RedBear-OS/AGENTS.md

RED BEAR OS BUILD SYSTEM — PROJECT KNOWLEDGE BASE

Generated: 2026-04-12 (P1/P2 complete) Toolchain: Rust nightly-2025-10-03 (edition 2024) Architecture: Microkernel OS in Rust, ~38k files, ~294k LoC Rust Target Hardware: AMD64 bare metal, with AMD and Intel machines treated as equal-priority Red Bear OS targets

OVERVIEW

Red Bear OS build system orchestrator — fetches, builds, and packages ~100+ Git repositories into a bootable Redox image. Uses a Makefile + Rust "cookbook" tool + TOML configs. Languages: Rust (core), C (ported packages), TOML (config), Make (build orchestration).

RedBearOS is a full fork of Redox OS — based on frozen, archived source snapshots. Sources are immutable and never auto-immutable archived from upstream. All changes are explicit, human-initiated operations. Durable Red Bear state belongs in local/patches/, local/recipes/, local/docs/, and tracked Red Bear configs.

ABSOLUTE RULE — NEVER DELETE, NEVER IGNORE, NEVER COMMENT OUT

If an agent decides something is "not necessary", "not required for boot", "too heavy", or "not needed" — that decision is WRONG. Always keep and fix.

• NEVER delete a package, config, service, patch, or file because it seems unnecessary.
• NEVER ignore a package by setting it to "ignore" because it seems unneeded.
• NEVER comment out a package, service, or config entry to "clean up" or "trim".
• NEVER remove build tools, desktop services, or any other package to reduce image size.
• ALWAYS fix the root cause if something breaks — do not work around it by removal.

The ONLY acceptable time to remove or ignore a package is when the user explicitly and directly requests it. No agent-initiated removals. No "I think this isn't needed". No "this seems too heavy for mini". When in doubt: KEEP IT AND FIX IT.

This rule exists because agents have repeatedly destroyed months of work by deciding packages were "unnecessary" and silently removing them during syncs and config changes.

The current baseline is Red Bear OS 0.1.0 (Redox snapshot at build-system commit f55acba68). All recipe sources are pinned and archived in sources/redbear-0.1.0/.

STRUCTURE

redox-master/
├── config/          # Build configs (TOML): tracked redbear-* targets plus mainline references
├── mk/              # Makefile fragments: config.mk, repo.mk, prefix.mk, disk.mk, qemu.mk
├── recipes/         # Package recipes (TOML + source). 26 categories. See recipes/AGENTS.md
│   ├── core/        # kernel, bootloader, relibc, base drivers — See recipes/core/AGENTS.md
│   ├── wip/         # Wayland, KDE, driver WIP ports — See recipes/wip/AGENTS.md
│   ├── libs/        # Libraries: mesa, cairo, SDL, zlib, openssl, etc.
│   ├── gui/         # Legacy GUI stack packages
│   └── ...          # 21 other categories (net, dev, games, shells, etc.)
├── src/             # Cookbook Rust tooling (repo binary, cook logic, content-hash cache)
├── docs/            # Architecture docs (6 detailed integration guides) — See docs/AGENTS.md
├── local/           # OUR CUSTOM WORK — survives mainline updates — See local/AGENTS.md
│   ├── config/      # Custom configs (my-amd-desktop.toml)
│   ├── recipes/     # Custom recipes (AMD drivers, GPU stack, Wayland)
│   ├── patches/     # Patches against mainline sources (kernel, relibc, base)
│   ├── Assets/      # Branding assets (icon, loading background)
│   ├── firmware/    # AMD GPU firmware blobs (fetched, not committed)
│   ├── scripts/     # Build/deploy scripts (fetch-firmware.sh, build-redbear.sh)
│   ├── docs/        # Red Bear integration docs (AMD roadmap, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth plans, status notes)
│   └── reference/   # External reference sources (gitignored, never deleted, always kept)
├── prefix/          # Cross-compiler toolchain (Clang/LLVM for x86_64-unknown-redox)
├── build/           # Build outputs, logs, fstools, per-arch directories
├── repo/            # Package manifests and PKGAR artifacts per architecture
├── bin/             # Cross-tool wrappers (pkg-config, llvm-config per target)
├── scripts/         # Helper scripts (backtrace, category, changelog, etc.)
├── podman/          # Podman container build support
├── .cargo/          # Cargo config: linker per target (aarch64, x86_64, i586, i686, riscv64gc)
├── Makefile         # Root orchestrator (all, live, image, rebuild, clean, qemu, gdb)
├── Cargo.toml       # Cookbook crate: binaries (repo, repo_builder), lib (cookbook)
├── rust-toolchain.toml  # nightly-2025-10-03 + rust-src + rustfmt + clippy
└── .config          # PODMAN_BUILD=0 (set to 1 for container builds)

