19. Configuration

Constants are fixed by the specification. Configuration is per-agent and per-implementation. Both are normative — implementations MUST respect constants and SHOULD use the default configuration values unless the agent’s domain requires otherwise.

19.1 Protocol Constants

Constant	Value	Notes
MAX_FRAME_SIZE	1,048,576 bytes	Frames exceeding this MUST be rejected
HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT	10,000 ms	Inbound identification deadline
HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL	5,000 ms	Default; configurable per implementation
HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT	15,000 ms	Default; configurable per implementation
STATE_SYNC_INTERVAL	30,000 ms	Default periodic re-broadcast
WAKE_COOLDOWN	300,000 ms	Default per-peer wake rate limit
PEER_RETENTION	300 s	Stale peer eviction age
DNS-SD_SERVICE_TYPE	_sym._tcp	Service type for Bonjour discovery
DNS-SD_DOMAIN	local.	Discovery domain

19.2 Agent Profiles

Each agent type has a pre-built configuration. The profile determines which CMB fields matter most (α_f weights), how long signals stay relevant for SVAF evaluation (freshness), and how long remixed CMBs are retained in local storage (retention). New agent types join the mesh by defining their profile — no protocol changes needed.

Freshness and retention are different: freshness controls SVAF temporal drift (how quickly incoming signals become “stale” for evaluation). Retention controls how long the agent’s own remixed CMBs are kept in local storage. Regulated domains (legal, finance, health) MUST set retention according to their compliance requirements.

Profile	Best for	Freshness	Retention	Notes
music	Music, ambience	30min	24h	Old curations irrelevant. Mood changes fast.
coding	Coding assistants, dev tools	2h	7d	Session context fades. Weekly patterns useful.
fitness	Fitness, health, movement	3h	30d	Sedentary patterns need weeks of history.
messaging	Chat, notifications, social	1h	7d	Conversation context is short-lived.
knowledge	News feeds, research, digests	24h	30d	News is daily. Trends need monthly context.
legal	Legal, compliance, contracts	24h	Per regulation	Set by jurisdiction. May require years or indefinite.
health	Health monitoring, clinical	3h	Per regulation	Clinical records: HIPAA 6yr, GDPR varies. Consult compliance.
finance	Finance, trading, compliance	2h	Per regulation	MiFID II: 5yr. SEC: 7yr. Set per jurisdiction.
uniform	General purpose, prototyping	30min	7d	Good starting point. Adjust to your domain.

19.3 CAT7 Field Weights (α_f)

Per-agent field weights control which CMB fields matter most for each agent type. Higher weight = this field has more influence on SVAF evaluation and remix relevance. The schema is fixed (7 fields). The weights are per-agent.

Agent	foc	iss	int	mot	com	per	mood
Coding	2	1.5	1.5	1	1.2	1	0.8
Music	1	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	1.2	2
Fitness	1.5	1.5	1	1.5	1	1	2
Knowledge	2	1.5	1.5	1	0.5	1.5	0.3
Legal	2	2	1.5	1	2	1.5	0.5
Health	1.5	2	1	1.5	1	1.5	2
Finance	2	2	1.5	1	2	2	0.3

Regulated domains (legal, finance): issue and commitment always high — risks and obligations are non-negotiable. Human-facing domains (music, fitness, health): mood always high — affect drives the experience.Knowledge domains (coding, research): focus always high — subject matter is core.

Custom weights: derive from your domain using these patterns. Implementations SHOULD expose field weights as configuration, not hardcode them.

19.4 SVAF Drift Thresholds

SVAF computes a totalDrift score (0–1) for each incoming memory. Three zones determine acceptance:

Zone	Drift	Action	Default
Redundant	max(δ_f) < T_redundant	Discarded — no field carries novel content	0.10
Aligned	δ_total ≤ T_aligned	Accepted, full blending	0.25
Guarded	T_aligned < δ_total ≤ T_guarded	Accepted, attenuated blending	0.50
Rejected	δ_total > T_guarded	Discarded — irrelevant domain	—

Defaults work for most agents. Override only with domain-specific reason: tighter thresholds for high-precision domains (legal, health), wider for exploratory domains (research, knowledge).

19.5 Mood vs Memory Thresholds

Mood and memory use different acceptance paths:

Signal	Gate	Default	Why
CMB (cmb)	SVAF per-field drift	0.50 (selective)	Full CMB acceptance — domain-specific
Mood field	Extracted from rejected CMBs	Always delivered	Affect crosses all domain boundaries (Section 9.3)

19.6 Drift Formula

totalDrift = (1 - λ) × fieldDrift + λ × temporalDrift

fieldDrift    = Σ(α_f × δ_f) / Σ(α_f)
temporalDrift = 1 - exp(-age / τ_freshness)
λ             = temporalLambda (default 0.3 = 70% content, 30% time)

At default settings (temporalLambda: 0.3, freshnessSeconds: 1800):

Signal age	Temporal drift contribution
1 minute	~0.01 — negligible
30 minutes	~0.19 — noticeable
2 hours	~0.29 — likely pushes over threshold