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Install 📦

npm install @push.rocks/smartrust
# or
pnpm install @push.rocks/smartrust

Overview 🔭

@push.rocks/smartrust provides a production-ready bridge for TypeScript applications that need to communicate with Rust binaries. It handles the entire lifecycle — binary discovery, process spawning, request/response correlation with timeouts, event streaming, and graceful shutdown — so you can focus on your command definitions instead of IPC plumbing.

Why?

If you're integrating Rust into a Node.js project, you'll inevitably need:

A way to find the compiled Rust binary across different environments (dev, CI, production, platform packages)
A way to spawn it and establish reliable two-way communication
Type-safe request/response patterns with proper error handling
Event streaming from Rust to TypeScript
Graceful lifecycle management (ready detection, clean shutdown, force kill)

smartrust wraps all of this into two classes: RustBridge and RustBinaryLocator.

Usage 🚀

The IPC Protocol

smartrust uses a simple, newline-delimited JSON protocol over stdin/stdout:

Direction	Format	Description
TS → Rust (Request)	`{"id": "req_1", "method": "start", "params": {...}}`	Command with unique ID
Rust → TS (Response)	`{"id": "req_1", "success": true, "result": {...}}`	Response correlated by ID
Rust → TS (Error)	`{"id": "req_1", "success": false, "error": "msg"}`	Error correlated by ID
Rust → TS (Event)	`{"event": "ready", "data": {...}}`	Unsolicited event (no ID)

Your Rust binary reads JSON lines from stdin and writes JSON lines to stdout. That's it. Stderr is free for logging.

Defining Your Commands

Start by defining a type map of commands your Rust binary supports:

import { RustBridge, type ICommandDefinition } from '@push.rocks/smartrust';

// Define your command types
type TMyCommands = {
  start:      { params: { port: number; host: string }; result: { pid: number } };
  stop:       { params: {};                             result: void };
  getMetrics: { params: {};                             result: { connections: number; uptime: number } };
  reload:     { params: { configPath: string };         result: void };
};

Creating and Using the Bridge

const bridge = new RustBridge<TMyCommands>({
  binaryName: 'my-rust-server',
  envVarName: 'MY_SERVER_BINARY',             // optional: env var override
  platformPackagePrefix: '@myorg/my-server',  // optional: platform npm packages
});

// Spawn the binary and wait for it to signal readiness
const ok = await bridge.spawn();
if (!ok) {
  console.error('Failed to start Rust binary');
  process.exit(1);
}

// Send type-safe commands — params and return types are inferred!
const { pid } = await bridge.sendCommand('start', { port: 8080, host: '0.0.0.0' });
console.log(`Server started with PID ${pid}`);

const metrics = await bridge.sendCommand('getMetrics', {});
console.log(`Active connections: ${metrics.connections}`);

// Listen for events from Rust
bridge.on('management:configChanged', (data) => {
  console.log('Config was changed:', data);
});

// Clean shutdown
bridge.kill();

Binary Locator

The RustBinaryLocator searches for your binary using a priority-ordered strategy:

Priority	Source	Description
1	`binaryPath` option	Explicit path — skips all other search
2	Environment variable	e.g. `MY_SERVER_BINARY=/usr/local/bin/server`
3	Platform npm package	e.g. `@myorg/my-server-linux-x64/my-rust-server`
4	Local dev paths	`./rust/target/release/<name>` and `./rust/target/debug/<name>`
5	System PATH	Standard `$PATH` lookup

You can also use the locator standalone:

import { RustBinaryLocator } from '@push.rocks/smartrust';

const locator = new RustBinaryLocator({
  binaryName: 'my-rust-server',
  envVarName: 'MY_SERVER_BINARY',
  localPaths: ['/opt/myapp/bin/server'],  // custom search paths
});

const binaryPath = await locator.findBinary();
// Result is cached — call clearCache() to force re-search

Configuration Reference

The RustBridge constructor accepts an IRustBridgeOptions object:

const bridge = new RustBridge<TMyCommands>({
  // --- Binary Locator Options ---
  binaryName: 'my-server',                    // required: name of the binary
  binaryPath: '/explicit/path/to/binary',     // optional: skip search entirely
  envVarName: 'MY_SERVER_BINARY',             // optional: env var for path override
  platformPackagePrefix: '@myorg/my-server',  // optional: platform npm package prefix
  localPaths: ['./build/server'],             // optional: custom local search paths
  searchSystemPath: true,                     // optional: search $PATH (default: true)

  // --- Bridge Options ---
  cliArgs: ['--management'],                  // optional: args passed to binary (default: ['--management'])
  requestTimeoutMs: 30000,                    // optional: per-request timeout (default: 30000)
  readyTimeoutMs: 10000,                      // optional: ready event timeout (default: 10000)
  env: { RUST_LOG: 'debug' },                 // optional: extra env vars for the child process
  readyEventName: 'ready',                    // optional: name of the ready event (default: 'ready')
  logger: myLogger,                           // optional: logger implementing IRustBridgeLogger
});

