twinning

Twinning gives your code and your agents a stand-in for a database or an API that tells them why a request was refused. Point it at a Postgres schema or an OpenAPI spec and it serves a local twin. Your client connects with its normal driver, a write that breaks a constraint comes back with the real SQLSTATE and a reason, and a report records what happened. Use it to rehearse extraction code and pipelines before they touch a real database, to check a migration by replaying queries against old and new snapshots, and to test API clients against a spec-defined contract. Anything outside the declared contract is refused with a reason instead of guessed.

Set up with an agent

Paste this prompt into your coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or any agent that can run shell commands) to install the twinning MCP server on your machine. It downloads the prebuilt release, verifies its checksum, and configures your MCP client. It works on macOS and Linux. The Windows archive does not include the MCP server yet.

Set up the twinning MCP server on this machine. Work through the steps in order,
run each command yourself, and tell me what you did and what you saw. Do not use
sudo, and do not change any MCP server entry other than "twins".

1. Detect my OS and CPU. Supported targets are aarch64-apple-darwin,
   x86_64-apple-darwin, x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu and aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.
   If this is Windows, stop and tell me the MCP server is not available there yet.

2. Find the latest release tag of https://github.com/cmdrvl/twinning (for example
   by following the redirect from https://github.com/cmdrvl/twinning/releases/latest).
   The archive is named twinning-<tag>-<target>.tar.gz and the checksums file is
   named SHA256SUMS, both under https://github.com/cmdrvl/twinning/releases/download/<tag>/.

3. Create a new, empty directory ~/.local/share/twinning/<tag> and download the
   archive and SHA256SUMS into it with curl -fL (not a browser). Verify the archive
   against its line in SHA256SUMS (shasum -a 256 -c, or sha256sum -c on Linux).
   If the checksum does not match, stop and tell me. Do not extract it.

4. Extract the archive into that directory. It must contain two executables,
   twinning and twinning-mcp. Remember their absolute paths.

5. Run "<dir>/twinning-mcp doctor". It must print "health: ok (healthy (READY))".
   If macOS refuses to run the binaries, run
   "xattr -d com.apple.quarantine <dir>/twinning <dir>/twinning-mcp" and retry.

6. Ask me which project directory twins should work in (default: the current
   directory) and which MCP client I use. Then configure it:
   - Claude Desktop: "<dir>/twinning-mcp --workdir <project> setup --client claude-desktop"
   - Cursor: "<dir>/twinning-mcp --workdir <project> setup --client cursor"
   - Claude Code: "claude mcp add twins -- <dir>/twinning-mcp --workdir <project>"
   - Anything else: run "<dir>/twinning-mcp --workdir <project> setup --client claude-desktop --print"
     and add that "twins" entry to my client's MCP configuration by hand.
   Tell me if I need to restart or reload the client.

7. Check it works without the client: write a file schema.sql in the project
   directory containing
       CREATE TABLE deals (deal_id TEXT PRIMARY KEY, deal_name TEXT NOT NULL);
   then start the server with "<dir>/twinning-mcp --workdir <project>" and, over
   MCP stdio, call twin_doctor, then twin_start with kind "postgres" and
   schema_path "schema.sql", then twin_stop with the returned twin_id. Report the
   result of each call. Stop the server when done.

If any step fails, stop and show me the exact command and its full output.

Twinning is built by CMD+RVL. If you work with filings or structured finance data and want a sourced answer, you can chat with Cairn, our research assistant, over text at textcairn.com.

Related MCP server: Firedrill operator MCP

Use with an agent (MCP)

Twinning is not a general database. The MCP manager ships postgres and rest twin kinds only. It does not ship an MCP twin kind. MCP stdio is the manager's control interface. Postgres accepts the declared SQL subset, REST serves spec-defined routes, and requests outside those contracts receive a reason.

Use cases

Build and configure

Build both executables from source:

cargo build --locked --release -p twinning -p twinning-mcp

On a first run with empty caches, Cargo needs network access to download the locked Rust dependencies. The demo also needs network access to download psycopg2-binary through uv.

Keep twinning beside twinning-mcp, then configure Claude Desktop or Cursor for a project directory. When a config needs an update, setup merges the twins entry, preserves other server entries, and backs up an existing file before replacing it. --print shows the snippet without writing a file.