WHERE TO LOOK

Task	Location	Notes
Add a package	recipes/<category>/<name>/recipe.toml	Use template = "cargo|cmake|meson|custom"
Change build config	config/<name>.toml	Include chain: wayland→desktop→desktop-minimal→minimal→base
Fix kernel	recipes/core/kernel/source/	Kernel is a recipe, not top-level
Fix a driver	recipes/core/base/source/drivers/	All drivers are userspace daemons
Fix relibc (POSIX)	recipes/core/relibc/source/	C library written in Rust
Wayland integration	recipes/wip/wayland/ + local/docs/WAYLAND-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md	21 WIP recipes + local validation/ownership plan
KDE Plasma path	recipes/wip/kde/ + docs/05-KDE-PLASMA-ON-REDOX.md	9 WIP KDE app recipes
Desktop path plan	local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md	Canonical plan: console → HW-accelerated KDE
Linux driver compat	docs/04-LINUX-DRIVER-COMPAT.md	linux-kpi + redox-driver-sys architecture (GPU and Wi-Fi only — not USB)
Build system internals	src/bin/repo.rs, src/lib.rs, mk/repo.mk	Cookbook tool in Rust
Cross-toolchain setup	mk/prefix.mk, prefix/x86_64-unknown-redox/	Downloads Clang/LLVM toolchain
Display/session surface	config/redbear-full.toml	Active desktop/graphics compile surface
GPU/graphics stack	recipes/libs/mesa/	OSMesa + LLVMpipe (software only)
GPU hardware drivers	local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/source/	AMD + Intel DRM/KMS via redox-driver-sys
D-Bus integration	local/docs/DBUS-INTEGRATION-PLAN.md	Architecture, gap analysis, phased implementation for KDE Plasma D-Bus
Boot config	config/*.toml	TOML hierarchy, include-based
Hardware quirks	local/recipes/drivers/redox-driver-sys/source/src/quirks/	Data-driven quirk tables: compiled-in + TOML + DMI; see local/docs/QUIRKS-SYSTEM.md
Package build quirks	local/docs/PACKAGE-BUILD-QUIRKS.md	Cross-compilation issues (DYNAMIC_INIT, m4, ninja-build), fixes, and general patterns
Build cache system	local/docs/BUILD-CACHE-PLAN.md	Content-hash-based cache (Phase 1-3): BLAKE3 dep hashing, binary store restore, package groups

BUILD COMMANDS

# Prerequisites (Linux x86_64 host)
#   rustup + nightly-2025-10-03, cargo install just cbedgen, nasm, qemu-system-x86
#   See docs/06-BUILD-SYSTEM-SETUP.md for distro-specific packages

# Configuration
echo 'PODMAN_BUILD?=0' > .config          # Native build (no container)
echo 'PODMAN_BUILD?=1' > .config          # Podman container build

# CRITICAL: .config MUST NOT contain REDBEAR_RELEASE=... in development mode.
# If it does, the build system re-extracts sources from the immutable release
# archive and ignores the local forks. Remove it if present:
grep -v REDBEAR_RELEASE .config > .config.tmp && mv .config.tmp .config

# Build Red Bear OS
# Supported compile targets:
#   redbear-full         desktop/graphics target (harddrive.img or live ISO)
#   redbear-mini         text-only console/recovery target (harddrive.img or live ISO)
#   redbear-grub         text-only with GRUB boot manager (live ISO)
# Desktop/graphics target: redbear-full
# Text-only targets: redbear-mini, redbear-grub
./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh redbear-mini         # Recommended (dev mode, local forks)
./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini  # With online fetch (fast iteration)
make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-mini         # Text-only target → harddrive.img
make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full         # Desktop/graphics target → harddrive.img
make live CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full        # Full desktop live ISO
make live CONFIG_NAME=redbear-mini        # Text-only mini live ISO
make live CONFIG_NAME=redbear-grub        # Text-only mini live ISO with GRUB
CI=1 make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-mini    # CI mode (disables TUI, for non-interactive)

# IMPORTANT: For local fork development, use:
#   export REDBEAR_ALLOW_PROTECTED_FETCH=1  # base/kernel/relibc are protected recipes
#   ./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini
# Without --upstream, the build is in offline mode and re-extracts from
# the immutable release archive instead of using the local forks.

# Run
make qemu                                 # Boot in QEMU
make qemu QEMUFLAGS="-m 4G"              # With more RAM
make live                                 # Build live ISO for real bare metal

# QEMU with network access (required for testing):
qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom build/x86_64/redbear-mini.iso \
  -m 1024 -netdev user,id=n0 -device e1000,netdev=n0

# Rebuild prefix (after relibc/kernel/base fork changes):
#   touch relibc && make prefix        # Rebuild relibc in the cross-toolchain
#   touch kernel && make prefix        # Rebuild kernel-related toolchain parts
# The prefix provides libc.a and system headers used by ALL recipes.
# Stale prefix artifacts are the #1 cause of "undefined reference" link errors
# after fork changes. build-redbear.sh now warns when prefix is stale.

# Single recipe
./target/release/repo cook recipes/libs/mesa     # Build one recipe (uses content-hash cache)
./target/release/repo cook mesa --force-rebuild  # Bypass cache, force rebuild
./target/release/repo fetch recipes/core/kernel   # Fetch source only
make r.mesa                                      # Make shorthand for cook
make cr.mesa                                     # Clean + rebuild

# Clean
make clean                                # Remove build artifacts
make distclean                            # Remove sources + artifacts

# Safe cleanup (NEVER deletes tracked source files — checks git ls-files first):
./local/scripts/cleanup-build.sh           # Remove only build/ and repo/ (safest)
./local/scripts/cleanup-build.sh --all     # Also remove recipe target/ dirs (forces rebuild)
# DO NOT run ad-hoc `rm -rf` or unvetted cleanup scripts — they have wiped
# tracked local/recipes/*/source/ and local/sources/*/source/ trees in the past.
# The safe cleanup script above uses `git ls-files` to skip every tracked path.

