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vasilito ae1bce5e14 Update desktop docs with improvement plan progress

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Red Bear OS: Console to Hardware-Accelerated KDE Desktop on Wayland

Version: 2.1 (2026-04-25) Updated: Phase 1 test coverage complete; refined Phase 2–4 work items and blocker detail Replaces: All prior console-to-KDE roadmap documents Status: Canonical desktop path plan

Purpose

This is the single authoritative plan for the Red Bear OS path from console boot to a hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma desktop running on Wayland.

It consolidates and replaces the top-level planning role previously held by:

docs/05-KDE-PLASMA-ON-REDOX.md (historical KDE rationale)
local/docs/AMD-FIRST-INTEGRATION.md (AMD-specific hardware detail)
Prior revisions of this document (v1, which used a different Phase 1–5 breakdown)

local/docs/WAYLAND-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md now serves as the canonical Wayland subsystem plan beneath this top-level desktop path.

Those documents remain useful for subsystem detail, porting history, and design rationale. The earlier reassessment bridge is now retired, and its reconciliation role is covered here together with local/docs/DESKTOP-STACK-CURRENT-STATUS.md and docs/07-RED-BEAR-OS-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md. The DRM-specific execution detail beneath this desktop path now lives in local/docs/DRM-MODERNIZATION-EXECUTION-PLAN.md. This document answers the higher-level question: what must happen, in what order, before Red Bear OS can honestly claim a usable KDE Plasma desktop on Wayland — first in software, then with real hardware acceleration.

This plan is grounded in the current repo state, not greenfield assumptions. The project has substantial build-side progress across relibc, driver infrastructure, Wayland, Mesa, Qt6, KF6, D-Bus, and desktop-facing profiles. The remaining problem is not package absence. It is the gap between what builds and what is runtime-trusted.

Scope: console boot → first Wayland compositor proof → software-rendered Qt6 on Wayland → hardware GPU validation → KWin session bring-up → KDE Plasma session bring-up.

Out of scope: USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (covered by their own subsystem plans).

Tracked-default truth: this document is the canonical desktop-path plan, and the tracked desktop- capable surface is redbear-full. Older names such as redbear-wayland and redbear-kde should be read as historical or staging labels, not supported compile targets.

Evidence Model

This plan uses strict evidence classes. They are not interchangeable.

Class	Meaning	Safe to say	Not safe to say
builds	Package compiles and stages	"builds"	"works"
boots	Image reaches prompt or known runtime surface	"boots"	"desktop works"
enumerates	Scheme/device node appears and answers basic queries	"enumerates"	"usable end to end"
usable	Bounded runtime path performs its intended task	"usable for this path"	"broadly stable"
validated	Repeated proof on the intended target class	"validated"	"complete everywhere"
experimental	Partial, scaffolded, or unproven	"experimental"	"done"

Rules:

Compiles-only → called builds
Boots but doesn't complete a session → called boots
Daemon registers a scheme → called enumerates
Only QEMU proof → claim stays bounded to QEMU
Dependencies still shimmed/stubbed → layer remains experimental
Nothing is validated without repeated runtime proof on the intended target class

