Gnosix / Overview

A local-first Linux computing platform built around native Wayland surfaces, explicit system state, and bounded authority.

Development state: Experimental / pre-release. The source is available for inspection and development; no stable end-user release is claimed.

What gnosix is

gnosix is a Rust-first desktop systems project. Its current work combines a compositor-independent semantic desktop model, native Wayland/GPUI presentation, typed persistent profile and identity contracts, and narrowly scoped system authorities for actions that must mutate the running desktop.

The repository is intentionally evidence-driven: a claim is not promoted because code exists, a process is running, or a document says it should work. Public status distinguishes implemented code, source qualification, runtime observation, installed-path proof, and still-open product obligations.

Current status

The integrated main line is qualified through the repository-owned cargo xtask ci contract. Current product work includes native Bar/Dock/Workspace/AppStack presentation, current-session multi-output routing, durable logical output/profile contracts, installed typed workspace activation, and qualified user-session lifecycle boundaries.

No stable end-user release is claimed. Whole-product acceptance remains open, including end-user accessibility review and the explicit release disposition tracked in current status.

Architecture

The main domains are:

• gnosix-desktop-model — deterministic, authority-neutral desktop semantics.
• gnosix-hyprland — Hyprland observation and bounded integration.
• gnos.ux — native product presentation and interaction semantics.
• in.gnu.os — narrowly scoped system authorities such as durable identity, profiles, and activation.
• gnoshow — independent rear-plane/wallpaper renderer work.

See ARCHITECTURE.md and AUTHORITY.md for the boundaries between those domains.

Build and inspect

The repository pins its Rust toolchain in rust-toolchain.toml. On Ubuntu 24.04, CI provisions build-essential, pkg-config, Wayland/EGL/Vulkan/XKB/Freetype/Fontconfig development packages, and D-Bus development headers before running the same repository-owned contract used locally.

cargo xtask explain
cargo xtask ci
cargo xtask provenance

cargo xtask ci is repository-hermetic and is the canonical pre-push qualification entry point. cargo xtask verify additionally contains host/live checks; run it only in an environment where those checks and any required host interactions are appropriate and authorized.

Evidence

Start with docs/status/STATUS.md for the current claim boundary and docs/evidence/README.md for how source, runtime, installed-path, and operator evidence are interpreted.

The large engineering evidence corpus is provenance, not the product interface. Public documentation links only to evidence needed to support a current claim.

Contributing and security

Read CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, and AGENTS.md before changing architecture-sensitive or authority-sensitive code.

License

First-party Gnosix code and repository documentation are licensed under the MIT License. The license policy was updated on 2026-10-10; already distributed GPL-licensed versions retain their existing permissions. Bundled third-party material keeps its own terms; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.