---
title: "An ephemeral viewer: request, Core worker, escaped HTML · r6"
description: Architecture and privacy boundaries of the existing web renderer, including the branded checkout and its limits. Archived revision r6 (2026-10-13) of /architecture/viewer-architecture/.
url: https://docs.thegram.one/architecture/viewer-architecture/revisions/6/
lang: en
tier: legacy
source: https://docs.thegram.one/sources/viewer-architecture/revisions/6.gram
revision_of: https://docs.thegram.one/architecture/viewer-architecture/
revision: 6
date_published: "2026-10-13T03:39:12.874Z"
evidence:
  Canonical source SHA-256: 7bb5a07a799d92c53a11d0a2ffba01002978c85e89fc69b9911b1b5d13d4a010
  Selected revision: r6 · sha256:4cff5de0c9779d1828153f7e7150dec9497e9e5491d7d5a1567b2f42bbf7cf16
  Local renderer: configured local Thegram renderer · API thegram-web-render/1
  Core source: git+https://github.com/clab-one/thegram-format.git?rev=b16489e1d0d77d38f82d2f61776524737aa31557#b16489e1d0d77d38f82d2f61776524737aa31557
---

# An ephemeral viewer: request, Core worker, escaped HTML · r6

> Archived revision r6, recorded 2026-10-13T03:39:12.874Z. Current page: [An ephemeral viewer: request, Core worker, escaped HTML](/architecture/viewer-architecture/).

<div class="gram-doc-anchor" id="e0-blog-viewer-architecture"></div>

## A viewer, not a hosted document library {#h0-1}

The existing web renderer solves a narrow problem: let a person inspect a submitted .gram file in a browser without requiring an account or storing a document collection. The `brand-monochrome` checkout at 254a49d is a local worktree of this same renderer repository, not an independent repository or separate product. The API accepts a multipart POST containing source bytes or text, sends it through Core, and returns render data. The `/view` path returns a page. Since a later GET cannot recover an earlier submission, the browser must submit the file again when it asks for another revision. This is a distinct product shape from Vault, which owns identity and storage APIs.

The separation is important for both product expectations and privacy. There is no document ID registry, account session, sync service, database, or saved sharing link in this viewer contract. The server handles submitted bytes in request memory and forgets them after responding. Request logs are documented as a fixed schema without query, header, or body values. That reduces persistence surfaces, but it does not mean the server never receives the document: the user explicitly submits bytes to the service.

### Purpose-specific views over one submission {#h0-4}

The viewer can present the same source as Project Tracker, Journal, Operations or Knowledge. Core resolves the available views from record families and fields deterministically; the viewer renders the result. No account, saved project library or separate view document is required. A widget without supporting records is omitted instead of showing fabricated values. See [View templates](/guides/view-templates/) for the evidence and time-axis rules. The submission remains a byte submission: choosing a different view does not change the canonical `.gram` source.

### Request path {#h0-6}

A browser or command-line client sends a `multipart/form-data` POST to `/api/v1/render`, `/api/v1/search`, or `/view`. A field chooses one input representation (`file` or `source`) and optional selectors such as `revision`, `at`, `history`, `history_offset`, or `html`. The service validates field cardinality and size, then invokes Core in a fresh worker process. The worker receives document input on stdin and returns structured results on stdout. Time, memory and concurrency limits bound the work; failures are explicit errors such as `E_LIMIT`, `E_STALE`, `E_BUSY`, or `E_TIMEOUT`.

Core history and replay supply the selected source and projections. The HTML renderer escapes document values, restricts links to safe schemes, and does not emit document-provided scripts, styles, or images. Unsupported blocks are retained as source with an unsupported-content indication. The browser keeps a selected file in tab memory and posts it again for state changes; the documented implementation avoids browser Storage APIs, service workers, and putting document text in the URL. A content security policy and `no-store` responses further constrain page behavior.

