Merge pull request 'LithosAnanke v4.0.0-alpha.1: the first alpha release' (#127) from StarForth-v4.0.0 into master

.gitea/workflows/acceptance.yml

@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
-  group: qemu                     # one QEMU at a time on the runner: shared with nightly.yml and release.yml
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group: one run at a time,
+                                  # a runner-image rebuild included (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07)
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
@@ -37,6 +38,18 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0          # the SBOM's version is git describe
           lfs: false              # only the logs and DoE CSVs are in LFS; the build needs neither
 
+      - name: The capsule-signing key
+        env:
+          KEY: ${{ secrets.CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY }}
+        run: |                    # ci/pki/make-ca.sh; kernel/Makefile signs with SIGN_KEY
+          if [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+            f="${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/capsule-signing.key"
+            (umask 077; printf '%s\n' "$KEY" > "$f")
+            echo "SIGN_KEY=$f" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"; echo "The capsules will be signed."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY secret: the capsules are built unsigned."
+          fi
+
       - name: Acceptance amd64
         run: scripts/nightly.sh accept amd64
       - name: Acceptance aarch64

.gitea/workflows/build.yml

@@ -9,8 +9,14 @@ name: Build
 on:
   push:
     branches: [StarForth-v4.0.0]   # not master: what reaches it has just passed acceptance (#119)
+    paths-ignore: ['site/**']        # the websites (site/) build nothing here; each run is ~17 min on
+                                     # the server the wikis share (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07)
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+concurrency:
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: a
+  cancel-in-progress: false       # runner-image rebuild blocks other jobs, always): one run at a time
+
 jobs:
   image:
     name: Image ${{ matrix.board }}
@@ -34,6 +40,18 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0          # the SBOM's version is git describe
           lfs: false              # only the logs and DoE CSVs are in LFS; the build needs neither
 
+      - name: The capsule-signing key
+        env:
+          KEY: ${{ secrets.CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY }}
+        run: |                    # ci/pki/make-ca.sh; kernel/Makefile signs with SIGN_KEY
+          if [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+            f="${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/capsule-signing.key"
+            (umask 077; printf '%s\n' "$KEY" > "$f")
+            echo "SIGN_KEY=$f" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"; echo "The capsules will be signed."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY secret: the capsules are built unsigned."
+          fi
+
       - name: Boot image
         run: make boot_image TARGET=${{ matrix.board }}
 
@@ -62,5 +80,17 @@ jobs:
         with:
           lfs: false
 
+      - name: The capsule-signing key
+        env:
+          KEY: ${{ secrets.CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY }}
+        run: |                    # ci/pki/make-ca.sh; kernel/Makefile signs with SIGN_KEY
+          if [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+            f="${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/capsule-signing.key"
+            (umask 077; printf '%s\n' "$KEY" > "$f")
+            echo "SIGN_KEY=$f" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"; echo "The capsules will be signed."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY secret: the capsules are built unsigned."
+          fi
+
       - name: make -C v4 test
         run: make -C v4 test

.gitea/workflows/nightly-docs.yml

@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ on:
     - cron: '0 4 * * *'        # 04:00 UTC, after the images (nightly.yml, 03:00)
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+concurrency:
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: a
+  cancel-in-progress: false       # runner-image rebuild blocks other jobs, always): one run at a time
+
 jobs:
   docs:
     name: Book, volumes, API reference

.gitea/workflows/nightly.yml

@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ on:
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 concurrency:
-  group: qemu                     # one QEMU at a time on the runner: shared with acceptance.yml
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group: one run at a time,
+                                  # a runner-image rebuild included (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07)
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
@@ -39,6 +40,18 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0          # the SBOM's version is git describe
           lfs: false              # only the logs and DoE CSVs are in LFS; the build needs neither
 