Current State Baseline

Honest capability matrix

Area	State	Evidence	Notes
AMD bare-metal boot	validated	Boot, ACPI, SMP, x2APIC all work	Bounded to current tested hardware
relibc POSIX compatibility surface	builds + targeted runtime proof	33 verified patches covering: signalfd, timerfd, eventfd, pthread_yield, secure_getenv, getentropy, dup3, vfork, clock_nanosleep, named-semaphores, tls-get-addr-panic-fix, fcntl-dupfd-cloexec, ipc-tests, socket-flags, syscall-0.7.4-procschemeattrs-ens-to-prio, sysv-ipc, sysv-sem-impl, sysv-shm-impl, waitid-header, open_memstream, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, MSG_NOSIGNAL, waitid, RLIMIT, eth0 networking, shm_open, sem_open, and 7 additional compatibility patches	Strict relibc Redox-target runtime proof now exists for the fd-event slice; broader real-consumer semantics still need confirmation
redox-driver-sys	builds	Driver substrate
linux-kpi	builds	Linux kernel API compatibility layer
firmware-loader	builds, boots	scheme:firmware registers at boot; 24 unit tests (mmap lifecycle, openat validation, read/fstat)
redox-drm (AMD + Intel)	builds	DRM scheme daemon; 68 unit tests passing (KMS, GEM, PRIME, wire structs, scheme pure logic)	No hardware runtime validation
amdgpu retained C path	builds	Red Bear display glue retained path + linux-kpi compat; imported Linux AMD DC/TTM/core remain under compile triage	No hardware runtime validation
evdevd	builds, boots	scheme:evdev registers at boot; 65 unit tests (device classification, capability bitmaps, input translation)
udev-shim	builds, boots	scheme:udev registers at boot; 15 unit tests (device database, subsystem naming, property formatting)
redbear-hwutils	builds	lspci/lsusb tools; 19 unit tests (PCI location parsing, USB device description, argument handling)
libwayland 1.24.0	builds	No compositor proof yet
wayland-protocols	builds	Build blocker removed
Mesa EGL + GBM + GLES2	builds	Software rendering via LLVMpipe proven	Hardware path not proven
libdrm + libdrm_amdgpu	builds	Package-level success only
Qt6 qtbase 6.11.0	builds	Core, Gui, Widgets, DBus, Wayland, OpenGL, EGL
qtdeclarative	builds	QML JIT disabled
qtsvg	builds
qtwayland	builds
D-Bus 1.16.2	builds, bounded runtime	System bus wired in redbear-full
libinput 1.30.2	builds	Runtime integration open
libevdev 1.13.2	builds	Runtime integration open
seatd	builds	Session-management runtime proof open
All 32 KF6 frameworks	builds	Major build milestone; some higher-level pieces use bounded/reduced recipes (kirigami stub-only, kf6-kio heavy shim, kf6-knewstuff/kwallet stubs)
kdecoration	builds
plasma-wayland-protocols	builds
kf6-kwayland	builds
kf6-kcmutils	builds	Widget-only build (QML stripped)
`redbear-wayland` profile	historical / staging	Bounded Wayland validation profile	Not a supported compile target
`redbear-full` profile	builds, boots	Broader desktop plumbing profile	Session/network/runtime integration slice
`redbear-kde` profile	historical / staging	Older KDE session-surface profile	Not a supported compile target; use `redbear-full` for the tracked desktop-capable surface
bounded compositor validation path	experimental	Reaches xkbcommon init + EGL platform selection in QEMU	No complete session
qt6-wayland-smoke	builds, partial	Creates QWindow with colored background, runs 3 seconds
QEMU graphics	usable (bounded)	Renderer is llvmpipe	Not hardware acceleration
D-Bus system bus (redbear-full)	usable (bounded)	Not full session integration
VirtIO networking (QEMU)	usable
KWin	experimental, blocked	Recipe exists, blocked by shimmed/stubbed deps
plasma-workspace	experimental	Recipe exists, incomplete deps
plasma-desktop	experimental	Recipe exists, incomplete deps
QtNetwork	blocked	Intentionally disabled — relibc networking too narrow
Hardware GPU acceleration	blocked	PRIME/DMA-BUF scheme ioctls and a bounded private CS surface exist, but no real vendor GPU render CS/fence path

The current bounded runtime entrypoint for display-path evidence is the in-guest redbear-drm-display-check tool, with shell wrappers in local/scripts/test-drm-display-runtime.sh, local/scripts/test-amd-gpu.sh, and local/scripts/test-intel-gpu.sh. It now covers direct connector/mode enumeration and bounded direct modeset proof, but successful runs from that surface are still display-only evidence, not render proof. | Working Wayland compositor session | blocked | Runtime not proven | | | KWin compositor runtime | blocked | Runtime not proven | | | KDE Plasma session | blocked | Runtime not proven | |

What is DONE (build-side)

The repo has crossed major build-side gates:

