# AetherOS

> Capability-first personal operating system research: privacy by construction (VeilNet), universal execution via AetherIR, Liminal microkernel under QEMU/UEFI, local Personal Digital Twin.

- Site: https://aetheros.jonbailey.xyz/
- Author: Jon Bailey / Pitchfork-and-Torch
- Status: private R&D (proprietary)  -  not a public Linux distro or open-source release
- Version surface: 0.1.x Bootstrap+ | Cliffs Bridge (demo gates D1-D5 green)
- Last updated: 2026-07-29 (U15 VeilNet Lab Console interactive + Cliffs Bridge phase)

## One-liner

AetherOS is a ground-up capability-first personal OS research project: privacy by construction (VeilNet grants), host AetherIR hand JIT + CLIF paths, Liminal isolation under QEMU, twin shell egress only under explicit grant. Formal claims climb a public ladder (T0-T1 active).

## Diagrams

Architecture, grants, verify, and L2 pipeline figures ship as self-hosted SVG under CSP (no third-party Mermaid CDN). ASCII sources remain in expandable diagram details.

## Runtime fabric (L2)

- Thesis: foreign binaries enter a capability host via AetherIR (not Wine-as-architecture)
- Proven host (D2): hand JIT + CLIF interpret + CLIF native emit (triple parity demos)
- Plan/cliffs: multi-format loaders; personalities/HostSys (M5); cranelift-jit empty feature (N1)
- No ambient net/file rights invented by the runtime

## What works now

- Freestanding Liminal microkernel on QEMU/UEFI (bootloader 0.11 + OVMF)
- Capability CSpace, ring-3 VSpace isolation (private CR3), preemptive RR + IRQ steal
- Virtio modern: rng, multiport console control+TX, blk READ/WRITE/MULTI+FLUSH, net TX+RX (DHCP/SLIRP lab)
- Host AetherIR: hand JIT + CLIF interpret + CLIF native x86 emit + optional real Cranelift JIT (feature cranelift-jit; quad parity lab)
- VeilNet grants + cover scheduler; WAN TCP multi-hop AEAD lab (mesh_wan)
- Standing process-per-host cover service lab (grant survives reconnect; two-host localhost)
- Timeline fork/discard/merge; Verus-shaped invariant document

## Architecture (seven layers)

0. Liminal Microkernel  -  caps, frames, VSpaces, IPC, sched (Live under QEMU; object model public)
1. Aether Agent Swarm  -  local sandboxed AI operators (design + early stubs)
2. Universal Runtime Fabric  -  loaders, AetherIR, NBTE/JIT, personalities (IR + JIT host live)
3. VeilNet  -  EgressGrant objects, mix, cover (no ambient egress; host lab)
4. Generative Spatial Compositor  -  living UI (stub only)
5. Hardware Synthesis  -  on-demand drivers under constraints (deferred)
6. Personal Swarm & Temporal Continuity  -  multi-device mesh + timeline forks (host paths)

Authority: human root of trust -> L0 caps. L3 packet birth only under EgressGrant. L6 twin egress only under explicit grant. Upper layers never invent ambient rights.

## Cover + adversary (U7)

- Cover lifetime equals grant lifetime on host fabric paths
- Observer ledger: no grant = silence; live grant+cover = traffic presence; REVOKE = toward quiet
- Not GPA defeat; not production Loopix/Nym; not Tor replacement; idle quiet by default

## Reader path (Living Map OS)

Inception -> Principles (enforcement matrix) -> Architecture -> Now -> Grants -> Verify -> Capabilities -> Roadmap -> FAQ

## Grant continuity (public model)

- Packet birth requires a live EgressGrant (or composed path grant). Fresh domains have zero ambient egress.
- Cover is bound to grant lifetime; REVOKE / expiry ends cover (idle = quiet construction property on host fabric lab).
- Timeline host paths: fork experimental grant worlds; discard revokes experimental egress; merge never auto-imports net grants without a human gate.
- Twin leaves the swarm only under an explicit grant (cognitive sovereignty).
- Lab control plane words OPEN / TICK / REVOKE describe multi-process cover daemon exercises, not a consumer product API.
- Interactive hub demo: #grants-lab VeilNet Lab Console (browser simulation of OPEN/TICK/REVOKE + FORK/DISCARD/MERGE). Not a live mesh.
- Not a Tor replacement; does not claim GPA defeat on public low-latency edges for free.

## Planning horizon (~18 months, estimate only)

- Now: lab bootable under QEMU (D1-D5 + fabric labs); Continuum loop D6 shell + D7 mini FS green
- ~0-3 mo: interactive appliance (D8 ELF load, D9 net app next)
- ~3-12 mo: architecture depth (guest VeilNet, Verus, agents, compositor)
- ~12-18 mo: personal-class trajectory (not a Windows replacement promise)
- Support: Cash App https://cash.app/$JonBaileyxyz

## Coming next (Near ship order)

- N1 cranelift-jit optional feature wired (real Cranelift 0.120 lab green; broaden ops next)
- N2 Multi-host WAN: standing process-per-host lab green; production durability / routable WAN still open
- N3 Real Verus toolchain port (hooks scaffold only today)
- N4 Virtio-net first TX+RX lab green; multiport port1 data + richer net still open

## Mid architecture gaps (honest, not finished)

- Kernel-integrated VeilNet TX (host labs green; guest NIC path not claimed)
- Kani runnable CI (scaffold, not green suite)
- L1 agent swarm crates (design + early stubs)
- L4 compositor beyond stub
- Personality / FS grant-only depth
- Cross-device timeline durability (host paths only today)

## Verification honesty

- Tier 0-1 Active (rustc, cargo test, cap property tests)
- Tier 2-3 Scaffold (Kani / Verus-style hooks - not discharged)
- Tier 4 Planned (full Verus / Lean - not claimed)
- Tier 5 Design-compatible only (seL4 substrate option - not Isabelle complete)
- D1-D5 lab green feeds Tier 0-1 only; green is not Tier 4
- Scaffold does not mean almost proven

## Not claims

- Not seL4-complete proofs
- Not open source (proprietary R&D)
- Not a Cocoa/Win32 replacement as core UI today
- Not a public anonymity network
- Demo-gate green is lab / QEMU observation, not Tier 4 formal discharge
- No public source for outsider proof audit

## FAQ

Q: Is AetherOS open source?
A: No. Private proprietary R&D. This site tracks vision, architecture, and live capability status.

Q: Is it a Linux distro?
A: No. Freestanding Rust no_std capability microkernel + host fabric crates.

Q: What is VeilNet?
A: Deny-by-default network fabric: packets are only born under a live EgressGrant; cover traffic is bound to grant lifetime (idle = quiet).

Q: How is an external packet born?
A: Only under a live EgressGrant or composed path grant. No grant means no ambient egress path.

Q: What does timeline discard do to grants?
A: Discard revokes experimental egress so residual packet birth cannot remain. Merge does not auto-import net grants without a human gate.

Q: How is AetherOS layered?
A: Seven layers from the capability microkernel through personal swarm and temporal continuity.

## Related network

- https://jonbailey.xyz/
- https://ghost.jonbailey.xyz/
- https://groklink.jonbailey.xyz/
- https://skycache.jonbailey.xyz/