# Varta

> Zero dependencies. Zero allocations. Agents that never go dark.

A 32-byte heartbeat protocol for distributed local agents and networked clusters. Your processes talk; Varta listens.

## Key Properties
- **Zero dependencies:** Production crates (`varta-vlp`, `varta-client`, `varta-watch`) have an empty `[dependencies]` section.
- **Zero steady-state allocation:** After `Varta::connect`, every `beat()` call operates on a stack buffer. 
- **Sub-microsecond beat path:** One stack encode, one `send(2)`, no allocations.
- **Non-blocking:** The agent socket is set to non-blocking at connect time. A missing observer surfaces as `BeatOutcome::Dropped`, preventing stalls.

## Usage
`varta-client` is the agent API. 
```rust
use varta_client::{BeatOutcome, Status, Varta};

let mut agent = Varta::connect("/tmp/varta.sock").unwrap();
// or connect_udp("192.168.1.100:9000")

// In the hot path:
match agent.beat(Status::Ok, 0) {
    BeatOutcome::Sent => {},
    BeatOutcome::Dropped => {}, // Observer absent, safe
    BeatOutcome::Failed(e) => {}, 
}
```

## Crates
1. `varta-vlp`: 32-byte wire protocol defining `Frame`, `Status`, and stack-based encode/decode (with optional ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD crypto).
2. `varta-client`: The agent API (features: `panic-handler`, `udp`, `crypto` for SecureUdpTransport).
3. `varta-watch`: The observer binary. Detects stalls, runs recovery commands, exports Prometheus metrics (supports SecureUdpListener).

## Links
- Website: https://varta.sh
- Repository: https://github.com/aramirez087/varta