relibc POSIX surface — 33 verified patches covering: signalfd, timerfd, eventfd, pthread_yield, secure_getenv, getentropy, dup3, vfork, clock_nanosleep, named-semaphores, tls-get-addr-panic-fix, fcntl-dupfd-cloexec, ipc-tests, socket-flags, syscall-0.7.4-procschemeattrs-ens-to-prio, sysv-ipc, sysv-sem-impl, sysv-shm-impl, waitid-header, open_memstream, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, MSG_NOSIGNAL, waitid, RLIMIT, eth0 networking, shm_open, sem_open, and 7 additional compatibility patches
Driver substrate — redox-driver-sys, linux-kpi, firmware-loader, redox-drm (AMD+Intel), amdgpu C port, evdevd, udev-shim
Wayland/graphics packages — libwayland, wayland-protocols, Mesa EGL+GBM+GLES2, libdrm, libdrm_amdgpu
Qt6 + D-Bus — qtbase (7 libs + 12 plugins), qtdeclarative (11 libs), qtsvg, qtwayland, D-Bus 1.16.2
KF6 + KDE-facing — All 32 KF6 frameworks, kdecoration, plasma-wayland-protocols, kf6-kwayland, kf6-kcmutils
Tracked profiles — redbear-mini, redbear-full, redbear-grub
Phase 1 test coverage — 300+ unit tests across evdevd (65), udev-shim (15), firmware-loader (24), redox-drm (68), redbear-hwutils (19), and bluetooth/wifi daemons

What is runtime-proven (limited scope)

AMD bare-metal boot with ACPI, SMP, x2APIC
the bounded runtime validation surface boots in QEMU and reaches early initialization
QEMU graphics via llvmpipe (software)
D-Bus system bus wired in redbear-full
VirtIO networking in QEMU
firmware-loader, evdevd, udev-shim register schemes at boot

What is NOT DONE

Runtime not proven:

No GPU hardware-accelerated rendering
No working Wayland compositor session
No KWin compositor runtime
No KDE Plasma session
Qt6 OpenGL/EGL only have software-path proof

Builds still blocked/scaffolded:

KWin does not build with fully real dependencies (4 stub deps: libepoxy, libudev, lcms2, libdisplay-info)
kirigami is stub-only
kf6-kio is a heavy shim
11 KWin feature switches remain disabled (BUILD_WITH_QML=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_KCMS=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_EFFECTS=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_TABBOX=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_GLOBALSHORTCUTS=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_NOTIFICATIONS=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_SCREENLOCKING=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_SCREENLOCKER=OFF, legacy backend disabled, KWIN_BUILD_RUNNING_IN_KDE=OFF, KWIN_BUILD_ELECTRONICALLY_SIGNING_DOCS=OFF)
QtNetwork disabled (relibc networking incomplete)
No compositor session proof exists — KWin builds but has zero runtime session evidence
Qt6Quick/QML runtime not proven — JIT disabled, no QML client test exists

Baseline conclusion

The repo is no longer stuck at package availability. It is limited by runtime trust, hardware validation, and KWin/Plasma session assembly. That is the real starting point.

Dependency Stack

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           KDE Plasma Session                                 │
│       plasma-workspace, plasma-desktop, shell, panels, launcher, apps        │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│                    KWin desktop-session layer                               │
│            KWin, kdecoration, seat and session wiring                       │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│                 Qt6 and KDE frameworks                                       │
│       Qt6 Widgets, QtWayland, QtDBus, QML, KF6, KDE support libs            │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│              Wayland compositor and protocols                                │
│      bounded validation compositor work, then KWin as the desktop path       │
│        NOTE: KWin owns the compositor and session layers in Phase 3.         │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│             Mesa, GBM, EGL, GLES2, libdrm                                   │
│       software path first, hardware path after DMA-BUF                       │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│          DRM, KMS, firmware, input, device enumeration                       │
│       redox-drm, amdgpu, Intel path, evdevd, udev-shim                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│           Kernel and libc substrate for desktop                              │
│        relibc, fd passing, DMA-BUF, IRQ, PCI, schemes                        │
├──────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│              Hardware and boot substrate                                     │
│       AMD64 boot, ACPI, SMP, x2APIC, AMD and Intel GPUs                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Layer-by-layer status

Layer	State	What's proven	What's missing
Hardware + boot	partly runtime-proven	AMD boot, ACPI, SMP, x2APIC	Desktop-path validation on real AMD/Intel GPUs
Kernel + libc	strong build-side, runtime incomplete	relibc surfaces, driver substrate	Real Wayland/Qt event-loop pressure, GPU CS ioctl
DRM/firmware/input	build + boot visible, not runtime-trusted	Scheme registration at boot	Real firmware loading, real input flow, real DRM/KMS queries
Graphics userland	software builds, hardware blocked	Mesa EGL/GBM/GLES2, libdrm, Qt6 OpenGL	Hardware renderer path, GBM/EGL on hardware
Wayland compositor	partial runtime, not complete	bounded compositor initialization reached in QEMU	Complete compositor session, input routing, Qt6 client display
Qt6 + KF6	build milestone, runtime thin	All packages build	Real Qt6 Wayland client behavior, QML without JIT
KWin session	experimental, blocked	Recipes exist, some features re-enabled	Honest deps, KWin runtime, session services
KDE Plasma	not yet proven	Recipe surfaces exist	plasma-workspace, plasma-desktop, shell, panel, apps

