# ZoneGaze Matrix Overview

ZoneGaze Matrix is the host application for a combined workspace of installable local-first
products. The main product is Matrix itself: it owns the shell, plugin lifecycle, platform apps,
shared contracts, and composition rules. Functionality comes from the mixture of installed plugins,
not from one privileged subsystem.

## What Matrix Owns

- App shell surfaces: Dashboard, Ports, Plugin, Settings, shared rail, split panes, and window
  lifecycle.
- Platform packaging: direct Mac app, Android app, desktop runtime adoption, and local service
  management.
- Shared contracts: plugin catalog, platform bridges, port models, common plugin-service helpers,
  and generated source/API inventory.
- Plugin composition: installation state, open/close behavior, embedded surfaces, and runtime start
  policies.

## What Plugins Own

Each plugin owns its product behavior, assets, docs, tests, and adapters inside its own boundary.
Current plugin families are:

- First-party ZoneGaze plugins: Flow, Chat, Whispr, Joplin, Git, ZoneGaze Code, and ZoneGaze Social Studio.
- Shared ZoneGaze capability modules: Research, which is reached through host plugins instead of a
  direct left-rail or Marketplace surface.
- Upstream-mounted plugins: Open Design and Exo.

The combined system is the product. Flow is important, but it is one plugin within the Matrix
catalog rather than the top-level product.

## Shell Surfaces

- `Dashboard`: host-level status, plugin launch points, and high-level state.
- `Ports`: runtime and service visibility across local components.
- `Plugin`: plugin marketplace, install/open state, and plugin-specific entry points.
- `Settings`: shared settings hub and host-controlled configuration.
- Plugin tabs: full plugin-owned surfaces embedded inside the Matrix window.

## Historical Naming

Some implementation paths still carry Flow-era names:

- the published CLI package is `zonegaze-flow`
- shared web/runtime foundations still live under `flow/`
- legacy runtime labels and deep-link compatibility remain in some platform code

These are historical implementation details. The documentation in this tree treats Matrix as the
product boundary and explains Flow as a plugin boundary.

## Read Next

- Manual: [ZoneGaze Matrix manual](../manual/zonegaze-matrix-manual.md)
- Business docs: [Marketing, sales, and commercial posture](../business/README.md)
- Plugin map: [Plugins](../plugins/README.md)
- Plugin coordination: [Matrix plugin coordination](../plugins/plugin-coordination.md)
- Architecture: [Matrix plugin architecture](../architecture/matrix-plugin-architecture.md)
- Codebase: [Repository and package guide](../codebase/README.md)
