# DGR-042 evidence — native frames through direct and relay seams

**Date:** 2026-08-01  
**Authority:** `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`.

## Implemented

- Added `NativeActivationSeam`, a Route-Session-scoped adapter with exactly two
  selectable transports. Direct traffic calls the generated
  `ShardRuntimeStub.Session()` once and keeps its bidirectional gRPC stream
  open for the session. Its request and response hand-off queues are bounded.
- Relay traffic calls the existing persistent relay request shape with
  `POST /native/session`, `application/x-protobuf`, and the exact
  `SessionRequest.SerializeToString()` body. It parses only the returned
  `SessionResponse`; neither the adapter nor the relay contract rewrites a
  protobuf frame. Relay failure is explicitly uncertain and is never retried.
- `NativeFrameContext` validates Route Session, epoch, work, and deadline
  fields against the versioned protobuf request before either path sends it.
  The unchanged existing relay header contract receives request/billing ID,
  node attribution, route, work, and deadline copies for control-plane
  telemetry/billing correlation. `NativeSeamTelemetry` reports per-node,
  per-request seam byte/latency observations without interpreting frames.
- Deterministic fake-worker tests cover a single direct stream, byte-identical
  relay request frames, relay disconnect/no replay, cancellation, correlation
  headers, telemetry, and bounded direct buffering.

## Changed files

- `packages/node/meshnet_node/native_activation_seam.py`
- `tests/test_native_activation_seam.py`
- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/prd.json`
- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/issues/042-carry-native-frames-through-direct-and-existing-relay-seams.md`
- `.scratch/distributed-gguf-runtime/evidence/DGR-042/README.md`
- `.ralph-tui/progress.md`

## Commands and results

```bash
PYTHONPATH=packages/node:packages/tracker /home/popov/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/python -m pytest -q \
  tests/test_native_activation_seam.py tests/test_native_shard_protocol.py \
  tests/test_native_worker_supervisor.py tests/test_native_registration.py \
  tests/test_ralph_prd_schema.py
# 172 passed, 2 skipped in 2.01s

/home/popov/.hermes/hermes-agent/venv/bin/python -m ruff check \
  packages/node/meshnet_node/native_activation_seam.py tests/test_native_activation_seam.py
# All checks passed!

python3 -m compileall -q packages tests
# exit 0

git diff --check
# exit 0
```

No model download, GPU, API credit, native worker build, or upstream patch was
required. Native CMake/CTest and patch-stack gates do not apply to this
Python-only transport adapter.

## Limitations and dependency handoff

- Relay is deliberately a sequence of opaque existing relay RPC bodies, not a
  gRPC tunnel. The direct path alone is a long-lived gRPC stream; this avoids
  changing relay behavior while preserving native frame bytes.
- This fixture lane uses an injected generated-stub-shaped fake worker and an
  injected existing-relay-client-shaped callable. DGR-054/DGR-058 must use the
  adapter with certified workers and add real route-loss/restart policy; they
  must retain the no-replay rule after an uncertain relay send.
- DGR-024 supplied the versioned generated `Session` protocol and the prior
  raw-frame identity proof. DGR-040 supplied the verified worker lifecycle;
  its published native listen address is the direct endpoint for this seam.
- Existing Transformer HTTP routes and relay routing, load balancing, billing,
  and peer behavior were not changed.