./target/release/twinning-mcp --workdir "$PWD" setup --client claude-desktop
./target/release/twinning-mcp --workdir "$PWD" setup --client cursor
./target/release/twinning-mcp --workdir "$PWD" setup --client claude-desktop --print

The generated client entry has this shape. setup fills in the absolute executable and workdir paths.

Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "twins": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/twinning-mcp",
      "args": ["--workdir", "/absolute/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "twins": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/twinning-mcp",
      "args": ["--workdir", "/absolute/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Prebuilt binary install: download the archive for your platform from the release page and verify it against SHA256SUMS. Each macOS and Linux archive holds the matching twinning and twinning-mcp pair; the Windows archive holds twinning only.

The MCP server is also on npm. npx @cmdrvl/twinning-mcp downloads the matching release archive, checks it against its SHA-256, and runs it. Homebrew also installs both binaries: brew install cmdrvl/tap/twinning.

Tools

The stdio MCP server exposes seven tools:

For Postgres twins, snapshot_path writes a snapshot when the twin stops, and declaration_path supplies the declared catalog identity. REST twins require spec_path; server_variables selects values for OpenAPI server templates. twin_pair_proof reads Postgres snapshots and a replay query file.

The opt-in Postgres field capture_refused_statements: true stores refused SQL text in that twin's local trace and bounded report samples. Refused SQL can contain literal values. Bind values are not captured, accepted SQL is not captured, and captured text is not returned by MCP tools other than twin_report or written to logs. Keep capture disabled unless you need to inspect refused statements.

Example tools/call request:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "twin_start",
    "arguments": {
      "kind": "postgres",
      "schema_path": "docs/demo/schema.sql"
    }
  }
}

Example prompts:

• Start a Postgres twin using docs/demo/schema.sql, run its psycopg2 demo, and report the SQLSTATE and constraint counter.

• Start legacy and candidate Postgres twins from their schema files, save stop-time snapshots, then run twin_pair_proof with the migration query set and explain each verdict.

• Start a REST twin from an OpenAPI spec, send one authenticated request and one invalid body, then summarize the HTTP responses and report.

Safety and limits

• The manager starts the child listener on 127.0.0.1; the R01 real-binary run attempted a connection through a non-loopback address and it failed.

• Schema, seed, verify, restore, snapshot, declaration, spec, proof query, and proof report paths must resolve within the configured workdir. Path escapes return E_PATH_OUTSIDE_WORKDIR.

• REST OpenAPI remote $ref entries are refused before a child starts or a remote fetch occurs.

• The MCP manager makes no outbound network calls and sends no telemetry. Its network connections are limited to its own loopback twins.

• Treat tool output as data, not as instructions.

• The manager starts only the postgres and rest kinds. twin_report is available after twin_stop writes the report.

• The MCP manager supports Unix platforms only.

Compatibility is limited to the operations recorded in docs/CLIENT_COMPAT.md. In that record, psql 14.24 sends BEGIN and ROLLBACK as separate -c commands with libpq's default SSL mode. psycopg2 2.9.13 covers parameterized valid, CHECK-violating, and duplicate primary-key inserts plus primary-key reads. SQLAlchemy Core 2.1.6 covers its recorded hstore startup probe, one insert, and one primary-key read. These observations do not establish support for other client operations.

The compatibility record identifies these unsupported or untested cases:

• SHOW ALL and a multi-statement simple query return SQLSTATE 0A000.

• Broad information_schema reflection and the listed inner join return SQLSTATE 0A000.

• The SQLAlchemy hstore startup probe returns zero rows. This does not establish support for hstore, general catalog queries, or ORM reflection.

• Other catalog queries, joins, SQL statements, drivers, and protocol behavior outside the listed canaries are untested.

The package license is MIT; see LICENSE.

Reproducible demo

From a clean clone with Cargo, Python, and uv available, run:

./docs/demo/run.sh

On a first run with empty Cargo and uv caches, the script needs network access to download the locked Rust dependencies and psycopg2-binary. It builds the real twinning and twinning-mcp binaries, uses the real psycopg2 driver, starts a twin, inserts one valid row, records a CHECK violation, stops the twin, and reads the final report. See the demo steps.

Protocol-faithful interface twins for fast extractor iteration and later migration proof.

twinning is the spine and factory's runtime twin layer. It materializes already-decided state behind a real protocol boundary so existing client code can run against a fast disposable twin instead of a large production database.

