Development module¶

What it does¶

Development keeps source and recoverable Git history in a NOW-owned directory on the modern Mac while using a human-selected toolchain on the PowerPC Mac. It can stage an inactive candidate, build it through MPW ToolServer, verify the classic product's data fork, resource fork, type, creator, and digest, and then launch that exact product.

Availability¶

The module is experimental and PowerPC-only. It does not require the NOW Extension. NOW-68K reports the capability as unavailable.

On the modern Mac¶

The host owns the Projects root, project revisions, recoverable workspaces, and build/run receipts. Host-owned project writes stay below the app's own Application Support directory. A project that originally exists only on the classic Mac can be imported into this root as a verified scratch/history copy; editing it does not silently replace the active classic project.

On the classic Mac¶

A person chooses the Projects folder and registers an MPW folder. NOW measures ToolServer and the compiler before qualifying the toolchain. Projects pin that measured identity; neither a project nor an agent can register an arbitrary guest path.

Common tasks¶

Create or revise a host-owned classic project.
Register and inspect an MPW installation on the PowerPC Mac.
Stage and verify an inactive candidate before building it.
Build through the closed compile, link, Rez, copy, stage, and metadata action vocabulary.
Launch the exact measured product after a successful build.
Optionally open the project in CodeKitten for a person to inspect and edit.

Reading a guest project requires Read Only agent access. Staging, building, promotion, launch, and discard require Full access. Generic Files operations cannot enter NOW's private candidate directories. Build success never implies launch, and host workspace edits never imply promotion to the active guest tree.

Failure states¶

NOW refuses stale project revisions, stale file digests, path traversal, missing classic file identity, mismatched toolchains, changed active guest projects, unsealed candidates, product digest changes, and a launched process that does not match the measured product. Candidate and job identifiers remain the handles for status, cancellation, recovery, and cleanup.

Current limitations¶

The host-home MPW build/run/dialog lane is metal-verified on a PowerBook 1400c. Guest-home import and promotion, typed test actions and receipts, CodeKitten's positive open receipt, coherent semantic settlement, and the authenticated HTTP MCP loop are tested or emulator-verified but have not been repeated together on metal. A redistributable starter pack cannot include MPW until its payload license and provenance are settled. Recovery also needs a clearer policy for candidate receipts retained from an ended guest session, and the guest Files surface does not yet expose Finder flags when a logical-file digest must be diagnosed.

For developers¶

See Projects and Development architecture, the detailed engineering record, and the hardening plan.