docs design.md

Gateway design notes

Gateway design notes

Back to the rollout handoff

The account service trusts identity headers only when the request came through the gateway. The gateway verifies the bearer token, strips any client-supplied identity headers, then writes the verified account ID.

Failure behavior

Condition Response Retry
Missing token 401 No
Invalid token 401 No
Gateway timeout 503 Yes

The service keeps its existing direct validator behind a rollback flag. That path expires after the regional rollout has stayed healthy for 24 hours.

Markdown source

# Gateway design notes

[Back to the rollout handoff](../implementation-plan.md)

The account service trusts identity headers only when the request came through
the gateway. The gateway verifies the bearer token, strips any client-supplied
identity headers, then writes the verified account ID.

## Failure behavior

| Condition | Response | Retry |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Missing token | `401` | No |
| Invalid token | `401` | No |
| Gateway timeout | `503` | Yes |

The service keeps its existing direct validator behind a rollback flag. That
path expires after the regional rollout has stayed healthy for 24 hours.