RFD 1019: Strangler fig for the studio core
Problem
The browser client holds the studio logic: the model catalog, the job lifecycle, and the pipeline graph. A browser tab owns state that outlives the tab, and a page refresh drops that state. The client calls the DGX API with no server between them, and each new task type adds more client code.
A full rewrite carries risk. The client works today, and a rewrite would stop the work for a long time.
Decision
Grow an Elixir application beside the client, an API server the browser client becomes one consumer of. RFD 1016’s model inventory is the first responsibility it takes. Phase 1 changes no behavior: the Elixir application holds the inventory as data, reads the JavaScript catalog, and reports each difference. The JavaScript catalog stays authoritative, as RFD 1016 states.
See DETAILS.md for the end shape, the later phases, the compute backend, the port shape, the packaging, and known risks.