Delete the deprecated Leaf derive path, migrate the remaining tests and example to leaf!, and add direct coverage for endpoint-only, TUI-only, and shared-host leaf declarations.
Introduce a function-like leaf declaration macro, bind endpoint and TUI hosts to shared generated metadata, and move remote shell endpoint construction out of the leaf module into the examples and runtime assembly code.
Update the remote shell examples to use unshell::leaves and the leaf_endpoint feature-gated endpoint module, and restore the local macro aliasing needed after removing the direct unshell dependency from unshell-leaves.
Move the protocol runtime into unshell-protocol and remote shell leaf code into unshell-leaves so endpoint and TUI roles can compile independently without circular dependencies.
Document the hook lifecycle, ingress rules, and longest-prefix routing behavior so the tree endpoint code is easier to follow. Keep the pass behavior-neutral while tightening local names and comments around non-obvious protocol paths.
Align the framed header section so decode can avoid hidden alignment repair on the hot path, and teach protocol_bench.rs to build and run the standalone tracing binaries directly. The updated benchmark shows lower encode, decode, forward, local call, and hook data costs than the previous baseline.
Factor the benchmark scenarios into standalone example binaries that can be traced directly without cargo run, and simplify the hot call and hook lookup paths using the benchmark output as guidance.
Implement an aligned two-section frame format, a compiled prefix router, a minimal pending and active hook engine, and a header-first receive path that only decodes payloads on local delivery. Recreate the protocol-focused test suite and document the explicit framing deviation in src/protocol/PROTOCOL_CHANGES.md.
Compile routing prefixes once per endpoint, restore minimal pending-to-active hook transitions, and route call/data/fault packets from the header before decoding payloads for local delivery only. Document the remaining protocol-level pressure points in src/protocol/PROTOCOL_CHANGES.md.
Remove the unused pending-hook layer and dead protocol trait wrappers, and resolve active hooks through a direct active-only flow with peer-side indexing instead of scan-based recovery.
Replace vector-backed endpoint outcomes with single-action results, skip payload deserialization on forwarded data and faults, and route local call and data emissions without encode/decode roundtrips.
Move demo leaf echo behavior out of the core protocol runtime, treat procedure IDs as opaque protocol fields, and return direct registered children in endpoint introspection to match the spec.
Document public APIs and non-obvious control flow so the protocol, simulator, and macro crates are easier to follow. Tighten a few helper paths and feature gates while preserving behavior and keeping the workspace warning-free.
Michael Mikovsky