VantEdge

Breaking the weld.

Most systems weld together things that were never the same thing. Being allowed to do one job gets welded to being a user. Being able to reach something gets welded to being trusted by it. Every weld makes the whole thing harder to secure, harder to change, and harder to leave.

VantEdge is built on keeping them apart, and it runs.

See the welds See it working

Two welds, broken

CAPABILITY≠ACCOUNT

Wait: if something is allowed to do a job, isn't it a user?

No. A component can be allowed to do one narrow job without ever becoming a permanent user.

  • A smaller blast radius when something goes wrong.
  • Less persistent identity to protect.
  • Less user state piled up in one central place.
  • Fewer credentials that turn into master keys.
  • Components take part without joining one giant account system.
  • Removing or replacing a component doesn't mean moving an identity around.
In VantEdge

An agent gets one narrow job, and each thing it does is allowed one at a time, by the box doing the work. It never becomes a user. You never sign up for anything: no accounts is one consequence of this, not the whole idea. Built

CONNECTION≠TRUST

Wait: if two systems can reach each other, don't they trust each other?

No. Two systems can reach each other without either one gaining any authority because the connection exists.

  • Network access doesn't become permission.
  • Pairing doesn't automatically become authority.
  • The route can change without changing what's allowed.
  • Your LAN, the Internet or a relay is not the security model.
  • Systems can connect for a while without a permanent trust relationship.
  • Replacing a route doesn't mean rebuilding identity or authority.
In VantEdge

Your phone pairs with your box so it can reach it, at home directly or from anywhere through a relay, sealed end to end. Reaching it lets the phone ask; the box's own rules still decide every action. Home, away, relay: the route changes, what's allowed doesn't. Built

……

More welds, still being put into words.

VantEdge: the proof that it works

VantEdge runs small agents on boxes you own: a Raspberry Pi, a Linux PC, a phone. It is a working application of breaking the weld, not a diagram of it.

VantEdge on Linux

A Linux box on its own is a complete VantEdge system: its agents, its page, pairing your phone. Nothing else is needed. Built

Home Assistant

A real-world place to show it: VantEdge acting on lights, covers and locks, only what you pick. Optional, never a requirement, and VantEdge never unlocks a door. Built

Voice

An optional part, not the core. Wake-word listening on Android works in testing; speaking a command all the way to an action is not built yet. Not built yet

What's built, and what isn't

Labels on this page: Built works in VantEdge's code today · Decided the plan, not built yet · Not built yet or still open · Pretend stands in for real money.

A Linux box running VantEdge without Home AssistantBuilt Home Assistant can be connected later, or never.
Your phone reaching your box, at home or through a relayBuilt Sealed end to end; nothing opened on your router. Tested in code; real-phone testing is under way.
Each action allowed one at a time, by the box doing itBuilt Including the things that are never allowed: VantEdge never unlocks a door.
Agents you can look inside, copy and changeBuilt In the alpha build being tested now: small built-in agents, shown as their real definitions on the box's own page.
Voice, from the wake word to an actionNot built yet Wake-word listening works in testing on Android. Turning speech into a command is not built.
Sharing capacity between people's boxesNot decided Not settled, and not built.
Paying for VantEdgePretend In the alpha, all money is pretend.
Installing it yourself from this siteNot yet The alpha is with testers. Downloads aren't published here yet.