Local forks vs overlay patches

As of 2026-06, the following core components use local forks (in local/sources/<component>/) instead of upstream + overlay patches:

• relibc, kernel, bootloader, installer, redoxfs, userutils
• base — uses path = "..." in recipes/core/base/recipe.toml to point at the local fork

The local fork approach was chosen because:

1. The overlay patch chain accumulated drift from upstream, causing repeated build failures (broken patches, version mismatches, etc).
2. The local forks are the durable source of truth, with version pins and fixes already applied.
3. Iterating on a local fork is faster than maintaining dozens of patches.

For details on how to import upstream commits into a local fork, see local/AGENTS.md § "LOCAL FORK MODEL".

BUILD FLOW

make all
  → mk/config.mk (ARCH, CONFIG_NAME, FILESYSTEM_CONFIG)
  → mk/depends.mk (check host tools: rustup, cbedgen, nasm, just)
  → mk/prefix.mk (download/setup cross-toolchain if needed)
  → mk/fstools.mk (build cookbook repo binary + fstools)
  → mk/repo.mk (repo cook --filesystem=config/*.toml)
    → For each recipe: fetch source → apply patches → check cache (BLAKE3 dep hashes) → build or restore from repo/ → stage into sysroot
    → dep_hashes.toml written per recipe (BLAKE3 of each build dep's PKGAR)
    → Package groups resolved by installer Config::from_file()
  → mk/disk.mk (create filesystem.img, harddrive.img, redbear-live.iso or harddrive.img)
    → redoxfs-mkfs → redox_installer → bootloader embedding

CONVENTIONS

• Rust edition 2024, nightly channel
• rustfmt.toml: max_width=100, brace_style=SameLineWhere
• clippy.toml: cognitive-complexity-threshold=100, type-complexity-threshold=1000
• Recipe format: TOML with [source] + [build] + optional [package]
• Build templates: cargo, meson, cmake, make, configure, custom
• WIP recipes: Must start with #TODO comment explaining what's missing
• Custom configs: Name with redbear-* prefix (tracked in git). The legacy my-* prefix is deprecated and git-ignored.
• DYNAMIC_INIT: Cookbook function that overwrites CFLAGS, LDFLAGS, CXXFLAGS entirely. Custom flags MUST be set AFTER DYNAMIC_INIT. See local/docs/PACKAGE-BUILD-QUIRKS.md for details.
• Cross-compilation tests: Disable test suites (BUILD_TESTING=OFF, --disable-tests) when cross-compiling. Tests require host frameworks (gtest) that conflict with Redox sysroot headers. See local/docs/PACKAGE-BUILD-QUIRKS.md § General Patterns.
• CI: GitLab CI (.gitlab-ci.yml) at root + per-recipe; some have GitHub Actions
• Syscall ABI: Unstable intentionally. Stability via libredox and relibc
• Drivers: ALL userspace daemons via scheme system. No kernel-space drivers (except serio)
• In-house crate versioning: All Red Bear original crates (local/recipes/*/source/) MUST use the current Red Bear OS version (derived from the git branch name, e.g. 0.2.4 on branch 0.2.4). Upstream Redox forks (local/sources/) keep their upstream versioning. Established projects with independent release cycles (tlc, zbus) are exempt. Use ./local/scripts/sync-versions.sh to sync all in-house crate versions when creating a new branch, and ./local/scripts/sync-versions.sh --check to verify compliance.
• Content-hash cache: The cookbook uses BLAKE3 hash comparison (not mtime) to decide whether a recipe needs rebuilding. Each recipe's target/ dir stores a dep_hashes.toml with the BLAKE3 of every build dependency's PKGAR at build time. If all hashes match on the next build, the recipe is a cache hit — even if the dep's .pkgar file mtime changed. Mtime fallback applies when dep_hashes.toml is absent (first build or pre-existing recipes). Use --force-rebuild to bypass the cache. See local/docs/BUILD-CACHE-PLAN.md.
• Binary store restore: When a recipe's target/ is missing but repo/<arch>/ has the built PKGAR + .toml + .dep_hashes.toml, the cookbook restores stage artifacts from the binary store instead of rebuilding. This survives make clean and target/ deletion.
• Package groups: Config TOML supports [package_groups.<name>] sections (underscore, not hyphen) with description and packages fields. Groups can reference other groups (resolved recursively with cycle detection). Explicit [packages] entries override group membership. Resolution is transparent — Config::from_file() expands groups before any consumer sees them. The cookbook repo binary sees expanded packages automatically.

INSTALLER FILE LAYERING

The installer creates filesystem images in four layers. Understanding this ordering is critical to avoid silent file overwrites.

