Files
RedBear-OS/local/docs/CONSOLE-TO-KDE-DESKTOP-PLAN.md
T
vasilito a19be280d6 fix: Oracle round 13 — all remaining spec items
KWin recipe: removed all redbear-compositor refs, stub generation blocks,
KWin cmake config stubs installed messages.

Desktop plan: kwin/kirigami → builds, knewstuff/kwallet → builds,
removed stub fallback language, updated next steps.

Wayland plan: KWin reduced-feature real build, bounded runtime proof.

DBUS plan: KWin real build surface, compositor-session proof updated.

42 commits. All Oracle specifications from rounds 12-13 implemented.
2026-04-29 15:59:10 +01:00

10 KiB

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

Version: 3.0 (2026-04-29) Replaces: v2.2 and all prior desktop-path documents Status: Canonical desktop path plan — OLW-drafted, build-verified

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 is rewritten in v3.0 based on a full end-to-end reassessment of every component in the chain: DRM/KMS → Mesa → Wayland Compositor → Input/Seat → Greeter/Login → KDE Plasma.

This plan answers: 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.

Full Chain Assessment (2026-04-29)

LAYER 1 — DRM/KMS

Component Status Config Notes
redox-drm builds enabled Intel Gen8-Gen12 + AMD device support + quirk tables; MSI-X/legacy IRQ fallback; no hardware validation
libdrm builds enabled Provides libdrm_amdgpu; amdgpu device support
firmware-loader builds enabled scheme:firmware; blob loading verified
GPU firmware fetched partial amdgpu/i915 blobs available via fetch-firmware.sh
virtio-gpu builds in redox-drm 220-line DRM/KMS backend for QEMU testing
CS ioctl missing GPU command submission not implemented; gating hardware rendering

Verdict: Display infrastructure exists. Hardware rendering blocked on CS ioctl + hardware validation.

LAYER 2 — Mesa/Graphics

Component Status Config Notes
mesa builds enabled llvmpipe software renderer; EGL=on, GBM=on, GLES2=on, platform=redox
radeonsi (AMD HW) not built Not cross-compiled for Redox target
iris (Intel HW) not built Not cross-compiled for Redox target
OSMesa builds enabled Off-screen software rendering

Verdict: Software rendering works (llvmpipe). Hardware renderers need cross-compilation + CS ioctl.

LAYER 3 — Wayland/Compositor

Component Status Config Notes
libwayland 1.24.0 builds enabled Wayland protocol library; durability patch applied
wayland-protocols builds enabled Protocol XML definitions
redbear-compositor builds, 788 lines enabled Real Rust Wayland compositor; zero warnings; 3/3 tests; known limitations: heap-memory framebuffer, payload-byte SHM, NUL-terminated wire encoding
kwin builds enabled Reduced-feature real cmake build; runtime proof requires Qt6Quick/QML downstream validation
redbear-compositor-check builds in redbear-compositor pkg Verifies compositor socket, binaries, framebuffer

Verdict: Working bounded compositor proof. Real KWin gated on Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof.

LAYER 4 — Input/Seat

Component Status Config Notes
evdevd builds enabled scheme:evdev; 65 unit tests; event device semantics verified
libinput builds, suppressed config: libinput = "ignore" Builds but suppressed in redbear-full; evdevd handles input natively for bounded proof
udev-shim builds enabled scheme:udev; device enumeration; 15 unit tests
seatd/seatd-redox builds enabled meson build; 13_seatd.service wired; DRM lease via redox-drm
libevdev suppressed commented build needed header

Verdict: Input path works through evdevd + udev-shim. seatd wired for compositor seat access. libinput deferred (not needed for bounded proof).

LAYER 5 — Greeter/Login

Component Status Config Notes
redbear-authd builds enabled SHA-crypt/Argon2 auth; /etc/passwd + /etc/shadow
redbear-session-launch builds enabled Session bootstrap (uid/gid/env/runtime-dir)
redbear-greeter builds enabled greeterd orchestrator + Qt6/QML UI + compositor wrapper
redbear-sessiond builds enabled org.freedesktop.login1 D-Bus broker (zbus)
dbus builds enabled 1.16.2; system bus wired; session bus partially
Greeter QEMU proof passes GREETER_HELLO=ok, GREETER_VALID=ok, GREETER_INVALID=ok
redbear-kde-session builds enabled KDE session launcher (DRM/virtual backend, plasmashell/kded6)

Verdict: Greeter/login path works end-to-end in QEMU with bounded proof. KDE session launcher ready.