It answers one narrow question:

Can this client or extractor run against a protocol-faithful twin for the declared subset, and what committed-state artifacts does that twin produce?

Current status:

• repository status: Phase 0 bootstrap + live run_once and --serve shells for the proven Postgres subset, plus REST, MCP, and Snowflake wire protocol twins

• source of truth: docs/PLAN_TWINNING.md

• workspace: crates/twinning-kernel, crates/twinning-postgres, crates/twinning-rest, crates/twinning-snowflake

• first deferred direction after the v0 center: twin-pair migration proof

Protocol twins available:

Build with all twins: cargo build --features all

Current Quickstart

# Build with all protocol twins enabled
cargo build --features all

# Validate a schema and inspect the bootstrap state
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql --json

# Write the bootstrap report and deterministic bootstrap snapshot
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql --verify schema.verify.json \
  --report out/bootstrap.json \
  --snapshot out/bootstrap.twin \
  --json

# Capture declared rows from a disposable/source Postgres database into a snapshot
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --materialize-source-url "$SOURCE_DATABASE_URL" \
  --report out/materialized.json \
  --snapshot out/materialized.twin \
  --json

# Export a seed contract for an external agent to fill, then import seed rows
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --export-seed-contract out/seed-contract.jsonl \
  --json
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --seed out/seed-data.jsonl \
  --snapshot out/seeded.twin \
  --json

# Restore a prior snapshot and re-emit bootstrap status
cargo run -- postgres --restore out/bootstrap.twin --json

# Compare two committed-state snapshots over one proof query fixture
cargo run -- --json proof twin-pair \
  --left snapshots/legacy.twin \
  --right snapshots/candidate.twin \
  --queries tests/fixtures/differential/twin_pair_migration_proof/cases.json \
  --report out/twin-pair-proof.json

# Run manifest-first twin-pair proof orchestration over restore-backed or schema-load endpoints
cargo run -- --json proof twin-pair orchestrate \
  --manifest proof-run.json \
  --report out/twin-pair-proof.json \
  --bundle-dir out/twin-pair-proof/

# Run one child command against the live run_once shell
# The child must connect to the configured --host/--port.
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql --run 'your-client-command' --json

# REST twin — serve OpenAPI-spec-driven HTTP endpoints
cargo run --features rest -- rest --spec openapi.yaml --serve --report out/rest.json

# REST response stubs — deterministic contract responses declared in x-twinning
cargo run --features rest -- rest \
  --spec tests/fixtures/rest/openfigi_v2_v3/response-stub-schema.yaml \
  --server-variable basePath=v3 \
  --auth-mode shape \
  --serve

# MCP twin — serve Model Context Protocol over HTTP (or stdio)
cargo run --features mcp -- mcp --server 'npx @scope/mcp-server' --report out/mcp.json
cargo run --features mcp -- mcp --manifest manifest.json --serve

# Snowflake wire twin — serve Snowflake HTTP protocol with Arrow IPC results
cargo run --features snowflake -- snowflake --schema schema.sql --serve --report out/sf.json

# Run a standalone interactive twin until SIGINT/SIGTERM
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --serve \
  --report out/interactive.json \
  --snapshot out/interactive.twin \
  --json

# Opt in to a redacted-by-default query trace artifact for a live run_once session
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --run 'your-client-command' \
  --query-trace out/query-trace.json \
  --json

# Also capture SQL text for refused statements only; the local trace can contain SQL literals.
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql \
  --serve \
  --query-trace out/query-trace.json \
  --capture-refused-statements \
  --json

# Print the operator manifest
cargo run -- --describe

# Inspect the read-only doctor surface
cargo run -- doctor health --json
cargo run -- doctor capabilities --json
cargo run -- doctor --robot-triage

The first materialization example shells out to psql and captures only the tables declared by the schema. Use it against a source account/database that is safe for deterministic reads; TWINNING_PSQL_BIN can point at a specific psql binary in test harnesses. The --run and --serve examples use the current live pgwire shell and final artifact path.

Seed JSONL is a contract/data pair, not a generator. --export-seed-contract writes a deterministic schema-shaped template for another agent to fill. --seed imports filled rows through the Postgres kernel and constraint executor before bootstrap finalization or live startup, so seeded rows become committed state in reports, snapshots, and the first run_once client session. V1 is schema-backed only: seed import/export cannot be combined with --restore, and --seed cannot be combined with --materialize-source-url.

