WithAutonomi · jacderida · Jun 18, 2026 · Jun 8, 2026 · Jun 8, 2026 · Jun 8, 2026
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "ant-node"
-version = "0.12.0"
+version = "0.13.0"
 edition = "2021"
 authors = ["David Irvine <david.irvine@maidsafe.net>"]
 description = "Pure quantum-proof network node for the Autonomi decentralized network"
@@ -39,10 +39,10 @@ mimalloc = "0.1"
 # Until then, the git pin tracks the matching saorsa-core lineage
 # (the rc-2026.4.2 branch) so Cargo can unify the wire types here
 # with ant-protocol's re-exports.
-ant-protocol = "2.1.2"
+ant-protocol = "2.2.0"
 
 # Core (provides EVERYTHING: networking, DHT, security, trust, storage)
-saorsa-core = "0.24.5"
+saorsa-core = "0.26.0"
 saorsa-pqc = "0.5"
 
 # Payment verification - autonomi network lookup + EVM payment

diff --git a/docs/DESIGN.md b/docs/DESIGN.md
@@ -185,7 +185,6 @@ use saorsa_core::{
     P2PNode, NodeConfig, NodeMode,
     adaptive::trust::TrustEngine,
     adaptive::dht::AdaptiveDhtConfig,
-    BootstrapConfig, BootstrapManager,
     IPDiversityConfig,
     identity::peer_id::PeerId,
 };
@@ -194,7 +193,6 @@ pub struct RunningNode {
     shutdown_sender: watch::Sender<bool>,
     // USE ANT-CORE DIRECTLY - NO REIMPLEMENTATION!
     node: Arc<P2PNode>,                     // Integrates ALL components
-    bootstrap: Arc<BootstrapManager>,       // 30,000 peer cache
     // Events
     node_events_channel: NodeEventsChannel,
     root_dir_path: PathBuf,

diff --git a/docs/REPLICATION_DESIGN.md b/docs/REPLICATION_DESIGN.md
diff --git a/src/bin/ant-node/cli.rs b/src/bin/ant-node/cli.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 //! Command-line interface definition.
 
 use ant_node::config::{
-    BootstrapCacheConfig, BootstrapPeersConfig, BootstrapSource, EvmNetworkConfig, NetworkMode,
-    NodeConfig, PaymentConfig, UpgradeChannel,
+    BootstrapPeersConfig, BootstrapSource, EvmNetworkConfig, NetworkMode, NodeConfig,
+    PaymentConfig, UpgradeChannel,
 };
 use clap::{Parser, ValueEnum};
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
@@ -133,18 +133,6 @@ pub struct Cli {
     /// that will restart the process automatically.
     #[arg(long)]
     pub stop_on_upgrade: bool,
-
-    /// Disable persistent bootstrap cache.
-    #[arg(long)]
-    pub disable_bootstrap_cache: bool,
-
-    /// Directory for bootstrap cache files.
-    #[arg(long, env = "ANT_BOOTSTRAP_CACHE_DIR")]
-    pub bootstrap_cache_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
-
-    /// Maximum peers to cache in the bootstrap cache.
-    #[arg(long, default_value = "10000", env = "ANT_BOOTSTRAP_CACHE_CAPACITY")]
-    pub bootstrap_cache_capacity: usize,
 }
 
 /// Upgrade channel CLI enum.
@@ -282,14 +270,6 @@ impl Cli {
             metrics_port: self.metrics_port,
         };
 
-        // Bootstrap cache config
-        config.bootstrap_cache = BootstrapCacheConfig {
-            enabled: !self.disable_bootstrap_cache,
-            cache_dir: self.bootstrap_cache_dir,
-            max_contacts: self.bootstrap_cache_capacity,
-            ..config.bootstrap_cache
-        };
-
         // Determine bootstrap source and apply auto-discovery if needed.
         let bootstrap_source = if cli_bootstrap_provided {
             BootstrapSource::Cli

diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
@@ -116,10 +116,6 @@ pub struct NodeConfig {
     #[serde(default)]
     pub payment: PaymentConfig,
 
-    /// Bootstrap cache configuration for persistent peer storage.
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub bootstrap_cache: BootstrapCacheConfig,
-
     /// Storage configuration for chunk persistence.
     #[serde(default)]
     pub storage: StorageConfig,
@@ -282,7 +278,6 @@ impl Default for NodeConfig {
             testnet: TestnetConfig::default(),
             upgrade: UpgradeConfig::default(),
             payment: PaymentConfig::default(),
-            bootstrap_cache: BootstrapCacheConfig::default(),
             storage: StorageConfig::default(),
             close_group_cache_dir: None,
             max_message_size: default_max_message_size(),
@@ -405,63 +400,6 @@ const fn default_staged_rollout_hours() -> u64 {
     24 // 24 hour window for staged rollout
 }
 
