rust-pipe

Lightweight typed task dispatch from Rust to polyglot workers (TypeScript, Python, Go, Java, C#, Ruby, Elixir, Swift, PHP).

---

What it does

rust-pipe sits between "raw gRPC" (too low-level) and "Temporal" (too heavy). It gives you typed task dispatch from a Rust orchestrator to workers written in any language — with zero boilerplate.

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#1f2937', 'primaryTextColor': '#f9fafb', 'primaryBorderColor': '#6366f1', 'lineColor': '#818cf8', 'secondaryColor': '#374151', 'tertiaryColor': '#111827', 'edgeLabelBackground': '#1f2937', 'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%

graph LR
    subgraph RUST["🦀 Rust Dispatcher"]
        direction TB
        D[/"Task Dispatch Engine"\]
        P[("Worker Pool")]
        D --- P
    end

    subgraph TRANSPORTS["⚡ Transports"]
        direction TB
        WS["🌐 WebSocket"]
        STDIO["📟 stdio"]
        DOCK["🐳 Docker"]
        SSHT["🔑 SSH"]
        WASM["⚙️ WASM"]
    end

    subgraph WORKERS["🔧 Workers"]
        direction TB
        TS["TypeScript"]
        PY["Python"]
        GO["Go"]
        JAVA["Java"]
        CS["C#"]
        RUBY["Ruby"]
        CLI["Any CLI"]
    end

    RUST ==>|route| TRANSPORTS
    TRANSPORTS ==>|deliver| WORKERS

    style RUST fill:#1e1b4b,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:2px,color:#e0e7ff
    style TRANSPORTS fill:#172554,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#dbeafe
    style WORKERS fill:#052e16,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#dcfce7

Loading

---

How it works

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#1f2937', 'primaryTextColor': '#f9fafb', 'primaryBorderColor': '#6366f1', 'lineColor': '#818cf8', 'secondaryColor': '#374151', 'tertiaryColor': '#111827', 'actorBkg': '#312e81', 'actorBorder': '#6366f1', 'actorTextColor': '#e0e7ff', 'activationBkgColor': '#1e3a5f', 'activationBorderColor': '#3b82f6', 'signalColor': '#818cf8', 'noteBkgColor': '#1c1917', 'noteBorderColor': '#a16207', 'noteTextColor': '#fef3c7'}}}%%

sequenceDiagram
    participant D as 🦀 Dispatcher
    participant W as 🔧 Worker

    rect rgba(99, 102, 241, 0.1)
        Note over D,W: 🔌 Connection Phase
        W->>+D: Connect via WebSocket
        W->>D: WorkerRegister {tasks, capacity}
        D->>-W: WorkerRegistered ✓
        D-->>D: Add to pool (least-loaded routing)
    end

    rect rgba(34, 197, 94, 0.1)
        Note over D,W: 🚀 Dispatch Phase
        D->>D: select_and_reserve(task_type)
        D->>+W: TaskDispatch {taskType, payload}
        W->>W: Execute handler
        W->>-D: TaskResult {status: Completed, payload}
        D-->>D: Resolve DispatchResult to caller
    end

    rect rgba(59, 130, 246, 0.1)
        Note over D,W: 💓 Health Monitoring
        loop Every 5 seconds
            W->>D: Heartbeat {activeTasks, capacity}
        end
    end

    rect rgba(239, 68, 68, 0.1)
        Note over D,W: ☠️ Failure Detection
        D->>D: Heartbeat timeout exceeded
        D-->>D: Mark worker Dead
        D-->>D: Fail pending tasks → WorkerDisconnected
    end

