# VEX Source Registration and Verification Pipeline

## Module
Excititor

## Status
VERIFIED

## Description
VEX source onboarding pipeline with scheduled provider runners, orchestration, signature verification, and issuer directory integration for multi-vendor VEX ingestion.

## Implementation Details
- **Modules**: `src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/`, `src/Excititor/__Libraries/StellaOps.Excititor.Connectors.Abstractions/`
- **Key Classes**:
  - `VexWorkerHostedService` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Scheduling/VexWorkerHostedService.cs`) - background service scheduling provider runs
  - `DefaultVexProviderRunner` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Scheduling/DefaultVexProviderRunner.cs`) - runs VEX provider connectors on schedule
  - `OrchestratorVexProviderRunner` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Orchestration/OrchestratorVexProviderRunner.cs`) - orchestrator-managed provider runner
  - `VexWorkerOrchestratorClient` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Orchestration/VexWorkerOrchestratorClient.cs`) - communicates with orchestrator for work assignment
  - `VexWorkerHeartbeatService` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Orchestration/VexWorkerHeartbeatService.cs`) - sends heartbeats to orchestrator
  - `VexWorkerPluginCatalogLoader` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Plugins/VexWorkerPluginCatalogLoader.cs`) - loads available VEX connector plugins
  - `VexConnectorBase` (`src/Excititor/__Libraries/StellaOps.Excititor.Connectors.Abstractions/VexConnectorBase.cs`) - base class for VEX source connectors
  - `VexConnectorDescriptor` (`src/Excititor/__Libraries/StellaOps.Excititor.Connectors.Abstractions/VexConnectorDescriptor.cs`) - descriptor metadata for connectors
  - `WorkerSignatureVerifier` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Signature/WorkerSignatureVerifier.cs`) - verifies signatures during ingestion
  - `VexWorkerSchedule` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.Worker/Scheduling/VexWorkerSchedule.cs`) - schedule configuration for provider runs
  - `MirrorRegistrationEndpoints` (`src/Excititor/StellaOps.Excititor.WebService/Endpoints/MirrorRegistrationEndpoints.cs`) - REST endpoints for mirror/source registration
- **Interfaces**: `IVexProviderRunner`, `IVexConsensusRefreshScheduler`, `IVexWorkerOrchestratorClient`
- **Source**: Feature matrix scan

## E2E Test Plan
- [ ] Register a new VEX source via `MirrorRegistrationEndpoints` and verify it appears in the plugin catalog
- [ ] Verify `VexWorkerHostedService` schedules provider runs based on `VexWorkerSchedule` configuration
- [ ] Verify `DefaultVexProviderRunner` executes the connector and ingests VEX documents
- [ ] Verify `WorkerSignatureVerifier` validates signatures on ingested documents during the pipeline
- [ ] Verify `VexWorkerHeartbeatService` sends heartbeats to the orchestrator during long-running ingestion
- [ ] Verify `VexWorkerPluginCatalogLoader` discovers and loads all available vendor connectors (Ubuntu, Red Hat, Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, SUSE)

## Verification
- Verified on 2026-02-13 via `run-001`.
- Tier 0: Source files confirmed present on disk.
- Tier 1: `dotnet build` passed (0 errors); 503/504 tests passed (1 env_issue: no local Postgres).
- Tier 2d: `docs/qa/feature-checks/runs/excititor/vex-source-registration-and-verification-pipeline/run-001/tier2-integration-check.json`