Inputs are contexts, logical paths or prefixes, byte slices or readers, write options, walk options, delete options, and backend open configs. Outputs are file bytes, readers, `Entry` metadata, walk callbacks, boolean content checks, registered backends, and typed errors.
Core packages depend on `internal/storage`, not concrete adapters. Adapter protocol behavior belongs in `internal/adapters/local`, `internal/adapters/ssh`, and `internal/adapters/s3`; external SSH/SFTP and S3 notes live under `docs/integrations/`.
Storage owns `.distributor.json` path helpers through `StateFileName`, `StatePath`, `ManagedOutputTargets`, and `ManagedBundleTargets`. It does not parse source manifests or destination state.
Logical paths are slash-separated and relative to a backend root. Prefix validation allows an empty prefix to mean the backend root; file path validation requires a non-empty path.
Reconcile-state callers use `Stat` to check whether managed output paths still exist and bounded recursive `Walk` to report unmanaged entries under a selected destination root. Prune execution callers use `DeleteManagedOutputs` for selected managed output records so `.distributor.json` is not part of the deletion target set. Storage does not decide whether entries are managed; callers compare entries against destination state.
Storage has no publication skip policy. It supplies `HasAny` for unmanaged-content checks, `Stat` and `Walk` for state repair inspection, `DeleteManagedOutputs` target construction for managed output cleanup, `DeleteManagedBundle` target construction for normal replacement cleanup, and `DeletePrefix` semantics for explicit forced replacement.
Storage errors use typed categories: not found, already exists, not empty, invalid path, conflict, permission, temporary, unsupported, and unknown. Callers should use helper predicates instead of matching strings. Traversal can stop cleanly with `ErrStopWalk`.
