0xMiden / 0xMiden/node

Use response payload budget instead of per-field entry limits for gRPC responses

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#2,182 1 comment 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
rpc store
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
104
Forks
138
Avg merge
1d 14h
Merged PRs (30d)
54

Description

## Background

In #2153, we added support for `GetAccount` to return all storage maps. During review, we noted that the current API limit model is still too rigid: some response paths cap individual fields by number of elements, even though tonic enforces an overall 4 MiB gRPC message size limit.

For example, storage map details currently cap individual maps at 1000 entries. That means a response with 10,000 entries from one map may be rejected/truncated, while a response with 1000 entries from each of 10 maps may be allowed, even though both have similar payload-size implications.

The review suggestion was to move away from individual field limits where the real constraint is response size.

## Current behavior

- `GetAccount` has special response budgeting for `AllStorageMaps`, but individual storage maps still use `AccountStorageMapDetails::MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES = 1000`.
- `AccountVaultDetails` also uses `MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES = 1000`.
- Shared RPC limits in `crates/utils/src/limiter.rs` use element-count limits for several endpoints, with comments tying those limits to the 4 MiB payload budget.
- Some endpoints already use payload-size-aware pagination, e.g. `SyncNotes` / `SyncTransactions`, so behavior is inconsistent across APIs.

## Problem

Per-field element caps are not a good proxy for the actual gRPC response size. They can reject valid responses that fit under 4 MiB and allow combinations that only happen to stay safe because each individual field is capped.

This makes the API less flexible than necessary and spreads response-size reasoning across endpoint-specific constants.

## Proposed direction

Refactor response-size enforcement so that endpoints whose main constraint is tonic's 4 MiB response limit apply an overall encoded-size budget instead of arbitrary per-field entry limits.

For `GetAccount`, this likely means:

- apply a single response payload budget across account code, vault details, storage header, and storage map details;
- allow any individual storage map to exceed 1000 entries if the final encoded response remains within the budget;
- return existing `too_many_entries` / `too_many_assets` markers only when including that data would exceed the response budget;
- keep stricter request/work limits where they protect query fan-out, proof generation, or database load rather than response size.

## Acceptance criteria

- `GetAccount` enforces the 4 MiB response payload budget at the response level, not via a hard 1000-entry cap per storage map.
- Existing request fan-out limits, such as explicit storage map key proof requests, remain in place where needed.
- Other RPC/store endpoints with element-count limits are audited and categorized as either:
- true request/work limits, or
- response-size limits that should become payload-budget based.
- `GetLimits` documentation/API output is updated if any exposed limit semantics change.
- Tests cover cases where:
- a single large field fits under the response budget and is returned;
- a combination of fields exceeds the response budget and is truncated/paginated/marked consistently;
- generated responses stay below tonic's 4 MiB limit.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

The issue points to crates/utils/src/limiter.rs for shared RPC limits and mentions the GetAccount endpoint. Start by examining the current per-field entry limits (like AccountStorageMapDetails::MAX_RETURN_ENTRIES) and the 4 MiB gRPC constraint in tonic. Look at how SyncNotes/SyncTransactions implement payload-size-aware pagination. The goal is to replace per-field caps with an overall encoded-size budget, ensuring responses stay under 4 MiB. Tests should verify budget enforcement and that existing request fan-out limits remain.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
grpc, rust
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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