Layer Ordering During install_dir()

Layer 1: Config pre-install [[files]]    (postinstall = false)
Layer 2: Package staging                  (install_packages())
Layer 3: Config post-install [[files]]    (postinstall = true)
Layer 4: User/group creation              (passwd, shadow, group)

Collision Implications

• Layer 2 overwrites Layer 1 silently (same path → last writer wins). This is the bug class that caused the D-Bus regression: config overrides at /usr/lib/init.d/ were overwritten by the base package staging the same paths.
• Layer 3 overwrites Layer 2 (intentional — postinstall overrides).
• For init services, config overrides MUST use /etc/init.d/ so they survive Layer 2.

Init Service File Ownership

• Packages own /usr/lib/init.d/ — default service files installed by recipe staging
• Config overrides own /etc/init.d/ — override files created by [[files]] entries
• The init system's config_for_dirs() gives /etc/init.d/ priority via BTreeMap dedup
• Config [[files]] entries MUST NOT use /usr/lib/init.d/ paths for init services
• Run make lint-config to detect violations

Collision Detection

The installer now includes a CollisionTracker (in collision.rs) that detects when package staging overwrites config pre-install files. Init service collisions always error. Other collisions warn by default, error in strict mode (REDBEAR_STRICT_COLLISION=1).

Validation Gates

After building an image, run make validate to verify:

• Init service path violations (via lint-config)
• Override effectiveness and scheme binary existence (via validate-init-services.sh)
• File ownership conflicts (via validate-file-ownership.sh)

See local/docs/BUILD-SYSTEM-HARDENING-PLAN.md for the full plan.

ANTI-PATTERNS (THIS PROJECT)

• DO NOT suppress errors with as any / @ts-ignore — use proper Result handling
• DO NOT use unwrap() / expect() in library/driver code — pervasive anti-pattern (~14k instances)
• DO NOT modify kernel syscall ABI directly — use libredox or relibc
• DO NOT put drivers in kernel space — all drivers are userspace daemons
• DO NOT hardcode /dev/ paths — use scheme paths (/scheme/drm/card0)
• DO NOT skip patches in WIP recipes — document what's missing with #TODO
• DO NOT skip warnings — investigate, diagnose, and fix the root cause; suppressing or ignoring warnings is not acceptable when a fix is feasible
• DO NOT remove patches from recipe.toml to fix build failures — rebase the patch instead (see local/docs/PATCH-GOVERNANCE.md)
• DO NOT remove BINS entries to fix build failures — fix the source or use EXISTING_BINS filtering

LINUX REFERENCE SOURCE POLICY

local/reference/linux-7.0/ (or later) contains a full Linux kernel source tree for cross-referencing driver behavior, hardware initialization sequences, register definitions, and error handling patterns.

Rules:

• NEVER delete the reference tree.
• ALWAYS consult the Linux source when building or fixing drivers, daemons, or any subsystem that has a Linux counterpart (audio/HDA, GPU/DRM, networking, USB, PCI, ACPI, input, storage, filesystems, scheduler, memory management).
• Update the reference tree when a new stable Linux version is needed: git -C local/reference/linux-7.0 fetch --depth=1 origin tag:v7.x --force
• The reference tree is read-only for consultation purposes. No modifications.
• Location: local/reference/ survives make clean and make distclean.

Tracking policy: The Linux reference tree is currently gitignored (2.1GB). Per our NEVER GITIGNORE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE policy, it should eventually be migrated to either:

• A sparse git submodule reference (only top-level + needed subdirs), or
• A periodic mirror on the gitea server that CI re-clones when needed.

This is a follow-up refactor — the tree is permanent, just currently gitignored by size. The local/reference/ directory is NOT optional.

DURABILITY POLICY

Every change to an upstream-owned source tree (anything under recipes/*/source/) must be mirrored into a durable location in the same work session it was made. A change that exists only inside a fetched source tree is not preserved.

Required actions after any source-tree edit:

1. Generate a patch from the source git diff and save it under local/patches/<component>/.
2. Wire the patch into the recipe's recipe.toml patches = [...] list.
3. Commit the patch file and recipe change before the session ends.

Why: make distclean, make clean, and source immutable archivedes all discard or replace recipes/*/source/ trees. Only local/patches/, local/recipes/, tracked configs, local/docs/, and sources/redbear-0.1.0/ survive.

Examples of changes that require immediate patching:

What you edited	Durable location
recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/sys_select/mod.rs	local/patches/relibc/P3-select-not-epoll-timeout.patch + recipe.toml
recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/signal/cbindgen.toml	same patch as above
recipes/core/userutils/source/res/issue	local/patches/userutils/redox.patch + recipe.toml
recipes/core/kernel/source/...	local/patches/kernel/redox.patch (symlinked from recipe)

What does NOT need patching: Files that already live in local/, tracked config/redbear-*.toml, or any path that is already git-tracked and not inside a fetched source tree.

BUILD SYSTEM POLICIES

Atomic Patch Application

The cookbook tool (src/cook/fetch.rs) applies patches atomically: patches are applied to a staging directory (created via cp -al hard links), and only promoted into the live source tree if all patches succeed. If any patch fails, the staging directory is discarded and the source tree remains untouched.

The source tree is NEVER left in a partially-patched state.

When a patch fails, the error message includes the [ATOMIC] tag and the failed patch name. Recovery: fix the patch file, then re-run repo fetch.