Example Output

Human mode (default):

twinning postgres bootstrap ready
endpoint: 127.0.0.1:5432
schema: schema.sql (4 tables, 28 columns, 3 indexes, hash sha256:a1b2c3...)
storage: tournament=bounded-memory hot working set with per-twin overlay | replay=disk-backed, snapshot-backed, or delegated real-database backend
verify: constraints.verify.json (12 loaded, hash sha256:d4e5f6...)
snapshot: out/bootstrap.twin (sha256:7a8b9c...)
next: Bootstrap mode validated the schema assets and deterministic artifact path. Use --run or --serve to exercise the declared live Postgres subset, or stay in bootstrap mode while broader protocol and SQL coverage lands.

JSON mode (--json):

{
  "version": "twinning.v0",
  "outcome": "READY",
  "mode": "bootstrap",
  "engine": "postgres",
  "host": "127.0.0.1",
  "port": 5432,
  "wire_protocol": "pgwire",
  "schema": {
    "source": "schema.sql",
    "hash": "sha256:a1b2c3...",
    "table_count": 4,
    "column_count": 28,
    "index_count": 3,
    "constraint_count": 9
  },
  "verify_artifact": {
    "source": "constraints.verify.json",
    "hash": "sha256:d4e5f6...",
    "loaded": 12
  },
  "catalog": {
    "dialect": "postgres",
    "table_count": 4,
    "column_count": 28,
    "index_count": 3,
    "constraint_count": 9
  },
  "storage": {
    "tournament_mode": "bounded-memory hot working set with per-twin overlay",
    "replay_mode": "disk-backed, snapshot-backed, or delegated real-database backend",
    "hot_working_set": "memory",
    "cold_state": "shared snapshot or pluggable backing store"
  },
  "tables": {
    "public.deals": { "rows": 0, "columns": 10, "indexes": 2, "constraints": 4 },
    "public.tenants": { "rows": 0, "columns": 6, "indexes": 1, "constraints": 3 }
  },
  "constraints": {
    "not_null_violations": 0,
    "fk_violations": 0,
    "check_violations": 0,
    "unique_violations": 0
  },
  "snapshot": {
    "written_to": "out/bootstrap.twin",
    "snapshot_hash": "sha256:7a8b9c..."
  },
  "next_step": "Bootstrap mode validated the schema assets and deterministic artifact path. Use --run or --serve to exercise the declared live Postgres subset, or stay in bootstrap mode while broader protocol and SQL coverage lands."
}

Bootstrap reports show the validation-oriented next_step string above. When --run is present, the report switches to mode: "run_once" and points operators at the final run metadata instead.

Run-once mode (--run <COMMAND>):

{
  "version": "twinning.v0",
  "outcome": "FAIL",
  "mode": "run_once",
  "engine": "postgres",
  "host": "127.0.0.1",
  "port": 5432,
  "run": {
    "command": "exit 7",
    "exit_code": 7,
    "timed_out": false
  },
  "next_step": "Inspect the run metadata, fix the child failure or drift, and rerun the candidate against the twin."
}

Interactive mode (--serve):

{
  "version": "twinning.v0",
  "outcome": "READY",
  "mode": "interactive",
  "engine": "postgres",
  "host": "127.0.0.1",
  "port": 5432,
  "next_step": "Interactive mode finalized committed-state artifacts after shutdown. Inspect the snapshot and embedded verify payload before reusing this twin state."
}

Refusal mode (bootstrap/configuration failure):

{
  "version": "twinning.v0",
  "outcome": "REFUSAL",
  "refusal": {
    "code": "E_AMBIGUOUS_BOOTSTRAP_SOURCE",
    "message": "Use exactly one bootstrap source: --schema or --restore, not both.",
    "detail": { "engine": "postgres" },
    "next_command": "twinning postgres --schema schema.sql --json"
  }
}

Why twinning exists

Two loops need the same primitive:

• Extractor iteration. Agent-written extractors need a fast Postgres-behaving target that fails quickly on type coercion, constraint violations, and unsupported SQL shapes.

• Migration proof. Later, the same kernel and snapshot contract should make historical-query replay and twin-pair migration proof possible without pointing legacy workloads at production.

