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vasilito fd60edc823 Refresh status docs and add a visible changelog 
Ultraworked with [Sisyphus](https://github.com/code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent)

Co-authored-by: Sisyphus <clio-agent@sisyphuslabs.ai>
2026-04-14 10:50:04 +01:00

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02 — Gap Analysis & Roadmap

Overview

This document maps the distance between current Redox OS 0.9.0 and three goals:

  1. Wayland compositor support → see 03-WAYLAND-ON-REDOX.md
  2. KDE Plasma desktop → see 05-KDE-PLASMA-ON-REDOX.md
  3. Linux driver compatibility layer → see 04-LINUX-DRIVER-COMPAT.md

Status Correction (2026-04-14)

Most of this document is a historical roadmap and no longer reflects the repository's current state. Use the matrix below as the authoritative phase summary before reading the older milestone text.

Layer / Phase Current repo state Evidence
P0 ACPI / bare-metal boot Complete in-tree local/docs/ACPI-FIXES.md, local/patches/kernel/redox.patch, local/patches/base/redox.patch
P1 driver infrastructure Complete in-tree, compile-oriented local/recipes/drivers/redox-driver-sys/, local/recipes/drivers/linux-kpi/, local/recipes/system/firmware-loader/
P2 DRM / AMD+Intel display Complete in-tree, hardware validation pending local/docs/P2-AMD-GPU-DISPLAY.md, local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/, local/recipes/gpu/amdgpu/
P3 POSIX + input Implemented in-tree; consumer-visible signalfd/timerfd/eventfd/open_memstream header-export path fixed in this repo pass; runtime validation still pending recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/, recipes/core/relibc/source/include/sys/signalfd.h, local/patches/relibc/, local/recipes/system/evdevd/, local/recipes/system/udev-shim/
P4 Wayland stack Partially complete recipes/wip/wayland/, recipes/wip/libs/other/libinput/, recipes/wip/services/seatd/
P5 AMD acceleration / IOMMU Partial local/recipes/gpu/amdgpu/, local/recipes/system/iommu/ (now buildable via surfaced recipe)
P6 KDE Plasma In progress with mixed real builds and stubs/shims config/redbear-kde.toml, local/recipes/kde/, local/docs/QT6-PORT-STATUS.md

Ordered Remaining Gaps

  1. Validate the completed P3→P4 bridge in practice: libwayland now rebuilds with signalfd, timerfd, eventfd, open_memstream, MSG_CMSG_CLOEXEC, and MSG_NOSIGNAL restored, but compositor/runtime validation is still outstanding.
  2. Complete P4 runtime path: libinput/seatd/GBM/Wayland compositor integration is still incomplete even though the base libraries now build, seatd now builds for Redox, and the KDE runtime config now starts a seatd service.
  3. Separate KDE real builds from scaffolding: parts of the KDE stack are genuine builds, while others are shimmed or stubbed only to satisfy dependency resolution.
  4. Hardware validation remains open for AMD/Intel DRM and the IOMMU path, even though the IOMMU daemon now builds.

P7 Note

The repository's tracked phase model currently stops at P6. What a user might call "P7" only appears here as later milestone-style work (for example M7/M8 below), not as a first-class implemented phase with its own config/recipe/doc boundary.

Dependency Chain: Hardware → KDE Desktop

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    KDE Plasma Desktop                     │
│  (KWin compositor, Plasma Shell, Qt, KDE Frameworks)    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Wayland Protocol                       │
│  (libwayland, wayland-protocols, compositor)             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Graphics Stack                         │
│  (Mesa3D OpenGL/Vulkan, GBM, libdrm, GPU driver)        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Kernel Interfaces                      │
│  (DRM/KMS, GEM/TTM, DMA-BUF, evdev, udev)              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    Hardware                               │
│  (GPU: AMD/Intel/NVIDIA, Input: keyboard/mouse/touch)   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Gap Matrix with Concrete File References

Layer 1: POSIX Interfaces (relibc)

API Status Where to implement Effort
signalfd/signalfd4 Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/signal/mod.rs + signal/signalfd.rs Runtime validation still needed
timerfd_create/settime/gettime Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/sys_timerfd/ Runtime validation still needed
eventfd/eventfd_read/eventfd_write Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/sys_eventfd/ Runtime validation still needed
F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/fcntl/mod.rs Verify against downstream consumers
MSG_CMSG_CLOEXEC Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/sys_socket/mod.rs Verify against downstream consumers
MSG_NOSIGNAL Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/sys_socket/mod.rs Verify against downstream consumers
open_memstream Implemented in-tree relibc/src/header/stdio/open_memstream.rs Verify against downstream consumers
UDS + FD passing Done Already implemented —
epoll (event scheme) Done Redox scheme:event —
mmap/mprotect Done Kernel syscalls —
fork/exec Done Userspace via thisproc: scheme —

Current blocker: The build-side relibc/libwayland bridge is now in place, but downstream Wayland still needs runtime validation and the wider compositor stack (evdevd/seatd/DRM/GBM) is still incomplete.