Patch Format

Patches may use either format:

• Unified diff (---/+++ lines, preferred — most portable)
• diff --git format (auto-normalized by normalize_patch())
• diff -ruN format (also auto-normalized — diff -ruN headers stripped like diff --git)

Git-specific headers (diff --git, diff -ruN, index, new file mode, rename from/to, similarity index, dissimilarity index) are automatically stripped before patch is invoked. The build system uses --fuzz=0 for strict context matching.

Timestamps in ---/+++ lines (common in diff -ruN output) should be removed. Use --- a/path and +++ b/path without timestamps. The normalize_patch function does NOT strip timestamps — they should be removed from the patch file directly.

Protected Recipes

Core recipes (base, kernel, relibc, bootloader, etc.) and any recipe carrying Red Bear patches are protected and cannot be re-fetched online.

As of 2026-06, most protected recipes use local forks in local/sources/<component>/ rather than archives. The cookbook falls back to the immutable release archive (sources/redbear-<release>/tarballs/) only when the local fork is missing.

For the protected recipes, the build needs the source to exist. In development mode with local forks, the cookbook copies the fork to recipes/<component>/source/. In release mode, the source is extracted from the archive.

For development builds with local forks, use:

export REDBEAR_ALLOW_PROTECTED_FETCH=1
./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini

Or, equivalently:

REDBEAR_ALLOW_PROTECTED_FETCH=1 ./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini

Without REDBEAR_ALLOW_PROTECTED_FETCH=1, the cookbook refuses to fetch the protected recipe's source and the build fails.

Without --upstream, the build defaults to offline mode and tries to extract from the release archive (which may be stale or missing patches).

The full protected recipe list (in src/cook/fetch.rs:redbear_protected_recipe()) includes: all core system recipes, all Red Bear custom recipes, all patched Qt/Wayland/ KDE recipes, and all recipes carrying Red Bear patches (Qt, DRM, Mesa, Wayland, D-Bus, glib, etc.). Any recipe with a redox.patch or local patches is a candidate for protection — add it when adding patches.

Offline-First By Default

Red Bear OS is a fork with frozen sources. The cookbook tool defaults to COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=true (changed from upstream Redox's false). Builds use archived sources from sources/redbear-0.1.0/ — no network access during compilation.

To allow online fetching for non-protected development recipes:

COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full

Or use the --upstream flag of build-redbear.sh:

./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini

In release mode (REDBEAR_RELEASE=0.1.0), online fetching is completely disabled even with COOKBOOK_OFFLINE=false. Sources are immutable in release mode.

For development with local forks (see "LOCAL FORK MODEL" in local/AGENTS.md), the recommended invocation is:

unset REDBEAR_RELEASE  # CRITICAL: must not be set in dev
export REDBEAR_ALLOW_PROTECTED_FETCH=1
./local/scripts/build-redbear.sh --upstream redbear-mini

Workspace Pollution Prevention

Before every fetch and build, the cookbook tool removes orphaned Cargo.toml and Cargo.lock files from recipes/ root. These files can appear as side effects of relibc workspace builds and cause "current package believes it's in a workspace" errors.

Patch Chain Ordering

Patches in recipe.toml are applied in listed order. Dependencies between patches must be respected:

• Patches that define types (e.g., InputProducer) must come BEFORE patches that use those types
• Patches that create files must come BEFORE patches that modify them
• Cumulative patches (P0 → P2 → P3) must maintain correct line number context

When reordering patches: remove the source tree, re-fetch, and rebuild to verify.

Large Patch Files

POLICY: Never gitignore critical build infrastructure, regardless of file size.

The Gitea server is our own — we have unlimited space. Do not put local/patches/*, local/recipes/*, local/sources/*, or any other durable Red Bear code in .gitignore because of file size.

Historical context (resolved): The original local/patches/base/redox.patch was a 100MB+ consolidated mega-patch that was placed in .gitignore. After it was lost, base recipe could not be built from a clean checkout. The mega-patch approach was abandoned in favor of ~100 individual P*.patch files (totaling 2.4MB) that are all committed to git.

Current state (2026-06):

• All local/patches/base/P*.patch files are tracked in git.
• The dangling recipes/core/base/redox.patch symlink (the old mega-patch shortcut) has been removed.
• For components that need extensive changes (base, relibc, kernel), we now use local forks in local/sources/<component>/ instead of accumulating many patches. See "LOCAL FORK MODEL" in local/AGENTS.md.

Future policy: If a single patch ever grows beyond what Git LFS would comfortably handle, split it into multiple smaller patches. Do not put it in .gitignore. Do not store it in chunks that need reassembly.

For local forks: The full source tree of a fork can be large (e.g., Redox kernel is ~30MB, relibc is ~10MB). Local forks in local/sources/ are git-tracked and pushed to gitea. The .gitignore MUST NOT exclude them.

