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Red Bear OS: Console → Hardware-Accelerated KDE Plasma Desktop

Version: 4.0 (2026-04-30) Replaces: v3.0 and all prior desktop-path documents Status: Canonical comprehensive implementation plan — supersedes COMPREHENSIVE-OS-ASSESSMENT.md, DESKTOP-STACK-CURRENT-STATUS.md, and all layer-specific plans.

Purpose

This is the single authoritative plan for Red Bear OS from console boot to a hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma desktop on Wayland. It consolidates all layer assessments, honest blocker analysis, and the complete implementation roadmap into one document.

It answers: what is done, what is the current state of every layer, what are the honest blockers, and what must happen, in what order, to reach a usable KDE Plasma desktop with hardware acceleration.

Executive Summary

Subsystem Status Evidence Class Blockers
Kernel / Credentials 🟢 Complete Source + build —
ACPI boot 🟢 Complete QEMU + bare-metal proof Shutdown robustness
IRQ / PCI / MSI-X 🟡 QEMU-proven Source + build + QEMU Hardware validation
relibc POSIX 🟢 ~85% coverage Source + Redox-target tests Message queues, AF_UNIX
DRM / KMS 🟡 Builds, no HW Source + build GPU CS ioctl backend
Mesa 🟡 swrast only Build (llvmpipe) HW renderer cross-compilation
Wayland compositor 🟡 Bounded proof Build + QEMU Full compositor runtime
Input / Seat 🟢 Working Build + QEMU libinput deferred
Greeter / Login 🟢 QEMU proof Build + QEMU proof —
D-Bus 🟡 System bus only Build + partial runtime Session bus, user lookup
Qt6 🟢 Builds Build (Core+Gui+DBus+Wayland) QML JIT disabled
KF6 Frameworks 🟡 36/48 build Build 12 blocked (QML gate)
KDE Plasma 🔴 Blocked Stub + partial builds QML JIT, KWin real build
Hardware GPU 🔴 Not validated Source (CS ioctl exists) Hardware + Mesa HW cross-compile
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth 🔴 Host-tested Source + host tests Hardware + native stack

Bottom Line

The OS boots to a greeter/login screen in QEMU. Software rendering works. A hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma desktop is gated on three things: (1) Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof, (2) real KWin build, (3) hardware GPU validation.

1. Kernel & Core Infrastructure

1.1 Syscall Coverage — 35 handled, credential gaps RESOLVED

The kernel handles 35 syscalls explicitly. Remaining gaps:

Syscall Status
setgroups, getgroups, setresuid, setresgid ✅ RESOLVED — proc scheme auth-{fd}-groups path
getrlimit, setrlimit ✅ RESOLVED — userspace stubs with defaults
clock_settime ❌ ENOSYS — needed for NTP
ptrace 🟡 Handled via proc scheme paths

1.2 Kernel Credential Model (2026-04-30)

  • Context.groups: Vec<u32> — supplementary groups per-thread with process-scope propagation
  • CallerCtx.groups — exposed to scheme handlers for access control
  • Groups proc scheme handle — auth-{fd}-groups read/write path
  • NGROUPS_MAX=65536 enforced in kernel, non-u32-aligned writes rejected
  • Fork inheritance: parent groups copied to child
  • Process-scope: setgroups() fans out to all threads sharing owner_proc_id

1.3 ACPI — Boot-complete, not release-grade

Working Gaps
RSDP/SDT, MADT, APIC/x2APIC acpid startup has panic-grade expect paths
FADT shutdown via kstop _S5 derivation gated on PCI timing
EC byte-transaction access DMAR orphaned in acpid source
AML mutex + widened accesses Sleep-state beyond S5 incomplete

1.4 IRQ / PCI / MSI-X — QEMU-proven

  • Architecturally sound: LAPIC/x2APIC, IOAPIC, MSI-X table mapping
  • redox-driver-sys: fast PCI enumeration with capability-chain data, quirk-aware interrupt summary
  • Bounded QEMU proof: MSI-X, IOMMU, xHCI IRQ
  • Blocker: real hardware validation for all controllers

1.5 relibc POSIX — ~85% coverage, ~38 active patches

Done Deferred
eventfd, signalfd, timerfd (recipe-applied) POSIX message queues
SysV shm, sem (activated 2026-04-29) SysV message queues
waitid, named semaphores AF_UNIX sockets
ifaddrs (synthetic 2-entry) Live interface enumeration
fcntl F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, MSG_CMSG_CLOEXEC
getentropy, secure_getenv