+      - name: The capsule-signing key
+        env:
+          KEY: ${{ secrets.CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY }}
+        run: |                    # ci/pki/make-ca.sh; kernel/Makefile signs with SIGN_KEY
+          if [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+            f="${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/capsule-signing.key"
+            (umask 077; printf '%s\n' "$KEY" > "$f")
+            echo "SIGN_KEY=$f" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"; echo "The capsules will be signed."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY secret: the capsules are built unsigned."
+          fi
+
       - name: Acceptance amd64
         run: scripts/nightly.sh accept amd64
       - name: Acceptance aarch64

.gitea/workflows/release.yml

@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ on:
     tags: ['v*']
 
 concurrency:
-  group: qemu                     # one QEMU at a time on the runner: shared with acceptance.yml
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group: one run at a time,
+                                  # a runner-image rebuild included (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07)
   cancel-in-progress: false
 
 jobs:
@@ -33,6 +34,18 @@ jobs:
           fetch-depth: 0
           lfs: false
 
+      - name: The capsule-signing key
+        env:
+          KEY: ${{ secrets.CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY }}
+        run: |                    # ci/pki/make-ca.sh; kernel/Makefile signs with SIGN_KEY
+          if [ -n "$KEY" ]; then
+            f="${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/capsule-signing.key"
+            (umask 077; printf '%s\n' "$KEY" > "$f")
+            echo "SIGN_KEY=$f" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"; echo "The capsules will be signed."
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY secret: the capsules are built unsigned."
+          fi
+
       - name: The tag names the tree's version
         run: |
           tree="v$(sed -n 's/^LITHOS_VERSION *?= *//p' kernel/Makefile)"

.gitea/workflows/runner-image.yml

@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ on:
     paths: ['ci/runner-image/**', 'Makefile']
   workflow_dispatch:
 
+concurrency:
+  group: qemu                     # every workflow shares this one group (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: a
+  cancel-in-progress: false       # runner-image rebuild blocks other jobs, always): one run at a time
+
 jobs:
   image:
     name: Build and publish the runner image
@@ -44,7 +48,9 @@ jobs:
           tag=$(git rev-parse --short=12 HEAD)
           ctx=$(mktemp -d)                                  # not the repository: 7 GB of context
           cp -r Makefile boards ci/runner-image/Dockerfile "$ctx/"
-          docker build -t "$img:$tag" "$ctx"
+          tok=$(mktemp); printf '%s' "$TOKEN" > "$tok"          # the HOL-Library heap's download (Dockerfile)
+          docker build --secret id=pkgtoken,src="$tok" -t "$img:$tag" "$ctx"
+          rm -f "$tok"
           echo "$TOKEN" | docker login gitea.starshipos-f18.org -u rajames --password-stdin
           docker push "$img:$tag"
           echo "Published $img:$tag"

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,18 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2026-11-07 — LithosAnanke v4.0.0-alpha.1: the first alpha release
+
+The first alpha of the kernel, `v4.0.0-alpha.1`: v4, StarForth's F18 engine, is the system every
+board boots by default, with v3 a boot argument away. The kernel's version goes from 2.1.0 to the
+4.x working line (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07); the engine stays 3.2.0. Accepted in full before the tag:
+amd64, aarch64 and riscv64 to `[zuse@Hera] ok>` with POST 538/538 and one `dict_hash`
+(`0xfec8c47cfc6f437f`), the PC stick loaded high, `test-32` (39 programs, 0 failures), and the
+Isabelle/HOL proofs. An alpha: the v4.0.0 milestone's own definition -- parity with v3's vocabulary,
+K=1.0 measured on v4, the hosted mesh, Verilator -- is still open, and the capsules are unsigned until
+the StarshipOS CA is made (FABRIC-3.md XLVI). Also today: CI in a prebuilt runner image, the
+nightly's proofs no longer able to hold back its images, and the .com and .org websites. Full record:
+`docs/fabric/FABRIC-3.md` XLVII.
+
 ## 2026-11-07 — CI jobs start ready: the runner image
 