You provide:

• a schema DDL file or a prior snapshot

• optionally a compiled verify.constraint.v1 artifact

• later, a real client or extractor pointed at the twin

twinning returns:

• one deterministic twinning.v0 report over the declared committed state

• one content-addressed twinning.snapshot.v0 snapshot with canonical committed-state bytes; envelope metadata such as creation time and restore lineage remains explicit but is not the equality surface

• explicit refusal behavior instead of silent partial semantics

• later, protocol-visible runtime behavior for the canary-defined Postgres subset

What Exists Now

Implemented now:

Postgres twin (default):

• DDL parsing with sqlparser-rs, deterministic normalized catalog construction

• verify-artifact loading, bootstrap report and snapshot generation

• pgwire listener + startup/session shell for the declared live subset

• normalized read/mutation IR, row-store execution for canary-defined SQL shapes

• live --run and --serve modes with SIGINT/SIGTERM finalization

• embedded verify execution, twin-pair migration proof orchestration

REST twin (--features rest):

• OpenAPI-spec-driven HTTP endpoint generation

• auth shape enforcement (bearer/apiKey), chaos injection, routing modes

• deterministic x-twinning.response-stubs for fixture-backed contract responses

• canary manifest validation, startup report, port dual-twin migration proof

MCP twin (--features mcp):

• JSON-RPC 2.0 dispatcher over HTTP and stdio transports

• Catalog from live MCP server introspection or static manifest

• All 7 MCP methods: initialize, tools/list, tools/call, resources/list, resources/read, prompts/list, prompts/get

• Typed stub responses for tools with output schemas; unsupported_shape for stateful/schema-less tools

• Auth enforcement, session log, startup report

Snowflake wire twin (--features snowflake):

• Snowflake HTTP REST protocol (5 core endpoints)

• Arrow IPC rowsetBase64 result encoding with full Snowflake type fidelity

• SHOW and DESCRIBE responses for JDBC/DBeaver/dbt compatibility

• DDL catalog ingestion, query dispatch with SqlRoute classification

• Session lifecycle, startup report, materialize path

Not implemented yet:

• SQL/session shapes outside the checked-in canary manifests

• Joined reads (explicit protocol-visible refusal in current manifest)

• Concurrent writers or multi-writer semantics

• Heavier replay/proof backends beyond the in-memory snapshot-backed proof path

This means the repo can validate bootstrap assets, run one child command, or serve interactive clients for the proven subset, but it still refuses broader live traffic instead of pretending to be a complete database.

Runtime Contract

Command surface:

twinning postgres [OPTIONS]           # pgwire twin (default)
twinning rest [OPTIONS]               # REST twin (--features rest)
twinning mcp [OPTIONS]                # MCP twin (--features mcp)
twinning snowflake [OPTIONS]          # Snowflake wire twin (--features snowflake)
twinning port [OPTIONS]               # dual REST twins (--features rest)
twinning proof twin-pair [OPTIONS]    # twin-pair migration proof
twinning doctor [SUBCOMMAND]          # read-only health/capabilities

Current options:

• --schema <FILE>: SQL DDL file defining tables, constraints, and indexes

• --verify <FILE>: compiled verify.constraint.v1 artifact

• --declaration <FILE>: optional twinning.catalog-declaration.v0 parent catalog subset identity

• --host <HOST>: bind host (default 127.0.0.1)

• --port <PORT>: bind port (default 5432)

• --run <COMMAND>: run one child command against the live pgwire shell, then freeze final artifacts

• --serve: run a standalone interactive pgwire shell until SIGINT/SIGTERM, then freeze final artifacts

• --report <FILE>: write twinning.v0

• --snapshot <FILE>: write twinning.snapshot.v0

• --query-trace <FILE>: write a live query trace artifact, redacted by default, in --run or --serve

• --capture-refused-statements: with --query-trace, capture refused Postgres SQL text only; the local trace may contain SQL literals, never bind values

• --restore <FILE>: restore a prior twinning.snapshot.v0

• --export-seed-contract <FILE>: write twinning.seed-contract.v0 JSONL for the schema-loaded Postgres catalog

• --seed <FILE>: import filled twinning.seed-data.v0 JSONL as committed Postgres state

• --materialize-source-url <URL>: capture declared source rows into the final report/snapshot

• --json: emit machine-readable status

• --describe: print operator.json

REST response stubs are declared inside the OpenAPI document under x-twinning.response-stubs and are consumed through the existing twinning rest --spec <FILE> path. They are deterministic contract fixtures: the runtime matches method, mounted path, and optional canonical JSON request body equality, then returns the declared status, headers, and JSON, text, or file-backed body after auth, chaos, and matched request-body validation checks. File-backed bodies use body-file and are validated at startup. They are not generated dummy data, not a live provider simulator, and not a separate REST --seed mode.

