Understand Valence#
This section explains the ideas. It asks for no code, and it shows no wire numbers — Anatomy of a frame shows byte shapes, and every actual number on this site lives in the generated registry reference.
Read How it works first. Everything else assumes it.
| Page | Answers |
|---|---|
| How it works | What is a catalog, a channel, a shadow, an intent? |
| Anatomy of a frame | What is in a frame, and why are there two payload encodings? |
| Capabilities and custom hardware | What must my device provide, and what is optional? |
| What it replaces | What does Valence take over, and what does it leave alone? |
| Ecosystem and compatibility | How does this fit alongside the firmwares people already run? |
| Security model and the audit | What is defended, what is not, and what did the fuzzing find? |
| For everyone | I just own a machine. What does this mean for me? |
The three sentences#
A machine describes itself. The hub publishes a catalog: every channel, type, unit, limit and access level it has. A client reads it and builds its interface from it.
The machine is the only authority. A client sends intent. The hub applies what it can and echoes what it actually did. A client's shadow updates from the hub, never from its own request.
Nothing moves unwatched. A source that goes silent trips its deadman. ESTOP is role-exempt, jumps every queue and latches until it is explicitly cleared.