Layer 2: GPU / Display Infrastructure

Component Status Where to implement Concrete doc
DRM/KMS scheme Present in-tree local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/ 04 §3
GPU driver (Intel) Experimental modeset only redox-drm/src/drivers/intel/ 04 §3
GEM buffers Present in-tree local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/source/src/gem.rs 04 §3
DMA-BUF sharing Present in-tree local/recipes/gpu/redox-drm/source/src/dmabuf.rs 04 §3
Mesa hardware backend Missing Mesa winsys for Redox DRM 03 §3.4
GPU OpenGL Software only Blocked on GPU driver 04

Layer 3: Input Stack

Component Status Where to implement Concrete doc
evdev daemon Present in-tree local/recipes/system/evdevd/ 03 §2
udev shim Present in-tree local/recipes/system/udev-shim/ 03 §2
libinput Present as WIP port recipes/wip/libs/other/libinput/ 03 §2
XKB layouts Done xkeyboard-config ported —
seatd Builds and is wired into KDE config, runtime unvalidated recipes/wip/services/seatd/, config/redbear-kde.toml —

Layer 4: Wayland Protocol

Component Status Recipe Blocker
libwayland Patched, downstream compatibility workarounds remain recipes/wip/wayland/libwayland/ Reduce/remove redox.patch and verify runtime behavior
cosmic-comp No keyboard input recipes/wip/wayland/cosmic-comp/ Layer 3 libinput
smallvil (Smithay) Basic, slow recipes/wip/wayland/smallvil/ Layer 2+3 for DRM+input
wlroots/sway/hyprland Not tested recipes/wip/wayland/wlroots/ Layer 2+3

Layer 5: KDE Plasma

Component Status Concrete doc
Qt 6 Ported in-tree 05 Phase KDE-A
KDE Frameworks Partially ported in-tree 05 Phase KDE-B
KWin Recipe exists, still incomplete 05 Phase KDE-C
Plasma Shell Recipe exists, still incomplete 05 Phase KDE-C
D-Bus Ported config/x11.toml has it working

Layer 6: Linux Driver Compatibility

Component Status Concrete doc
redox-driver-sys crate Present in-tree 04 §3
linux-kpi C headers Present in-tree 04 §3
i915 C driver port Not started as Linux C port 04 §4
amdgpu C driver port Present in-tree, hardware validation pending 04 §5

Concrete Roadmap with Milestones

Milestone M1: "libwayland works natively" (2-4 weeks)

  • Build-side part now substantially complete: relibc exports the needed consumer-visible POSIX headers/symbols and libwayland rebuilds with only residual Redox-specific build tweaks
  • Remaining work: runtime validation (wayland-rs_simple_window, compositor bring-up)
  • Test: wayland-rs_simple_window runs without crashes
  • Delivers: libwayland, wayland-protocols, libdrm all build natively

Milestone M2: "Input works via libinput" (4-6 weeks after M1)

  • Build evdevd daemon (reads Redox input schemes, exposes /dev/input/eventX)
  • Build udev-shim for hotplug
  • Port libinput with evdev backend
  • Test: libinput list-devices shows keyboard and mouse
  • Delivers: Full input stack for any Wayland compositor

Milestone M3: "Display output via DRM" (8-12 weeks, parallel with M2)

  • Build redox-driver-sys crate
  • Build redox-drm daemon with Intel native driver
  • Register scheme:drm/card0
  • Test: modetest -M intel shows display modes
  • Delivers: KMS modesetting, hardware display control

Milestone M4: "Wayland compositor with input + display" (2-4 weeks after M2+M3)

  • Add Redox backends to Smithay (input + DRM + EGL)
  • Build smallvil with Redox backends
  • Test: Compositor takes over display, keyboard/mouse work
  • Delivers: First fully functional Wayland compositor on Redox

Milestone M5: "Qt application runs" (6-8 weeks after M4)

  • Port qtbase with Wayland QPA
  • Port qtwayland, qtdeclarative
  • Test: Qt widget app shows window on compositor
  • Delivers: Qt development on Redox

Milestone M6: "KDE app runs" (6-8 weeks after M5)

  • Port KDE Frameworks (25 frameworks)
  • Port one KDE app (e.g., Kate)
  • Test: Kate editor opens and edits a file
  • Delivers: KDE application ecosystem begins

Milestone M7: "KDE Plasma desktop" (4-6 weeks after M6)

  • Port KWin (DRM/Wayland backend)
  • Port Plasma Shell
  • Create config/kde.toml
  • Test: Full Plasma session boots
  • Delivers: KDE Plasma as a usable desktop

Milestone M8: "Linux GPU drivers" (8-12 weeks, parallel track from M3)

  • Build linux-kpi C headers
  • Port i915 as proof of concept
  • Port amdgpu for AMD support
  • Test: amdgpu drives AMD GPU on Redox
  • Delivers: Broad GPU hardware support via Linux driver ports

Parallel Execution Plan

Week 1-4:     M1 (relibc POSIX gaps)
Week 3-12:    M2 (evdev input) ──── parallel ──── M3 (DRM/KMS)
Week 13-16:   M4 (Wayland compositor = M2 + M3 + M1)
Week 13-24:   M8 (Linux driver compat, parallel with M4-M6)
Week 17-24:   M5 (Qt Foundation)
Week 25-32:   M6 (KDE Frameworks)
Week 33-38:   M7 (Plasma Desktop)

Total to KDE Plasma: ~38 weeks (~9 months) with 2 developers. Total to Linux driver compat: ~24 weeks (~6 months) in parallel.

Critical Path

M1 (POSIX) ──────────────────────────────────────┐
                                                   │
M3 (DRM/KMS) ─────────── M4 (Compositor) ── M5 (Qt) ── M6 (KDE) ── M7 (Plasma)
       │                  ↑                      │
M2 (Input) ──────────────┘                       M8 (Linux drivers, parallel)

Shortest path to a desktop: M1 → M2 → M3 (parallel) → M4 → M5 → M6 → M7 Shortest path to GPU drivers: M3 → M8 (can start as soon as redox-driver-sys exists)

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