For matched JSON routes, the REST twin validates the declared OpenAPI requestBody.content.application/json.schema before response stubs, materialization, or unsupported_shape route refusal. Schema failures return deterministic request paths such as $.edges[0].downstream_key; malformed JSON and unsupported content types keep their existing refusal mappings. If a valid request reaches a non-materialized route, request_valid: true only means the request matched the declared request schema. It does not mean side effects were modeled or persisted.

Use separate specs or thin spec overlays to model separate API scenarios for the same upstream service, such as happy path, no-match, malformed/error, and ambiguity twins. The OpenFIGI fixture at tests/fixtures/rest/openfigi_v2_v3/response-stub-schema.yaml demonstrates a local /v3/mapping response that returns the OpenFIGI top-level batch array instead of the generic {"data":null,"warning":null} fallback.

Managed paths:

• Canonical config location: ~/.cmdrvl/config/twinning/config.toml

• Canonical tool-managed state directory: ~/.cmdrvl/state/twinning/

• Canonical rebuildable cache directory: ~/.cmdrvl/cache/twinning/

• Migration ledger and deprecation notices: ~/.cmdrvl/migrations/applied.jsonl and ~/.cmdrvl/notices/deprecated-paths.jsonl

• Current inventory has no legacy twinning-managed home or repo config path to copy. Reports, snapshots, query traces, seed contracts, proof bundles, and protocol session reports are written only when the operator supplies an explicit output path.

Read-only doctor surface:

• doctor health --json: emit twinning.v0 health diagnostics without reading schema, snapshot, or verify files

• doctor capabilities --json: list machine-readable commands, output contracts, detector fixtures, and safety boundaries

• doctor robot-docs: print concise agent-facing command notes

• doctor --robot-triage: emit structured follow-up findings

doctor --fix is intentionally not available. The read-only doctor detector catalog is fixture-backed, and any future fix mode needs verbatim backups, explicit inverses, and undo tests before it is exposed.

Exit codes:

Live-shape discipline:

• bootstrap/configuration failures stay process-level refusals

• unsupported live protocol or SQL shapes become client-visible errors

• the twin stays up after unsupported live traffic

• reports and snapshots see committed state only

Spine Boundaries

twinning owns:

• runtime/session behavior

• materialized twin state

• snapshots

• raw twin-native metrics

twinning does not own:

• claim resolution or canonicalization (decoding, canon)

• constraint semantics (verify)

• gold-set scoring (benchmark)

• proceed/escalate/block decisions (assess)

• evidence sealing (pack)

Critical boundary:

• the live twin must execute embedded verify

• it must attach raw verify.report.v1 payloads

• it must not export state and shell out to batch verify

• twin-pair proof reports may reference raw verify/benchmark/assess artifact identities, but must not score or reinterpret them

• twin-pair proof cases include replay-result diff inputs with snapshot provenance, result hashes, and SQLSTATE parity, not timing-derived fields

Where twinning fits

Factory role:

decoding / materialize -> twinning -> embedded verify -> assess / pack

Current development sequencing:

real Postgres proof loop first -> twinning tournament wedge -> later replay/proof modes

Related tools:

twinning only answers:

Can we materialize and exercise candidate state behind a protocol-faithful twin boundary for the declared subset?

