|
1 | | -# architecture.md |
| 1 | +# Architecture |
2 | 2 |
|
3 | | -Documentation coming soon. Check back later or contribute at [GitHub](https://github.com/arcaelas/agent). |
| 3 | +Internal design and system architecture of @arcaelas/agent. |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +## System Overview |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +``` |
| 8 | +┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐ |
| 9 | +│ Agent Layer │ |
| 10 | +│ ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ |
| 11 | +│ │ Agent (Orchestrator) │ │ |
| 12 | +│ │ - name, description │ │ |
| 13 | +│ │ - providers (AI services) │ │ |
| 14 | +│ │ - call() method │ │ |
| 15 | +│ └───────────┬─────────────────────┘ │ |
| 16 | +│ │ │ |
| 17 | +└──────────────┼───────────────────────────┘ |
| 18 | + │ |
| 19 | +┌──────────────▼───────────────────────────┐ |
| 20 | +│ Context Layer │ |
| 21 | +│ ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ |
| 22 | +│ │ Context (State Management) │ │ |
| 23 | +│ │ - metadata (reactive KV store) │ │ |
| 24 | +│ │ - rules (behavior guidelines) │ │ |
| 25 | +│ │ - tools (executable functions) │ │ |
| 26 | +│ │ - messages (conversation) │ │ |
| 27 | +│ │ - contexts (parent inheritance) │ │ |
| 28 | +│ └─────────────────────────────────┘ │ |
| 29 | +└──────────────────────────────────────────┘ |
| 30 | +``` |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +## Core Components |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +### 1. Agent |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +**Responsibility**: Orchestration and execution |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +**Key Methods**: |
| 39 | +- `constructor(options)` - Initialize with configuration |
| 40 | +- `call(prompt)` - Execute conversation with providers and tools |
| 41 | +- `get/set metadata`, `rules`, `tools`, `messages` - Access context properties |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +**Execution Flow** (`call` method): |
| 44 | +1. Add user message to context |
| 45 | +2. Loop through providers with failover |
| 46 | +3. Call provider with current context |
| 47 | +4. If response includes tool_calls, execute them in parallel |
| 48 | +5. Add tool results to context and loop again |
| 49 | +6. Return when completion has no tool_calls |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +### 2. Context |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +**Responsibility**: Hierarchical state management with inheritance |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +**Key Features**: |
| 56 | +- Parent context inheritance via `contexts` parameter |
| 57 | +- Automatic merging of metadata, rules, tools, messages |
| 58 | +- Tool deduplication by name (child overrides parent) |
| 59 | +- Reactive metadata updates through broker pattern |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +**Inheritance Rules**: |
| 62 | +- **Metadata**: Child can override parent values (last wins) |
| 63 | +- **Rules**: Concatenated (parent rules + child rules) |
| 64 | +- **Tools**: Deduplicated by name (child tools replace parent) |
| 65 | +- **Messages**: Concatenated (parent messages + child messages) |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +### 3. Metadata |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +**Responsibility**: Reactive key-value storage with broker pattern |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +**Architecture**: |
| 72 | +```typescript |
| 73 | +Metadata { |
| 74 | + _brokers: Metadata[] // Parent metadatas |
| 75 | + _storage: Map // Local storage |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | + get(key) { |
| 78 | + // Check local first |
| 79 | + // Then check brokers in order |