 The CI jobs now run in `lithosananke-runner` (`ci/runner-image`, #120), an image with everything

ci/pki/make-ca.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# make-ca.sh -- the StarshipOS capsule-signing PKI, made once, on the CI box (Captain Bob,
+# 2026-11-07: "New root CA on the CI box. Valid StarshipOS rather than snake oil intermediate").
+#
+#   StarshipOS Root CA              Ed25519, 20 years, self-signed. Its key never leaves this box:
+#                                   not in the repository, not in Gitea, not in any image.
+#   StarshipOS Capsule Signing      Ed25519, 10 years, signed by the root; CA:TRUE, pathlen:0.
+#                                   Its certificate is built into every image (capsules/pki/
+#                                   starshipos-intermediate.der) and checks each capsule at boot;
+#                                   its key signs the capsules (mkcapsule --sign-key), in CI from
+#                                   the repository secret CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY.
+#
+# Replaces the offline LithosAnanke Root CA and its snakeoil intermediate (FABRIC-2.md,
+# Milestone 6) for every build. Run as root:
+#
+#   sudo ci/pki/make-ca.sh [dir]                       # dir defaults to /var/lib/starshipos-ca
+#
+# It refuses to overwrite an existing CA. When it is done it prints the two certificates (public:
+# paste them where they are wanted) and says how to put the signing key into Gitea. With
+# GITEA_TOKEN set (a token that may administer the repository), it stores the secret itself.
+set -euo pipefail
+umask 077
+dir=${1:-/var/lib/starshipos-ca}
+repo=${GITEA_REPO:-rajames/LithosAnanke}
+api=${GITEA_API:-https://gitea.starshipos-f18.org/api/v1}
+
+command -v openssl >/dev/null || { echo "make-ca: needs openssl" >&2; exit 1; }
+[ -e "$dir/root/root.key" ] && { echo "make-ca: $dir already holds a CA; not overwriting it" >&2; exit 1; }
+mkdir -p "$dir/root" "$dir/signing"
+cd "$dir"
+
+cat > ca.cnf <<'CNF'
+[ req ]
+distinguished_name = dn
+prompt             = no
+[ dn ]
+[ root_ext ]
+basicConstraints     = critical, CA:TRUE
+keyUsage             = critical, keyCertSign, cRLSign
+subjectKeyIdentifier = hash
+[ signing_ext ]
+basicConstraints       = critical, CA:TRUE, pathlen:0
+keyUsage               = critical, keyCertSign, cRLSign, digitalSignature
+subjectKeyIdentifier   = hash
+authorityKeyIdentifier = keyid:always
+CNF
+
+# the root
+openssl genpkey -algorithm ed25519 -out root/root.key
+openssl req -new -x509 -key root/root.key -days 7305 -config ca.cnf -extensions root_ext \
+    -subj "/O=StarshipOS/CN=StarshipOS Root CA" -out root/root.pem
+
+# the capsule-signing intermediate, signed by the root
+openssl genpkey -algorithm ed25519 -out signing/signing.key
+openssl req -new -key signing/signing.key -config ca.cnf \
+    -subj "/O=StarshipOS/CN=StarshipOS Capsule Signing" -out signing/signing.csr
+openssl x509 -req -in signing/signing.csr -CA root/root.pem -CAkey root/root.key \
+    -CAcreateserial -days 3652 -extfile ca.cnf -extensions signing_ext -out signing/signing.pem
+openssl x509 -in signing/signing.pem -outform DER -out signing/starshipos-intermediate.der
+openssl verify -CAfile root/root.pem signing/signing.pem
+
+chmod 700 root signing; chmod 600 root/* signing/*
+
+if [ -n "${GITEA_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
+    python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.dumps({"data": open(sys.argv[1]).read()}))' signing/signing.key |
+    curl -fsS -o /dev/null -X PUT -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+        "$api/repos/$repo/actions/secrets/CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY" -d @- &&
+    echo "make-ca: stored the signing key as $repo's secret CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY"
+else
+    echo "make-ca: put $dir/signing/signing.key, whole, into $repo's Actions secret CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY"
+    echo "         (Settings -> Actions -> Secrets), or run again with GITEA_TOKEN set -- after"
+    echo "         removing $dir, since it refuses to overwrite a CA."
+fi
+echo
+echo "=== The root certificate (public) -- $dir/root/root.pem"
+cat root/root.pem
+echo "=== The capsule-signing certificate (public) -- $dir/signing/signing.pem"
+cat signing/signing.pem
+echo "=== Fingerprints"
+openssl x509 -in root/root.pem -noout -fingerprint -sha256 -subject -enddate
+openssl x509 -in signing/signing.pem -noout -fingerprint -sha256 -subject -issuer -enddate