Loading

---

Architecture

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#1f2937', 'primaryTextColor': '#f9fafb', 'primaryBorderColor': '#6366f1', 'lineColor': '#818cf8', 'secondaryColor': '#374151', 'fontSize': '13px'}}}%%

graph TB
    subgraph CORE["🦀 rust-pipe crate"]
        direction TB
        DISP["<b>Dispatcher</b><br/>Task routing & lifecycle"]
        POOL["<b>Worker Pool</b><br/>Least-loaded selection"]
        VALID["<b>Validation</b><br/>Input sanitization"]
        SCHEMA["<b>Schema</b><br/>Task, Result, Priority"]
        DISP --> POOL
        DISP --> VALID
        DISP --> SCHEMA
    end

    subgraph TRANS["⚡ Transport Layer"]
        direction LR
        WS["🌐<br/>WebSocket<br/><i>networked</i>"]
        STDIO["📟<br/>stdio<br/><i>local CLI</i>"]
        DOCK["🐳<br/>Docker<br/><i>isolated</i>"]
        SSHT["🔑<br/>SSH<br/><i>remote</i>"]
        WASMT["⚙️<br/>WASM<br/><i>sandboxed</i>"]
    end

    subgraph SDKS["📦 Language SDKs"]
        direction LR
        S1["TypeScript<br/><code>@rust-pipe/worker</code>"]
        S2["Python<br/><code>pip install rust-pipe</code>"]
        S3["Go<br/><code>rust-pipe-go</code>"]
        S4["Java · C# · Ruby<br/>Elixir · Swift · PHP"]
        S5["<b>Any CLI</b><br/><i>No SDK needed</i>"]
    end

    CORE ==> TRANS
    TRANS ==> SDKS

    style CORE fill:#1e1b4b,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:2px,color:#e0e7ff
    style TRANS fill:#172554,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#dbeafe
    style SDKS fill:#052e16,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#dcfce7
    style DISP fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style POOL fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style VALID fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style SCHEMA fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style WS fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#dbeafe
    style STDIO fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#dbeafe
    style DOCK fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#dbeafe
    style SSHT fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#dbeafe
    style WASMT fill:#1e3a5f,stroke:#60a5fa,color:#dbeafe

Loading

---

Features

Feature	Description
🎯 Least-loaded routing	Tasks go to the worker with most available capacity
💀 Dead worker detection	Heartbeat timeout marks workers dead, fails their pending tasks
🚦 Backpressure	Workers signal overload, dispatcher throttles
🛑 Graceful shutdown	stop() drains tasks and cleanly disconnects
🔒 Input validation	All transport configs validated against command injection
🔄 Idempotent start	Safe to call start() multiple times
⏱️ Timeout support	Per-task timeouts with await_with_timeout()
📊 Pool stats	Real-time visibility into worker capacity and utilization

---

Task Lifecycle

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#312e81', 'primaryTextColor': '#e0e7ff', 'primaryBorderColor': '#6366f1', 'lineColor': '#818cf8', 'secondaryColor': '#1e3a5f', 'tertiaryColor': '#1c1917', 'fontSize': '13px'}}}%%

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR

    [*] --> Pending: created
    Pending --> Dispatched: dispatched
    Dispatched --> Running: Worker receives

    Running --> Completed: Success
    Running --> Failed: Error
    Running --> TimedOut: Deadline exceeded

    Dispatched --> Failed: Transport error
    Running --> Cancelled: Kill signal

    Completed --> [*]
    Failed --> [*]
    TimedOut --> [*]
    Cancelled --> [*]

Loading

---

Quick start

Rust (dispatcher)

use rust_pipe::prelude::*;
use serde_json::json;
use std::time::Duration;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
    let dispatcher = Dispatcher::builder()
        .host("0.0.0.0")
        .port(9876)
        .build();

    dispatcher.start().await?;

    // Workers connect via WebSocket and register their supported task types.
    // Once connected, dispatch tasks:
    let task = Task::new("scan-target", json!({
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "checks": ["xss", "sqli"]
    }))
    .with_timeout(60_000)
    .with_priority(Priority::High);

    let handle = dispatcher.dispatch(task).await?;
    let result = handle.await_with_timeout(Duration::from_secs(60)).await?;

    println!("Result: {:?}", result.payload);
    Ok(())
}

TypeScript (worker)

import { createWorker } from '@rust-pipe/worker';

const worker = createWorker({
  url: 'ws://localhost:9876',
  handlers: {
    'scan-target': async (task) => {
      // Do work...
      return { vulnerabilities: 3 };
    },
  },
});

await worker.start();