Conclusion

The shortest honest path is not "port more packages". It is:

Validate the substrate (turn builds into runtime trust)
Finish one software compositor validation path
Finish one KWin session path (on software renderer)
Finish one Plasma session path (on software renderer)
Land real hardware acceleration (in parallel with steps 3–4)

Phased Work Plan

This plan uses a three-track model:

Track A: Runtime Substrate → Compositor (sequential, blocking)
Track B: Desktop Session Assembly (sequential after Track A, Phase 2)
Track C: Hardware GPU Enablement (parallel with Track B)

Track A (Phases 1–2): Substrate → Software Compositor
    Phase 1: Runtime Substrate Validation (4–6 weeks)
    Phase 2: Wayland Compositor Proof (4–6 weeks)

Track B (Phases 3–4): Desktop Session Assembly
    Phase 3: KWin Desktop Session (6–10 weeks, starts after Phase 2)
    Phase 4: KDE Plasma Session (8–12 weeks, starts after Phase 3)

Track C (parallel): Hardware GPU Enablement
    Phase 5: Hardware GPU Enablement (12–20 weeks, starts after Phase 1)

Phase 1: Runtime Substrate Validation

Duration: 4–6 weeks Goal: Turn the lowest desktop-facing layers from build-visible into runtime-trusted. Why it matters most: Without this phase, all later failures will be impossible to diagnose correctly.

Work items

#	Task	Acceptance criteria
1.1	Validate relibc POSIX APIs against real consumers (libwayland, Qt6)	signalfd/timerfd/eventfd pass libwayland event-loop smoke test; shm_open/sem_open pass Qt6 shared-memory path; waitid passes Qt6 process exit detection
1.2	Validate evdevd path: input schemes → `/dev/input/eventX`	Keyboard/mouse events arrive with correct semantics
1.3	Validate udev-shim device enumeration	libinput can enumerate at least one keyboard and one pointer device through udev-shim; DRM devices are visible to Mesa
1.4	Validate firmware-loader with real blobs + real consumer	Blob is requestable, loadable, consumable at runtime
1.5	Validate `scheme:drm/card0` registration + bounded KMS queries in QEMU	Scheme registers, answers basic queries, no startup-class failures
1.6	Produce repeatable runtime-service health check for `redbear-wayland`	`redbear-info` or equivalent shows all Phase 1 services as functional

Exit criteria

Test coverage progress (Phase 1 substrate): 300+ unit tests now cover all Phase 1 daemon pure-logic surfaces. Runtime validation of these tests in a live environment remains the exit criterion.

redbear-wayland boots in validation environment
All Phase 1 runtime services register without startup errors
relibc runtime checks pass for desktop-facing consumers
Input path reaches evdevd and yields expected event nodes + bounded test events
udev-shim exposes expected bounded device view
firmware-loader serves at least one real consumer path with real blobs
scheme:drm/card0 registers and answers bounded basic queries

Exit statement

The desktop substrate is no longer only a build artifact. It is runtime-trusted enough to support a compositor completion pass.

Phase 2: Wayland Compositor Runtime Proof

Duration: 4–6 weeks Goal: Produce the first working Wayland compositor session using software rendering. Profile target: tracked validation profile Renderer: LLVMpipe (software) — acceptable for correctness proof.

Why a bounded validation compositor comes before full session bring-up

Jumping straight to full session bring-up combines too many unknowns: compositor runtime, input, QML, session services, and dependency scaffolding. A bounded validation compositor isolates compositor + input + Qt client issues before session-shell complexity.