ci/runner-image/Dockerfile

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # The CI runner image (#120): gitea/runner-images' Ubuntu 24.04 with Node -- which
 # actions/checkout and upload-artifact run on -- plus everything the jobs install at their start:
 # what `make ARCH=amd64,aarch64,riscv64 init INIT_DOCS=0` installs (taken from the Makefile
-# itself, not copied, so the two cannot drift), and Maven and a JRE for the publish steps.
+# itself, not copied, so the two cannot drift), Maven and a JRE for the publish steps, and
+# Isabelle's HOL-Library already built, for the proofs.
 #
 # Built by .gitea/workflows/runner-image.yml, from a context of the Makefile, boards/ and this file.
 FROM gitea/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04-v26.11.03
@@ -11,4 +12,19 @@ WORKDIR /opt/starship-init
 RUN make --no-print-directory ARCH=amd64,aarch64,riscv64 init INIT_DOCS=0 \
  && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y -qq maven default-jre-headless \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /opt/starship-init/build/cache/downloads
+# HOL-Library, prebuilt, into Isabelle's own heaps, so the proofs build only the StarForth session
+# (~2.2 GiB, under a minute). Built from scratch it takes ~5.3 GiB (nightly 174 was killed doing it),
+# and capped it still needs ~2.6-3.3 GiB: more than the server has. So it is built once, elsewhere,
+# by the same Isabelle2025-2, and fetched from this repository's package registry, its checksum
+# pinned here (FABRIC-3.md XLVII). Isabelle ships its own HOL heap the same way. The token is a
+# build secret (runner-image.yml): it is in neither the image nor its history.
+ARG HOL_LIBRARY_URL=https://gitea.starshipos-f18.org/api/packages/rajames/generic/isabelle-hol-library/Isabelle2025-2/hol-library-Isabelle2025-2.tar.xz
+ARG HOL_LIBRARY_SHA256=bb24784664def9379e5db27f88802e3679b8e1c628177f6fbe7084e999cb339e
+RUN --mount=type=secret,id=pkgtoken \
+    curl -fsSL -H "Authorization: token $(cat /run/secrets/pkgtoken)" -o /tmp/hol-library.tar.xz "$HOL_LIBRARY_URL" \
+ && echo "$HOL_LIBRARY_SHA256  /tmp/hol-library.tar.xz" | sha256sum -c - \
+ && heaps=$(isabelle getenv -b ISABELLE_HEAPS_SYSTEM) && mkdir -p "$heaps" \
+ && xz -dc /tmp/hol-library.tar.xz | tar -C "$heaps" -xf - \
+ && rm /tmp/hol-library.tar.xz \
+ && test -s "$heaps/polyml-5.9.2_x86_64_32-linux/HOL-Library"
 WORKDIR /

