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  <h1>Gershwin Research</h1>
  <p><a href="index.html">&larr; Back to home</a> &middot; <a href="https://github.com/gershwin-desktop">github.com/gershwin-desktop</a></p>
</header>

<p>Plans and investigations for the Gershwin desktop &mdash; the GNUstep-based, Apple-style userland that runs on FreeBSD, NextBSD, and Linux. Installer, live-ISO, and component work for <code>gershwin-desktop/gershwin-components</code> and friends.</p>

<h2>Installer</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-installer-backends-plan.html?v=20260621">Installer backends &mdash; Linux fix, NextBSD backend, FreeBSD reorganization <span class="pill pill-warn">Plan ready</span></a>
    <span class="desc">The InstallationAssistant offers two methods &mdash; <em>Clone running system to disk</em> and <em>Image based installation</em> &mdash; but on Linux both fail while FreeBSD mostly works. A 4-agent investigation root-causes it: the deployed <code>installer-linux.sh</code> drifted from source and lost <code>--check-image-source</code> (so the image radio never appears), image detection only matches <code>iso9660</code> (misses Debian&rsquo;s <code>/run/live/medium</code>), and the clone path installs the bootloader via <code>chroot grub-install</code>/<code>update-grub</code> which needs grub+initramfs inside the copied tree (FreeBSD instead copies <code>loader.efi</code> + <code>efibootmgr</code>). Also surfaces a latent NextBSD bug: the ostype rebrand makes the boolean <code>IAIsFreeBSD()</code> misclassify NextBSD as Linux. Plan: a dispatcher + per-OS modules with proper names (out of the <code>/System/Library/Scripts</code> junk drawer), an explicit <code>--method</code> flag, a 3-way platform resolver, a first-class NextBSD backend (launchd, label-based UFS <code>ROOTFS</code>, kextd autoload, configd/hostnamed identity), and a shared first-boot identity reset (machine-id, SSH host keys, stable fstab).</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-native-installer-backend-plan.html?v=20260514">Native installer backend &mdash; <code>Copier.framework</code></a>
    <span class="desc">Replacing the shell file-walker with a native Objective-C copier framework for the clone/image pipeline.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Live ISO</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-livecd-unionfs-plan.html?v=20260514">Live-ISO unionfs plan</a>
    <span class="desc">Read-only squashfs/uzip + writable tmpfs union; how the live session is flattened on install, and the dropped-binaries / avahi-corruption traps.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-livecd-launchd-plan.html?v=20260514">Live-ISO launchd plan</a>
    <span class="desc">Booting the Gershwin live ISO under launchd.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-on-nextbsd-iso-pipeline-plan.html?v=20260514">Gershwin-on-NextBSD ISO pipeline</a>
    <span class="desc">Building the Gershwin live/install ISO on the NextBSD base.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

<h2>Components &amp; CI</h2>
<ul class="guides">
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-automated-testing.html?v=20260719">Native automated testing &mdash; every category, options &amp; gaps <span class="pill">Survey</span></a>
    <span class="desc">What native mechanism covers each layer of testing for a GNUstep/AppKit stack &mdash; unit, integration, functional, UI, acceptance/BDD, system/smoke, regression &mdash; from a multi-agent survey plus a live read of the ISO test scripts. Answers directly: <b>UnitKit</b> and the GNUstep <b>Testing</b> framework (<code>make check</code>) cover <em>unit/integration</em>; <b>StepTalk</b> and <b>Distributed Objects</b> are <em>functional/integration drivers</em> that script a running app; UI/acceptance/visual-regression have <b>no native tooling</b> because GNUstep&rsquo;s <code>NSAccessibility</code> is a stub with no AT-SPI bridge (so LDTP/Dogtail are blocked and &ldquo;read the screen&rdquo; is a pixel/OCR problem). Documents how the <code>gershwin-on-nextbsd</code> QEMU screenshot gate works today (monitor <code>sendkey</code>/<code>screendump</code> + colour-count + tesseract OCR, gating publish). Proposes a native <b>Gherkin/BDD</b> framework (Frank/Calabash-style in-app TestAgent that walks the view tree &mdash; routing around the missing a11y &mdash; driven by <code>godog</code>), and a full-pyramid strategy that runs in GitHub Actions and locally.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-iso-monorepo-consolidation-plan.html?v=20260719">Consolidating the five ISO builders into one repo <span class="pill pill-warn">Decision doc</span></a>
    <span class="desc">Should <code>gershwin-on-{debian,freebsd,arch,devuan,nextbsd}</code> collapse into <code>gershwin-desktop/gershwin-desktop</code>? A 3-agent live read of all five repos, the shared <code>checkout.sh</code>, the release inventory, and GitHub&rsquo;s 2026 limits. Finds two build families (Linux-container vs FreeBSD-VM) that want <em>two</em> reusable workflows, not one matrix; NextBSD&rsquo;s QEMU boot+colour-count+OCR screenshot test is the gate to spread to every target (release <code>needs: [build, test]</code>). Real constraints are the <b>2&nbsp;GiB-per-asset cap</b> (Arch already at 1.91&nbsp;GiB) and the one-time history migration &mdash; <em>not</em> storage (release assets are unquota&rsquo;d) or concurrency (the 20-job ceiling is already org-wide across all five repos, so mono vs split is a wash). Answers the rolling-tag question directly: per-target <code>continuous-&lt;distro&gt;</code> tags, ~10&ndash;15&nbsp;GiB live, self-cleaning once every target moves off <code>uploadtool</code> to <code>gh release delete+create</code> (which is what&rsquo;s letting Devuan&rsquo;s tag leak today). Plus the ~15-line <code>checkout.sh</code> custom-branch change that unblocks the future second job, and a 3-way alternatives table (monorepo / hub-repo / unified dispatcher) with a de-risked rollout order.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-windowmanager-qa-plan.html?v=20260514">WindowManager QA plan</a>
    <span class="desc">QA strategy for the Gershwin WindowManager.</span>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="gershwin-developer-nextbsd-ci-plan.html?v=20260514">gershwin-developer NextBSD CI plan</a>
    <span class="desc">CI for the gershwin-developer image on the NextBSD pipeline.</span>
  </li>
</ul>

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