Work items

#	Task	Acceptance criteria	Technical notes
2.1	Complete bounded runtime path to usable session	Compositor launches, creates a Wayland surface, survives 60 seconds in QEMU; `WAYLAND_DISPLAY` is set and a client can connect	Must use KWin reduced path; start with headless/framebuffer output
2.2	Wire evdevd input into compositor	Keyboard + mouse events arrive through evdevd → libinput → compositor chain	libinput recipe has udev disabled; evdevd must serve as input source; libevdev is available
2.3	Wire Mesa software rendering through GBM + EGL	Software rendering works through Mesa/GBM/EGL	LLVMpipe already proven; GBM/EGL must connect to redox-drm buffer path
2.4	Get Qt6 widget app to display through compositor	`qt6-wayland-smoke` shows a window inside compositor in QEMU	qt6-wayland-smoke already exists as bounded client proof
2.5	Validate seatd for compositor seat access	seatd grants compositor process graphics+input seat; DRM lease works	seatd-redox needs redox-drm scheme for DRM lease path

Exit criteria

the compositor launches into a working session in QEMU
Keyboard and mouse work through the current input stack
Mesa software rendering works through GBM and EGL
qt6-wayland-smoke shows a window inside the compositor in QEMU

Exit statement

Red Bear OS has a working software-rendered Wayland compositor path with a visible Qt6 client.

Phase 3: KWin Desktop Session

Duration: 6–10 weeks (starts after Phase 2) Goal: Turn compositor proof into a real desktop-session substrate centered on KWin. Profile target: redbear-full Renderer: LLVMpipe (software) — KWin inherits accelerated renderer once Phase 5 lands.

Blocked dependency set that must be closed

Honest reduced-build dependency state in the current KWin path:

Dependency	Current state	Remaining limit
libepoxy	Real dependency	none in this slice
lcms2	Real dependency	none in this slice
libudev	Honest scheme-backed provider	hotplug monitoring remains bounded
libdisplay-info	Honest bounded provider	base-EDID only; CTA / DisplayID / HDR metadata still unsupported

Stub-only/heavily shimmed packages:

Package	Current state	Path forward
kirigami	Stub-only for dep resolution	Real build needed for QML-dependent Plasma shell
kf6-kio	Heavy shim build	Must become honest build for session claims

KWin feature switches (11 still disabled in the current reduced path):

Switch	Why disabled	Re-enable condition
BUILD_WITH_QML=OFF	QML-dependent paths	QML runtime proof in Phase 2
KWIN_BUILD_KCMS=OFF	Requires QML	After BUILD_WITH_QML
KWIN_BUILD_EFFECTS=OFF	Desktop effects	After basic compositor works
KWIN_BUILD_TABBOX=OFF	Alt-tab switcher	After basic window management works
KWIN_BUILD_GLOBALSHORTCUTS=OFF	Global shortcut integration	After the reduced KWin path is otherwise honest
KWIN_BUILD_NOTIFICATIONS=OFF	Notification integration	After the reduced KWin path is otherwise honest
KWIN_BUILD_SCREENLOCKING=OFF	Screen locking	Late session polish
KWIN_BUILD_SCREENLOCKER=OFF	Screenlocker binary	Late session polish
legacy windowing backend disabled	legacy windowing backend	Intentional: Wayland-only
KWIN_BUILD_RUNNING_IN_KDE=OFF	KDE runtime detection	After KWin runs as compositor
KWIN_BUILD_ELECTRONICALLY_SIGNING_DOCS=OFF	Document signing	Low priority

3 switches already re-enabled in the current reduced path: DECORATIONS, RUNNERS, USE_DBUS.

Work items

#	Task	Acceptance criteria	Technical path
3.1	Keep KWin reduced path dependency-honest	cmake configure succeeds without fake stub imported fallbacks	Current honest deps: libepoxy, lcms2, libudev (scheme-backed), libdisplay-info (bounded EDID)
3.2	Launch KWin as Wayland compositor	KWin starts, registers WAYLAND_DISPLAY, owns display 60+ seconds	11 feature groups disabled; re-enable incrementally after basic compositor works
3.3	Validate libinput backend	Key/mouse events arrive via libinput + evdevd	libinput udev disabled; must use evdevd path
3.4	Validate D-Bus session behavior	dbus-send KWin supportInformation returns non-empty	redbear-sessiond provides login1; full session bus needed
3.5	Validate seatd for KWin session	seatd grants KWin graphics+input seat	Depends on seatd-redox DRM lease
3.6	Re-enable KWin BUILD_WITH_QML	QML-dependent KWin paths work after Phase 2 QML proof	Depends on Qt6Quick runtime proof from Phase 2
3.7	Make kf6-kio build honest	kf6-kio cmake succeeds without QtNetwork stubs	QtNetwork blocked on relibc; may need bounded network path

Exit criteria

KWin cmake configure succeeds without any -stub INTERFACE IMPORTED targets
KWin process starts and registers WAYLAND_DISPLAY
KWin owns display output for at least 60 seconds without crash
Keyboard and mouse events arrive at KWin-managed windows
D-Bus session bus responds to KWin supportInformation query
seatd grants graphics+input seat access to KWin

Exit statement

Red Bear OS has a working Wayland desktop session substrate centered on KWin.

