THE SOUL OF THE MACHINE

Clean-slate Microkernel. Sovereign. 100% Native. Self-Hosting.

>> MODERN C OR DEATH.

C23. No legacy POSIX baggage. No standard library. Pure, data-oriented design. Verification via strict typing.

>> TRUST NO ONE.

Isolation first. Capability-based security. Hardware-backed identity (KEY:). Immutable storage (IFS:).

>> EVERYTHING IS A FILE.

9P protocol universally. Fabric queues for IPC. Network transparent. "The Network is the Computer" realized.

// WHO IS THIS FOR?

NOT FOR YOU IF...

Corporate IT: No MDM, no Active Directory, no compliance theater. This is a personal computer.
Office/Creative Suite: No Microsoft Office, no Adobe. If you need them, use Windows.
Browser-as-OS: No Chrome, no Electron, no JavaScript runtime. The web is a document format, not an application platform.

BUILT FOR...

Retrocomputing Futurists: Return to the 80s/90s personal computer metaphor. Your machine, your rules, your data.
Escape Velocity Developers: Flee the 30-million-line problem. Build on ~100K lines you can actually read.
Post-Enshittification Builders: Create the future beyond Web 2.0 platform decay. Own your compute.

// SYSTEM METRICS

KERNEL

Microcore: HAL, Interrupts
Executive: Conductor, IPC
Size: 9,251 SLOC (arm64 peak)
Limit: 11,000 SLOC hard deck

USERLAND

Servers: Net, CS, DNS, GPU, NPU
Drivers: Panthor, Zhouyi, xHCI
Size: 86,982 SLOC (274 files)
Tools: rc, DECK, 21 utilities

COMPUTE FABRIC

GPU: Panthor (Mali G610)
NPU: Zhouyi AIPU
Compute: libvc (SPIR-V)
Inference: libvn (NPU client)

// VECTRAOS 1.0 RELEASE PLAN

>> TARGET: MAY 31, 2026 (16 WEEKS)

Platform: Orange Pi 6 Plus (CIX SKY1)
Status: 95%+ Complete | Remaining: Polish & Release

Strategic Decision: XNU + Apple Silicon abandoned due to proprietary drivers (DCP, GPU, sonor). Native VectraOS on Orange Pi 6 Plus is superior—open Mali GPU (Panthor driver), documented hardware, affordable, and aligns with open-source philosophy.

// WHAT'S ALREADY DONE?

KERNEL (100%)

9,251 SLOC (arm64 peak)
Memory management (PMM, VMM)
27 syscalls, Conductor scheduler
Boots: amd64, ARM64, RISC-V

CORE SERVICES (100%)

86,982 SLOC - 274 files
GPU (Panthor), NPU (Zhouyi)
Full ZFS, NVMe, PCIe
Dual-stack IP, DNS, DHCP

DESKTOP (100%)

~15K SLOC UI stack
G2D HW acceleration
DECK GPU terminal (5.5K SLOC)
libtheme, libgadgets, libmenus

// 16-WEEK ROADMAP

Month	Focus	Deliverables	SLOC
1 (Feb)	Hardware Stabilization	✅ DONE: SKY1 Boot, LinlonDP, Panthor IPC	~2,500
2 (Mar)	Advanced Comms & GFX	✅ DONE: G2D, USB HID, TCP/IP, DHCP, DNS	~8,500
3 (Apr)	GPU/NPU Compute	✅ DONE: Panthor, libvc, Zhouyi NPU, libvn	~6,500
4 (May)	Polish & Release	🔄 ACTIVE: Self-hosting, docs, release	~1,500

// SUCCESS CRITERIA FOR 1.0

FUNCTIONAL

Boots on Orange Pi 6 Plus
Display, keyboard, mouse work
Storage (NVMe, SD, USB)
Network (TCP/IP, DHCP, DNS)
GPU acceleration functional
Desktop environment stable

PERFORMANCE

Boot time <30s
IPC latency <10μs
GPU 60fps (16ms frame time)
Network >100 Mbps
UI response <100ms

QUALITY

No panics in 24-hour test
No memory leaks >1MB/hour
Services restart on crash
80% documentation coverage

// POST-1.0 ROADMAP

Version	Target	Focus
1.1	Q3 2026	Self-hosting toolchain (LLVM/Clang)
1.2	Q4 2026	Identity/trust system (KEY:, IFS)
2.0	Q1 2027	Multimedia (codecs, Media Kit)

