From 23fc859e1adc43ef2e2062f22e1b65b33808ff70 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Fredrik Ahlgren Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:32:02 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?docs:=20tell=20the=20name's=20story=20=E2=80=94?= =?UTF-8?q?=20a=20relay=20that=20cannot=20testify?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit The rationale for the name has been locked in docs/naming.md since 2026-06-08 and appeared nowhere a user would see it. Tell it in three places, and no more: - README.md gains a short "Why the name?" section next to the security screen, with one line of the Shakespeare layer; - SECURITY.md opens the rendezvous-relay section with the claim it earns — the relay cannot testify to terminal plaintext, while the metadata, registry blobs, and revocation tombstones it does hold stay spelled out unchanged; - docs/naming.md records where the story now ships, so it stays the source rather than the only home. Documentation only: no CLI output, no code, no new claims. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01KeiotDVE94wEzvc7wcvm1y --- README.md | 9 +++++++++ SECURITY.md | 8 ++++++++ docs/naming.md | 6 ++++++ 3 files changed, 23 insertions(+) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 076bc2f..984164f 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -115,6 +115,15 @@ Attach several machines at once with `mir attach a b c`; press `Ctrl-O`, then → [`docs/release.md`](docs/release.md), [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), [audit scope](docs/audit-scope.md) +## Why the name? + +The Miranda warning: *you have the right to remain silent.* The relay in the +middle has no choice about it — it never sees your keystrokes, so it cannot +testify to what you typed, under subpoena or after a breach. + +The other Miranda is Shakespeare's, on an island in *The Tempest*, seeing the +wider world for the first time: “O brave new world, that has such people in't.” + ## Security in one screen Miranda assumes the rendezvous relay is untrusted. diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md index 14ad367..e521fb8 100644 --- a/SECURITY.md +++ b/SECURITY.md @@ -67,6 +67,14 @@ not normal deployment. ### Rendezvous relay +**A relay that cannot testify.** Miranda is named after the warning — *you have +the right to remain silent* — and the relay in the middle has no choice about +it: terminal bytes only ever reach it as Noise ciphertext, so it cannot testify +to what you typed, under subpoena or after a breach. That covers plaintext and +nothing more; the relay still sees the metadata listed below, still holds +encrypted registry blobs while an agent is live, and still persists owner-signed +revocation tombstones. + The relay matches owner/machine IDs, forwards one-shot SDP messages, bridges pairing rooms, serves temporary TURN credentials when configured, retains encrypted registry blobs only with live agent registrations, and persists owner-signed diff --git a/docs/naming.md b/docs/naming.md index ec0831e..0e26f3e 100644 --- a/docs/naming.md +++ b/docs/naming.md @@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ on Prospero the magician's island, *"O brave new world, that has such people in' — which fits the "definitely magic" tone and opens a thematic name system for the components. +**Told in the product since 2026-08-31.** The warning story now opens the relay's +section in [`SECURITY.md`](../SECURITY.md) ("a relay that cannot testify") and has +a short "Why the name?" section in [`README.md`](../README.md), with one line of +the Shakespeare layer for warmth. Those two are the only places it ships; this +file stays the source and the full record. + ## Criteria - Short, memorable, pronounceable; brandable.