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WHY_CONNECTED_MODE.md

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Why Connect cub-scout to ConfigHub

Note: This content has been integrated into the canonical roadmap at docs/roadmap.md (v1.1+ Connected Mode section). This file is retained for historical reference but the roadmap is the authoritative source.

TL;DR

cub-scout is a free, read-only cluster explorer.

  • Standalone mode answers: what exists now, who owns it, and what looks risky.
  • Connected mode answers: what should exist, what changed over time, and what this affects across environments.

Connected mode is optional. Standalone remains fully usable without ConfigHub.

What Standalone Gives You (Free)

With only Kubernetes access (kubectl context), cub-scout provides:

  • live ownership and provenance tracing (Flux, Argo CD, Helm, native)
  • health/issue/risk scanning in the current cluster
  • relationship exports (JSON/graph) for debugging and handoff
  • deterministic local workflows that do not mutate cluster state

Why Standalone Has a Hard Ceiling

A cluster API can only show current observed state. It cannot reliably answer:

  • what changed last week and why
  • whether one cluster is an outlier vs the rest of the fleet
  • what should happen in another environment before a rollout
  • how imported state maps to durable org structure

Those require durable history, indexing, and cross-environment context outside a single cluster.

What Connected Mode Unlocks

When connected to ConfigHub, cub-scout can use:

  • intent context (DRY/WET/LIVE)
  • change history and timeline correlations
  • fleet comparison and outlier detection
  • import/adoption workflows (break-glass to managed)
  • dependency-aware impact analysis
  • governance context and approvals metadata

cub-scout still remains read-only. Connected mode adds context, not control.

Interface Boundaries (Authoritative)

  • cub CLI is the external interface contract for connected workflows.
  • confighub-agent depends on cub command behavior (arguments, exit codes, stdout/JSON shape), documented in /Users/alexis/Public/github-repos/confighub-agent/README.md:16.
  • cub-scout connected mode depends on cub auth login semantics (credential/session creation and context resolution), documented in /Users/alexis/Public/github-repos/cub-scout/README.md:80.
  • Standalone cub-scout must continue to function without cub.

This is the ownership split:

  • cub-scout: deterministic discovery, explanation, evidence export
  • ConfigHub: system of record, lifecycle state, migration semantics

Paid Value Boundary

Connected value is paid because it requires hosted platform capabilities:

  • durable multi-tenant storage
  • cross-cluster indexing and query infrastructure
  • fleet/governance APIs
  • retention, auditability, and operations at scale

The CLI remains free and safe to run offline.

Roadmap Alignment

For sequencing and boundaries:

  • docs/roadmap.md
  • docs/roadmap-1x-connected-upsell.md