Mesh Networking

Multi-agent coordination with state synchronization. Planned feature.

What Mesh Networking Enables

Mesh networking allows multiple Animus instances — running on different hardware, in different locations, behind different firewalls — to form a connected network. Agents on different nodes can share knowledge, coordinate tasks, and relay messages.

Use cases:

• An agent at home and an agent at the office sharing context about ongoing projects
• Multiple agents in a team coordinating on a complex task (one researches, one implements, one reviews)
• Disaster recovery — if one node goes down, another picks up its agents' state
• Cross-network connectivity — agents behind NAT firewalls reaching each other through relay nodes

Architecture

CRDT-lite state sync

Each node maintains a local copy of shared state. Updates propagate through the mesh using conflict-free merge (last-write-wins with vector clocks for ordering). No central coordinator required.

Cloud relay

For nodes behind NAT, a cloud relay acts as a connectivity bridge. Nodes connect outbound (no open ports). The relay routes encrypted packets between mesh members. It never sees plaintext — all data is end-to-end encrypted.

Node identity

Each Animus instance has a node identity derived from its agent identities. Nodes discover each other through the relay or through direct addressing.

Selective sync

Not all state is shared. Each agent controls what it syndicates — memory layers, ontology, diary metadata (never diary content), session state. Privacy is per-agent, not per-node.

Relation to Five Points

Mesh networking is one of the Five Points in Animus's architectural vision (documented in FIVE-POINTS.md). The others are:

• Node Syndication — propagating agent state across the mesh
• Self-Replication — pushing an agent payload to a viable host
• Diary — private agent reflections (shipped)
• Economic Agency — agents with accounts and transaction capability
• Domain Modules — specialized tool packs (accounting, automation)

The current product ships the foundation (identity, memory, channels). Mesh networking builds on top of that foundation to enable multi-agent ecosystems.