Hub node reference

A Hub is a coordination server that manages multiple Agents and provides gateway services in the OctoMY™ network.

Did You Know?

The Hub is the only OctoMY™ node type allowed to access the internet directly. This design choice creates a single security boundary - if an Agent or Remote needs external data (like LLM responses), it must go through a trusted Hub. This means you can audit all external traffic in one place and run your robots without any direct internet exposure.

Overview

Architecture

Core components

Hub class

The main Hub class extends Node for multi-Agent coordination:

class Hub: public Node {
    QSharedPointer<HubWindow> mWindow;
    // Inherits all Node functionality
    // Adds fleet management
    // Provides internet gateway
};

Key methods

Key responsibilities

The Hub serves several critical functions in an OctoMY™ network:

1. Internet gateway

The Hub is the only node type that directly contacts the internet. This provides:

Benefits:

• Single security boundary for external traffic
• Centralized API key management
• Traffic monitoring and logging
• Bandwidth control

2. Fleet coordination

Coordinate multiple Agents working together:

3. Heavy processing

Offload compute-intensive tasks from low-power Agents:

4. LLM gateway

The Hub provides "LLM as a service" to the network:

Communication

As Control role

Like Remote, Hub has ROLE_CONTROL:

• Sends commands to Agents
• Receives sensor data from Agents
• Coordinates multi-Agent operations
• Manages Plan distribution

Couriers registered

Storage location

The Hub keeps each personality in its own folder inside its data directory:

<data directory>/<personality>/
├── keystore.json       # Cryptographic keys
├── addressbook.json    # Known nodes (Agents, Remotes)
├── planbook/           # Managed Plans
├── api_keys/           # External service credentials
└── fleet_config.json   # Fleet coordination settings

UI components

HubWindow

The Hub has a minimal administrative UI:

Menus and utilities

Services

The Hub activates these services:

Command line

# Start Hub with default personality
./hub

# Start with specific personality
./hub --personality "HomeHub"

# Start with specific base directory
./hub --base-dir /path/to/data

# Run as daemon (background)
./hub --daemon

# Enable debug output
./hub --debug

# Serve the Trove door without a window: the standalone door host
./hub --head-less --door

# Serve the door in a folder of its own, as a test does
./hub --head-less --door --door-folder /tmp/test-door

A Hub on its default data folder serves the Trove door of your user on this computer. --door makes a Hub on another data folder serve it too. With --head-less, that Hub is the standalone door host: it hands the door to a Hub that starts, and ends.

Deployment scenarios

Home Hub

For personal robot networks:

Cloud Hub

For remote access:

Security considerations

API key management

The Hub handles external service authentication:

• Store API keys encrypted
• Rotate keys regularly
• Log all external API calls
• Enforce rate limits

Traffic filtering

All external traffic goes through Hub:

• Block unauthorized requests
• Monitor for anomalies
• Apply content filtering
• Log all traffic

Hardware requirements