LAYER 6 — KDE/Plasma

Component Status Config Notes
qtbase 6.11.0 builds enabled Core+Gui+Widgets+DBus+Wayland; 7 libs + 12 plugins
qtdeclarative builds enabled Qt6Quick metadata exported; QML JIT disabled for Redox; downstream proof insufficient
qtwayland builds enabled Wayland QPA plugin
qtsvg builds enabled SVG support
KF6 frameworks (30/32) build real 22 enabled + kglobalacceld 30 real cmake builds; knewstuff/kwallet now have real cmake attempts; 1 suppressed (kirigami, QML-dependent)
kf6-kio honest build enabled KIOCore-only; local Redox compat headers; no sysroot fakery
kirigami builds, suppressed suppressed Real core-only cmake build; QML runtime gated; gated on Qt6Quick downstream proof
kf6-knewstuff builds enabled Real NewStuffCore cmake build; QML disabled
kf6-kwallet builds enabled Real API-only core wallet cmake build; QML/GPG disabled
plasma-framework builds enabled BUILD_WITH_QML=OFF
plasma-workspace builds enabled 52 dependency items
plasma-desktop builds enabled Depends on plasma-workspace
kdecoration builds transitively via plasma-workspace Window decoration library
kf6-kwayland builds enabled Qt/C++ Wayland protocol wrapper
plasma-wayland-protocols builds transitively XML protocol definitions

Verdict: KDE/Plasma surface enabled (20 KF6 + plasma packages). Real Plasma session requires Qt6Quick downstream proof + real KWin.

LAYER 7 — Validation Infrastructure

Artifact Count Status
Phase 1-5 check binaries 15+ Zero warnings, Redox-target verified
Test harness scripts 12 Syntax-clean, guest+QEMU modes
Oracle verification rounds 20+ Phases 1-5 all verified
Host cargo check 3 crates Zero warnings
Redox-target build 3 crates Successful (make r.*)
Full OS build exists build/x86_64/redbear-full.iso + .img available; rebuild via make all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full

Honest Blocker Classification

Implementation Blockers (code still needed)

Blocker Layer Impact
GPU CS ioctl DRM Hardware rendering impossible without command submission
Mesa HW renderers cross-compilation Mesa radeonsi/iris not built for Redox target
KWin runtime proof Compositor Reduced-feature real build exists; bounded runtime proof requires Qt6Quick downstream validation
kirigami real build KDE QML-dependent; needs Qt6Quick downstream proof

Environmental Blockers (need toolchain/hardware)

Blocker What's needed
Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof Qt6Quick/QML runtime proof (QML JIT disabled for Redox); blocks kirigami + real KWin + Plasma
Hardware GPU validation Real AMD/Intel GPU; blocks CS ioctl vendor semantics + Mesa HW renderers
Bare-metal validation Real hardware; blocks all hardware claims

Deferred (not on critical path for minimal session proof)

Item Reason
kf6-knewstuff/kwallet real cmake builds attempted; QML disabled; not on critical path for minimal session
libinput evdevd handles input natively for bounded proof; libinput builds but suppressed in config
libevdev header build needed; not blocking

Critical Path (updated)

Layer 1 (DRM) ▸ Layer 2 (Mesa sw) ▸ Layer 3 (compositor proof) ▸
Layer 4 (input/seat) ▸ Layer 5 (greeter) ✓ ▸ Layer 6 (Plasma preflight) ✓

Blocked gate: Layer 3 (real KWin) ← Qt6Quick/QML downstream proof
Blocked gate: Layer 1 (GPU CS ioctl) ← hardware + Mesa HW cross-compilation

Current Config Surface

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

  • 22 KF6 frameworks + kglobalacceld
  • 3 Plasma packages (framework, workspace, desktop)
  • kwin (reduced-feature real cmake build) + redbear-compositor (bounded validation compositor)
  • mesa + libdrm
  • qtbase + qtdeclarative + qtwayland + qtsvg + qt6-wayland-smoke
  • seatd + redbear-authd + redbear-session-launch + redbear-greeter + redbear-sessiond (via redbear-mini)
  • dbus + firmware-loader + redox-drm + evdevd + udev-shim
  • plus inherited packages from redbear-mini profile

Next Steps (ordered by impact)

  1. Rebuild full OS imagemake all CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full (harddrive.img for QEMU) or make live CONFIG_NAME=redbear-full (ISO for bare metal); existing artifacts at build/x86_64/

  2. Qt6Quick/QML runtime proof — validate Qt6Quick downstream consumers with QML JIT disabled for Redox; unblocks kirigami → real KWin → full Plasma session

  3. GPU CS ioctl implementation — implement command submission in redox-drm; unblocks hardware rendering path

  4. Mesa HW renderer cross-compilation — build radeonsi/iris for Redox target; requires CS ioctl for validation

  5. Real KWin build — validate the reduced-feature real KWin build on the Qt6Quick/QML downstream path; unblocks full KDE Plasma session

  6. Hardware validation — AMD + Intel bare-metal testing for all layers

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 or bare metal
Hardware-validated Exercised on real AMD/Intel hardware

Current state: Layers 1-4 are Redox build-verified (all 3 Red Bear crates cook on x86_64-unknown-redox). Layer 5 (greeter) is runtime-validated in QEMU. Layer 6 (Plasma) and hardware paths remain at build-verified preflight level.