-// ============================================================================
-// Bootstrap Cache Configuration
-// ============================================================================
-
-/// Bootstrap cache configuration for persistent peer storage.
-///
-/// The bootstrap cache stores discovered peers across node restarts,
-/// ranking them by quality metrics (success rate, latency, recency).
-/// This reduces dependency on hardcoded bootstrap nodes and enables
-/// faster network reconnection after restarts.
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
-pub struct BootstrapCacheConfig {
-    /// Enable persistent bootstrap cache.
-    /// Default: true
-    #[serde(default = "default_bootstrap_cache_enabled")]
-    pub enabled: bool,
-
-    /// Directory for cache files.
-    /// Default: `{root_dir}/bootstrap_cache/`
-    #[serde(default)]
-    pub cache_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
-
-    /// Maximum contacts to store in the cache.
-    /// Default: 10,000
-    #[serde(default = "default_bootstrap_max_contacts")]
-    pub max_contacts: usize,
-
-    /// Stale contact threshold in days.
-    /// Contacts older than this are removed during cleanup.
-    /// Default: 7 days
-    #[serde(default = "default_bootstrap_stale_days")]
-    pub stale_threshold_days: u64,
-}
-
-impl Default for BootstrapCacheConfig {
-    fn default() -> Self {
-        Self {
-            enabled: default_bootstrap_cache_enabled(),
-            cache_dir: None,
-            max_contacts: default_bootstrap_max_contacts(),
-            stale_threshold_days: default_bootstrap_stale_days(),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-const fn default_bootstrap_cache_enabled() -> bool {
-    true
-}
-
-const fn default_bootstrap_max_contacts() -> usize {
-    10_000
-}
-
-const fn default_bootstrap_stale_days() -> u64 {
-    7
-}
-
 // ============================================================================
 // Storage Configuration
 // ============================================================================
@@ -537,8 +475,6 @@ pub const BOOTSTRAP_PEERS_ENV: &str = "ANT_BOOTSTRAP_PEERS_PATH";
 /// Bootstrap peers loaded from a shipped configuration file.
 ///
 /// This file provides initial peers for first-time network joins.
-/// It is separate from the bootstrap *cache* (which stores quality-ranked
-/// peers discovered at runtime).
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct BootstrapPeersConfig {
     /// The bootstrap peer socket addresses.
@@ -583,24 +519,37 @@ impl BootstrapPeersConfig {
     /// Returns `None` if no file is found in any location.
     #[must_use]
     pub fn discover() -> Option<(Self, PathBuf)> {
-        let candidates = Self::search_paths();
-        for path in candidates {
-            if path.is_file() {
-                match Self::from_file(&path) {
-                    Ok(config) if !config.peers.is_empty() => return Some((config, path)),
-                    Ok(_) => {}
-                    Err(err) => {
-                        crate::logging::warn!(
-                            "Failed to load bootstrap peers from {}: {err}",
-                            path.display(),
-                        );
-                    }
-                }
+        if let Ok(env_path) = std::env::var(BOOTSTRAP_PEERS_ENV) {
+            return Self::load_non_empty_candidate(PathBuf::from(env_path));
+        }
+
+        for path in Self::search_paths() {
+            if let Some(discovered) = Self::load_non_empty_candidate(path) {
+                return Some(discovered);
             }
         }
+
         None
     }
 
+    fn load_non_empty_candidate(path: PathBuf) -> Option<(Self, PathBuf)> {
+        if !path.is_file() {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        match Self::from_file(&path) {
+            Ok(config) if !config.peers.is_empty() => Some((config, path)),
+            Ok(_) => None,
+            Err(err) => {
+                crate::logging::warn!(
+                    "Failed to load bootstrap peers from {}: {err}",
+                    path.display(),
+                );
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Build the ordered list of candidate paths to search.
     fn search_paths() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
         let mut paths = Vec::new();

diff --git a/src/devnet.rs b/src/devnet.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use crate::payment::{
     EvmVerifierConfig, PaymentVerifier, PaymentVerifierConfig, QuoteGenerator,
     QuotingMetricsTracker,
 };
+use crate::replication::config::ReplicationConfig;
 use crate::storage::{AntProtocol, LmdbStorage, LmdbStorageConfig};
 use evmlib::Network as EvmNetwork;
 use evmlib::RewardsAddress;
@@ -550,9 +551,11 @@ impl Devnet {
         };
 
         let rewards_address = RewardsAddress::new(DEVNET_REWARDS_ADDRESS);
+        let replication_config = ReplicationConfig::default();
         let payment_config = PaymentVerifierConfig {
             evm: evm_config,
             cache_capacity: DEVNET_PAYMENT_CACHE_CAPACITY,
+            close_group_size: replication_config.close_group_size,
             local_rewards_address: rewards_address,
         };
         let payment_verifier = PaymentVerifier::new(payment_config);
@@ -611,10 +614,8 @@ impl Devnet {
         *node.state.write().await = NodeState::Running;
 
         if let (Some(ref p2p), Some(ref protocol)) = (&node.p2p_node, &node.ant_protocol) {
-            // Wire the P2PNode into the payment verifier for merkle-closeness checks.
-            protocol
-                .payment_verifier_arc()
-                .attach_p2p_node(Arc::clone(p2p));
+            // Wire P2P into AntProtocol for payment-proof closeness checks.
+            protocol.attach_p2p_node(Arc::clone(p2p));
 
             let mut events = p2p.subscribe_events();
             let p2p_clone = Arc::clone(p2p);

diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ pub use client::{
     compute_address, hex_node_id_to_encoded_peer_id, peer_id_to_xor_name, xor_distance, DataChunk,
     XorName,
 };
-pub use config::{BootstrapCacheConfig, NodeConfig, StorageConfig};
+pub use config::{NodeConfig, StorageConfig};
 pub use devnet::{Devnet, DevnetConfig, DevnetEvmInfo, DevnetManifest};
 pub use error::{Error, Result};
 pub use event::{NodeEvent, NodeEventsChannel};