Phase 4: KDE Plasma Session

Duration: 8–12 weeks (starts after Phase 3) Goal: Boot into a KDE Plasma session with essential desktop shell and session services. Profile target: redbear-full

Work items

#	Task	Acceptance criteria	Technical path
4.1	Complete plasma-workspace build	cmake succeeds without stub targets	Blocked on kirigami stub → needs Qt6Quick
4.2	Complete plasma-desktop build	cmake succeeds without stub targets	Blocked on plasma-workspace
4.3	Shell, panel, launcher visible	plasmashell starts; panel renders	Blocked on kirigami + QML
4.4	File-manager and settings paths	dolphin opens directory; systemsettings opens module	Blocked on kf6-kio honest build
4.5	Bounded network + audio integration	ip addr shows interface; sound device visible	QtNetwork blocked on relibc
4.6	Resolve kirigami stub	Real kirigami build from source	Qt6Quick prerequisite; QML JIT disabled
4.7	Resolve kf6-knewstuff/kwallet stubs	Real or bounded builds replace stubs	plasma-workspace dependencies

Dependency chain to close

plasma-desktop
  └── plasma-workspace
        ├── kf6-knewstuff (currently stub) → Phase 4: must become real or bounded real build
        ├── kf6-kwallet (currently stub) → Phase 4: must become real or bounded real build
        ├── kf6-prison (real recipe, needs compilation) → Phase 4: compile + validate
        └── other unresolved deps → identify during Phase 3

Cross-phase blocker ownership

Blocker	Named in "NOT DONE"	Owned by phase
kirigami stub-only	Yes	Phase 4 — real build needed for QML-dependent Plasma shell components
kf6-kio heavy shim	Yes	Phase 3 — KWin uses kf6-kio for runners; honest KWin claim requires honest kio
QtNetwork disabled	Yes	Post-Phase 4 — not a desktop session blocker; network clients will use it after relibc networking matures
kf6-knewstuff/kwallet stubs	Yes	Phase 4 — plasma-workspace dependency

Exit criteria

redbear-full boots into a KDE Plasma session (plasmashell process is running)
KWin is the active compositor (WAYLAND_DISPLAY owned by KWin)
Plasma panel renders and is interactive (launcher opens, clock visible)
An application can be launched from the session and displays a window
A file-manager path opens a directory view
A settings module opens from systemsettings
Network interface is visible inside Plasma session

Exit statement

If Phase 5 incomplete: Red Bear OS has a software-rendered KDE Plasma session on Wayland. If Phase 5 complete: Red Bear OS has a hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma session on Wayland.

Phase 5: Hardware GPU Enablement

Duration: 12–20 weeks (starts after Phase 1, runs in parallel with Phases 3–4) Goal: Replace software-only graphics with real hardware-accelerated display + rendering. Why separate: Hardware acceleration is a different class of systems work. It should not block KWin/Plasma session assembly, which can proceed on the software renderer. Dependency note: Phase 5 can start after Phase 1 (substrate trust), but its final acceptance criterion ("compositor runs through hardware path") requires a working compositor from Phase 2 or Phase 3. In practice, Track C's final validation gate depends on Track A completing first.

Work items

#	Task	Acceptance criteria
5.1	Implement GPU command submission (CS ioctl)	PRIME buffer sharing already implemented; CS ioctl is the gating missing piece
5.2	Validate redox-drm AMD driver on real hardware	Device detection, MMIO mapping, firmware loading, connector detection, mode enumeration, bounded modeset proof
5.3	Validate redox-drm Intel driver on real hardware	Same validation surface as AMD
5.4	Validate Mesa hardware rendering path	Real renderer (radeonsi for AMD, iris/anv for Intel), not llvmpipe
5.5	Validate GBM buffer allocation through hardware path	GBM allocates through real DRM/GPU, not software fallback

Exit criteria

GPU command submission exists with focused proof coverage
modetest -M amd shows display modes on real AMD hardware
Equivalent Intel DRM query shows display modes on real Intel hardware
Compositor runs through hardware path on at least one AMD + one Intel class
Runtime evidence shows hardware-backed renderer, not software fallback

Exit statement

Red Bear OS can drive real display hardware and run the compositor on a hardware-accelerated path.