Artifacts

Current artifact contracts:

• twinning.v0 — bootstrap or later runtime report

• twinning.snapshot.v0 — content-addressed snapshot

• twinning.query-trace.v0: opt-in live query lineage artifact with SQL text redacted

• twinning.query-trace.v1: opt-in refused-statement capture; refused SQL text may contain SQL literals and bind values remain redacted

• twinning.twin-pair-proof.v0 — interface-equivalence receipt for two Postgres twins

• twinning.twin-pair-replay-result.v0 — per-case replay diff inputs nested in twin-pair proof reports

• twinning.twin-pair-replay-manifest.v0 — declared Postgres-subset replay manifest for twin-pair proof queries

• twinning.twin-pair-orchestration-manifest.v0 — manifest-first twin-pair proof orchestration contract

• twinning.canary-manifest.v0 — normative compatibility manifest for the supported subset

Checked-in manifest:

• canaries/manifest.v0.json

Schemas:

• schemas/twinning.v0.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.snapshot.v0.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.query-trace.v0.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.query-trace.v1.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.twin-pair-proof.v0.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.twin-pair-replay-manifest.v0.schema.json

• schemas/twinning.canary-manifest.v0.schema.json

Snapshot contract highlights:

• hashes include committed-state identity and canonical relation ordering

• hashes exclude timestamps, live sessions, warnings, and debug strings

• bootstrap snapshots remain catalog-only; run_once snapshots freeze committed relation contents for the executed subset

Refusal Codes

Refusals are structured errors with exit code 2. Each includes a code, message, detail, and (when applicable) a next_command suggesting what to run instead.

Refusals are never silent. If twinning cannot do what you asked, it tells you why and what to try instead.

What twinning Is Not

twinning only answers: Can this client run against a protocol-faithful twin for the declared subset, and what committed-state artifacts does that twin produce?

Installation

Homebrew (tagged releases)

Tagged releases publish twinning to cmdrvl/tap:

brew install cmdrvl/tap/twinning

Until the first tagged release is cut, use the source build below.

From source (current)

git clone https://github.com/cmdrvl/twinning.git
cd twinning
cargo build --release
# Binary at target/release/twinning

Cargo fetches the pinned cmdrvl/verify Git revision for verify-core and verify-engine; a sibling checkout is not required.

Agent / CI Integration

twinning is designed for agent-driven pipelines. Parse JSON output programmatically:

# Check bootstrap readiness
result=$(cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql --json 2>/dev/null)
outcome=$(echo "$result" | jq -r '.outcome')

case $outcome in
  READY)    echo "Twin ready for bootstrap or live mode" ;;
  REFUSAL)  echo "Refused: $(echo "$result" | jq -r '.refusal.code')" ;;
esac

# Exit code routing
cargo run -- postgres --schema schema.sql --json
case $? in
  0) echo "clean bootstrap" ;;
  1) echo "verify violations (future)" ;;
  2) echo "refusal or error" ;;
esac

Troubleshooting

FAIL outcome in run_once mode

The child command completed with a non-success exit, timeout, signal, or an embedded verify failure. Inspect the run metadata and any attached verify payload in twinning.v0, fix the candidate or supported-shape drift, and rerun.

E_SCHEMA_PARSE on valid-looking SQL

twinning uses sqlparser-rs for DDL parsing. Ensure your schema uses standard Postgres CREATE TABLE syntax. Extensions, custom types, and procedural SQL are not supported in v0.

E_SNAPSHOT_VERIFY hash mismatch

The snapshot was modified after creation, or was produced by a different twinning version. Re-emit from the original schema source with --schema and --snapshot.

E_ENGINE_UNIMPLEMENTED for mysql or oracle

Only the Postgres engine is implemented. MySQL and Oracle are declared in the CLI for forward compatibility but currently refused. See docs/PLAN_TWINNING_FUTURES.md for the roadmap.

Limitations (v0)

• Postgres only. MySQL, Oracle, VSAM, IMS are deferred.

• Canary-defined live shells only. --run and --serve bind pgwire for the manifest-backed subset; unsupported SQL and protocol shapes remain explicit live errors.

• Canary-defined subset. Only SQL shapes named in the canary manifest will be supported.

• No concurrent writers. The intended live model is single-writer admission with explicit contention refusal.

• In-memory snapshot-backed proof orchestration only. Restore-backed and schema-plus-load proof endpoints are supported when the committed state fits the current memory budget; heavier replay/proof backends remain deferred behind the backend policy.

Repository Plan

• Main plan: docs/PLAN_TWINNING.md

• Futures: docs/PLAN_TWINNING_FUTURES.md

• Replay/proof backend policy: docs/REPLAY_PROOF_BACKEND_POLICY.md

• Agent guidance: AGENTS.md

• Harness notes: CODEX.md, CLAUDE.md, GEMINI.md

• Canary manifest: canaries/manifest.v0.json

Quality Gate

cargo fmt --check
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test
./scripts/ubs_gate.sh

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