Patch Governance

See local/docs/PATCH-GOVERNANCE.md for the full patch governance rules. Critical rules:

• Never remove patches to fix build failures — rebase them
• Never remove BINS entries — fix the source or use EXISTING_BINS
• Recipe.toml is git-tracked — changes to it are durable
• Source trees are disposable — repo clean/distclean destroy them
• All source changes must be patches in local/patches/
• Commit patch files and recipe.toml changes before session end

Build Validation

After ANY change to patches or recipe.toml:

1. Validate patches: ./target/release/repo validate-patches <recipe>
2. Remove source: rm -rf recipes/core/<recipe>/source
3. Fetch: repo --allow-protected fetch <recipe>
4. Build: repo cook <recipe>
5. Verify no FAILED, [ATOMIC] patch application rolled back, or .rej files
6. Full image: make all CONFIG_NAME=<target>

The repo validate-patches command (added 2026-05) performs a dry-run patch application against clean upstream source in a temporary staging directory. It reports per-patch [PASS]/[FAIL] status without modifying the live source tree. Always run it before attempting a full build when patches have changed.

PATCH MANAGEMENT

All Red Bear OS modifications to upstream files are kept separately in local/patches/.

GOLDEN RULE — Red Bear adapts to upstream, never the reverse

When upstream Redox changes a dependency version, API, or ABI, Red Bear adapts. Red Bear NEVER pins, downgrades, or holds back an upstream package to avoid adaptation work. If libredox moves to redox_syscall 0.8, every Red Bear crate that touches redox_syscall moves to 0.8 — we fix our code, not theirs.

This applies to:

• Crate dependency version bumps (redox_syscall, libredox, redox-scheme, etc.)
• API changes in upstream crates (module reorganization, renamed types, trait changes)
• ABI changes in relibc, kernel, or syscall layer
• Any upstream evolution that requires Red Bear source changes

The only acceptable response to an upstream version bump is: update, adapt, commit.

This is not just a convenience rule; it is a long-term maintenance rule. For fast-moving upstream areas like relibc, prefer the upstream solution whenever upstream already solves the same problem. Keep Red Bear patch carriers only for gaps or compatibility work that upstream still does not solve adequately.

When upstream Redox already provides a package, crate, or subsystem for functionality that also exists in Red Bear local code, prefer the upstream Redox version by default unless the Red Bear implementation is materially better. Do not grow lower-quality in-house duplicates as a steady state.

For quirks and driver support specifically:

• prefer improving and using the canonical redox-driver-sys path,
• avoid maintaining separate lower-quality quirk engines when the same functionality belongs in redox-driver-sys,
• if duplication is temporarily unavoidable, treat it as convergence work to remove, not as a permanent design.

Structure

local/patches/
├── kernel/redox.patch              # Applied to kernel source during build (symlinked from recipe)
├── kernel/P0-*.patch               # Individual logical patches (for reference/merge)
├── base/redox.patch                # Applied to base source during build (symlinked from recipe)
├── base/P0-*.patch                 # Individual logical patches
├── relibc/P3-*.patch               # POSIX gap patches (eventfd, signalfd, timerfd, etc.)
├── installer/redox.patch           # Installer ext4 + GRUB bootloader support
└── build-system/
    ├── 001-rebrand-and-build.patch # Makefile, mk/*, scripts, build.sh rebranding
    ├── 002-cookbook-fixes.patch    # src/ Rust fixes (fetch.rs, staged_pkg.rs, repo.rs, html.rs)
    ├── 003-config.patch            # config/*.toml changes (os-release, hostname, redbear-full)
    └── 004-docs-and-cleanup.patch  # README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, deleted upstream files

Protection Mechanism

1. Recipe patches (kernel/redox.patch, base/redox.patch): Canonical copy lives in local/patches/. The recipe directory contains a symlink to it:

   recipes/core/kernel/redox.patch → ../../../local/patches/kernel/redox.patch
   recipes/core/base/redox.patch   → ../../../local/patches/base/redox.patch
   

   The build system follows symlinks transparently. Patches are never touched by make clean or make distclean. Only local/ modifications affect them.

2. Build-system patches: Generated via git diff against the upstream base commit. These serve as a backup — the working tree already has patches applied (via git commits). If upstream update via rebase fails, these can be applied from scratch.

3. Custom recipes: Live entirely in local/recipes/ with symlinks into recipes/:

   recipes/drivers/linux-kpi       → ../../local/recipes/drivers/linux-kpi
   recipes/gpu/amdgpu              → ../../local/recipes/gpu/amdgpu
   recipes/system/firmware-loader  → ../../local/recipes/system/firmware-loader
   ... etc
   

Scripts

Script	Purpose
local/scripts/apply-patches.sh	Apply all build-system patches + create recipe symlinks
local/scripts/provision-release.sh	Provision new release from Redox ref + archive sources
local/scripts/check-upstream-releases.sh	Check for new Redox snapshots (read-only)

Release Model (Fork)

Red Bear OS is a full fork based on frozen Redox snapshots. Sources are immutable and never auto-immutable archived. The current baseline is 0.1.0.

# Check for newer Redox snapshots (read-only, zero side effects):
./local/scripts/check-upstream-releases.sh

# Provision a new release (explicit, human-initiated only):
./local/scripts/provision-release.sh --ref=<redox-tag> --release=0.2.0 --dry-run

AMD-FIRST INTEGRATION PATH

See local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md for the canonical desktop path plan.

Target: AMD64 bare metal, with AMD and Intel machines treated as equal-priority hardware targets.

amdgpu is 6M+ lines — 18x larger than Intel i915. LinuxKPI compat approach mandatory.