Critical Path

Primary path to software-rendered KDE session

Phase 1 (runtime substrate validation)
  → Phase 2 (software Wayland compositor proof)
    → Phase 3 (KWin desktop-session assembly)
      → Phase 4 (KDE Plasma session)

This is the shortest honest path. ~22–34 weeks with 2 developers.

Parallel hardware path

Phase 1 (runtime substrate validation)
  → Phase 5 (hardware GPU enablement, parallel with Phases 3–4)

Phase 5 + Phase 3 + Phase 4
  → hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma desktop

~34–54 weeks total with 2 developers for hardware-accelerated KDE.

Why Phase 1 is the real gate

Phase 1 converts lower-layer package progress into runtime trust. Without it, Phase 2+ failures will be misdiagnosed as compositor bugs when they're actually substrate bugs.

Why bounded validation comes before KWin session proof

This is the smallest environment to isolate compositor + input + Qt client issues. KWin adds session services, QML, dependency scaffolding, and desktop-shell behavior on top.

Why hardware doesn't block session assembly

KWin and Plasma have their own blockers (dependency cleanup, session services, compositor integration). Those can be solved on software renderer while hardware path matures.

Risk Register

ID	Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigation
R1	relibc runtime gaps worse than build evidence suggests	Medium	High	Validate with real consumers in Phase 1
R2	GPU CS ioctl scope is uncertain	High	High	Isolate design + proof early in Phase 5
R3	Real-hardware validation reveals fundamental driver issues	High	High	Validate AMD and Intel separately
R4	KWin needs significantly more patches than estimated	Medium	High	Finish the bounded validation proof first for cleaner lower-layer evidence
R5	QML-heavy pieces behave badly with JIT disabled	Medium	Medium-High	Keep QML runtime proof explicit in Phases 3–4
R6	Mesa hardware rendering needs Redox-specific winsys work	Medium	High	Separate display proof from renderer proof
R7	linux-kpi gaps only surface during real-hardware execution	High	Medium-High	Budget for hardware-driven compat fixes in Phase 5
R8	kirigami/stub deps cannot be resolved without full QML stack	Medium	High	Evaluate early in Phase 3; may need alternative approach
R9	Phase 2 compositor proof reveals deeper relibc/glibc gaps in Wayland event loop	Medium	High	Use bounded validation compositor first; isolate event-loop pressure from session complexity

Timeline

Planning assumptions

2 developers with access to representative AMD and Intel hardware
No major regression from upstream refresh during desktop push
Estimates do not assume perfect first-pass success on real hardware

Phase estimates

Phase	Weeks	Notes
Phase 1: Runtime Substrate Validation	4–6	Must finish honestly before claiming runtime trust
Phase 2: Wayland Compositor Proof	4–6	Can overlap with late Phase 1 cleanup
Phase 3: KWin Desktop Session	6–10	Starts after Phase 2; lower bound is optimistic — assumes stub/shim cleanup stays bounded
Phase 4: KDE Plasma Session	8–12	Starts after Phase 3; lower bound assumes kirigami/knewstuff stubs resolve without major rework
Phase 5: Hardware GPU Enablement	12–20	Starts after Phase 1, parallel with 3–4

Total duration (2 developers)

Target	Weeks	Months
Software-rendered KDE Plasma on Wayland	22–34	6–8
Hardware-accelerated KDE Plasma on Wayland	34–54	8–13

One-developer estimate

Target	Months
Software-rendered KDE	9–16
Hardware-accelerated KDE	12–27

Rough overlap model

Weeks  1– 6: Phase 1 (runtime substrate validation)
Weeks  4–12: Phase 2 (software compositor proof)
Weeks  7–26: Phase 5 (hardware GPU enablement, parallel)
Weeks 13–22: Phase 3 (KWin session assembly)
Weeks 23–34: Phase 4 (KDE Plasma session)

Relationship to Other Plans

This is the canonical document for the desktop path. It does not replace subsystem-specific plans.