| 80 | + } |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | + set(key, value) { |
| 83 | + // Always store locally |
| 84 | + return this // For chaining |
| 85 | + } |
| 86 | +} |
| 87 | +``` |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +### 4. Tool |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +**Responsibility**: Encapsulate executable functions |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +**Two Constructor Modes**: |
| 94 | +1. **Simple**: `new Tool(name, func)` - String input only |
| 95 | +2. **Advanced**: `new Tool(name, options)` - Typed parameters |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +**Properties**: |
| 98 | +- `name` - Unique identifier |
| 99 | +- `description` - What the tool does |
| 100 | +- `parameters` - Schema of expected parameters |
| 101 | +- `func` - Executable function |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +### 5. Rule |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +**Responsibility**: Define behavioral guidelines |
| 106 | + |
| 107 | +**Types**: |
| 108 | +- **Static**: `new Rule(content)` - Always applies |
| 109 | +- **Conditional**: `new Rule(content, { when })` - Applies when condition met |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +### 6. Message |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +**Responsibility**: Represent conversation messages |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +**Types** (discriminated union): |
| 116 | +- `UserMessage` - User input |
| 117 | +- `AssistantMessage` - AI response |
| 118 | +- `ToolMessage` - Tool result |
| 119 | +- `SystemMessage` - System instruction |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +### 7. Provider |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +**Responsibility**: Interface with AI services |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +**Signature**: |
| 126 | +```typescript |
| 127 | +type Provider = (ctx: Context) => ChatCompletionResponse | Promise<ChatCompletionResponse> |
| 128 | +``` |
| 129 | +
|
| 130 | +**Contract**: |
| 131 | +- Input: Context with messages, tools, metadata |
| 132 | +- Output: ChatCompletionResponse (OpenAI-compatible format) |
| 133 | +
|
| 134 | +## Data Flow |
| 135 | +
|
| 136 | +### Standard Conversation |
| 137 | +
|
| 138 | +``` |
| 139 | +User sends prompt |
| 140 | + │ |
| 141 | + ▼ |
| 142 | +┌──────────────────┐ |
| 143 | +│ Agent.call() │ |
| 144 | +│ - Add user msg │ |
| 145 | +└────────┬─────────┘ |
| 146 | + │ |
| 147 | + ▼ |
| 148 | +┌──────────────────┐ |
| 149 | +│ Provider Loop │──┐ |
| 150 | +│ - Random select │ │ Failover |
| 151 | +│ - Try provider │◄─┘ |
| 152 | +└────────┬─────────┘ |
| 153 | + │ |
| 154 | + ▼ |
| 155 | + ┌─────────────┐ |
| 156 | + │ Tool calls? │ |
| 157 | + └──┬──────┬───┘ |
| 158 | + │No │Yes |
| 159 | + │ ▼ |
| 160 | + │ ┌────────────────┐ |
| 161 | + │ │ Execute tools │ |
| 162 | + │ │ in parallel │ |
| 163 | + │ └───────┬────────┘ |
| 164 | + │ │ |
| 165 | + │ ▼ |
| 166 | + │ ┌────────────────┐ |
| 167 | + │ │ Add tool │ |
| 168 | + │ │ results to ctx │ |
| 169 | + │ └───────┬────────┘ |
| 170 | + │ │ |
| 171 | + │ └───┐ |
| 172 | + │ │ |
| 173 | + ▼ ▼ |
| 174 | +┌────────────────────┐ |
| 175 | +│ Return messages │ |
| 176 | +│ and success flag │ |
| 177 | +└────────────────────┘ |
| 178 | +``` |
| 179 | +
|
| 180 | +### Provider Failover |
| 181 | +
|
| 182 | +``` |
| 183 | +PROVIDERS = [P1, P2, P3] |
| 184 | +FALLBACK = [] |
| 185 | + |
| 186 | +┌──────────────────────┐ |
| 187 | +│ Random select from │ |
| 188 | +│ PROVIDERS or FALLBACK│ |
| 189 | +└──────────┬───────────┘ |
| 190 | + │ |
| 191 | + ▼ |
| 192 | + ┌─────────┐ |
| 193 | + │ Success?│ |
| 194 | + └─┬───┬───┘ |
