RedBear-OS/AGENTS.md

RED BEAR OS BUILD SYSTEM — PROJECT KNOWLEDGE BASE

Generated: 2026-04-11 (AMD-first reassessment) Toolchain: Rust nightly-2025-10-03 (edition 2024) Architecture: Microkernel OS in Rust, ~38k files, ~294k LoC Rust Target Hardware: AMD64 bare metal, AMD GPU (RDNA2/RDNA3), then Intel

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).

STRUCTURE

redox-master/
├── config/          # Build configs (TOML): desktop, server, wayland, x11, minimal
├── 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/         # Orbital, orbterm, orbutils
│   └── ...          # 21 other categories (net, dev, games, shells, etc.)
├── src/             # Cookbook Rust tooling (repo binary, cook logic)
├── 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-amd.sh)
│   └── docs/        # AMD-first integration docs (AMD-FIRST-INTEGRATION.md)
├── 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/ + docs/03-WAYLAND-ON-REDOX.md	21 WIP recipes
KDE Plasma path	recipes/wip/kde/ + docs/05-KDE-PLASMA-ON-REDOX.md	9 WIP KDE app recipes
Linux driver compat	docs/04-LINUX-DRIVER-COMPAT.md	linux-kpi + redox-driver-sys architecture
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 server	Orbital: recipes/gui/orbital/	Userspace scheme-based display server
GPU/graphics stack	recipes/libs/mesa/	OSMesa + LLVMpipe (software only)
Boot config	config/*.toml	TOML hierarchy, include-based

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

# Build Red Bear OS
make all                                  # Build desktop config → harddrive.img
make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full         # Full Red Bear OS desktop + custom drivers
make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-minimal      # Minimal Red Bear OS server
CI=1 make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-minimal # CI mode (disables TUI, for non-interactive)

# Run
make qemu                                 # Boot in QEMU
make qemu QEMUFLAGS="-m 4G"              # With more RAM
make live                                 # Build live ISO → redbear-live.iso

# Single recipe
./target/release/repo cook recipes/libs/mesa     # Build one recipe
./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

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 → build → stage into sysroot
  → mk/disk.mk (create filesystem.img, harddrive.img, redbear-live.iso)
    → 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 my- prefix (git-ignored by convention)
• 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)

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

PATCH MANAGEMENT

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

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 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/sync-upstream.sh	Fetch upstream + rebase Red Bear OS commits + verify symlinks

Updating from Upstream

# Automated (preferred):
./local/scripts/sync-upstream.sh              # Rebase Red Bear OS onto latest upstream
./local/scripts/sync-upstream.sh --dry-run    # Preview conflicts first

# Manual:
git remote add upstream-redox https://github.com/redox-os/redox.git  # once
git fetch upstream-redox master
git rebase upstream-redox/master             # replays Red Bear OS commits on new upstream

# Nuclear option (if rebase fails badly):
git rebase --abort
git reset --hard upstream-redox/master
./local/scripts/apply-patches.sh --force     # apply from scratch via patch files

AMD-FIRST INTEGRATION PATH

See local/docs/AMD-FIRST-INTEGRATION.md for the full plan.

Target: AMD64 bare metal, AMD GPU (RDNA2/RDNA3). Intel second.

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	✅ Complete	RSDP/SDT checksums, MADT types 0x4/0x5/0x9/0xA, LVT NMI, FADT shutdown/reboot
ACPI shutdown	✅	PM1a/PM1b S5 via \_S5 AML
ACPI reboot	✅	Reset register + keyboard controller fallback
ACPI power	✅	\_PS0/\_PS3/\_PPC AML methods available
x2APIC/SMP	✅	Multi-core works
IOMMU	❌	No AMD-Vi support
AMD GPU	❌	Only VESA/GOP, no acceleration

Phased Roadmap

Phase	Duration	Delivers
P0: Fix ACPI for AMD	4-6 weeks	✅ Complete — boots on modern AMD bare metal
P1: Driver infrastructure	8-12 weeks	redox-driver-sys + linux-kpi + firmware-loader
P2: AMD GPU display	12-16 weeks	redox-drm + AMD DC modesetting → scheme:drm
P3: POSIX + input	4-8 weeks	relibc gaps + evdevd (parallel with P1/P2)
P4: Wayland compositor	4-6 weeks	Smithay Redox backends
P5: Full amdgpu	16-24 weeks	Complete GPU driver via LinuxKPI (parallel)
P6: KDE Plasma	12-16 weeks	Qt6 → KDE Frameworks → KWin → Plasma Shell

Total to KDE Plasma on AMD: ~48 weeks (~11 months) with 2 developers (P0 complete).

Critical Path

P0 (ACPI boot) ✅ DONE → P1 (driver infra) → P2 (AMD display) → P4 (Wayland) → P6 (KDE)
                                              P3 (POSIX+input) ──┘
                                              P5 (full amdgpu, parallel)

New Crates Needed

1. redox-driver-sys — Safe Rust wrappers for scheme:memory, scheme:irq, scheme:pci
2. linux-kpi — C headers translating Linux kernel APIs → redox-driver-sys
3. redox-drm — DRM scheme daemon (AMD DC port)
4. Firmware loader daemon — scheme:firmware for AMD GPU blobs

All custom work goes in local/ — see local/AGENTS.md for overlay 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
• File INTEGRATION_REPORT.md contains detailed integration status from a previous analysis