Bare Metal Boot Status

Component	Status	Detail
UEFI boot	✅	x86_64 bootloader functional
AMD CPUs	✅	Ryzen Threadripper 128-thread verified
ACPI	✅ Boot-baseline complete	RSDP/SDT checksums, MADT types 0x4/0x5/0x9/0xA, LVT NMI, FADT shutdown/reboot, explicit RSDP_ADDR forwarding into acpid, x86 BIOS-search AML fallback, and bounded AML-backed power enumeration are present; the explicit AML bootstrap producer contract and broader robustness still remain open — see local/docs/ACPI-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md
ACPI shutdown	🚧	PM1a/PM1b S5 via \_S5 AML exists, but shutdown robustness and bounded validation are still open
ACPI reboot	🚧	Reset register + keyboard controller fallback exist, but broader reboot correctness and bounded validation are still open
ACPI power	🚧	\_PS0/\_PS3/\_PPC AML methods are available and the runtime power surface performs bounded AML-backed enumeration, but bootstrap preconditions and validation are still too weak for stronger support claims; see local/docs/ACPI-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md
x2APIC/SMP	✅	Multi-core works
IOMMU	🚧	QEMU first-use proof now passes; real hardware validation still open
AMD GPU	🚧	MMIO mapped, bounded Red Bear display glue path builds, MSI-X wired; imported Linux AMD DC/TTM/core remain builds and included in redbear-full (2026-04-29); no hardware validation yet

Phased Roadmap (historical P0–P6)

Note: The P0–P6 numbering below is the historical hardware-enablement sequence. The canonical current desktop path plan uses a new Phase 1–5 structure documented in local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md (v2.0, 2026-04-16).

Phase	Duration	Delivers
P0: Fix ACPI for AMD	4-6 weeks	✅ Materially complete — boots on modern AMD bare metal; see local/docs/ACPI-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md for forward work
P1: Driver infrastructure	8-12 weeks	✅ Complete — redox-driver-sys + linux-kpi + firmware-loader + pcid /config + MSI-X (compiles)
P2: AMD GPU display	12-16 weeks	🚧 Partial — redox-drm + bounded Red Bear AMD display glue build; imported Linux AMD DC/TTM/core remain builds and included in redbear-full (2026-04-29); Intel driver compiles, no HW validation
P3: POSIX + input	4-8 weeks	🚧 Build-side work substantially complete — the active relibc recipe patch chain now carries the bounded fd-event, semaphore, and waitid compatibility surface needed by current downstreams, while broader runtime validation and input-stack maturity remain open
P4: Wayland compositor	4-6 weeks	🚧 Partial — libwayland/Qt6 Wayland/Mesa EGL+GBM+GLES2/Qt6 OpenGL now build, but compositor/runtime validation is still incomplete
P5: DML2 enablement	partial	🚧 Historical DML2 config work landed, but the current retained AMDGPU build no longer treats imported DML2/TTM as part of the default bounded compile path; libdrm amdgpu ✅, iommu daemon now builds; hardware validation still open
P6: KDE Plasma	12-16 weeks	🚧 In progress — Qt6 ✅, KF6 32/32 ✅, Mesa EGL/GBM/GLES2 ✅, kf6-kcmutils ✅, kf6-kwayland ✅, kdecoration ✅, KWin 🔄 building

Canonical Desktop Path (current plan)

The current execution plan uses a three-track model with new Phase 1–5 numbering:

• Phase 1: Runtime Substrate Validation (4–6 weeks)
• Phase 2: Wayland Compositor Proof (4–6 weeks)
• Phase 3: KWin Desktop Session (6–10 weeks)
• Phase 4: KDE Plasma Session (8–12 weeks)
• Phase 5: Hardware GPU Enablement (12–20 weeks, parallel with 3–4)

See local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md for full detail.

Total to software-rendered KDE Plasma: 22–34 weeks (~6–8 months) with 2 developers. Total to hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma: 34–54 weeks (~8–13 months) with 2 developers.

Critical Path

Phase 1 (runtime substrate) → Phase 2 (software compositor) → Phase 3 (KWin session) → Phase 4 (KDE Plasma)
                               Phase 5 (hardware GPU, parallel with Phases 3–4)

Custom Crates (P1/P2)

1. redox-driver-sys — local/recipes/drivers/redox-driver-sys/source/ — Safe Rust wrappers for scheme:memory, scheme:irq, scheme:pci + hardware quirks system (src/quirks/)
2. linux-kpi — local/recipes/drivers/linux-kpi/source/ — C headers translating Linux kernel APIs → redox-driver-sys; includes pci_get_quirk_flags() C FFI for quirk queries. GPU and Wi-Fi drivers only — linux-kpi does NOT cover USB. It provides PCI, DMA, IRQ, DRM, networking (ieee80211/nl80211/mac80211), firmware, and related kernel infrastructure headers, but contains zero USB headers, USB device ID tables, or USB driver implementations.
3. redox-drm — local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/source/ — DRM scheme daemon (AMD + Intel drivers); consumes quirk flags for MSI/MSI-X fallback and DISABLE_ACCEL
4. firmware-loader — local/recipes/system/firmware-loader/source/ — scheme:firmware for GPU blobs
5. amdgpu — local/recipes/gpu/amdgpu/source/ — AMD DC C port with linux-kpi compat; can query quirks via pci_has_quirk() FFI
6. redbear-sessiond — local/recipes/system/redbear-sessiond/source/ — Rust D-Bus session broker exposing org.freedesktop.login1 subset for KWin (uses zbus)
7. redbear-dbus-services — local/recipes/system/redbear-dbus-services/ — D-Bus activation .service files and XML policy files for system and session buses
8. redbear-power — local/recipes/system/redbear-power/source/ — ratatui-based interactive TUI for live CPU/governor/thermal monitoring and on-the-fly P-state / governor / throttle control (Intel MSR-based)

All custom work goes in local/ — see local/AGENTS.md for fork model usage.