docs/fabric/FABRIC-3.md

@@ -6061,3 +6061,107 @@ four conflicts resolved to the branch's files (`92ca805e`).
 - The first scheduled nightly's publish to Nexus (#17).
 - The Pi 5 and Mars images booted on their boards (#27, #28); a Pi 4 port (#26).
 - Revoke the access token `claude-session-20261106` (Settings, Applications).
+
+## XLVI. The StarshipOS CA: capsules signed in CI, by a root on the CI box (2026-11-07)
+
+### 1. Found
+
+Every image built anywhere but Captain Bob's machine carried unsigned capsules: CI, the
+acceptance runs, the nightly bound for Nexus, a release, the demo. The capsule-signing key -- the
+snakeoil intermediate of the offline LithosAnanke Root CA (FABRIC-2.md, Milestone 6) -- lived only
+there, `kernel/Makefile`'s `SIGN_KEY` named its path, and a missing signature is a warning by
+design (2026-08-26), so they booted: `V4: capsule v4:sys:core.f18 signature: missing (unsigned)`
+in every accepted log (`logs/20261106-004933`). And `mkcapsule` signed with whatever key it was
+given: a key that is not the embedded certificate's makes every signature INVALID, which refuses
+Mama.
+
+### 2. Ruled
+
+Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: "New root CA on the CI box. Valid StarshipOS rather than snake oil
+intermediate."
+
+### 3. Built
+
+- `ci/pki/make-ca.sh`, run once on the CI box: **StarshipOS Root CA** (Ed25519, 20 years,
+  self-signed; its key stays on that box, in `/var/lib/starshipos-ca`) and **StarshipOS Capsule
+  Signing** (Ed25519, 10 years, issued by the root, `CA:TRUE, pathlen:0`). It refuses to
+  overwrite a CA, prints both certificates, and stores the signing key as the repository secret
+  `CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY` (or says how).
+- The image carries `capsules/pki/starshipos-intermediate.der` in place of the snakeoil
+  intermediate; the kernel finds it by one name, `CAPSULE_SIGNING_CERT_NAME` (`capsule_sig.h`).
+- `mkcapsule` checks the signing key against that certificate before it writes anything, and
+  refuses a key that is not its, or a key with no certificate to check.
+- `SIGN_KEY` has no default (`kernel/Makefile`, `v4/Makefile`): CI sets it from the secret (a step
+  in `acceptance.yml`, `build.yml`, `nightly.yml`, `release.yml`); unset, the capsules are built
+  unsigned, as before.
+
+What it is not: the kernel still does not check the intermediate against a root at boot
+(`x509_ed25519.h`; `ACL.4th`'s `ACL-CA-KEY` is still 0). A signature proves a capsule matches the
+certificate in the same image. That is unchanged by this, and a ruling of its own.
+
+### 4. Verified
+
+With a CA made by `make-ca.sh` in a scratch directory (not the real one): `openssl verify` of the
+chain OK; `make-ca.sh` refuses a second run; `mkcapsule` with the signing key -- "signing key
+matches"; with the root's key -- refused; with a key and no certificate -- refused; with no key --
+unsigned, as before. The acceptance with the real certificate is the PR's.
+
+## XLVII. LithosAnanke v4.0.0-alpha.1: the first alpha release (2026-11-07)
+
+### 1. Ruled
+
+Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: "next on the list is do a tag/release of v4.0.0" -- then, on what the number
+names: "StarForth version stays the same ... Kernel is 4.0.0. This is our first alpha release." The
+tag names the kernel (`release.yml`: `v<LITHOS_VERSION>`), so:
+
+- `LITHOS_VERSION` 2.1.0 -> **4.0.0-alpha.1**; the tag is `v4.0.0-alpha.1`; Nexus takes
+  `org.starship:kernelImage:4.0.0-alpha.1` and `org.starship:documentation:4.0.0-alpha.1`.
+- The engine's `VERSION` stays **3.2.0**.
