Developer build path

Build Cix.
Know what changes.

Use this page when you need to change Cix, build a package, or produce an image. Start with the build guide for commands; use this page to understand which path is supported and what a cache hit or miss means.

Build path

A change follows a defined path.

Self-hosting

Build from a Cix host.A Cix host can rebuild the control plane, kernel, root filesystem, and installer. The running host supplies CBS for later source builds, and cix-root now aligns cixd, cixctl, the dashboard, kernel modules, and their declared outputs into one assembled control-plane image.Read the complete build guide ↗

01SourceRecipe · snapshot · checksum
02BuildDeclared tools · isolated container
03PackageManifest · outputs · artefact
04ImageImmutable rootfs version
05DeployReadiness · rolling convergence
06HostVerified A/B slot or installer

Recipes

Start with a versioned input.

A package recipe records its source, checksum, version, dependencies, and build environment. New package builds use CPDL in build.cbs, executed by CBS; image recipes are JSON. Sibling packages and outputs converge together when a recipe changes, preventing mixed-version path ownership. Older published shell recipes are historical; Cix no longer builds them.

build.cbsCPDL 1.0CBSJSON imagescix-recipes

Artefacts

Use a cache hit or build from source.

Cix Cache may provide a prebuilt package whose identity and SHA-256 match the recipe. For a current CPDL/CBS recipe, a cache miss can trigger a source build. Package outputs are first-class artefacts, and an assembly refuses a missing output rather than falling back to an ambiguous build directory. Installer releases are signed and verified before publication.

recipeoutputsSHA-256minisignrelease gate

Self-hosting

Build the platform from a Cix host.

A running Cix host can build cixd, cixctl, the dashboard, the kernel, and a fresh installer ISO. The root and installer take the control-plane files from declared outputs, and cix-root keeps the assembled root aligned with those package boundaries. A hostbuild can report its build identity so an operator can confirm what actually booted.

hostbuildkernel-modulescix-rootrootfsISO assemblybuild identity

Package consistency

One recipe build serves its outputs.

Images requesting different outputs of the same recipe share an in-flight build. Files can move between the main package and its outputs across recipe versions in either install order; duplicate ownership within one version is still refused. Composed builds now support up to 128 packages, including the split C-library outputs.

Build feedback

Follow the work while it runs.

The dashboard opens one floating log view for a running build. It follows the selected job, identifies which build produced the output, shows the current stage and elapsed time, and keeps the live log available while you inspect the rest of the host. Health also reports build identity, build time, and boot slot so a deployment can be confirmed after reboot.

live logsstage timingbuild identityA/B slotREST + WebSocket

Trust model