Robert Allan JamesandClaude Sonnet 5
56e19a00f9
Captain Bob's call after seeing the identity-heap-capacity findings (FABRIC-3.md §X.4): the number of concurrently-running VMs is not known in advance, and once this is a complete operating system the heap should be able to use whatever memory is actually available -- not a hardcoded compile-time ceiling. This was already half-built and just not wired up. src/starkernel/vm/alloc_kernel.c previously implemented sf_malloc()/ sf_free() (platform_alloc.h's allocator abstraction -- what vm_create_word() calls for every VM's word dictionary) as its own isolated static 4MB arena: first-fit free list, no splitting or coalescing. That's exactly the allocator that topped out around 6 concurrent WIREBIND-born identities, failing from fragmentation before true capacity exhaustion (§X.4's own measurements). Sitting right next to it, unused for this purpose: src/starkernel/memory/ kmalloc.c, the kernel's general heap. Already initialized at boot (M6, kernel_main.c, well before any VM is ever born), reserved from real PMM-tracked physical memory rather than a fixed array, defaults to a 2 GiB floor explicitly sized "for 256+ baby VMs" per its own comment, overridable via the --heap= boot flag, and its free list actually coalesces neighboring blocks on every free. Change: alloc_kernel.c's sf_malloc()/sf_free() now delegate to kmalloc_aligned()/kfree() instead of managing a separate arena. sf_alloc_init() becomes a no-op (kmalloc is already initialized by the time any VM allocation can happen, and "resetting" a heap now shared by every kernel subsystem would be actively wrong -- confirmed no external caller depended on its old reset semantics). sf_alloc_get_stats() reads kmalloc_get_stats() fresh rather than shadowing byte counts locally; alloc_count/free_count (which kmalloc.c doesn't track) stay as simple local counters. sf_calloc()/sf_realloc() are otherwise unchanged. Kernel- only: the hosted (non-kernel) StarForth build keeps its own separate alloc_host.c implementation, untouched. Verified live: replaying the exact hotplug sequence that previously topped out at 6 identities (Zuse + 8 identities, one at a time via QMP device_add) now succeeds for all 9, where identity 05 specifically used to fail. Three-arch clean qemu acceptance (single Zuse device, the standard regression case) passed on amd64, aarch64, and riscv64 -- one aarch64 attempt hit an unrelated, already-documented one-off QEMU hiccup (empty log, boot never progressed past firmware) and passed cleanly on retry with no rebuild. Not addressed here: the underlying free-list itself is still first-fit without splitting (only coalescing changed, inherited from kmalloc.c); per-VM dictionary sizing (shrinking what each WIREBIND VM's word set actually needs) is a separate, still-open lever from FABRIC-3.md §X.4's open architecture question. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_014Ec88YKxxhZGG1RNnune78
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