+- The versioning policy (`kernel/Makefile`, FABRIC-3.5.md XXX): 4.x is a working line (even major).
+  v3.0.0, the first LTS, is no longer the next number; an LTS line takes the next odd major when
+  XXX.5's criteria are met. Alphas are numbered: a release repository takes each version once.
+- The v4.0.0 milestone is unchanged: its definition (v4 equivalent to v3, K=1.0 on all three host
+  ISAs, a hosted mesh, Verilator co-simulation) is what 4.0.0 itself will be; nine of its issues
+  are open. This is an alpha of it.
+- The release is built and proved here first (this session, 15 GiB), its logs committed; the
+  server's release run follows once it can pass -- the proofs need HOL-Library in the runner image.
+  The capsules are unsigned for this release.
+
+### 2. Verified (this session, `b7534107`, before the tag)
+
+- amd64 (`logs/20261107-150809`), aarch64 (`-151023`), riscv64 (`-151359`): `LithosAnanke
+  v4.0.0-alpha.1 <arch>`, `[zuse@Hera] ok>`, `PARITY:V4_POST tests=538 pass=538 fail=0`,
+  `POST: PASSED`, Zuse identity confirmed, `PARITY:V4_SYSTEM word_count=317
+  dict_hash=0xfec8c47cfc6f437f` on all three.
+- The PC stick loaded high (`logs/20261107-151539`): the same, from the stick, no fault.
+- `make -C v4 test-32`: 39 programs, 0 failures.
+- The Isabelle/HOL proofs (`logs/20261107-152312/isabelle`).
+- Each v4 capsule logs `signature: no root key (cert not found/parseable)`: the kernel looks for the
+  StarshipOS Capsule Signing certificate (XLVI), which is not in the tree until `ci/pki/make-ca.sh`
+  has run. A warning, as "missing (unsigned)" was before; nothing is refused.
+
+### 3. The StarshipOS CA, and acceptance again (`4ca935d8`)
+
+`ci/pki/make-ca.sh` ran on the CI box (2026-11-07 16:50 UTC): the StarshipOS Root CA there, the
+signing key in the secret `CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY`, and the certificate -- O=StarshipOS, CN=StarshipOS
+Capsule Signing, issued by the root, 2026-11-07 to 2036-11-06, `CA:TRUE, pathlen:0`, SHA-256 of the
+DER `13a28dda...029b9a6c` -- in the tree as `capsules/pki/starshipos-intermediate.der`, the snakeoil
+intermediate out of it. The tree changed, so the protocol ran again here: amd64
+(`logs/20261107-165611`), aarch64 (`-165817`), riscv64 (`-170149`) -- POST 538/538,
+`dict_hash=0xfec8c47cfc6f437f` on all three; the stick loaded high (`-170326`); `test-32`, 39
+programs, 0 failures; the proofs (`-171020`). Each capsule now logs `signature: missing (unsigned)`:
+the kernel found and read the StarshipOS certificate (it said "no root key" without it), and this
+session has no key to sign with. CI signs with the secret: the PR's acceptance and the release are
+where every capsule first verifies.
+
+### 4. HOL-Library, prebuilt
+
+The runner image was to build HOL-Library itself (XLVI's companion change, `4ae1f759`); the server
+cannot: from scratch it peaks at ~5.3 GiB, and with Poly/ML capped at 1.6 GiB the build still needs
+Isabelle's Java side at ~1 GiB (at 384 MiB it ran out and hung) -- 2.6-3.3 GiB against the server's
+3.8 GiB in all, ~2.3 GiB free with both wikis stopped. So the heap built here by the same
+Isabelle2025-2 (HOL-Library and its build database) is a package in this repository's registry,
+`generic/isabelle-hol-library/Isabelle2025-2/hol-library-Isabelle2025-2.tar.xz` (45 MB, SHA-256
+`bb247846...e999cb339e`), and the image fetches it into Isabelle's system heaps, checksum pinned,
+its token a Docker build secret. Shown portable first: a fresh Isabelle home holding only that heap
+checks the StarForth session without rebuilding HOL-Library (24 s).

