# TollGate Protocol Integration Analysis for Archipelago

## 1. What is TollGate?

TollGate is a protocol for selling network access via micropayments. Key concepts:

- **Metered access**: Pay per byte, per millisecond, or per request.
- **Bearer asset payments**: Cashu ecash tokens are sent to a TollGate in exchange for an allotment of service.
- **Multi-layered protocol**:
  - **TIP-01 (Base Events)**: Nostr event kinds 10021 (advertisement), 1022 (session), 21023 (notice).
  - **TIP-02 (Cashu)**: Payment via Cashu tokens, `price_per_step` tags.
  - **HTTP-01**: POST cashu token to `http://gate:2121/` → get session back.
  - **HTTP-03**: `GET /usage` → `used/allotment`.
  - **WIFI-01**: Beacon frame discovery.
- **No accounts, no KYC**: Device MAC/pubkey as identifier.

---

## 2. Current State: Half-Implemented in Archipelago!

The good news: **archipelago already has a `streaming/` module** at `core/archipelago/src/streaming/` that implements a TollGate-inspired protocol. This was clearly built while studying the TollGate protocol.

### Existing Modules

| Module | What it does | Completeness |
|---|---|---|
| `streaming/advertisement.rs` | Nostr kind 10021 ads, parsing `price_per_step` tags | ✅ Full TIP-01/TIP-02 compatible |
| `streaming/session.rs` | Session creation, top-ups, expiry, usage tracking | ✅ Full |
| `streaming/meter.rs` | Usage recording, allotment enforcement, formatting | ✅ Full |
| `streaming/pricing.rs` | Metric types, price calculation | ✅ Full |
| `streaming/gate.rs` | The payment gate (cashu validation + session creation) | ✅ Full |
| `streaming/mod.rs` | Module exports, dead_code (no callers yet) | 🟡 Suppressed |

### The Missing Piece
There is **no frontend (Vue/neode-ui) UI** for TollGate/streaming — no way to discover, pay for, monitor, and top-up streaming sessions from the archipelago interface.

---

## 3. Integration Plan

### 3.1 Wire Up the Backend
- Enable `streaming/` as a living module (remove `#![allow(dead_code)]`).
- Wire it into the main archipelago server config (pricing config per service).
- Enable publishing kind 10021 advertisements on Nostr relays.
- Add HTTP endpoints (`POST /`, `GET /usage`) in `gate.rs`.
- Integrate with the existing Cashu wallet (`wallet/cashu.rs` & `wallet/mint_client.rs`).
- Add a configuration mechanism in `settings/transport.rs`.

### 3.2 New neode-ui Page: "Streaming" (or "TollGate")
A new view/page in the neode-ui (Vue + TypeScript):
- **Discovery panel**: List of available TollGate services (from Nostr kind 10021) with pricing.
- **Session management**: Active sessions with usage bars (`5.2 MB / 10 MB`), remaining, time left.
- **Payment flow**: Cashu payment integration — pay more, top-up sessions.
- **Revenue dashboard**: For node operators — total sats earned per service.

### 3.3 New UI Components Needed

| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `StreamingServiceCard.vue` | Displays a priced service (name, price per step, metric, mint) |
| `StreamingSessionBar.vue` | Progress bar for session usage |
| `StreamingPaymentModal.vue` | Cashu payment / top-up modal |
| `StreamingDashboard.vue` | Operator view — revenue, active sessions, service config |
| `StreamingSettings.vue` | Enable/disable services, set prices, configure accepted mints |

### 3.4 RPC/API Additions Needed on the Rust Side

New RPC methods in the archipelago API:
- `streaming/advertisements` — list all kind 10021 events
- `streaming/services` — get configured services/pricing
- `streaming/session/list` — active sessions
- `streaming/session/pay` — send cashu token, get session update
- `streaming/session/topup` — top-up existing session
- `streaming/usage` — usage summary for peer+service
- `streaming/config/update` — operator config changes

### 3.5 Integration with Existing Archipelago Features
- **Federation sync**: The existing federation module could use streaming for metered access between nodes.
- **Content sync**: Content downloads (photos, music, documents) could be metered.
- **Mesh map**: Show streaming-capable nodes on the Mesh map (use `MeshMap.vue`).
- **Monitoring**: Integrate streaming revenue into the monitoring/telemetry module.

---

## 4. Visual Architecture

```text
┌──────────────────── Archipelago Interface ───────────────────────┐
│  neode-ui (Vue/TypeScript frontend)                            │
│  ┌───────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────────────┐   │
│  │ Streaming      │  │ Streaming    │  │ Streaming          │   │
│  │ (Discovery)    │  │ Dashboard    │  │ Settings           │   │
│  └───────┬────────┘  └──────┬───────┘  └────────┬───────────┘   │
│          └───────┬──────────┴────────┬───────────┘              │
│                  └───── RPC Client ───┘                        │
└─────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
                              │ JSON-RPC / WebSocket
┌────────────── Archipelago Core (Rust) ────────────┐
│  ┌─ core/archipelago/ streaming/ module ──────────┐│
│  │  ├── advertisement.rs  (TIP-01 Nostr ads)      ││
│  │  ├── pricing.rs        (pricing config)        ││
│  │  ├── session.rs        (session lifecycle)     ││
│  │  ├── meter.rs          (usage tracking)        ││
│  │  └── gate.rs           (cashu validation)      ││
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│  ┌─ cashu.rs [wallet] ──┐  ┌─ nostr_relays [mesh] ┐│
│  └───────────────────────┘  └──────────────────────┘│
└────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
                                 │
                    ┌────────────▼────────────┐
                    │ Cashu Mint (external)   │
                    └─────────────────────────┘
```

---

## 5. Recommended Execution Order

1.  **Wire up the backend**: Enable `streaming/` as a living module, add RPC endpoints, publish advertisements on Nostr.
2.  **Create the streaming page**: Discovery + session list + payment modal in neode-ui.
3.  **Add the dashboard**: Revenue tracking for node operators.
4.  **Add settings**: Pricing configuration UI.
5.  **Integrate with federation**: Make federation sync metered by default.