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Distributed Development Architecture (Future Vision)

Status: Research & Design Phase
Date: 2026-01-17
Decision: Sleep on it, implement basics first

Executive Summary

This document captures research into distributed Antigravity development, enabling parallel work on marketing (local) and platform (remote) simultaneously. While technically feasible, implementation should be phased with extensive safety nets.

Recommendation: Start with Tier 1 (basic remote execution), expand gradually based on need and risk tolerance.

Core Concept

Vision: Two-agent development model - Local Antigravity (Mac): Planning, design, user interaction, lightweight work - Remote Antigravity (Elastic Muscle): Autonomous execution, heavy computation, testing

Use Case: Work on marketing website locally while platform refactor runs remotely in parallel.

Architecture Components

1. Elastic Muscle (GCP Remote Server)

Current Configuration: - Instance: antigravity-muscle - Type: e2-standard-16 (16 vCPUs, 62GB RAM) - Zone: us-central1-a - IP: 34.29.247.230 (static) - Cost: ~$50/month (SPOT)

Scaling Options: - Low: e2-micro (2 vCPUs, $5/month) - Current: e2-standard-16 (16 vCPUs, $50/month) - High: c3-highcpu-176 (176 vCPUs, $2,400/month)

2. Workload Classification

Automatic decision matrix: - File editing → Local (instant feedback) - Type checking → Remote (CPU intensive) - Single app build → Local (moderate) - Parallel builds → Remote (heavy parallel) - Large test suites → Remote (parallel execution) - Refactoring → Remote (heavy analysis)

3. Concurrency Control

Multi-layer protection: 1. Branch isolation (basic) 2. Module ownership (exclusive boundaries) 3. File locking (runtime protection) 4. Coordinator approval (shared files) 5. Pre-flight checks (early detection)

4. Planning/Execution Separation

Workflow: 1. Local: Create implementation plan (interactive with user) 2. User approves plan 3. Dispatch to remote for execution 4. Remote executes autonomously 5. User notified on completion 6. Review and merge

Risk Tiers

Tier 1: Ground Level ⭐☆☆☆☆ (SAFE - Start Here)

  • Manual SSH dispatch
  • Workspace sync (rsync)
  • Branch isolation
  • Git checkpoints

Effort: 1-2 hours
Safety: Git rollback, manual control
Value: Immediate productivity boost

Tier 2: Trapeze ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (MODERATE)

  • Dispatch automation scripts
  • Module ownership config
  • Pre-flight validation
  • Dry-run mode

Effort: 4-6 hours
Safety: Validation gates, ownership rules
Value: Safe parallel development

Tier 3: High Wire ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (HIGH RISK)

  • Intelligent classification
  • Auto-dispatching
  • File locking system
  • Multi-agent coordination

Effort: 2-3 weeks
Safety: Extensive testing, monitoring, rollback
Value: Significant automation

Tier 4: Flying Without Net ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (EXPERIMENTAL)

  • Autonomous execution
  • Dynamic auto-scaling
  • Self-healing conflicts
  • Production automation

Effort: Months
Safety: Full infrastructure, kill switches
Value: Transformative (if successful)

Performance Comparison

MacBook Air M4 (Current)

  • 10 cores (4P + 6E)
  • 24GB RAM
  • Thermal throttling under load
  • Issue: Gets hot with heavy workloads

Elastic Muscle (Remote)

  • 16 cores (sustained)
  • 62GB RAM
  • No thermal limits
  • Benefit: Mac stays cool

MacBook Pro M4 Max (Reference)

  • 16 cores (12P + 4E)
  • 128GB RAM
  • Minimal throttling
  • Cost: $3,500-4,500

Recommendation: MacBook Air + Elastic Muscle ($50/month) is optimal cost/performance.

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation (This Weekend - If Proceeding)

  • [ ] Test SSH connection to Elastic Muscle
  • [ ] Create basic dispatch script
  • [ ] Test workspace sync
  • [ ] Validate with simple build

Phase 2: Automation (Week 2-3)

  • [ ] Module ownership configuration
  • [ ] Pre-flight validation
  • [ ] Dispatch helper scripts
  • [ ] Documentation

Phase 3: Advanced (Month 2+)

  • [ ] Workload classification
  • [ ] Auto-dispatching
  • [ ] Concurrency control
  • [ ] Monitoring

Phase 4: Production (Month 3+)

  • [ ] Autonomous execution
  • [ ] Auto-scaling
  • [ ] Full orchestration

Current Status

Completed: - ✅ Elastic Muscle instance created and running - ✅ Static IP configured (34.29.247.230) - ✅ SSH access working - ✅ Namecheap API whitelisted - ✅ Credentials stored in Doppler - ✅ Documentation in Golden Architecture - ✅ Basic dispatch scripts created

Not Implemented (By Design): - ⏭️ Intelligent classification - ⏭️ Auto-dispatching - ⏭️ Concurrency control - ⏭️ Multi-agent coordination

Decision: Sleep on advanced features, focus on stability first.

Safety Principles

  1. Always have rollback plan (Git checkpoints)
  2. Test in isolation first (feature branches)
  3. Start small, scale gradually (tier by tier)
  4. Monitor everything (logs, alerts)
  5. Have kill switches (emergency stop)

Remember: "How high you go depends on your risk tolerance - there's no safety net besides what you build yourself."

Recommendations

Immediate (Now)

  • ✅ Document architecture (this file)
  • ✅ Create context awareness system
  • ✅ Sleep on it
  • ✅ Focus on backend stability

Short-term (If Proceeding)

  • Start with Tier 1 only
  • Test thoroughly
  • Build safety nets
  • Validate workflow

Long-term (Future)

  • Monitor Antigravity product updates
  • Adopt native features when available
  • Reduce custom code over time
  • Scale based on need

Conclusion

Distributed Antigravity development is technically feasible but requires careful implementation with extensive safety nets.

Current recommendation: Keep it simple, focus on stability, revisit when needed.

Future potential: Transformative productivity gains with proper infrastructure.

Decision: Sleep on it. ✅