May 5th SLIM WG Summary

[NickG44]

SLIM Working Group Call Summary – May 5, 2026
Recording

Participants: (13)

Nick Gill
Kleyer Sosa (New Collaborator)
Amit Kumar
János Sarusi-Kis
Mauro Sardara
Laszlo Gecse
László Puskás
Sam Betts
Sandor Magyari
Michele Papalini
Luca Muscariello
Mark Marton
Elaine Powers

Key Topics & Outcomes

1. TypeScript SDK & SLIM v1.4 Release Status

The release of SLIM v1.4 has been briefly postponed to ensure the highly anticipated TypeScript bindings can be included.
The current blocker is the tedious process of updating the UniFFI tooling (to v0.30/0.31) across all other supported languages (Go, .NET, Java, Kotlin, Python, Rust) to ensure version alignment.
The team expects to finalize these updates and officially release the TS SDK and SLIM v1.4 between Wednesday and Friday of this week.

2. Performance Improvements & Benchmarking

Data Path Optimization: Work continues on optimizing the data path, specifically reducing memory allocations and addressing known hotspots. A portion of these enhancements will ship in v1.4, with the rest rolling out in future releases.
Benchmarking Tool: A new benchmarking tool (conceptually similar to nats-bench) is being integrated into SlimCTL. This will allow the team to accurately test throughput for both point-to-point and channel communications.

3. Multi-Cluster Automated Testing

Automated environments are being established to test complex scenarios involving SLIM, the SLIM controller, A2A, and MCP.
A GitHub workflow is already active, and work is ongoing to enable local dev environment connectivity. Note: These tests will reside in the CCIT repository rather than the main SLIM repo.
A new deployment tutorial demonstrating how to connect a public cluster with a private cluster (behind a VPN/firewall) has been finalized, and the PR is ready to merge into main.

4. MLS Cipher Compatibility (Browser/Wasm Support)

The team is evaluating how to handle MLS ciphers to support browser environments, as Web Crypto does not support the current native default (Curve25519).
The architectural decision is currently between implementing a complex cipher negotiation protocol or simply defaulting to a universally supported cipher (like P-256) for both browser and native nodes.
The team will investigate if using P-256 introduces any drawbacks for native deployments before making a final decision.

5. Shadi CLI & Context Sharing

Distribution: Binary distribution via Homebrew is working successfully. The WinGet (Windows) PR expired during PTO but will be retriggered shortly.
UX & Code Assistants: Development focus is shifting toward improving the CLI UX and building tighter integrations with code assistants.
Context Sharing Use Case: A primary upcoming feature is secure, real-time context sharing between developers' CLIs over SLIM. This will allow Scrum team members to easily share short-term coding context without breaking isolation. A first release targeting this use case is planned for mid-to-late May.

6. A2A WebSocket Transport

A proposal is currently being drafted to add a WebSocket custom protocol binding to the A2A project. It will be submitted for community review shortly.

Next Steps & Action Items

v1.4 Release: Complete the UniFFI tooling updates across all languages to unblock and release the TypeScript SDK and SLIM v1.4 this week.
Shady Distribution: Retrigger the WinGet PR to finalize Shady CLI distribution for Windows.
Cipher Strategy: Investigate potential native drawbacks of using the P-256 cipher to finalize the browser compatibility strategy.
Protocol Bindings: Submit the A2A WebSocket custom protocol binding proposal for architectural review.