Primary supporting plans

Plan	What it covers
`local/docs/AMD-FIRST-INTEGRATION.md`	AMD-specific GPU/driver detail (equal-priority AMD+Intel policy)
`local/docs/QT6-PORT-STATUS.md`	Qt6, KF6, KWin blocker/shim/stub status detail
`local/docs/DESKTOP-STACK-CURRENT-STATUS.md`	Short current-state desktop truth summary
`local/docs/RELIBC-COMPLETENESS-AND-ENHANCEMENT-PLAN.md`	relibc completeness detail + patch ownership
`local/docs/INPUT-SCHEME-ENHANCEMENT.md`	Input-path design if structural cleanup needed
`local/docs/AMDGPU-DC-COMPILE-TRIAGE-PLAN.md`	AMD DC compile-triage + bounded source-set strategy
`local/docs/DMA-BUF-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md`	DMA-BUF scheme detail
`local/docs/IRQ-AND-LOWLEVEL-CONTROLLERS-ENHANCEMENT-PLAN.md`	Controller/IRQ/IOMMU quality work
`local/docs/PROFILE-MATRIX.md`	Profile roles + support-language reference

How to use this plan

Read this document first for execution order, claim language, completion criteria, critical path
Read subsystem plans for exact relibc, driver, package, or input details behind those phases
Use docs/07-RED-BEAR-OS-IMPLEMENTATION-PLAN.md for the repo-wide workstream ordering

Pre-Phase Work (Already Complete)

The following work was completed before this plan was written. It is listed here for continuity, not as future work.

Work	Status	When
AMD bare-metal boot (ACPI, SMP, x2APIC)	✅ Boot-baseline complete	Prior to this plan; see `local/docs/ACPI-IMPROVEMENT-PLAN.md` for ongoing ownership and robustness work
Driver infrastructure (redox-driver-sys, linux-kpi, firmware-loader)	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
AMD GPU display (redox-drm + bounded amdgpu retained path)	🚧 Partial build completion	Imported Linux AMD DC/TTM/core remain under compile triage; no hardware runtime validation yet
relibc POSIX unblockers (signalfd, timerfd, eventfd, etc.)	✅ Builds + targeted runtime proof complete	Prior to this plan
Qt6 base stack (qtbase, qtdeclarative, qtsvg, qtwayland)	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
D-Bus 1.16.2	✅ Builds + bounded runtime	Prior to this plan
All 32 KF6 frameworks	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
Input stack (libevdev, libinput, evdevd, udev-shim)	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
Mesa EGL/GBM/GLES2 + libdrm amdgpu	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
Desktop profiles (`redbear-mini`, `redbear-full`, `redbear-grub`)	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan
`local/docs/DBUS-INTEGRATION-PLAN.md`	D-Bus architecture, service dependency map, and phased implementation
PRIME/DMA-BUF scheme ioctls	✅ Implemented	Prior to this plan
KWin recipe with 5 re-enabled features	✅ Partial build	Prior to this plan
kdecoration, plasma-wayland-protocols, kf6-kwayland	✅ Builds complete	Prior to this plan

36 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape

Red Bear OS: Console to Hardware-Accelerated KDE Desktop on Wayland

Purpose

Evidence Model

Current State Baseline

Honest capability matrix

What is DONE (build-side)

What is runtime-proven (limited scope)

What is NOT DONE

Baseline conclusion

Dependency Stack

Layer-by-layer status

Conclusion

Phased Work Plan

Phase 1: Runtime Substrate Validation

Work items

Exit criteria

Exit statement

Phase 2: Wayland Compositor Runtime Proof

Why a bounded validation compositor comes before full session bring-up

Work items

Exit criteria

Exit statement

Phase 3: KWin Desktop Session

Blocked dependency set that must be closed

Work items

Exit criteria

Exit statement

Phase 4: KDE Plasma Session

Work items

Dependency chain to close

Cross-phase blocker ownership

Exit criteria

Exit statement

Phase 5: Hardware GPU Enablement

Work items

Exit criteria

Exit statement

Critical Path

Primary path to software-rendered KDE session

Parallel hardware path

Why Phase 1 is the real gate

Why bounded validation comes before KWin session proof

Why hardware doesn't block session assembly

Risk Register

Timeline

Planning assumptions

Phase estimates

Total duration (2 developers)

One-developer estimate

Rough overlap model

Relationship to Other Plans

Primary supporting plans

How to use this plan

Pre-Phase Work (Already Complete)

36 KiB

Raw Blame History