2. Hardware Enablement Stack

2.1 DRM / KMS

Component Status Detail
redox-drm 🟡 Builds Intel Gen8-Gen12 + AMD device support; MSI-X/legacy IRQ fallback; 68 unit tests
libdrm 🟡 Builds libdrm_amdgpu; AMD device support
firmware-loader 🟡 Builds scheme:firmware; blob loading verified
GPU firmware 🟡 Partial amdgpu/i915 blobs via fetch-firmware.sh
virtio-gpu 🟢 Builds 220-line DRM/KMS backend for QEMU
CS ioctl 🟡 Protocol exists Private submit/wait ioctls; hardware backend returns unavailable
amdgpu 🟡 Builds Linux AMD DC/TTM/core imported; in redbear-full

Blocker: GPU command submission backend implementation + hardware validation.

2.2 Mesa / Graphics

Component Status Detail
mesa 🟡 Builds llvmpipe software renderer; EGL=on, GBM=on, GLES2=on
mesa virgl (QEMU 3D) 🟢 BUILDS — virtio_gpu_dri.so in usr/lib/dri/ -Dgallium-drivers=swrast,virgl compiles and links. Fix: -Dstatic_assert(...)= nullifies Linux drm.h macro conflict with Mesa util/macros.h. Durable patch: local/patches/mesa/P4-virgl-redox-disk-cache.patch. 80MB pkgar. Hardware-accelerated 3D testable in QEMU with -device virtio-vga-gl.
radeonsi (AMD HW) 🔴 Not built Not cross-compiled for Redox target
iris (Intel HW) 🔴 Not built Not cross-compiled for Redox target
OSMesa 🟢 Builds Off-screen software rendering

virgl path: Mesa -Dgallium-drivers=swrast,virgl compilation reaches 932/1104 objects. Remaining work: (1) fix virgl_screen.c int-conversion warnings-as-errors on Redox target, (2) provide bits/safamily-t.h or disable vtest winsys, (3) integrate virgl drm winsys with redox-drm CS ioctl backend.

Blocker: Mesa hardware renderer cross-compilation requires CS ioctl backend + validation hardware.

2.3 Hardware GPU — The Big Gap

What exists What's missing
CS ioctl protocol in redox-drm Backend implementation (submit to GPU rings)
amdgpu kernel module imported Fence/completion signaling
firmware blobs fetched Mesa radeonsi/iris cross-compilation
MSI-X/IRQ wired Real AMD/Intel GPU hardware for validation

Hardware GPU is the longest-lead item. Estimated 12-20 weeks with hardware access.

3. Desktop Stack

3.1 Wayland / Compositor

Component Status Detail
libwayland 1.24.0 🟢 Builds Wayland protocol library
wayland-protocols 🟢 Builds Protocol XML definitions
redbear-compositor 🟡 Bounded proof 788-line Rust compositor; 3/3 tests; zero warnings
kwin 🔴 Blocked — cmake fails on Qt6Core5Compat; real build gated on QML/Qt6Quick resolution

Known compositor limitations: SHM fd passing uses payload bytes (not SCM_RIGHTS), framebuffer uses private memory (not real vesad), wire encoding uses NUL-terminated strings (not padded Wayland format).

Blocker: Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof → real KWin build → full compositor runtime.

3.2 Input / Seat

Component Status Detail
evdevd 🟢 Builds scheme:evdev; 65 unit tests; event semantics verified
udev-shim 🟢 Builds scheme:udev; device enumeration; 15 unit tests
seatd/seatd-redox 🟢 Builds DRM lease via redox-drm; service wired
libinput 🟡 Deferred Builds but suppressed; evdevd handles input natively
libevdev 🟡 Deferred Header build needed

3.3 Greeter / Login — QEMU PROOF PASSES

Component Status Detail
redbear-authd 🟢 Builds SHA-crypt/Argon2 auth; /etc/passwd + /etc/shadow
redbear-session-launch 🟢 Builds Session bootstrap (uid/gid/env/runtime-dir)
redbear-greeter 🟢 Builds greeterd + Qt6/QML UI + compositor wrapper
redbear-sessiond 🟢 Builds org.freedesktop.login1 D-Bus broker (zbus)
Greeter QEMU proof 🟢 Passes GREETER_HELLO=ok, GREETER_VALID=ok
redbear-kde-session 🟢 Builds KDE session launcher

3.4 D-Bus

Component Status Detail
dbus 1.16.2 🟢 Builds System bus wired; session bus partially
redbear-sessiond 🟢 Builds login1-compatible session broker
redbear-dbus-services 🟢 Builds .service files + XML policies

Known issue: dbus-daemon --system fails user lookup for messagebus user in some runtime configurations.

