istok

istok is an experimental HTTP/3 engine built around deterministic state machines, explicit protocol semantics, and test-first transport design.

The project focuses on making HTTP/3 behavior easier to reason about, validate, and evolve without relying on opaque runtime behavior or implicit protocol transitions.

Design principles

• Deterministic protocol state machines
• Explicit transport boundaries
• Mock-first testing
• Runtime-agnostic architecture
• Minimal dependencies
• Clear protocol layering

Why it exists

HTTP/3 implementations are often difficult to test and reason about due to implicit state, tightly coupled runtimes, and non-deterministic behavior.

istok explores a different direction: a deterministic protocol engine with explicit transitions, reproducible testing, and transport-independent protocol logic.

The goal is not only protocol correctness, but protocol behavior that remains understandable during debugging, failure handling, and long-term maintenance.

Testing philosophy

Development starts with deterministic unit tests using scripted mock QUIC streams before moving to real-network integration.

This allows protocol behavior, error paths, and state transitions to be validated independently from runtime timing and network conditions.