LAUSR

The $$SU_3$$ S U 3 -skein algebra of a surface F is spanned by isotopy classes of certain framed graphs in $$F\times I$$ F × I called 3-webs subject to the skein relations encapsulating relations between $$U_q(sl(3))$$ U q ( s l ( 3 ) ) -representations. It is expected that their theory parallels that of the Kauffman bracket skein algebras. We make the first step towards developing that theory by proving that the reduced $$SU_3$$ S U 3 -skein algebra of any surface of finite type is finitely generated. We achieve that result by developing a theory of canonical forms of webs in surfaces. Specifically, we show that for any ideal triangulation of F every reduced 3-web can be uniquely decomposed into unions of pyramid formations of hexagons and disjoint arcs in the faces of the triangulation with possible additional “crossbars” connecting their edges along the ideal triangulation. We show that such canonical position is unique up to “crossbar moves”. That leads us to an associated system of coordinates for webs in triangulated surfaces (counting intersections of the web with the edges of the triangulation and their rotation numbers inside of the faces of the triangulation) which determine a reduced web uniquely. Finally, we relate our skein algebras to $${\mathcal {A}}$$ A -varieties of Fock–Goncharov and to $$\text {Loc}_{SL(3)}$$ Loc S L ( 3 ) -varieties of Goncharov–Shen. We believe that our coordinate system for webs is a manifestation of a (quantum) mirror symmetry conjectured by Goncharov–Shen.