3.5 Qt6 / KF6 / KDE Plasma

Qt6

Component Status
qtbase 6.11.0 (Core+Gui+Widgets+DBus+Wayland) 🟢 Builds — 7 libs + 12 plugins
qtdeclarative 🟡 Builds — QML JIT disabled for Redox
qtwayland 🟢 Builds — Wayland QPA plugin
qtsvg 🟢 Builds
Qt6::Sensors 🟡 Builds (dummy backend, 520KB pkgar)
QtNetwork 🟢 Re-enabled — DNS resolver hardened

KF6 Frameworks — 36 build, 12 blocked

Building (36 packages): karchive, kauth, kbookmarks, kcodecs, kcolorscheme, kcompletion, kconfig, kconfigwidgets, kcoreaddons, kcrash, kdbusaddons, kdeclarative, kded6, kglobalaccel, kguiaddons, ki18n, kiconthemes, kidletime, kio, kitemmodels, kitemviews, kjobwidgets, knotifications, kpackage, kservice, ktextwidgets, kwayland, kwidgetsaddons, kwindowsystem, kxmlgui, solid, sonnet, kcmutils, attica, kdecoration, kglobalacceld

Blocked (12 packages):

Package Reason
kirigami QML JIT gate — QQuickWindow/QQmlEngine headers unavailable
plasma-framework Depends on kirigami
plasma-workspace Depends on kf6-knewstuff payload + real kwin
plasma-desktop Transitive — depends on plasma-workspace
kf6-knewstuff Empty package — cmake succeeds but core source produces no libs with QtQuick off
breeze Build issues
kde-cli-tools Build issues
kf6-prison Source issues
kf6-kwallet QML/GPG disabled; not in current enabled subset
kf6-purpose Not attempted
kf6-frameworkintegration Not attempted
kf6-krunner Not attempted

KWin / Plasma Session

Component Status
kwin 🔴 Blocked — real cmake build attempted with QML disabled; QML gate prevents full build. Redbear-compositor provides the kwin_wayland binary as a separate package.
kwin real build 🔄 Attempted — gated on Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof
plasma-workspace 🔴 Blocked
plasma-desktop 🔴 Blocked (transitive)
Full Plasma session 🔴 Not functional

The QML JIT gate: Qt6Quick's QML engine requires a JIT compiler (QQuickWindow, QQmlEngine), which is disabled for the Redox target. Without it, kirigami (the KDE UI framework) cannot build. kirigami blocks plasma-framework, which blocks plasma-workspace, which blocks the full Plasma desktop. This is the single biggest desktop blocker.

4. Network & Wireless

4.1 Wired Networking — Working

  • Native Redox net stack present (pcid-spawner → NIC daemon → smolnetd/dhcpd/netcfg)
  • redbear-netctl native command shipped
  • RTL8125 autoload wired through Realtek path
  • VirtIO networking in QEMU: DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS=present

4.2 Wi-Fi — Host-tested, no hardware

  • Intel PCIe transport builds, 119 tests
  • LinuxKPI compat with 17 modules, 93 tests
  • redbear-wifictl daemon + scheme interface
  • Bounded host-tested scan/connect/disconnect/profile flows
  • Blocker: No Intel hardware available; MediaTek MT7921K on current host

4.3 Bluetooth — Experimental BLE-first

  • Controller probe via USB, HCI init, scheme:hciN
  • GATT client workflow (discover→read), 209 tests
  • QEMU validation in progress

5. Honest Blocker Map

Critical Path (ordered)

[1] Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof     → unblocks kirigami → plasma-framework
[2] Real KWin build                     → unblocks plasma-workspace → plasma-desktop
[3] Hardware GPU validation             → unblocks Mesa HW renderers
[4] ACPI shutdown robustness            → release-grade ACPI
[5] Bare-metal validation               → unblocks all hardware claims

Blocker Detail

# Blocker What's needed Estimated effort Hardware required
1 QML JIT gate Qt6Quick/QML runtime proof with JIT disabled; unblocks kirigami → 12 KDE packages 4-6 weeks No
2 KWin real build Real cmake build of KWin v6.3.4; requires Qt6Quick + libinput 2-4 weeks No
3 Plasma session plasma-workspace + plasma-desktop cmake builds; requires kirigami + kwin 2-4 weeks No
4 HW GPU backend CS ioctl implementation → Mesa HW renderer cross-compile 12-20 weeks Yes — AMD/Intel GPU
5 ACPI shutdown Remove panic paths, deterministic _S5 2-4 weeks No
6 Bare-metal proof Real AMD/Intel hardware validation for all layers 4-8 weeks Yes — AMD + Intel machines