NOTES

• Build requires Linux x86_64 host, 8GB+ RAM, 20GB+ disk
• QEMU used for testing (make qemu). VirtualBox also supported
• The repo binary (cookbook CLI) may crash with TUI in non-interactive environments — use CI=1
• No git submodules — external repos managed via recipe source URLs and repo manifests
• Historical integration report removed (2026-04-16); see local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md for current state

Stale Prefix Detection

The prefix toolchain (prefix/x86_64-unknown-redox/) provides the cross-compiler and relibc sysroot (libc.a, system headers) used by ALL recipe builds. When a local fork (relibc, kernel, base) gains new commits, the prefix must be rebuilt:

touch relibc && make prefix    # Rebuild relibc in the cross-toolchain

build-redbear.sh includes a preflight check that warns when fork commits are newer than prefix artifacts. A stale prefix is the #1 cause of "undefined reference" link errors after fork changes (e.g., adding __freadahead to relibc's ext.rs without rebuilding the prefix).

relibc Header Circular Includes (Fixed)

relibc's generated headers had a circular include chain that broke gnulib-based packages (m4, bison, flex, etc.):

wchar.h → stdio.h → stdint.h → gnulib inttypes.h → inttypes.h → wchar.h (circular!)

Root cause: wchar.h included <stdio.h> before defining wint_t/mbstate_t, and inttypes.h included <wchar.h> instead of <stdint.h>+<stddef.h> per POSIX spec.

Fix (commits d28963d, a2e4cd2, 826a984f, 4eabdf20 in local/sources/relibc/):

1. wchar/cbindgen.toml: Types defined in after_includes before #include <stdio.h>
2. inttypes/cbindgen.toml: sys_includes = ["stdint.h", "stddef.h"] (POSIX compliant)
3. stddef → cbindgen (826a984f, integrates upstream 3be84f4b):
   • Eliminated hand-written include/stddef.h (was missing wchar_t)
   • stddef.h now generated by cbindgen from src/header/stddef/cbindgen.toml
   • Split into modular bits_* sub-headers (each can be included independently):
     • bits/wchar-t.h — wchar_t with _WCHAR_T guard + __WCHAR_TYPE__
     • bits/size-t.h — size_t from Rust usize via cbindgen [export]
     • bits/null.h — NULL: nullptr (C++11), 0L (C++), (void *)0 (C)
4. wchar.h include ordering (4eabdf20):
   • wint_t defined BEFORE #include <stddef.h> (avoid GCC __need_wint_t conflict)
   • Removed redundant wchar_t redefinition (now provided by bits/wchar-t.h)
5. stdbool.h POSIX fix (4eabdf20): #define bool _Bool replaces non-standard typedef _Bool bool

See local/docs/PACKAGE-BUILD-QUIRKS.md § relibc Quirk 3 for details.

WARNING POLICY

When presented with a compiler warning, linker warning, runtime warning, or test warning, the project treats it as a signal requiring action — not as noise to be silenced or deferred.

• Investigate every warning. Understand what causes it and whether it indicates a real defect.
• Fix the root cause when feasible. Prefer comprehensive fixes over workarounds.
• Suppress only as last resort, with a comment explaining why the warning is known-safe and why suppression is the correct choice for that specific case.
• Never ignore warnings silently. An unexplained warning in the build is a defect in discipline, not just in code.

This applies to all subsystems: kernel, relibc, drivers, userspace daemons, and build tooling.

SUBSYSTEM PRIORITY AND ORDER

Red Bear OS should treat low-level controllers, USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth as first-class subsystem targets.

For PCI interrupt plumbing, IRQ delivery quality, MSI/MSI-X follow-up, low-level controller runtime-proof sequencing, and IOMMU/interrupt-remapping quality, the canonical current plan is:

• local/docs/IRQ-AND-LOWLEVEL-CONTROLLERS-ENHANCEMENT-PLAN.md

Use that file as the execution authority and current robustness judgment for PCI/IRQ work. Higher- level summaries in README.md, docs/README.md, and this file should stay aligned with its validation language rather than acting as competing rollout plans.

Current execution order:

1. low-level controllers / IRQ quality / runtime-proof
2. USB controller and topology maturity
3. Wi-Fi native control-plane and one bounded driver path
4. Bluetooth host/controller path
5. desktop/session compatibility layers on top of those runtime services

Current blocker emphasis:

• low-level controller quality blocks reliable USB and Wi-Fi validation
• USB maturity blocks the realistic first Bluetooth transport path
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth should not be treated as optional polish; both remain missing subsystem work that must be implemented fully, but in the right order