Python (worker)

from rust_pipe import create_worker

async def scan_target(task):
    # Do work...
    return {"vulnerabilities": 3}

worker = create_worker(
    url="ws://localhost:9876",
    handlers={"scan-target": scan_target},
)
await worker.start()

Bash (worker via stdio — no SDK needed)

#!/bin/bash
# Read JSON task from stdin, write JSON result to stdout
while IFS= read -r line; do
  task_id=$(echo "$line" | jq -r '.task.id')
  echo "{\"type\":\"TaskResult\",\"result\":{\"taskId\":\"$task_id\",\"status\":\"Completed\",\"payload\":{\"done\":true},\"durationMs\":1,\"workerId\":\"bash\"}}"
done

---

SDKs

Language	Package	Install
TypeScript	@rust-pipe/worker	npm install @rust-pipe/worker
Python	rust-pipe	pip install rust-pipe
Go	rust-pipe-go	go get github.com/albyte-ai/rust-pipe-go
Java	io.rustpipe:rust-pipe-worker	Maven Central
C#	RustPipe.Worker	dotnet add package RustPipe.Worker
Ruby	rust_pipe	gem install rust_pipe
Elixir	rust_pipe	{:rust_pipe, "~> 0.1.0"} in mix.exs
Swift	RustPipe	Swift Package Manager
PHP	rust-pipe/worker	composer require rust-pipe/worker
Any CLI	None needed	Read/write JSON on stdin/stdout

---

Wire Protocol

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#1f2937', 'primaryTextColor': '#f9fafb', 'primaryBorderColor': '#6366f1', 'lineColor': '#818cf8', 'fontSize': '12px'}}}%%

graph LR
    subgraph DISPATCH["📤 Dispatcher → Worker"]
        TD["<b>TaskDispatch</b><br/>{task: {id, taskType, payload, metadata}}"]
        KILL["<b>Kill</b><br/>{taskId, reason}"]
        SHUT["<b>Shutdown</b><br/>{graceful: bool}"]
    end

    subgraph RESPONSE["📥 Worker → Dispatcher"]
        TR["<b>TaskResult</b><br/>{taskId, status, payload, durationMs}"]
        HB["<b>Heartbeat</b><br/>{activeTasks, capacity, uptimeSeconds}"]
        BP["<b>Backpressure</b><br/>{currentLoad, shouldThrottle}"]
        WR["<b>WorkerRegister</b><br/>{workerId, supportedTasks, maxConcurrency}"]
    end

    style DISPATCH fill:#1e1b4b,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:2px,color:#e0e7ff
    style RESPONSE fill:#052e16,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#dcfce7
    style TD fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style KILL fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style SHUT fill:#312e81,stroke:#818cf8,color:#e0e7ff
    style TR fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#dcfce7
    style HB fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#dcfce7
    style BP fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#dcfce7
    style WR fill:#14532d,stroke:#4ade80,color:#dcfce7

Loading

All fields use camelCase. JSON over WebSocket or stdin/stdout:

{"type": "TaskDispatch", "task": {"id": "...", "taskType": "scan", "payload": {...}}}
{"type": "TaskResult", "result": {"taskId": "...", "status": "Completed", "payload": {...}}}
{"type": "Heartbeat", "payload": {"workerId": "w1", "activeTasks": 2, "capacity": 10}}

---

Transports

Transport	Use case	Requires SDK?	Isolation
🌐 WebSocket	Networked workers, auto-scaling pools	Yes	Process
📟 stdio	Any CLI tool as a worker	No	Process
🐳 Docker	Untrusted workloads, resource limits	No	Container
🔑 SSH	Distribute across machines	No	Machine
⚙️ WASM	Plugin systems, user-provided logic	No	Sandbox

---

Safety

Protection	Implementation
Command injection	Input validation on worker IDs, Docker images, hostnames, env vars
Resource exhaustion	Capacity-based routing, backpressure signaling
Hanging tasks	Dead worker detection fails pending tasks automatically
Data leakage	Per-worker task isolation, no shared state between workers
Denial of service	Rate limiting via max_concurrency per worker

---

License

Licensed under either of:

• Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE)
• MIT License (LICENSE-MIT)

at your option.