Permission-gated step bridge for sandboxed mods

The sandbox blocks love.system and love.filesystem, which orphans the
native step bridge (#452, #489): its one consumer can no longer call
syncHealthSteps or read steps_pending.json (#1186).

Adds a "steps" manifest permission (shown to the player like the
others) gating a mod.steps facade: available() probes the bridge
quietly, sync() forwards the async refresh, poll() hands the mod its
copy of a delivery. The engine owns the pending file -- mods never name
a path and receive only { steps, from, to }. Without the permission the
acting calls name it, following the network gate. No new events, hooks
or registries; nothing removed.

RFC 0009. Tests: tests/modkit/cases/steps_bridge.lua (no-mod cold
bridge, permissioned sync/poll, per-mod copies, contract-field
filtering, malformed-delivery drop, unpermissioned refusal, bridgeless
build).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Myles Resnick
2026-08-13 11:19:06 -04:00
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# RFC 0009 — Permission-gated step bridge for sandboxed mods
## Status
Proposed. Engine: `Steps.lua` (new), `Loader.lua`, `Manifest.lua`,
`Sandbox.lua`. Test: `tests/modkit/cases/steps_bridge.lua`. Issue: #1186.
## Motivation
The iOS and Android builds count the player's real-world steps natively
(#452, #489), exposed to Lua as `love.system.syncHealthSteps()` and
delivered as `steps_pending.json` in the save-directory root. The sandbox
correctly blocks both — `love.system` also launches URLs, and the file API
names paths — but that leaves the bridge with no consumer: the mod that
step counting was built for (Pokéwalker, steps→EXP) can no longer be
written.
## The decision it extends
Extends the mod sandbox in `src/mods/Sandbox.lua` (blocked host modules
stay blocked; legitimate operations receive narrow engine-owned facades)
and the permission model `network` established: a `manifest.json`
permission the player sees in the mod manager that genuinely gates a
capability.
## The exact API delta
A new manifest permission token, `steps`, and a `mod.steps` facade:
- `mod.steps:available() -> boolean` — whether this build carries the
native bridge. Answers `false` without the permission, so a probe stays
quiet.
- `mod.steps:sync() -> boolean` — asks the platform to refresh its count
(async; the OS consent sheet still appears on first use, exactly as
before the sandbox). `false` when there is no bridge.
- `mod.steps:poll() -> { steps = n, from = iso?, to = iso? } | nil` — the
next delivery for this mod, engine-consumed from the pending file. Each
permissioned mod receives its own copy of a delivery.
Without the permission, `sync` and `poll` raise an error naming the
missing permission, the way the network gate does. The engine owns the
pending file: mods never learn its name or location, and only the three
contract fields travel. No new event, hook, or registry names.
## Migration note for existing mods
Mods that called `love.system.syncHealthSteps()` and read
`steps_pending.json` themselves add `"steps"` to `permissions` and switch
to `mod.steps:sync()` / `mod.steps:poll()`. No other mod changes.
## Parity tests
- **No mod:** with nothing installed the bridge is never called and a
pending file on disk is left untouched.
- **Mod API:** a fixture mod with the permission syncs and receives a
delivery through the public loader; two permissioned mods both receive
the same walk; a second poll returns nil.
- **No permission:** `available()` is false and the acting calls name the
missing permission; the sandbox suite keeps proving direct
`love.system` access is refused.
- **Malformed delivery:** a bad or empty pending file is dropped whole
rather than crashing a poll (the native anchor only advances on a
successful sync, so nothing is lost).
## Deprecation etiquette
Nothing deprecated. The facade is additive; the sandbox's `love.system`
and `love.filesystem` blocks remain in force.