vllm-omni/docs/design/module/input_output_modality_contracts.md

title, kind, status, owners, primary_code_paths, related_code_paths, depends_on, validation_paths, upstream_refs, last_reviewed

title	kind	status	owners	primary_code_paths	related_code_paths	depends_on	validation_paths	upstream_refs	last_reviewed
Input, Output, and Modality Contracts	module	draft	@tzhouam @gcanlin	vllm_omni/inputs/** vllm_omni/outputs/**	vllm_omni/tokenizers/**		tests/inputs/**	vllm.inputs vllm.outputs	2026-07-16

Input, output, and modality contracts

These contracts define the data that may cross entrypoint, orchestration, stage, and model boundaries.

Candidate invariants

IO-INV-001: Boundary data has an explicit modality

Rule: Data crossing a module or stage boundary MUST identify its modality and use the corresponding validated contract.

IO-INV-002: Request identity is stable

Rule: Request identity MUST be preserved across conversions, stages, streaming updates, cancellation, and errors.

IO-INV-003: Internal objects do not leak into public protocols

Rule: Entrypoints MUST explicitly translate internal output objects into public response types.

Safe-change guide

Test construction, validation, serialization, streaming, optional fields, and compatibility at every affected producer-consumer boundary.