Events

RustBridge extends EventEmitter and emits the following events:

Event	Payload	Description
`ready`	—	Bridge connected and binary reported ready
`exit`	`(code, signal)`	Rust process exited
`stderr`	`string`	A line from the binary's stderr
`management:<name>`	`any`	Custom event from Rust (e.g. `management:configChanged`)

Custom Logger

Plug in your own logger by implementing the IRustBridgeLogger interface:

import type { IRustBridgeLogger } from '@push.rocks/smartrust';

const logger: IRustBridgeLogger = {
  log(level: string, message: string, data?: Record<string, any>) {
    console.log(`[${level}] ${message}`, data || '');
  },
};

const bridge = new RustBridge<TMyCommands>({
  binaryName: 'my-server',
  logger,
});

Writing the Rust Side

Your Rust binary needs to implement a simple protocol:

On startup, write a ready event to stdout:

{"event":"ready","data":{"version":"1.0.0"}}\n

Read JSON lines from stdin, parse each as {"id": "...", "method": "...", "params": {...}}
Write JSON responses to stdout, each as {"id": "...", "success": true, "result": {...}}\n
Emit events anytime by writing {"event": "name", "data": {...}}\n to stdout
Use stderr for logging — it won't interfere with the IPC protocol

Here's a minimal Rust skeleton:

use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
use std::io::{self, BufRead, Write};

#[derive(Deserialize)]
struct Request {
    id: String,
    method: String,
    params: serde_json::Value,
}

#[derive(Serialize)]
struct Response {
    id: String,
    success: bool,
    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    result: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
    error: Option<String>,
}

fn main() {
    // Signal ready
    println!(r#"{{"event":"ready","data":{{"version":"1.0.0"}}}}"#);
    io::stdout().flush().unwrap();

    let stdin = io::stdin();
    for line in stdin.lock().lines() {
        let line = line.unwrap();
        let req: Request = serde_json::from_str(&line).unwrap();

        let response = match req.method.as_str() {
            "ping" => Response {
                id: req.id,
                success: true,
                result: Some(serde_json::json!({"pong": true})),
                error: None,
            },
            _ => Response {
                id: req.id,
                success: false,
                result: None,
                error: Some(format!("Unknown method: {}", req.method)),
            },
        };

        let json = serde_json::to_string(&response).unwrap();
        println!("{json}");
        io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
    }
}

API Reference 📖

`RustBridge<TCommands>`

Method / Property	Signature	Description
`constructor`	`new RustBridge<T>(options: IRustBridgeOptions)`	Create a new bridge instance
`spawn()`	`Promise<boolean>`	Spawn the binary and wait for ready; returns `false` on failure
`sendCommand(method, params)`	`Promise<TCommands[K]['result']>`	Send a typed command and await the response
`kill()`	`void`	SIGTERM the process, reject pending requests, force SIGKILL after 5s
`running`	`boolean`	Whether the bridge is currently connected

`RustBinaryLocator`

Method / Property	Signature	Description
`constructor`	`new RustBinaryLocator(options: IBinaryLocatorOptions, logger?)`	Create a locator instance
`findBinary()`	`Promise<string \| null>`	Find the binary using the priority search; result is cached
`clearCache()`	`void`	Clear the cached path to force a fresh search

Exported Interfaces

Interface	Description
`IRustBridgeOptions`	Full configuration for `RustBridge`
`IBinaryLocatorOptions`	Configuration for `RustBinaryLocator`
`IRustBridgeLogger`	Logger interface: `{ log(level, message, data?) }`
`IManagementRequest`	IPC request shape: `{ id, method, params }`
`IManagementResponse`	IPC response shape: `{ id, success, result?, error? }`
`IManagementEvent`	IPC event shape: `{ event, data }`
`ICommandDefinition`	Single command definition: `{ params, result }`
`TCommandMap`	`Record<string, ICommandDefinition>`

License and Legal Information

This repository contains open-source code licensed under the MIT License. A copy of the license can be found in the LICENSE file.

Please note: The MIT License does not grant permission to use the trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the project, except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the origin of the work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file.

Trademarks

This project is owned and maintained by Task Venture Capital GmbH. The names and logos associated with Task Venture Capital GmbH and any related products or services are trademarks of Task Venture Capital GmbH or third parties, and are not included within the scope of the MIT license granted herein.

Use of these trademarks must comply with Task Venture Capital GmbH's Trademark Guidelines or the guidelines of the respective third-party owners, and any usage must be approved in writing. Third-party trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners and used only in a descriptive manner, e.g. for an implementation of an API or similar.

readme.md

@push.rocks/smartrust

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