Bootstrap
Initialize a new client with one request, fetching snapshot plus post-snapshot updates.
Bootstrap is the new-client initialization endpoint. A single request returns everything a client needs to catch up:
- The latest snapshot (if any)
- All updates after the snapshot, up to the stream's current tail
GET /{bucket}/{stream}/bootstrapThe response is multipart/mixed:
- First part. The snapshot. If no snapshot exists, this part is present but empty.
- Subsequent parts. Incremental updates from the snapshot offset (or from the earliest retained offset, if no snapshot exists).
Each part has its own Content-Type: the snapshot part uses snapshot_content_type; update parts use the stream's content type. The client does not need to know in advance whether a snapshot exists. The same parsing path handles both cases.
When to use bootstrap vs catch-up
| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| Latest state, fastest first-load | /bootstrap |
| Replay every byte from the beginning | GET /{b}/{s}?offset=-1 |
| Resume from a known offset that's still retained | GET /{b}/{s}?offset=N |
Resume from an offset the server has since trimmed (410 Gone) | /bootstrap, then continue from the snapshot offset |
Live continuation
Bootstrap does not accept ?live=sse. Combining the multipart body with an SSE event stream is rejected with 400. To go live after bootstrap, finish reading the bootstrap response, then open a separate GET /{b}/{s}?offset=<snapshot_offset>&live=sse (or pass the cursor returned by bootstrap).