9.2 KiB
Glossary (canonical)
Short definitions for terms used across the user manual, handbook, developer guide, and reference. For developer-oriented FAQs and implementation tips, see developer-guide/10-glossary-and-faq.md. For exact version strings and matrices, see docs/reference/compatibility-matrix.md.
A–Z
AsyncFunction — Object.getPrototypeOf(async function () {}).constructor; used by the booter to evaluate in-image JavaScript with parameters such as ctx and argv. See developer-guide/01-two-runtimes-host-vs-image.md.
Bare — JavaScript runtime in the Holepunch ecosystem; Bare OS targets Bare semantics for code that runs in the image. The host may use Node.js during development.
Booter — The bare-os-booter application: joins Hyperswarm, replicates Hyperdrives, builds the guest VFS and ctx, runs /boot/init.js, shell, initd, cron, and selected host delegates. After successful boot, eligible nodes can mirror block 0 and captured seed RPC snapshots for cold joiners. Package reference: package-bare-os-booter.md.
bareOsCtxApiVersion — Semver for the guest-visible ctx contract; defined in packages/bare-os-booter/lib/bare-os-ctx-api.js. History: packages/bare-os-booter/CHANGELOG.md.
BARE_OS_KERNEL_FEATURE_BITS_DOC — Integer that versions kernel feature-bit documentation and governance; keep aligned with developer-guide/adr/001-kernel-feature-bits-governance.md. Source: packages/bare-os-protocol/lib/kernel-feature-bits.js.
Booter boot steps — Canonical milestones: vfs → ctx → repl → initd → kernel_invoke (see architecture/KERNEL_CONTRACT.md and packages/bare-os-booter/lib/bare-os-boot-phases.js).
bare-holesail — Initd unit wrapping upstream holesail (Holepunch-style TCP/UDP tunnels; upstream package is AGPL-3.0). Managed mode persists connections under BARE_OS_HOLESAIL_STATE (default **~/.holesail/state.json**): each server row keeps a stable seed (64-hex or z32 ctor material) and a shareable key (hs://… after **ready()**). Stock auto-rows **bare-www-<port>** and bare-ssh-<port> use the same file. Handbook: Chapter 4.
bare-os-www — Initd static HTTP server for ~/.www on 127.0.0.1 (default port 8088); pairs with managed Holesail for bare-www-<port> in **~/.holesail/state.json**. Handbook: Chapter 4 — bare-os-www.
bare-openssh — SSH-2 server (bare-ssh2) on the loopback sshd port (default 2222); managed Holesail can add **bare-ssh-<port>** to the same state.json as bare-www-* (BARE_OS_SSH_HOLESAIL). Handbook: Chapter 4.
Capability words — Structured feature masks on bare_os.capabilities RPC and under /proc/bare_os_features. Described in compatibility-matrix.md and kernel-capabilities-index.md.
Corestore — Storage backend for Hypercores/Hyperdrives on the host; default locations often under ~/.bare-os/. Env vars: environment-and-posix-appendix.md.
Coreutils — bare-os-coreutils: sources and build for /bin utilities and merged man.json. See package-bare-os-coreutils-and-ci.md.
ctx — Context object passed to start(ctx) (/boot/init.js) and run(ctx, argv) (user scripts and /bin tools). Full map: developer-guide/02-the-context-object.md.
ctx.bare — Frozen map of curated modules exposed to in-image code per manifest and optional /lib/bare bundles. See developer-guide/12-bare-modules-and-pear-ecosystem.md.
ctx.pear — Frozen map of Pear development packages (pear-build, pear-bundle, bare-bundle-compile, …) exposed when BARE_OS_BARE_MODULES is enabled. Used by /bin/pear.
App Store (/bin/appstore) — Guest command to install packages from pear:// links into ~/.appstore/ (or /mnt/appstore) and launch entry scripts in the shell. See guides/guest-pear-and-appstore-workflow.md.
/bin/pear — Guest Pear dev CLI: init, stage, release, seed. Publishes apps to HDMS and pear:// links without host Pear CLI. Same guide as App Store.
Guest — Pre-login session identity; typically BARE_OS_IDENTITY=guest. Contrast with logged-in user and vault flows in handbook/05-identity-vault-and-hdms.md.
HDMS — Hyperdrive mount subsystem: optional extra drives under /mnt. Handbook: Chapter 5.
Holepunch — Ecosystem (Bare, Hyperdrive, Hyperswarm, Pear, etc.) that Bare OS integrates with.
Hyperdrive — Merkle-addressed, replicated filesystem abstraction; Bare OS uses a system drive (image) and a personal drive (mutable per node).
Hyperswarm — DHT-based peer discovery; Bare OS uses a topic derived from bare-os-v1. Protocol: package-bare-os-protocol.md.
In-image — Code whose source lives on a drive and is executed via AsyncFunction (not ESM import in the usual sense). See developer-guide/05-modules-and-imports.md.
Kernel (guest) — /boot/init.js: async function start(ctx); session entry after the booter constructs ctx. Distinct from the host booter process.
MBR (Bare OS) — 512-byte bootstrap block on the system image with magic BIOS and Hyperdrive discovery key material (not a PC BIOS partition table). Seeder is canonical; eligible booted peers may mirror the same block 0 for availability. Layout: handbook/03-protocol-and-disk.md.
Pear — Packaging and distribution layer for Bare apps; seeder and booter ship as Pear projects. Host: PEAR-RUN.md. Guest authoring/install: guides/guest-pear-and-appstore-workflow.md.
Personal drive — Writable Hyperdrive for $HOME, /.bare/, vault snapshots, logs, and user files. Routed by the VFS alongside the read-only system tree.
Protomux — Multiplexed protocol framing; channel name bare-os-v1 pairs with the swarm topic. Reference: package-bare-os-protocol.md.
Seeder — The bare-os-seeder application: stages kernel/ into the system Hyperdrive, publishes the canonical MBR, and joins the swarm. Reference: package-bare-os-seeder.md.
Stock image — The default tree from this repository’s kernel/, built /bin, and man.json, without private forks—used as the compatibility baseline.
System drive — Replicated OS image: /bin, /boot, /etc, etc. Treated as shared and replaceable from the swarm’s perspective.
**Tier-1 /bin** — Command names shipped as **/bin/*** on the system drive; the authoritative list is COREUTILS_COMMANDS in packages/bare-os-coreutils/lib/commands.mjs. Root pretest runs scripts/verify-man-coverage.mjs so every Tier-1 name has a matching man.json page.
SwarmDisk — Booter-side disk implementation that reads the OS image from replicated storage.
VFS — Virtual file system: path classes, mounts, synthetic /proc, /run, /sys. Policy sketch: vfs-path-classes.md.
VFS path classes — Rules for which paths map to system vs personal drive or synthetic trees. Reference: vfs-path-classes.md.
Shell and theme (guest)
~/.barerc — Personal shell init file: export, alias, theme <preset>; parsed by loadBarerc. Builtin barerc reload reapplies without logout.
BARE_OS_THEME — Active color preset; /bin/theme, ~/.barerc, and ctx.bareOsApplyTheme() refresh BARE_OS_COLOR_* and usually LS_COLORS.
LS_COLORS — GNU-style colon-separated map for ls --color; optional file via BARE_OS_DIRCOLORS and dircolors.
BARE_OS_COLOR_DEPTH — truecolor (default), 256, or 16 / ansi — affects truecolor sequences for the fish REPL when downgraded.