### Example: render one selected historical state {#h0-9}

For a local file named `plan.gram`, a client can submit `file=@plan.gram` and `revision=2` to `/api/v1/render`; to ask for an HTML fragment, include `html=1`. A caller should handle a 422 Core history error, a 413 size cap, and temporary 503 worker saturation rather than claiming every source produces a complete view. The renderer may return summary metadata for old states while some detailed change projections are bounded by a source-byte budget. A rendered view is a projection, not a rewrite of the original document.

### The branded worktree is not a separate service {#h0-11}

The local `brand-monochrome` git worktree is based on thegram-web-render at earlier commit 254a49d. Its remote is the same renderer repository; it is not a separate product repository or independent service. The difference is a local snapshot, not evidence of another identity store, deployment, or retention model.

### Tradeoffs and limits {#h0-13}

A stateless renderer avoids account friction and server-side document libraries, but it requires sending the bytes on every interaction and does not create a durable share URL. HTML output is safe by default and may omit unsupported rich content or show raw source; this is not a full fidelity promise for every format construct. Resource caps protect service availability but mean a large file or busy worker pool can fail. Public access and ephemeral handling do not equal confidentiality guarantees beyond the described processing and logging boundary. A user handling sensitive data should decide whether the service is appropriate before submitting it.

Use the [history walkthrough](/examples/history-walkthrough/) to compare actual Core-replayed states in a downloadable .gram file. The renderer's API and deployment source records below describe the checked contract; source configuration alone does not prove current deployment.

### Sources {#h0-16}

Implementation claims use both renderer checkouts' README, API and deployment documentation.

## Source

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-renderer-readme" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Renderer README and browser flow

Internal source reviewed at revision 971a0474fb4b97c3d23d6687be80664461f43a2f (main: README.md); not publicly available.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-renderer-api" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Renderer HTTP API contract

Internal source reviewed at revision 971a0474fb4b97c3d23d6687be80664461f43a2f (main: docs/api.md); not publicly available.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-renderer-deploy" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Renderer deployment configuration documentation

Internal source reviewed at revision 971a0474fb4b97c3d23d6687be80664461f43a2f (main: deploy/README.md); not publicly available.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-brand-readme" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Branded renderer README

Internal source reviewed at revision 254a49d8adb6ccb98675a0511283f511914394c9 on branch brand-monochrome (README.md); not publicly available.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-brand-api" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Branded renderer API contract

Internal source reviewed at revision 254a49d8adb6ccb98675a0511283f511914394c9 on branch brand-monochrome (docs/api.md); not publicly available.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-brand-deploy" data-record-type="source">

**Source:** Branded renderer deployment documentation

Internal source reviewed at revision 254a49d8adb6ccb98675a0511283f511914394c9 on branch brand-monochrome (deploy/README.md); not publicly available.

</div>

## Knowledge

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-ephemeral" data-record-type="knowledge">

**Knowledge:** Renderer processes submitted documents ephemerally

The request path uses worker processes and in-memory document processing without a persistent document store in the documented contract.

Reference: [→ Supports: A bounded worker turns Core output into HTML](#e0-worker-path)

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-worker-path" data-record-type="knowledge">

**Knowledge:** A bounded worker turns Core output into HTML

Fresh workers, resource limits, escaping and restricted browser behavior constrain untrusted document rendering.

Reference: [→ Supports: The branded checkout is not proof of a separate service](#e0-renderer-boundary)

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-renderer-boundary" data-record-type="knowledge">

**Knowledge:** The branded checkout is not proof of a separate service

Similar API and deployment docs describe a checkout distinction; operational independence requires separate evidence.

</div>

<div class="gram-record" id="e0-disclosure-risk" data-record-type="knowledge">

**Knowledge:** A stateless viewer still receives document bytes

No storage does not mean no transmission; a user must decide whether the chosen document is appropriate to submit.

Reference: [→ Supports: Renderer processes submitted documents ephemerally](#e0-ephemeral)

</div>