Computers, files, processes and shell#

Every ComputerDefinition constructs an independent machine from an OS profile. Profiles control synthetic home/path/case/shell behavior. They do not invoke host macOS, Windows or Linux programs. A multi-machine environment does not share files, process IDs or working directories unless an explicit service operation transfers data.

cw-computer::Vfs models inode identity, files, directories, links, symlinks and case-aware path resolution with copy-on-write backing. Trusted internal accessors are distinct from permission-checked read_as/write_as operations; actor-facing kernel access uses the machine's synthetic user. Host paths are never backing storage for these files.

ProcessTable models spawn, exit, sleep/advance, signals, file descriptors and listener cleanup. Time-dependent changes use logical time (determinism); a program running on a machine can be stopped and stepped from an editor (debugging). This is a simulated process model, not execution of arbitrary binaries. PackageManager supports registered packages, dependency resolution and install transactions.

The shell interprets a supported command subset through Computer::execute and an explicit ShellHost capability. Shell is the command matrix, including which of python3 and node a machine has and what their consoles do. Network commands call synthetic networking; no command launches a host subprocess. Unsupported commands should fail visibly. Do not assume arbitrary POSIX shell or PowerShell script compatibility.

Git behavior models repositories and content-addressed commits with a canonical SHA-256 JSON protocol for remote transfer. It is suitable for synthetic clone, commit, push and fetch tasks across world machines. It is not the real Git pack format, smart HTTP wire protocol or SHA-1 object identity. Adapt workflows and fixtures rather than treating existing .git directories as directly compatible.

Focused implementation and regression tests live in crates/machines/computer. The company example demonstrates composition with network services.

A machine's own definition — its OS profile, home, packages and the node it sits on — is part of the world schema; what an actor may do to it is the grant in the agent API, and what it may never reach is security. The desktop is what all of this looks like on a screen.