System · the relay, it governs

Thalamus

One place to tune the whole system.

Every product parameter (models, modes, grounding, voice) defined once, resolved per consumer, and audited on every change. No redeploy to change behaviour.

In active development

How it flows

Parameters
models · modes · grounding · voice
Thalamus
Cortex · Lens · Larynx · Pharynx
  • Defined once, resolved per system.
  • Every change logged: who, when, old → new.
  • Consumers fail open: they keep working if it is unreachable.

How it fits

Feeds live configuration to Cortex, Lens, Larynx and Pharynx.

Under the hood

One dial board for the whole system.

Every product parameter is defined once in a typed registry, resolved per consumer, and audited on every change. Definitions ship with the code; values live in a small store.

How a value resolves

Override
an operator
Active mode
a bundle
Default
from the registry
Resolved value
per consumer

An explicit override always beats a mode, which beats the default; the UI shows which one won, so precedence is visible instead of a surprise.

How consumers read it

Consumer
cortex · lens · pharynx
GET /v1/config
If-None-Match: ETag
304 unchanged
cheap poll
values + version
on change

Consumers poll their own keys with an ETag; an unchanged version returns a cheap 304. Every poll doubles as a heartbeat, so Thalamus knows who is actually wired.

Defined once in a typed registry. Each knob carries its bounds, its consumers, and whether it applies live or needs a restart.
Modes are bundles: flip “demo”, “strict-enterprise” or “fast” and the whole system moves at once.
Honest control: a “planned” knob is visible but not settable, so it can’t look like control without being control.
Every change is audited (who, when, old → new); consumers fail open, so the control plane is never an availability dependency.

The rest of the constellation

This is one part of a system built to keep one promise: every answer is grounded and permission-aware, or it doesn’t come at all.