Technical Specifications

This section contains detailed technical specifications and design documents for planned and in-development IOTA SDK features. These specifications serve as reference documentation for architecture decisions, implementation details, and future roadmap items.

Overview

mindmap
  root((IOTA SDK Specs))
    Applet System
      Architecture
      Runtime Options
      Frontend Framework
      UI Consistency
      Permissions
      Database Access
      Distribution
    JS Runtime
      Script Execution
      API Schema
      Data Model
      Security

Available Specifications

Applet System

Status: Draft | Priority: High

A comprehensive plugin/extension system that enables JavaScript-based modules to extend IOTA SDK functionality without Go code or SDK recompilation.

graph LR
    A[Applet Package] --> B[Manifest]
    A --> C[Backend Code]
    A --> D[Frontend Code]
    B --> E[Permissions]
    B --> F[Configuration]
    C --> G[Bun Runtime]
    D --> H[React Components]

    style A fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff
    style G fill:#10b981,stroke:#047857,color:#fff
    style H fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#5b21b6,color:#fff

Key Features:

Runtime-installable extensions
React + TypeScript frontends
Bun as JavaScript runtime
Tenant-isolated data access
Permission-based security model

Explore Applet System Specification →

JavaScript Runtime

Status: Draft | Priority: Medium

Embedded JavaScript execution engine for user-defined scripts, scheduled jobs, and dynamic endpoints using Goja.

graph TB
    subgraph "Script Types"
        A[Scheduled Jobs]
        B[HTTP Endpoints]
        C[Event Handlers]
        D[One-off Scripts]
    end

    subgraph "Execution Engine"
        E[Goja VM Pool]
        F[Sandboxed Context]
        G[SDK API Bindings]
    end

    A & B & C & D --> E
    E --> F
    F --> G

    style E fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff
    style F fill:#ef4444,stroke:#b91c1c,color:#fff

Key Features:

Embedded Goja JavaScript engine
Sandboxed execution environment
Database and HTTP API access
Scheduled task execution
Event-driven automation

Explore JS Runtime Specification →

Specification Status Legend

Status	Description
Draft	Initial ideation, gathering requirements
In Review	Under technical review
Approved	Ready for implementation
In Progress	Implementation underway
Complete	Implemented and documented

Comparison: Applet System vs JS Runtime

graph TB
    subgraph "Applet System"
        A1[Full Modules]
        A2[React UI]
        A3[Bun Runtime]
        A4[npm Packages]
        A5[Complex Features]
    end

    subgraph "JS Runtime"
        B1[Simple Scripts]
        B2[No UI]
        B3[Goja Embedded]
        B4[No npm]
        B5[Automation Tasks]
    end

    A1 -.->|"Use for"| C1[AI Chatbots]
    A1 -.->|"Use for"| C2[Analytics Dashboards]
    A1 -.->|"Use for"| C3[Integrations]

    B1 -.->|"Use for"| D1[Webhooks]
    B1 -.->|"Use for"| D2[Cron Jobs]
    B1 -.->|"Use for"| D3[Data Transforms]

    style A1 fill:#3b82f6,stroke:#1e40af,color:#fff
    style B1 fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,color:#fff

Aspect	Applet System	JS Runtime
Complexity	Full modules with UI	Simple scripts
Runtime	Bun (external process)	Goja (embedded)
TypeScript	Native support	Requires transpilation
npm Packages	Full access	Not available
UI Components	React pages/widgets	None
Use Case	Feature extensions	Automation scripts

Contributing to Specifications

Specifications follow a structured process:

Propose - Create a draft in .claude/spec/ or docs/specs/
Discuss - Gather feedback and refine requirements
Review - Technical review by maintainers
Approve - Finalize for implementation
Implement - Build the feature
Document - Update user-facing documentation

For questions or feedback on specifications, please open an issue on GitHub.