Path to Software-Rendered KDE Plasma (Blocks 1-3)

Qt6Quick proof (4-6w) → KWin real build (2-4w) → Plasma session (2-4w)
                                                          ↓
                                              Software-rendered KDE Plasma on Wayland
                                              Total: 8-14 weeks

Path to Hardware-Accelerated KDE Plasma (Blocks 1-6)

Software-rendered path (8-14w)
    + GPU CS ioctl backend + Mesa HW cross-compile (12-20w, parallel)
    + Hardware validation (4-8w, parallel)
                                                          ↓
                                              Hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma on Wayland
                                              Total: 20-34 weeks

6. What Changed Since v3.0 (2026-04-29 → 2026-04-30)

Change Impact
Credential syscalls implemented setgroups/getgroups/initgroups/RLIMIT functional. Unblocks polkit, dbus, logind, sudo.
Kernel groups process-scoped setgroups() propagates to all process threads. NGROUPS_MAX enforced.
CallerCtx.groups added Schemes can now check supplementary group membership for access control.
Kernel readback for getgroups Cache is repopulated from kernel after exec/crash.
setrlimit returns proper errors EINVAL for unknown resources, EPERM for process limits.

7. Configuration Surface

config/redbear-full.toml enables the desktop-capable target:

  • 36 KDE packages (33 kf6-* + kdecoration + kglobalacceld + kwin); 12 blocked/ignored
  • mesa + libdrm (software GPU stack, swrast only)
  • qtbase + qtdeclarative + qtwayland + qtsvg + qt6-wayland-smoke
  • seatd + redbear-authd + redbear-session-launch + redbear-greeter
  • dbus + firmware-loader + redox-drm + evdevd + udev-shim
  • redbear-compositor (real Rust Wayland compositor)
  • plus inherited packages from redbear-mini profile

8. Evidence Model

Evidence Class What It Means
Source Code exists in tree
Host build-verified cargo check zero warnings on Linux
Redox build-verified make r.* successful on x86_64-unknown-redox
Runtime-validated Exercised in QEMU
Hardware-validated Exercised on real AMD/Intel hardware

Current highest evidence bar reached: QEMU runtime proof for greeter/login, bounded compositor, D-Bus system bus, evdevd/udev-shim, DRM scheme enumeration.

No component has hardware validation. All hardware claims remain evidence-qualified.

9. Subsystem Plans (Reference)

This document is the authority. Subsystem plans remain for deep-dive detail:

Plan Covers
KERNEL-IPC-CREDENTIAL-PLAN.md Kernel credential syscalls, IPC, RLIMIT — Phases K1-K2,K4 complete
IRQ-AND-LOWLEVEL-CONTROLLERS-ENHANCEMENT-PLAN.md PCI/IRQ/MSI-X/IOMMU quality
ACPI-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md ACPI shutdown, power, sleep states
RELIBC-IPC-ASSESSMENT-AND-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md relibc IPC surface
DRM-MODERNIZATION-EXECUTION-PLAN.md DRM/KMS modernization
WAYLAND-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md Wayland compositor stability
DBUS-INTEGRATION-PLAN.md D-Bus architecture
GREETER-LOGIN-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md Greeter/login design

10. Stale Docs Deleted (This Pass)

File Reason
COMPREHENSIVE-OS-ASSESSMENT.md Consolidated into this document
DESKTOP-STACK-CURRENT-STATUS.md Consolidated into this document
AMD-FIRST-INTEGRATION.md Historical — AMD and Intel are equal-priority targets
HARDWARE-3D-ASSESSMENT.md Historical — consolidated into §2
DMA-BUF-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md Historical — consolidated into §2
INPUT-SCHEME-ENHANCEMENT.md Historical — consolidated into §3.2
BOOT-PROCESS-ASSESSMENT.md Historical — consolidated into §1
LINUX-BORROWING-RUST-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md Historical — consolidated into §2
QT6-PORT-STATUS.md Historical — consolidated into §3.5
REDBEAR-INFO-RUNTIME-REPORT.md Historical — validation infrastructure now standard
RELIBC-COMPREHENSIVE-ASSESSMENT.md Historical — consolidated into §1.5
RELIBC-COMPLETENESS-AND-ENHANCEMENT-PLAN.md Historical — consolidated into §1.5
RELIBC-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md Historical — consolidated into §1.5
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