Python service integration

Installation · Integration · Sockets · Messages

The app receives a scoped client JWT from its authenticated service backend. Only the backend holds URNETWORK_ROOT_JWT and provisions clients through POST /network/auth-client. The shared integration contract defines new-client allocation, authorized reissue and the credential boundary.

Client setup

The reusable bootstrap is client.py. Use with local_device(connect=False) as device: for messages or the default local_device() for sockets. The context manager keeps native owners alive and closes the Device before the manager.

Python 3.10+ is required for the SDK. The messages requirements pin urnetwork-sdk==0.0.1.dev0; install the matching locally built wheel if it is not published, or update that pin for an API-capable release. See Messages. From python/integration, build and check the sibling client program:

cd ../messages
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 main.py --version

The version check needs no client credentials. In that same messages directory, configure the app and print its assigned client identity:

export URNETWORK_CLIENT_JWT='scoped-client-jwt-from-your-service'
export URNETWORK_INSTANCE_ID='persisted-installation-uuid'
python3 main.py self

The JWT must contain its assigned client_id. Generate an installation UUID once, save it in installation storage and reuse it; for example, uuidgen generates one on macOS. The program requires both environment variables and does not persist a new UUID for you. Two messaging terminals need distinct client JWTs/client IDs and distinct persisted instance IDs in the same network. Use Messages for live watch/send commands and Sockets for HTTP/TCP/UDP.

Backend allocator

The server-only executable is allocator.py. Python 3 is required. The server uses only the standard library, including urllib.request; it needs no package installation or build. Run these commands from python/integration/server:

python3 allocator.py --self-test

--self-test needs no credentials or network; dependency installation and compilation may download build inputs. It checks first allocation versus reissue, invalid service-user/client-ID arguments, private mapping persistence and response parsing.

Configure the backend process and invoke the allocator with a service-user key supplied internally after your service authenticates that user:

umask 077
mkdir -p /absolute/path/to/private-service-state
chmod 700 /absolute/path/to/private-service-state
export URNETWORK_CLIENT_MAP='/absolute/path/to/private-service-state/clients.json'
export URNETWORK_API_URL='https://api.bringyour.com'
export URNETWORK_ROOT_JWT='backend-root-jwt-from-your-secret-store'
python3 allocator.py user:alice

Replace the example state directory with an absolute, service-owned path. URNETWORK_ROOT_JWT and URNETWORK_CLIENT_MAP are required. URNETWORK_API_URL is optional and defaults to the HTTPS origin shown; explicit localhost HTTP is accepted only for a test/mock endpoint. The allocator appends /network/auth-client itself.

user:alice means the authenticated service user alice. The backend constructs this user: key; it is never a URnetwork client ID or an untrusted request field. The allocator accepts exactly one such key, owns the mapping and accepts no caller-selected client ID. A new key omits client_id and source_client_id from the request; another invocation for the same key reissues only its stored client_id.

An exclusive per-map lock covers provisioning and an atomic private map update. The mapping stores client IDs, not JWTs. On success the allocator writes JSON containing client_id and by_client_jwt to stdout. Capture that result inside the authenticated backend and hand only the scoped credential to the authorized app as URNETWORK_CLIENT_JWT; keep tokens out of ordinary logs. See the shared contract for locking, key validation and configuration details.