docs: describe the on-disk shape of an emitted NWSync tree (#77)

Documents what `nwsync emit --out DIR` actually produces, so a zone can be checked by hand.

The trap this removes: a blob's filename is the SHA-1 of the resource's *original* bytes, but the file on disk is NWCompressedBuffer framing — a 24-byte `NSYC` header then a zstd frame. `sha1sum <blob>` therefore never matches the name it is sitting under. The doc records the recipe that does match:

```
tail -c +25 <blob> | zstd -dc | sha1sum
```

Also notes the tree layout, that the uncompressed length is a little-endian `uint32` at offset 12, and the rough 4:1 compression ratio on hak content.

Verified two ways: against a real emit of a 250 MB hak (2296 blobs, 59 MB on disk against 249 MB of resources), and against `internal/nwsync/compressedbuf.go`, where the header is written as `[]uint32{blobMagic, blobVersion, algorithmZstd, uint32(len(data)), zstdHeaderVer, zstdDictionary}` — confirming field 3 at offset 12.

Docs only, no behaviour change. Falls out of the investigation in #76; that fix is not in this PR.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)Reviewed-on: #77
Reviewed-by: xtul <mpiasecki720@protonmail.com>
Co-authored-by: vickydotbat <vickydotbat@tutamail.com>
This commit was merged in pull request #77.
This commit is contained in:
2026-07-31 11:00:49 +00:00
committed by archvillainette
parent f9051a2c01
commit 7437653f14
+29
View File
@@ -70,6 +70,35 @@ the zone and no index. Blob names are content hashes, so re-running skips
whatever already landed, and `assemble` fails closed on an artifact with no
index rather than publishing a manifest that is missing a hak.
### What an emitted tree looks like
`--out DIR` produces the same tree `emit` would upload, which makes it the way
to check a zone by hand without touching one:
```
<artifact-sha>.nsym binary index
<artifact-sha>.nsym.json the same index, readable
data/sha1/a7/4a/a74aa84a... one blob per resource, two-level fanout
```
A blob's name is the SHA-1 of the resource's **original** bytes, but the file on
disk is not those bytes: each blob is wrapped in NWCompressedBuffer framing, a
24-byte `NSYC` header followed by a zstd frame. Hashing the file directly will
not match its name, which is the obvious
first thing to try and the obvious first thing to be confused by. Strip the
header first:
```
tail -c +25 <blob> | zstd -dc | sha1sum # == the blob's filename
```
The header carries the uncompressed length as a little-endian `uint32` at offset
12, so the decompressed size is checkable without decompressing. Compression is
worth roughly a 4:1
saving on hak content: a 250 MB hak emitted 2296 blobs totalling 59 MB on disk
against 249 MB of resources, as recorded in the sidecar's `on_disk_bytes` and
`total_bytes`.
## Hidden compatibility aliases
Existing scripts may continue using these names indefinitely. They are accepted