The product and Python package are named Cortex. Several deployed names
begin with BASE_ or base-; those strings are protocol compatibility, not a
second product.
Do not rename these without a versioned migration:
- environment variables beginning with
BASE_; - signature domains beginning with
base-; - SCALE fields and JSON fields defined by the frozen bundle specification;
- persisted database columns and deployed secret paths consumed by existing installations.
New master configuration may also use the corresponding CORTEX_* alias.
MasterConfig rejects conflicting BASE_* and CORTEX_* values instead of
choosing one. Documentation and deployment examples use BASE_* so operators
see one canonical spelling.
The preserved signing domains are:
| Domain | Purpose |
|---|---|
base-trustroot-v1 |
owner-signed challenge and measurement documents |
base-rawweight-v1 |
challenge leaves |
base-bundle-v1 |
sealed epoch bundles |
base-root-v1 |
validator root statements |
base-dissent-v1 |
validator dissent evidence |
base-proof-topic-v1 |
published Proof topics |
base-proof-submit-v1 |
miner Proof submissions |
base-bounty-report-v1 |
Bounty report fingerprints, now in CortexLM/bounty |
base-bounty-session-v1 |
Bounty session tokens, now in CortexLM/bounty |
Inference and executor offer domains use the newer cortex-* prefix because
they were introduced by the Python implementation and have no deployed legacy
preimage.
The signed trust root lists the live challenge ids and their shares, which total
10,000 basis points: legacy bounty 2,000 / proof 8,000 (algorithm 1),
3,000 / 7,000 (algorithm 2), or any 1..64 ids matching [a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]{0,62}
(algorithm 3). proof is built in; every other id is a
challenge container named cortex-challenge-<id>, with state in
the cortex-challenge-<id>-data volume and routes under /challenge/<id>/.
Design, Prism and Relearn are retired products whose documentation has been
removed. They are not services, routes, trust-root rows or emission recipients.
Python code lives under src/cortex. The single executable is cortex, with
subcommands for master, validator, miner, VM host and offline operator work.
Deployment state defaults to /var/lib/cortex; compatibility paths already in
an installation may stay under /etc/base or /opt/base until an explicit
operator migration is shipped.
Never reinterpret an existing environment variable or signing domain merely to make it look newer. Add an alias or a new versioned contract, document the transition, and keep both sides testable during the migration window.