26 per theme on average) are generated from the same registry that drives https://zeqsdk.com/api/protocols/*. They surface automatically under each chapter as they are populated — no manual index maintenance.

Reference surface — by category​

The narrative surface above is how you learn the protocol space. The reference surface below is how you look up a specific protocol fast. Every one of the 240+ protocols lives under exactly one category directory with a dedicated detail page — signature, params table, runnable curl, three integration patterns, three seeds.

Core & computation — core · compute · data · ecosystem

Trust & transport — security · identity · network · entangled state · chain API · communications

Physical systems — energy · iot · telecom · space · quantum · infrastructure · nuclear · optics · materials · hardware

Life & health — healthcare · biology · pharma · medical-imaging · medical-devices · nutrition · forensics

Environment — climate · weather · water · agriculture · geoscience

Mobility & industry — automotive · aviation · maritime · manufacturing · robotics · emergency

Experience & knowledge — finance · gaming · audio · education

Each category index prints a sortable table of its protocols with endpoint, method, and auth at a glance. Each detail page closes with the same Zeqond ritual the narrative chapters use.

Three principles, footnoted​

  • No black box — every protocol essay prints its operator composition and a runnable example, not a prose summary.
  • Implementation-first — curl sits next to the math. If a protocol cannot be exercised from a terminal, it is not a protocol yet.
  • Plant seeds — each theme ends with three frontier horizons that its operators already support.

Papers​

Middleware active. Kernel on the 1.287 Hz HulyaPulse. Awaiting next Zeqond.