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Hussh
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hu_ssh — brand-aligned PCHP naming

Alternate naming surface for PCHP. Brand-aligned for consumer-facing / demo contexts; PCHP retained for RFC / engineering contexts.

Concept

TL;DR: Alternate naming surface for PCHP — brand-aligned ("SSH for humans," Hussh 🤫 gesture); same protocol, same primitives, used in consumer / demo contexts.

Status as of 2026-05-10: see body.

Relations

  • PCHP — the protocol hu_ssh names
  • OpenClaw — private/future reference-server pattern that can speak hu_ssh / PCHP.

Why "hu_ssh"

The protocol's working name carries two metaphors at once:

  • ssh — the original cryptographic handshake protocol. Hussh's PCHP is intentionally analogized as "SSH for humans": consent-bound, identity-anchored, every session auditable.
  • hush — the brand. The Hussh "shh" gesture (🤫) maps directly onto a protocol that defaults to silence and only speaks when consent is granted.

What it actually is

hu_ssh is an alternate naming surface for PCHP. The two terms point to the same protocol design — same four primitives (CRT, DAT, Transparency Log, ephemeral envelope), same wire shape, same consent semantics. Use PCHP in formal / RFC / partner-engineering contexts; use hu_ssh in brand-aligned / consumer-facing contexts where the metaphor lands harder.

When to use which

  • PCHP — RFC drafts, partner technical conversations, security review documentation, OpenClaw reference server pattern, anything explicitly engineering-facing.
  • hu_ssh — brand site, marketing, demos, founder talks, consumer onboarding flows, and private CTO-level meeting prep.

Naming risk

"hu_ssh" with the underscore is a bet that the visual disambiguation reads on a screen. In speech, it collapses back to "hush." That collapse is intentional — the brand does the metaphor work; the underscore disambiguates only when the protocol is being typed.

What it is not

  • Not a different protocol from PCHP. Same thing.
  • Not the wiki MCP server (which is one instance of an OpenClaw-style PCHP server).

Enterprise architecture status refresh

  • Current repo truth: hu_ssh is brand-aligned PCHP naming; implementation proof remains the consent protocol, Developer API, MCP, and scoped export contracts.
  • North-star direction: human-readable trust handshakes can frame partner conversations without changing the underlying consent boundary.
  • Not shipped / not implied: hu_ssh does not create a separate partner auth plane.

Sources

  • Internal Hussh source note — hu_ssh glossary entry expanded.
  • PCHP — protocol hu_ssh names.