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0024. Assemble the consumer from the canonical example

Status: Superseded by 0039 · 2026-08-27 · #451

TL;DR Keep the chat application in examples/chat-room and its independent package boundary in consumers/chat-room. CI assembles both outside the checkout, so clean installs do not require a second application source or repository.

Decision​

examples/chat-room remains the canonical application and continues to depend on smocket through workspace:*. consumers/chat-room contains only the manifest, lockfile, and instructions that define an independent npm consumer.

A repository script copies those two inputs into a temporary directory outside the checkout. Published validation installs the exact released version recorded in the manifest and lockfile. Candidate validation replaces that dependency only in the temporary copy, installs the tarball produced from the source under review, and runs the same application test.

Candidate validation extends the existing package CI job because it examines the same artifact on every pull request and main push. Published validation has its own workflow because registry input, scheduled checks, manual runs, and version-update pull requests have a different lifecycle.

The browser sandbox starts from the repository root so the runner can read both committed inputs. A generated mirror is permitted only if a sandbox provider is proven to require an independent source tree; it must never become a second hand-maintained application.

This consumer proves installation and application integration across a package boundary. It does not replace the dual-run conformance report as evidence of Socket.IO behavior.

Alternatives rejected​

  • A dedicated repository. A temporary clean install supplies the package boundary without cross-repository ref selection, synchronization, or another maintenance surface.
  • Copy the application into consumers/chat-room. Two editable copies can drift and leave #113, #208, and #218 exercising different workflows.
  • Commit a generated mirror immediately. The repository-root sandbox can assemble the inputs directly. Generation remains a fallback for a demonstrated provider constraint.