// THE CORE FABRIC

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              VECTRA USER EXPERIENCE                     │
│  Phosphor (Windowing)   The Forge (Dev Tools)         │
│  The Lens (Browser)      The Archive (Data)            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                TRUST FABRIC (WEB3)                      │
│  KEY: (Identity)         IFS: (Storage)                │
│  NET: (Mesh/Gossip)      CORE:crypto (ZK Proofs)       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                SYSTEM SERVERS                           │
│  RS (Root)      NS (Names)      VFS (9P)               │
│  BLK (Storage)  USB (Bus)       AUDIO (Mixer)          │
├═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┤
│                THE EXECUTIVE (KERNEL)                   │
│  ┌─────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐         │
│  │ IPC/Fabric  │ Capabilities │ Scheduler    │         │
│  │ (Queues)    │ (Handles)    │ (Conductor)  │         │
│  └─────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                MICROCORE (HAL)                          │
│  ┌─────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐         │
│  │ Boot/Setup  │ Interrupts   │ PMM/VMM      │         │
│  │ ( UEFI )    │ ( GIC/PLIC ) │ ( Paging )   │         │
│  └─────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

// CORE DOMAINS

COMPUTE ✅

CORE:gpu/ - Panthor (libvc)
CORE:npu/ - Zhouyi (libvn)

DISPLAY ✅

CORE:display/ - LinlonDP
CORE:gpu/ - G2D/Compositor

SONOR (Phase 20B)

CORE:dsp/ - I2S/Codec/PDM
SONOR: - Mixer/Streams

CONNECTIVITY ✅

NET: - Dual-stack IP
CS: - Connection Server
DNS:/DHCP: - Resolution

TRUST (Phase 19)

KEY: - Hardware Identity
IFS: - Content Addressable

// EXECUTION STATUS

Phase	Focus	Status
13: THE PERSISTENCE	Storage (ZFS, FAT, NVMe, Cache)	✅ COMPLETE
14: THE DIVERGENCE	Multi-arch Silicon (SKY1, RK3588)	✅ COMPLETE
17: THE VISUAL CORTEX	Graphics (G2D, HW Cursor, DECK)	✅ COMPLETE
20: THE MESH	Networking (Dual-stack IP, DNS, DHCP)	✅ COMPLETE
21: THE COMPUTE	GPU/NPU (Panthor, libvc, Zhouyi, libvn)	✅ COMPLETE
18: THE FORGE	Toolchain (libposix, LLVM bootstrap)	🔄 IN PROGRESS

// FUTURE PHASES

Phase	Focus	Mission
19: THE SOVEREIGNTY	Trust (KEY:, IFS:, Vectra-ID)	Cryptographic truth. Identity is local.
22: THE PERFORMANCE	Gamer POC (Ryzen + RDNA)	Sub-ms latency on AMD64 enthusiast HW.
23: THE SOVEREIGN	RISC-V K1 (Orange Pi RV2)	Independence from x86/ARM licensing.
24: THE REFERENCE	Legacy iMac (iMac8,1)	Blob-minimal "Transparent Silicon".
25: THE APPS	Creative Tools	VectraProductive, Paint, Tracker, Scene.
26: THE ARCADE	Indie Games (Vulkan++)	Full GPU pipeline. Ship games, not demos.
27: THE ORACLE	Local AI (GHOST:)	Agentic intelligence. Opt-in. Private.
28: THE ECOSYSTEM	Agentic Apps	VectraNet, The Lens, The Archive.

PHASE 18 (CURRENT)

Mission: Self-hosting sovereignty

VectraVis: Native Editor
libposix: ✅ DONE
LLVM Bootstrap: Research

PHASE 27: THE ORACLE

Mission: ~11,300 SLOC

llama.cpp Port: GGUF, BPE, GHOST:
Heterogeneous: CPU/GPU/NPU backends
BitNet: 1.58-bit native support
Ghost Panel: Audit trail, permissions

PHASE 25: THE APPS

Mission: Visceral creative tools

VectraProductive: Write, Sheet, Slide
VectraPaint: Deluxe Paint reborn
VectraTracker: MOD/XM tracker
VectraScene: Game/demo editor

// PRIMARY TARGET PLATFORM

>> ORANGE PI 6 PLUS (CIX SKY1) - 1.0 TARGET

Why This Platform? Open Mali Valhall GPU (Panthor driver in Mesa), fully documented hardware, affordable ($100-200), superior to Apple Silicon for open-source development.

CIX SKY1 (ARM64) ⭐ PRIMARY

Orange Pi 6 Plus

12-core (4xA55 + 8xA78)
Mali Valhall GPU (Open Panthor driver!)
5x Display Outputs (4x DP + 1x HDMI)
10x I2C, 4x SPI, 7x GPIO banks
USB 3.0, PCIe, NVMe, Ethernet
LinlonDP display controller
Cadence IP blocks (documented!)