| 195 | + │Yes│No |
| 196 | + │ │ |
| 197 | + ▼ ▼ |
| 198 | + ┌────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐ |
| 199 | + │Done│ │Move to FALLBACK & retry│ |
| 200 | + └────┘ └────────────────────────┘ |
| 201 | +``` |
| 202 | +
|
| 203 | +## Design Patterns |
| 204 | +
|
| 205 | +### 1. Broker Pattern (Metadata) |
| 206 | +
|
| 207 | +Metadata uses broker pattern for hierarchical value resolution: |
| 208 | +
|
| 209 | +```typescript |
| 210 | +// Parent metadata |
| 211 | +const parent = new Metadata().set('theme', 'light'); |
| 212 | + |
| 213 | +// Child metadata with parent as broker |
| 214 | +const child = new Metadata(parent).set('color', 'blue'); |
| 215 | + |
| 216 | +child.get('theme'); // 'light' (from broker) |
| 217 | +child.get('color'); // 'blue' (local) |
| 218 | +``` |
| 219 | +
|
| 220 | +### 2. Virtual Properties (Agent) |
| 221 | +
|
| 222 | +Agent virtualizes Context properties for cleaner API: |
| 223 | +
|
| 224 | +```typescript |
| 225 | +class Agent { |
| 226 | + private _context: Context; |
| 227 | + |
| 228 | + get metadata() { return this._context.metadata; } |
| 229 | + get rules() { return this._context.rules; } |
| 230 | + // etc. |
| 231 | +} |
| 232 | +``` |
| 233 | +
|
| 234 | +### 3. Discriminated Unions (Message) |
| 235 | +
|
| 236 | +TypeScript discriminated unions for type-safe message handling: |
| 237 | +
|
| 238 | +```typescript |
| 239 | +type Message = |
| 240 | + | { role: 'user'; content: string } |
| 241 | + | { role: 'assistant'; content: string } |
| 242 | + | { role: 'tool'; tool_id: string; content: string } |
| 243 | + | { role: 'system'; content: string } |
| 244 | +``` |
| 245 | +
|
| 246 | +### 4. Promise.all for Tools |
| 247 | +
|
| 248 | +Parallel tool execution using Promise.all: |
| 249 | +
|
| 250 | +```typescript |
| 251 | +const tool_results = await Promise.all( |
| 252 | + tool_calls.map(async (call) => { |
| 253 | + const tool = tools.find(t => t.name === call.function.name); |
| 254 | + return await tool.func(JSON.parse(call.function.arguments)); |
| 255 | + }) |
| 256 | +); |
| 257 | +``` |
| 258 | +
|
| 259 | +## Performance Characteristics |
| 260 | +
|
| 261 | +- **Context Creation**: O(1) - Shallow copying |
| 262 | +- **Metadata Lookup**: O(n) - Checks local then brokers |
| 263 | +- **Tool Deduplication**: O(n) - Single pass with Map |
| 264 | +- **Message Concatenation**: O(n) - Array concat |
| 265 | +- **Provider Failover**: O(p) worst case - p = number of providers |
| 266 | +
|
| 267 | +## Scalability |
| 268 | +
|
| 269 | +**Vertical Scaling**: |
| 270 | +- Single agent instance per conversation |
| 271 | +- In-memory state management |
| 272 | +- Stateless providers |
| 273 | +
|
| 274 | +**Horizontal Scaling**: |
| 275 | +- Multiple agent instances across processes |
| 276 | +- External state storage (database) if needed |
| 277 | +- Load balancing across provider instances |
| 278 | +
|
| 279 | +## Security Considerations |
| 280 | +
|
| 281 | +1. **API Keys**: Never hardcode, use environment variables |
| 282 | +2. **Input Validation**: Validate tool parameters |
| 283 | +3. **Rate Limiting**: Implement provider-level throttling |
| 284 | +4. **Error Handling**: Catch and sanitize error messages |
| 285 | +5. **Logging**: Avoid logging sensitive user data |
| 286 | +
|
| 287 | +## Next Steps |
| 288 | +
|
| 289 | +- **[Performance](performance.md)** - Optimization techniques |
| 290 | +- **[Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.md)** - Common issues |
| 291 | +- **[Migration Guide](migration.md)** - Version upgrades |
| 292 | +
|
| 293 | +--- |
| 294 | +
|
| 295 | +**[← Back to Advanced](../index.md#advanced)** |
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