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MyOS Timelines

Introduction​

MyOS Timelines provide a managed implementation of Blue's timeline concept, offering a convenient way to create, access, and coordinate verifiable event chains. These timelines are hosted and maintained by MyOS, a platform that we'll explore in more detail in the Why MyOS chapter.

MyOS Timelines handle all the cryptographic verification, storage, and access control automatically, allowing you to focus on your document logic rather than timeline infrastructure.

Referencing Specific Timelines​

When you know the exact timeline identifiers you want to use, you can reference them directly:

contracts:
  aliceTimeline:
    type: MyOS Timeline
    timelineId: 12345
  bobTimeline:
    type: MyOS Timeline
    timelineId: 23456

This approach gives you precise control over which timelines your document uses. However, it comes with an important consideration: you must ensure you have access to these timelines. If your document doesn't have the necessary permissions, you'll need to request access from the timeline owners before your document can read from or write to these timelines.

Simplified Timeline Management with MyOS Account​

For most use cases, MyOS offers a more convenient approach using account references:

contracts:
  aliceTimeline:
    type: MyOS Account
    email: alice@xyz.com
  bobTimeline:
    type: MyOS Account
    accountId: 12345

When you use this pattern, MyOS automatically:

  1. Creates dedicated timelines for this specific document and each participant
  2. Manages access permissions so all participants can interact through these timelines
  3. Handles timeline coordination to ensure consistent event ordering across participants

This approach significantly reduces administrative overhead by eliminating the need to manually create and manage timeline access.

Dynamic Participant Management​

MyOS also automatically handles changing participants according to the rules defined in your document. If your document includes workflows which alter participants, or access management contracts like:

accessManagement:
  type: Access Management
  roles:
    Admin:
      operations:
        - addParticipant
        - removeParticipant
    Viewer:
      operations:
        - getDocumentDetails
  participants:
    Admin:
      - aliceChannel
    Viewer:
      - bobChannel

When participants are added or removed through document operations (like addParticipant or removeParticipant), MyOS automatically:

  • Creates new timelines for newly added participants
  • Grants appropriate permissions based on assigned roles
  • Revokes access for removed participants
  • Updates timeline coordination to include or exclude the relevant timelines

This means you can focus on your document's business logic while MyOS handles all the underlying complexity of timeline and permission management as your document evolves over time.