AMD RYZEN (x86_64)

Gamer/Workstation Target

8-16 core Zen 4 (Ryzen 7000+)
RDNA GPU (Open AMDGPU driver)
PCIe 5.0, DDR5, NVMe 4.0
High-performance computing
Development workstation
Fully open graphics stack

RK3588 (ARM64)

Orange Pi 5 Plus

8-core (4xA76, 4xA55)
6 TOPS NPU (3 cores)
Mali G610 GPU
HDMI RX (Capture)
PCIe 2.5GbE

JH7110 (RISC-V)

StarFive VisionFive 2

Quad-core U74 (RISC-V)
IMG BXE-4-32 GPU
2GB/4GB/8GB RAM options
MIPI CSI camera support
Popular RISC-V dev board

RV23 (RISC-V)

Orange Pi RV2

8-core X60 (RISC-V)
2 TOPS NPU (AI ext)
IMG BXE GPU
Up to 16GB LPDDR4X
SpacemiT K1-based (Ky X1 rebadge)

QEMU (VIRT)

Development Target

x86_64, ARM64, RISC-V
Rapid iteration
Automated testing

// MULTI-ARCHITECTURE STRATEGY

Philosophy: VectraOS targets platforms with open graphics drivers and documented hardware.

✅ AMD Ryzen/RDNA: Open AMDGPU driver (mainline kernel/Mesa), excellent performance, ideal for development workstations and gaming rigs. Full Vulkan support via RADV.

✅ Mali GPU (ARM64): Open Panfrost/Panthor drivers (mainline Mesa), power-efficient, great for SBCs and embedded.

✅ IMG GPU (RISC-V): Open PowerVR driver support, advancing RISC-V ecosystem.

Target Users: Developers (AMD workstations), embedded/IoT (ARM64 SBCs), RISC-V enthusiasts (VisionFive 2, Orange Pi RV2).

// WHY NOT APPLE SILICON?

Decision Point: XNU + Apple Silicon was explored but abandoned.

❌ Blockers: Proprietary DCP (Display Coprocessor), proprietary GPU drivers, proprietary CoreAudio. Asahi Linux has minimal M3/M4 support. Every macOS update risks breakage.

✅ Open Hardware Advantages: AMD AMDGPU, Mali Panthor, and IMG PowerVR all have mainline open-source drivers. VectraOS runs on hardware that respects user freedom and enables transparent development.

// PLATFORM SUPPORT MATRIX

Platform	Architecture	GPU Driver	Status
Orange Pi 6 Plus	ARM64 (SKY1)	Mali Valhall (Panthor)	⭐ 1.0 PRIMARY
AMD Ryzen	x86_64	RDNA (AMDGPU/RADV)	✅ SUPPORTED
VisionFive 2	RISC-V (JH7110)	IMG BXE (PowerVR)	✅ SUPPORTED
Orange Pi 5 Plus	ARM64 (RK3588)	Mali G610 (Panfrost)	✅ SUPPORTED
Orange Pi RV2	RISC-V (RV23/X60)	IMG BXE	✅ SUPPORTED
QEMU	x86_64/ARM64/RISC-V	VirtIO GPU	🔧 DEV ONLY

// PERIPHERAL MATRIX

Subsystem	Status	Notes
NPU (AI)	✅ ACTIVE	RK3588 (6 TOPS) & RV23 (2 TOPS)
GPU (3D)	✅ ACTIVE	AMD RADV, Mali Panthor, IMG PowerVR
CAMERA	✅ ACTIVE	MIPI CSI / ISP / HDMI Input / USB
NETWORK	✅ ACTIVE	10GbE / WiFi / IPv4-v6 Stack / DNS / Mesh
STORAGE	✅ ACTIVE	NVMe Gen4/5 / SATA / SD / IFS: Immutable

// BUILD & DEPLOY

PREREQUISITES

Clang / LLVM (16+)
QEMU (8.0+)
Make
Modern C23 (for Userland)

TARGETS

vectra_kernel.elf
vectra_userland.img
boot.img (UEFI/U-Boot)

QUICK START

# 1. Build Kernel & Userland (x86_64 by default)
make -j$(nproc)

# 2. Run in QEMU
./run.sh

# 3. Build for specific platforms:

# Orange Pi 6 Plus (CIX SKY1) - 1.0 PRIMARY TARGET
make ARCH=arm64 PLATFORM=sky1 image

# AMD Ryzen/Radeon (x86_64 workstation)
make ARCH=x86_64 PLATFORM=amd image

# StarFive VisionFive 2 (RISC-V JH7110)
make ARCH=riscv64 PLATFORM=visionfive2 image

# Orange Pi RV2 (RISC-V RV23)
make ARCH=riscv64 PLATFORM=rv23 image

# Orange Pi 5 Plus (ARM64 RK3588)
make ARCH=arm64 PLATFORM=rk3588 image

DEFINING THE SOUL OF THE MACHINE.

vectra:~# make ARCH=arm64 PLATFORM=sky1 image_