Robert Allan JamesandClaude Sonnet 5
350287850f
FABRIC-3.md §IV.3 item 7's code audit found two more findings; fixed both
per direct instruction naming them specifically.
Comments only, no behavior change:
interrupts.c's arch_interrupts_init() doc comment (and its matching
runtime EL2 console message) claimed VBAR_EL2 was "a known gap... not yet
wired." Checked against isr.S's aarch64_install_vectors() and found that
claim stale: the assembly already branches on aarch64_current_el() and
writes vbar_el2/vbar_el1 correctly, threading the same answer through
el2_mode_flag for the IRQ trampoline's ELR/SPSR selection too. There was
no gap to close -- only the comment was wrong. Also fixed a same-vintage
one-word staleness in arch.c's aarch64_install_vectors extern comment
("installs VBAR_EL1" -> EL-aware), caught while touching this.
Real behavior change, gated to preserve existing QEMU behavior:
arch_cold_reset() hardcoded the PSCI conduit to HVC, a documented
QEMU-specific workaround (QEMU's AAVMF has no genuine EL3 to answer SMC).
Real Pi 5 hardware's ATF means EL3 exists there; confirmed further this
pass that bcm2712.dtsi's own /psci node declares method="smc" directly,
not just inferred from ATF's presence.
New aarch64_psci_conduit_init(dtb) in arch.c: fdt_valid(dtb) ->
fdt_find_node_by_compatible(dtb, "arm,psci-1.0") ->
fdt_find_prop_in_node(..., "method", ...) -- sets a module-static
s_psci_use_smc flag to 1 only when method reads exactly "smc"; every
other outcome (no DTB, no PSCI node, method="hvc", property absent)
leaves it at its default 0/HVC, preserving this system's existing QEMU
behavior exactly. arch_cold_reset() now branches on that flag between
smc #0/hvc #0. Called once from apic_init() (arch/aarch64/apic.c), the
one point in boot with boot_info->dtb already in hand -- collocated with
its consumer in arch.c rather than defined in apic.c, since
arch_cold_reset() has no boot_info of its own by the time it runs (called
from deep in VM execution, via BYE).
Three-arch QEMU acceptance run exercised both new guard branches: the
aarch64 boot log shows "PSCI: no DTB -- using HVC (QEMU virt-machine
default)" immediately before the existing GIC discovery lines, then
boots clean to zuse)ok> -- confirming the QEMU/UEFI path is unchanged.
The SMC success branch itself stays unverified until real Pi 5 hardware
runs BYE.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_019YcT3H2PQeyujrzjqS3Var
LithosAnanke v2.0.1
UEFI-bootable FORTH microkernel. Boots from firmware, initialises memory and interrupts, then runs the StarForth VM as its sole userspace runtime. No libc. No OS. Just stone and necessity.
Lithos (foundation) + Ananke (necessity) — the kernel under StarshipOS.
Status — M7.1 (Capsule System · Multi-VM Fleet)
| Milestone | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| M0–M6 | UEFI boot · PMM · VMM · IDT · APIC · heap · framebuffer VT100 console (v1.5.1-FINAL) | ✅ Complete |
| M7 | StarForth VM integration + parity validation | ✅ Complete |
| M7.1 | Capsule birth protocol · Mama FORTH vocabulary · Tripod multi-VM fleet (Hermes/Artemis) · Word-level ACL (Phases 1–7) | 🔄 In Progress |
| M8 | REPL — keyboard input, interactive Forth | Planned |
| M9 | Block storage — AHCI driver | Planned |
POST at boot: parity hash verified across amd64/aarch64/riscv64 · Mama capsule dictionary: 453 words
What's live in M7.1
- Tripod — a named multi-VM fleet (Hera the Mama VM, Artemis, two Hermes instances) births, runs, and re-births independently, verified booting live pre-REPL on all three architectures.
- Hermes — a 17-block inter-VM messaging/channel layer between fleet members, with async delivery and channel negotiation.
- Artemis — a Block Allocation Map (BAM) storage subsystem with Q48.16
block-heat tracking and cooldown/reclamation (
ART-COOL/ART-REAP). - Word-level ACL — every dictionary entry carries a TTL/allow/mode/pin
access-control record. Strict, TTL, and pinned modes; two console layers
(emergency
ok>and superuserzuse)ok>). Phases 1–7 complete (C infrastructure, FORTH policy layer,zusebootstrap superuser, Isabelle proof stubs, kernel parity); Phase 8 (Ed25519 PKI / thumbdrive challenge-response) is the only item remaining. Measured overhead once active on every check: +0.0054%–+0.0088%, CV = 0.000%, across a 3×3 Latin-square DoE campaign (architecture × seed × 30 replicates) — three orders of magnitude below the measurement floor. - VM Fleet Attractor physics — the L8 Jacquard mode selector now has a real per-VM heat channel into fleet-wide tuning, replacing hardcoded compudynamics constants with a dynamically-inferred rate.
- Kconfig build configuration — every physics/heartbeat/pipelining/ kernel-only tuning knob (~40 total) is now a discoverable, optional Kconfig symbol shared with the hosted VM build. See Quick Start below.
Quick Start
# Build kernel (requires cross-compilation toolchain, or native gcc)
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64
# Run in QEMU with OVMF
make -f Makefile.starkernel qemu
# Other architectures
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=aarch64 qemu
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=riscv64 qemu
Artifacts: build/amd64/kernel/starkernel_loader.efi · build/amd64/kernel/starkernel_kernel.elf
For the hosted VM by itself (Linux, no cross-compiler needed, no bare-metal tooling): see
the separate StarForth repository — LithosAnanke used to be a branch inside that repo,
now it's its own project with its own master.
Build configuration (optional)
Every kernel-only knob (STARFORTH_ENABLE_VM, PARITY_MODE, the shared
physics/heartbeat family, etc.) is an optional Kconfig symbol — a plain
make -f Makefile.starkernel uses the same defaults it always has unless
you opt in:
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64 menuconfig
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64 kernel_amd64_defconfig
Documentation
| System Architecture | Full kernel + VM design |
| HAL Reference | Hardware abstraction layer interfaces |
| Capsule System — M7.1 | Capsule birth protocol design |
| VM Fleet Attractor design log | Tripod/Hermes/Artemis physics + build-system history |
| Getting Started / Kconfig reference | Full symbol reference for both build targets |
| Changelog | Milestone-level history |
| Roadmap | Milestone plan through self-hosting |
License
Starship License 1.0 (SL-1.0) — free for personal, research, and educational use. Commercial use requires a separate agreement. Attribution to R.A. James (Captain Bob) must be preserved in all distributions.
Patent pending. USPTO provisional filed December 2025 — physics-grounded self-adaptive runtime system. This license does not grant patent rights. Licensing inquiries: rajames440@gmail.com
Robert A. James (Captain Bob) · Systems Engineer · Hacking since 1973