# Path drafts — three architectures

Original comparison before Path 3 was selected.

## Non-negotiable session model

Every viable design shares the same state machine. Continuous bidirectional sync of **live** save directories is the antipattern that caused prior LOPEs.

- Pull only at session start; push only at session end
- One lease per game
- Hash gate rejects stale WIP unless explicit force-restore
- Per-device history (3–5 versions); single live SSOT slot
- Never delete live without first moving current into history

### Conceptual layout

```
games/<game-id>/
  live/              # SSOT current slot
  history/<device>/  # last N snapshots per device
  meta.json
```

---

## Path 1 — Hardened Syncthing + Session Orchestrator

Syncthing syncs only the **SSOT tree**, never native game save dirs. A local agent copies native ↔ WIP ↔ SSOT around sessions.

**Pros:** Fast LAN; mature Android Syncthing client.  
**Cons:** Discipline required; peer conflict resolution if lease fails.  
**Status:** Named **fallback** if MinIO/WAN path becomes blocking.

---

## Path 2 — Custom Agent + Gitea (Git LFS)

Gitea as SSOT; saves as LFS or release assets; agent pull/push around sessions.

**Pros:** Auditable history in web UI.  
**Cons:** Git/LFS friction for binaries.  
**Status:** Shelved.

---

## Path 3 — Custom Agent + MinIO (selected)

SSOT is versioned object storage on NAS MinIO. Agent implements pull-live / push-live / history / restore. Exposed via Cloudflare → NGINX → MinIO for WAN.

**Pros:** Cleanest binary SSOT model; no Git merge footguns; easy prune.  
**Cons:** Own the agent end-to-end; need reachable HTTPS API.  
**Status:** **Building this.**

### Comparison snapshot

| Tenet | Path 1 | Path 2 | Path 3 |
|-------|--------|--------|--------|
| Safety / direction | High if SSOT-only | High | Highest |
| Automation | Excellent Linux | Good | Excellent |
| Easy add/remove | CLI + Syncthing API | CLI + repo | CLI + key prefixes |
| LOPE recovery | history + .stversions | git/local history | object history |
| Android | Syncthing-Fork | Custom app | Custom Compose app |
| Past LOPE risk | Medium if live dirs synced | Low | Low |