Accelerated Track (4 weeks)

For developers already comfortable with Rust and async systems. Focus on ICN architecture, the Meaning Firewall, and rapid PR velocity.

Prerequisites

• Solid Rust fundamentals (ownership, lifetimes, async/await)
• Familiarity with Tokio or async runtimes
• Experience reading multi-crate Rust projects
• Can debug compiler errors independently

Learning Path

Phase 1: Foundations (Days 1-3) → Reader Tier

Goal: Prove Rust fluency, understand repo structure.

Path files:

1. Skim path/phase-1-foundations/01-environment.md — Build, test, lint (if already Rust-fluent, skip to checkpoint)
2. Skim path/phase-1-foundations/02-rust-through-icn.md — Read ownership traces, skip Rust tutorial sections
3. Read carefully path/phase-1-foundations/03-errors-and-tracing.md — ICN-specific patterns
4. Gate 1 — 4 artifacts (fast-track: submit system map + tiny PR, skip tooling/errors if confident)

Labs: lab-01 (optional if Rust-fluent), lab-02 (recommended for ICN error patterns)

Time: 2-3 days

Phase 2: Architecture (Week 1) → Fixer Tier

Goal: Master the Meaning Firewall — this is the critical week.

Path files:

1. path/phase-2-architecture/04-actors-and-concurrency.md — ICN's actor pattern (likely familiar, focus on ICN specifics)
2. CRITICAL path/phase-2-architecture/05-the-meaning-firewall.md — PolicyOracle boundary (this is new, read deeply)
3. path/phase-2-architecture/06-persistence-and-ledger.md — Quarantine pattern (ICN-specific)
4. Gate 2 — 4 artifacts (all required, no shortcuts)

Labs: lab-03 (skip if actor-fluent), lab-04 (REQUIRED), lab-05 (recommended)

Time: 5-7 days

Phase 3: Systems (Weeks 2-3) → Builder Tier

Goal: Ship real PRs, integrate subsystems.

Path files:

1. path/phase-3-systems/07-identity-and-crypto.md — Replay protection, keystore
2. path/phase-3-systems/08-network-and-gossip.md — Eventual consistency, vector clocks
3. path/phase-3-systems/09-governance-and-contracts.md — Governance flow
4. Gate 3 — 3 artifacts (ship 2+ PRs if possible, demonstrate velocity)

Labs: lab-06, lab-07, lab-08 (do all, they're fast for experienced devs)

Time: 10-14 days

Phase 4: Ownership (Week 4) → Maintainer Tier

Goal: Demonstrate production readiness.

Path files:

1. path/phase-4-ownership/10-federation-and-ops.md — Production deployment (likely familiar territory)
2. path/phase-4-ownership/11-maintainer.md — Review rubric, profiling
3. Capstone — 5 artifacts (this is your portfolio piece, take time to do it well)

Labs: Integrate previous labs into deployed system

Time: 7-10 days

Weekly Schedule

Total: 60-80 hours over 4 weeks

Key Differences from Foundations Track

1. Skim Phase 1: If Rust-fluent, you can fast-track through Layers 01-02. But don't skip Layer 03 (ICN error patterns).
2. Focus on Layer 05: The Meaning Firewall is ICN-specific. Even if you understand trait objects and dependency injection, this pattern is new. Spend time here.
3. Lab-04 is non-negotiable: Compile-time boundary enforcement is the keystone. Do it from scratch, don't copy/paste.
4. Ship multiple PRs: Gate 3 asks for one PR, but demonstrate velocity by shipping 2-3 if possible.
5. Capstone as portfolio: Make this production-quality. This is what maintainers see when evaluating your tier.

Entry Criteria

Can you answer these confidently?

• Explain Rust ownership and borrowing
• Write async Rust with Tokio
• Debug a trait bound error
• Understand Arc<dyn Trait> vs impl Trait
• Read a 50-file Rust codebase and trace execution

If yes: Start with Phase 1, skim to Phase 2.
If no: Use Foundations Track instead.

Support Resources

• Architecture questions? → docs/architecture/KERNEL_APP_SEPARATION.md
• Rust advanced topics? → reference/module-01-rust-fundamentals.md § Advanced
• Fast feedback? → Request reviews in #development, not #onboarding

Next Steps

1. Read docs/onboarding/manual.md (45 min, high-density)
2. Skim Phase 1, enter at Phase 2 if Rust-fluent
3. Spend quality time on Layer 05 (Meaning Firewall)
4. Ship PRs early, get feedback, iterate fast

Welcome to ICN! 🚀