kernel/Makefile

@@ -89,6 +89,12 @@ endif
 #   v2.2.0  — amd64 bare-metal bring-up (Beelink SER5)
 #   v2.x    — further working releases; riscv64 / aarch64 board bring-up
 #   v3.0.0  — FIRST LTS, when and only when FABRIC-3.5.md §XXX.5's 5 criteria are met
+#   v4.0.0-alpha.1 — the first alpha release (Captain Bob, 2026-11-07: "Kernel is 4.0.0. This is
+#             our first alpha release"): v4, the F18 engine, the default system. The kernel goes
+#             from v2.1.0 straight to the 4.x working line (even: breaking changes land here);
+#             v3.0.0, the first LTS, is no longer the next number -- an LTS line takes the next
+#             odd major when §XXX.5's criteria are met. The engine stays 3.2.0. Alphas are
+#             numbered (-alpha.N); a release repository takes each version once.
 # LITHOS_VERSION (kernel) and VERSION (embedded StarForth engine) are independent
 # and do not auto-sync (§XXX.4) — do not infer a relationship if they ever coincide.
 # Engine VERSION bumps at tag time by what actually changed (§XXX.6): major = any
@@ -97,7 +103,7 @@ endif
 # the messaging layer was replaced by kernel-Hermes, PLOT/FB-* relocated to Hestia —
 # all dictionary-visible, no FORTH-79 word semantics changed.
 VERSION       ?= 3.2.0
-LITHOS_VERSION ?= 2.1.0
+LITHOS_VERSION ?= 4.0.0-alpha.1
 
 # ==============================================================================
 # BUILD PATHS
@@ -207,7 +213,8 @@ MKCAPSULE_SRC       = tools/mkcapsule.c tools/pkcs8_ed25519.c \
                       kernel/src/crypto/ed25519.c \
                       kernel/src/crypto/fe25519.c \
                       kernel/src/crypto/scalar25519.c \
-                      kernel/src/crypto/sha512.c
+                      kernel/src/crypto/sha512.c \
+                      kernel/src/crypto/x509_ed25519.c
 MKCAPSULE_BIN       = $(BUILD_DIR)/tools/mkcapsule
 # mkartemis: formats and signs an Artemis partition at build with the kernel's own
 # block-subsystem and artemis_sig code (tools/mkartemis.c), built as v4/Makefile builds them.
@@ -215,12 +222,11 @@ MKARTEMIS_SRC       = tools/mkartemis.c kernel/src/artemis_sig.c \
                       $(addprefix v3/src/,block_subsystem.c blkio_ram.c blkio_file.c log.c \
                                           platform/platform_init.c platform/linux/time.c)
 MKARTEMIS_BIN       = $(BUILD_DIR)/tools/mkartemis
-# Milestone 6 (Phase 8): the snakeoil intermediate's private key, generated
-# offline outside this repo entirely (see FABRIC-2.md's Phase 8 §Milestone 6
-# writeup) -- not present in CI or a fresh checkout, so signing is skipped
-# gracefully ($(wildcard ...) below) rather than failing the build. Override
-# with `make SIGN_KEY=/path/to/key.pem ...` on a machine that holds it.
-SIGN_KEY           ?= /home/rajames/CLionProjects/lithosananke-ca/intermediate/snakeoil-intermediate.key
+# The capsule-signing key: "StarshipOS Capsule Signing"'s private key (ci/pki/make-ca.sh,
+# FABRIC-3.md XLVI). CI sets SIGN_KEY from the secret CAPSULE_SIGN_KEY; elsewhere set it by hand
+# (`make SIGN_KEY=/path/to/signing.key ...`). Unset or absent, the capsules are built unsigned,
+# which boots with a warning per capsule. mkcapsule refuses a key that is not the certificate's.
+SIGN_KEY           ?=
 SIGN_KEY_ARGS       = $(if $(wildcard $(SIGN_KEY)),--sign-key $(SIGN_KEY),)
 CAPSULE_GENERATED   = $(BUILD_DIR)/capsule_generated.c
 CAPSULE_GENERATED_OBJ  = $(BUILD_DIR)/capsule_generated.o

