Dependency contract
First-party Zig code, permitted prototype dependencies, and the separate website stack.
Status: implementation in progress. Native prototype work is underway. Dependencies and features remain subject to qualification; no accepted prototype or release is claimed. See project status.
Database runtime
All new first-party prototype executable code uses Zig 0.16.0. Third-party prototype dependencies are permitted, pinned and recorded with hashes, licenses and replacement boundaries. The former blanket dependency prohibition is superseded for this scope.
The plan preserves RURAL's existing storage engine and qualifies a native graphics dependency. It does not authorize replacing the engine with another database merely to make a demonstration pass. Acceptance requires the actual native client to operate durable state with real visual/runtime evidence.
SurrealDB, TigerBeetle and other systems are research references. Their code, clients and services are not implied runtime dependencies, and their results are not RURAL performance results.
Development and repository work
Zig is the compiler/toolchain. Git manages repositories and linked worktrees in the host workflow. Shell and verification tools support development. Using those tools does not mean the database binary links a third-party database library.
Connecting RURAL to a real application remains a later gate. Its compatibility boundary must be resolved explicitly without silently introducing non-Zig first-party prototype code. Existing Go/HTMX and HTML presentation sites are preserved.
The phrase does not promise that every host feature is already implemented. Public TLS, certificate handling, platform support and other operational features need an explicit permitted implementation and verification before release.
Website
The documentation server is written in Go using the standard library. It has no third-party Go module dependencies. The interface uses vendored HTMX 2.0.10 as explicitly requested for the website; that browser library is separate from the Zig database runtime.
Fonts and browser assets are self-hosted with their associated licenses and provenance. Reading the site should not require a browser to fetch code or typography from an external CDN.
Deployment claims remain separate
Dependency selection does not establish production readiness, low hosting cost or resistance to an upstream network attack. Optional operational protection, backup destinations and future deployment environments must be documented as such.
There is no currently offered hosted service, product download or package-install command. Project status lists the implemented and pending boundaries.
Repository sources of truth: PROJECT-INTERNAL/MANAGEMENT/PROJECT-ELABORATION.md and docs/prototype/README.md. Internal execution plans are not exposed by the public documentation server.