Robert Allan JamesandClaude Sonnet 5
2fc55f47e1
First attempt shelled out to `openssl pkeyutl -sign` (fork/execlp, not system() -- avoided shell string interpolation of the key path). Corrected on request: no new external host binary dependency when the repo's own code can do the job -- same standing preference as the earlier anti-file correction. Rewritten to link ed25519_sign() (already verified against OpenSSL in Phase B) directly into mkcapsule. New tools/pkcs8_ed25519.c: a narrow DER walker (same shape as x509_ed25519.c, deliberately not shared -- small enough that duplicating a few TLV-walking lines beat threading a header between the kernel crypto tree and host tooling) extracting the raw seed from the intermediate's PKCS#8 private key, plus a minimal self-written base64 decoder (PEM is openssl genpkey's default output; no decoder existed anywhere in the repo). Verified end-to-end before wiring anything in: the extracted seed's derived pubkey matches the cert's exactly, and a full self-contained sign+verify round-trip (zero openssl) passes. CapsuleDesc had no spare bytes, so signatures live in a new parallel CapsuleSigEntry array, emitted by a new `mkcapsule --sign-key <path>` flag (omitted/missing key -> has_sig=0 everywhere, graceful, not a build failure -- CI has no access to the offline key). New capsule_sig.c/.h: capsule_verify_signature(), a separate function, not folded into the already-tested capsule_validate(). Finds and caches the embedded intermediate cert's pubkey once per boot, then verifies against it. Wired into all three capsule_validate() call sites in capsule_birth.c via log_message(LOG_WARN, ...) -- never refuses yet, per the earlier staged-rollout decision. Verified independently, both directions, live in the real kernel: a full clean build (38 signed capsules) boots clean on all three architectures with zero warnings. Separately, hand-corrupted one byte of Mama's own init.4th capsule's stored signature (not its payload/hash, which capsule_validate() already catches and would have masked the test) and rebuilt just the changed object: produced exactly "capsule sig: init.4th: INVALID -- signature does not verify" on boot, and the kernel still reached ok> -- proving warn-only doesn't refuse anything yet. Reverted before the final, untampered 3-arch acceptance pass. Still open: flipping WARN to hard-refuse (separate, deliberate step) and the BLOCK_MAP.md signature-status column. Documented in FABRIC-3.md. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01U14ET9CWAtbQMbYqomKgXd
LithosAnanke v1.5.4
UEFI-bootable FORTH microkernel. Boots from firmware, initialises memory and interrupts, then runs the StarForth VM as its sole userspace runtime. No libc. No OS. Just stone and necessity.
Lithos (foundation) + Ananke (necessity) — the kernel under StarshipOS.
Status — M7.1 (Capsule System · Multi-VM Fleet)
| Milestone | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| M0–M6 | UEFI boot · PMM · VMM · IDT · APIC · heap · framebuffer VT100 console (v1.5.1-FINAL) | ✅ Complete |
| M7 | StarForth VM integration + parity validation | ✅ Complete |
| M7.1 | Capsule birth protocol · Mama FORTH vocabulary · Tripod multi-VM fleet (Hermes/Artemis) · Word-level ACL (Phases 1–7) | 🔄 In Progress |
| M8 | REPL — keyboard input, interactive Forth | Planned |
| M9 | Block storage — AHCI driver | Planned |
POST at boot: parity hash verified across amd64/aarch64/riscv64 · Mama capsule dictionary: 453 words
What's live in M7.1
- Tripod — a named multi-VM fleet (Hera the Mama VM, Artemis, two Hermes instances) births, runs, and re-births independently, verified booting live pre-REPL on all three architectures.
- Hermes — a 17-block inter-VM messaging/channel layer between fleet members, with async delivery and channel negotiation.
- Artemis — a Block Allocation Map (BAM) storage subsystem with Q48.16
block-heat tracking and cooldown/reclamation (
ART-COOL/ART-REAP). - Word-level ACL — every dictionary entry carries a TTL/allow/mode/pin
access-control record. Strict, TTL, and pinned modes; two console layers
(emergency
ok>and superuserzuse)ok>). Phases 1–7 complete (C infrastructure, FORTH policy layer,zusebootstrap superuser, Isabelle proof stubs, kernel parity); Phase 8 (Ed25519 PKI / thumbdrive challenge-response) is the only item remaining. Measured overhead once active on every check: +0.0054%–+0.0088%, CV = 0.000%, across a 3×3 Latin-square DoE campaign (architecture × seed × 30 replicates) — three orders of magnitude below the measurement floor. - VM Fleet Attractor physics — the L8 Jacquard mode selector now has a real per-VM heat channel into fleet-wide tuning, replacing hardcoded compudynamics constants with a dynamically-inferred rate.
- Kconfig build configuration — every physics/heartbeat/pipelining/ kernel-only tuning knob (~40 total) is now a discoverable, optional Kconfig symbol shared with the hosted VM build. See Quick Start below.
Quick Start
# Build kernel (requires cross-compilation toolchain, or native gcc)
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64
# Run in QEMU with OVMF
make -f Makefile.starkernel qemu
# Other architectures
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=aarch64 qemu
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=riscv64 qemu
Artifacts: build/amd64/kernel/starkernel_loader.efi · build/amd64/kernel/starkernel_kernel.elf
For the hosted VM by itself (Linux, no cross-compiler needed, no bare-metal tooling): see
the separate StarForth repository — LithosAnanke used to be a branch inside that repo,
now it's its own project with its own master.
Build configuration (optional)
Every kernel-only knob (STARFORTH_ENABLE_VM, PARITY_MODE, the shared
physics/heartbeat family, etc.) is an optional Kconfig symbol — a plain
make -f Makefile.starkernel uses the same defaults it always has unless
you opt in:
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64 menuconfig
make -f Makefile.starkernel ARCH=amd64 kernel_amd64_defconfig
Documentation
| System Architecture | Full kernel + VM design |
| HAL Reference | Hardware abstraction layer interfaces |
| Capsule System — M7.1 | Capsule birth protocol design |
| VM Fleet Attractor design log | Tripod/Hermes/Artemis physics + build-system history |
| Getting Started / Kconfig reference | Full symbol reference for both build targets |
| Changelog | Milestone-level history |
| Roadmap | Milestone plan through self-hosting |
License
Starship License 1.0 (SL-1.0) — free for personal, research, and educational use. Commercial use requires a separate agreement. Attribution to R.A. James (Captain Bob) must be preserved in all distributions.
Patent pending. USPTO provisional filed December 2025 — physics-grounded self-adaptive runtime system. This license does not grant patent rights. Licensing inquiries: rajames440@gmail.com
Robert A. James (Captain Bob) · Systems Engineer · Hacking since 1973