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+# Authentication
+
+## Registration flow
+This is how a new user registers himself in `authfs`, after which he can open sessions.
+- Client `GET`s `shop./register.html`
+- Client enters username and password, `POST`s form to `auth./register`
+- `buthauth` server registers user in `authfs`
+ - Creates `/users/<username>/`
+ - If it already exists, the username is taken; return error to client
+ - Writes password to `/users/<username>/passwd`
+- `authfs` ingests and hashes the password. Subsequent reads of `/users/<username>/passwdhash` will return the hash (`authfs` discards the cleartext password after it is hashed).
+- If successful, client can now login to obtain a session
+
+## Login flow
+This is how a client authenticates itself and creates a _session_. A session gives the client a shopping cart and access to the checkout.
+- Client `GET`s `shop./login.html`.
+- Client enters username and password (assume they already have an account).
+- Js or wasm script running in client generates a 256-bit session ID and injects it into the login form.
+- Client `POST`s the login form to `auth./login`
+- `buthauth` writes the password to `/users/<username>/login` in `authfs`
+ - If `/users/<username>/` doesn't exist, the username is invalid; fail the login
+- `buthauth` reads from `/users/<username>/login`.
+- If the password was correct, `authfs` returns a session ID corresponding to `/sessions/<id>/
+ - Otherwise if the password was wrong, `authfs` returns `Rerror`. `buthauth` fails the login, returning an error to the client
+- `buthauth` returns a session cookie, containing the session ID, to the client (with proper security params: HttpOnly etc.)
+- Client includes the session cookie in subsequent requests, giving it elevated privileges.
+
+On the client, session is a _session cookie_ (no expiry date). On the server, it should expire after `lastseen+t`. `authfs` periodically sweeps the sessions and removes old ones. `authfs` updates a sessions's last-seen time whenever it gets a request on `/sessions/<id>/*`.
+
+## API usage
+This is how a client accesses the 9P API once he's logged in (has a session cookie).
+- Client `GET`s `shop./foo.html`
+ - Includes cookie in request
+- Httpd returns static page and scripts
+- Script opens websocket on `api./ws`
+- Browser sends cookie automatically in upgrade request
+- `buthapi` validates session (using cookie) by checking if `/sessions/<id>/` exists on `authfs`.
+ - If not, the session is invalid, return 401
+- `buthapi` upgrades the websocket connection and serves 9P
+- Client uses ws/9p connection to access API
+ - E.g. pressing "add to cart" button does `Tcreate /cart/sku123`
+ - (will need to figure out how to wire this up with htmx/js and 9p js/wasm lib)
+
+## Logout flow
+This is how a client destroys an active session on the server.
+- Client clicks Logout button
+- Htmx `POST`s to `auth./logout`, includes the session cookie in the request
+- `buthauth` reads the session ID from the cookie
+- `buthauth` removes `/sessions/<id>` on `authfs`
+- `buthauth` returns a response header telling the client browser to destroy the session cookie.