ARES

RFCs

This directory holds design documents for ares-webui features that are worth thinking through in writing before (or alongside) implementation — typically when the change touches durability, recovery, schema, or cross- cutting infrastructure.

Conventions

• One file per RFC. Filename is the topic (kebab-case), not a number.

• Top of every RFC carries a small header:

  - **Status:** Proposed | Accepted | Implemented | Withdrawn
  - **Author:** @github-handle
  - **Created:** YYYY-MM-DD
  

• Sections usually include: Problem, Goals, Non-goals, Proposal, Open questions, Rollout plan. Skip what doesn’t apply.
• An RFC is a starting point for review. Comments and revisions land via PR edits, not separate discussion threads.
• An RFC documents a design direction. It is not an invitation to file implementation PRs against fragments of it. Before opening any PR that implements an accepted RFC, confirm with a maintainer in the tracking issue that the implementation slice is wanted and that no other contributor is already building it. Speculative implementations of RFC fragments without a confirmed integration site will be held.

When to file an RFC

• The change is large enough that you want consensus before writing code.
• The change touches data-at-rest formats or recovery semantics.
• The change introduces a new architectural primitive (journal, queue, scheduler, cache layer) that other features will build on.
• A reviewer asks for one during code review.

When in doubt, just ship the code — small features don’t need RFCs. First-time contributor RFCs should be discussed in an issue before opening a PR.

Current RFCs

• ares-run-adapter-contract.md — #1925 event/control contract, runtime-state ownership matrix, acceptance catalog, and reversible migration gates for moving WebUI execution behind an explicit adapter boundary.
• webui-run-state-consistency-contract.md — #2361 consistency rules for keeping transcript, model context, live streams, replay, compression, and session metadata coherent during active and recovered WebUI runs.
• live-to-final-assistant-replies.md — #3400 product model for long-running assistant replies, live process prose, tool activity, recovery, terminal outcomes, and the final-answer boundary.
• transparent-stream-activity-mode.md — #3820 opt-in display mode for power users who need a transparent, chronological Thinking / progress / tool-call stream alongside the default Compact Worklog model.
• stable-assistant-turn-anchors.md — #3926 proposed frontend presentation/reconciliation model for anchoring live assistant activity, settled final answers, replay, and Compact/Transparent render modes to one assistant turn.
• canonical-session-resolution.md — #2361 focused contract for resolving URL, query parameter, localStorage, sidebar, and compression-lineage session IDs to one canonical visible chat target.
• turn-journal.md — Crash-safe WebUI turn journal for recovering interrupted chat submissions.
• webui-pending-intent-controls.md — #3058 control-surface companion to #3400 for Queue, Steer, Stop-and-send, Interrupt, and leftover-steer inputs submitted while a long-running agent session is active.

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