kernel/include/starkernel/capsule.h

@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ typedef struct {
  *
  * Milestone 6 (Phase 8): each capsule's payload bytes (the same bytes
  * content_hash already covers), signed by mkcapsule at build time with
- * the snakeoil intermediate's private key. has_sig=0 for a capsule built
+ * the capsule-signing key (StarshipOS Capsule Signing, capsule_sig.h;
+ * the snakeoil intermediate's until 2026-11-07). has_sig=0 for a capsule built
  * before this feature existed or otherwise unsigned -- a real, distinct
  * state, not "signature is all-zero bytes" (which sig[64] full of 0x00
  * would otherwise look ambiguous with). Indexed 1:1 with

kernel/include/starkernel/capsule_sig.h

@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@
 
 #include "starkernel/capsule.h"
 
+/* The certificate whose key the capsules are signed with: "StarshipOS
+ * Capsule Signing", issued by the StarshipOS Root CA (ci/pki/make-ca.sh;
+ * FABRIC-3.md XLVI), replacing the snakeoil intermediate of Milestone 6.
+ * mkcapsule refuses to sign with a key that is not this certificate's. */
+#define CAPSULE_SIGNING_CERT_NAME "pki:starshipos-intermediate.der"
+
 typedef enum {
     CAPSULE_SIG_OK = 0,       /* has_sig=1, and it verifies */
     CAPSULE_SIG_MISSING,      /* has_sig=0 -- not signed at all */
@@ -31,9 +37,9 @@ typedef enum {
 
 /*
  * Verify capsule descs[index]'s Ed25519 signature against the embedded
- * snakeoil intermediate cert's public key (capsule name
- * "pki:snakeoil-intermediate.der", found and parsed once, cached for
- * every later call this boot -- the cert doesn't change mid-boot).
+ * capsule-signing certificate's public key (CAPSULE_SIGNING_CERT_NAME,
+ * found and parsed once, cached for every later call this boot -- the
+ * cert doesn't change mid-boot).
  *
  * descs/names/sigs must be the same three parallel arrays
  * (capsule_get_descriptors()/capsule_get_names()/capsule_get_signatures()),

kernel/include/starkernel/x509_ed25519.h

@@ -6,9 +6,10 @@
  *
  * x509_extract_ed25519_pubkey() only ever reads SubjectPublicKeyInfo --
  * no signature verification, no chain validation, no extension parsing.
- * That's the capsule-PKI use case (Milestone 6): the embedded snakeoil
- * intermediate cert is trusted because it's baked into the trusted build,
- * never re-verified against the offline root CA at boot.
+ * That's the capsule-PKI use case (Milestone 6): the embedded capsule-
+ * signing cert (StarshipOS Capsule Signing since 2026-11-07, the snakeoil
+ * intermediate before it) is trusted because it's baked into the trusted
+ * build, never re-verified against its root CA at boot.
  *
  * x509_verify_signature()/x509_extract_serial() (added 2026-08-28,
  * FABRIC-2.md §F.7/§F.17) are for CERTVERIFY -- a regular user's cert,

kernel/src/capsule/capsule_sig.c

@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@
 #include "starkernel/ed25519.h"
 #include <string.h>
 
-#define SNAKEOIL_CERT_NAME "pki:snakeoil-intermediate.der"
-
 /* Cached once per boot: the cert doesn't change mid-boot, and every
  * capsule birth (Mama, then every child VM) would otherwise re-find and
  * re-parse the same cert. -1 = not yet attempted, 0 = failed, 1 = ready. */
@@ -20,7 +18,7 @@ static int find_and_cache_pubkey(const CapsuleDesc *descs,
 
     pubkey_state = 0; /* assume failure unless every step below succeeds */
     for (uint32_t i = 0; i < desc_count; i++) {
-        if (strcmp(names[i].name, SNAKEOIL_CERT_NAME) == 0) {
+        if (strcmp(names[i].name, CAPSULE_SIGNING_CERT_NAME) == 0) {
             const CapsuleDesc *cert_desc = &descs[i];
             if (x509_extract_ed25519_pubkey(arena_base + cert_desc->offset,
                                              (size_t)cert_desc->length,