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GOALS: add G-058 [proposed] boot honours statically-linked runtime packages

- diagnosis from the punk91 tk-loading experiment (tclsfe-x64 + punk9win.vfs): plain tclsfe stub worker threads resolve static Thread 3.0.5 fine, but punkshell boot replaces package search paths wholesale and discards the runtime seeding - the repl code interp cannot find Thread ("failed to load punk::console"); punk902z unaffected only because its vfs bundles a thread dll
- fix shape: capture the static baseline (empty-filename info loaded entries + versions) before path replacement, seed fabricated interps/threads with 'load {} <pkg>' ifneeded scripts, and make punk::packagepreference resolve static-vs-bundled by a documented version-aware policy (punk91 loaded the OLDER bundled twapi 5.0.2 dll over the newer static Twapi)
- testing: un-gated unit tests against simulated baselines + kit-boot integration tests behind a capability-probed constraint (static-entries-incl-Thread kit present) - skips cleanly, extends to zig-era static runtimes (G-005)
- artifacts: verification runtimes (tclsfe-x64.exe at minimum) to be pinned in the punkbin artifact repo (win32-x86_64 + sha1sums.txt) so the constraint is satisfiable off this machine; .vfs folders already git-tracked
- detail file records probe evidence, the runtests-testinterp precedent (same bug class, directory flavour), the suspected quiet thread-over-builtin instance on punk902z, and the vfs/vfs::zip re-diagnosis follow-up

Assisted-by: harness=claude; primary-model=claude-fable-5; api-location=anthropic.com
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Julian Noble 5 days ago
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  1. 6
      GOALS.md
  2. 95
      goals/G-058-static-runtime-packages.md

6
GOALS.md

@ -391,3 +391,9 @@ Scope: src/make.tcl (kit/zipkit wrap steps), src/runtime/punk1.ico (project defa
Detail: goals/G-057-kit-icon-embedding.md
Goal: Windows kit/zipkit builds produce executables carrying an embedded icon chosen at build time - defaulting to the project icon src/runtime/punk1.ico, overridable per kit by its .vfs folder - by replacing the icon resources in the built executable using the twapi-based mechanism demonstrated in tcl-sfe (TEMP_REFERENCE/tcl-sfe, by twapi author and Tcl core member Ashok P. Nadkarni): RT_ICON/RT_GROUP_ICON replacement via twapi resource-update APIs, applied so the appended vfs payload stays intact (icon the stub before appending, or sfe-style split/update/reattach).
Acceptance: a Windows `make.tcl project` build produces kit executables whose embedded icon resources are the project default punk1.ico, and a kit whose .vfs supplies an override icon gets that icon instead (verified by resource inspection, e.g twapi::extract_resources, not just Explorer eyeballing); the icon-replaced executables still boot to a working punk shell reading their vfs payload for the kit types we build (kit, zip, zipcat per mapvfs.config); runtimes under src/runtime are never modified - replacement applies to the built copies only; twapi unavailable or non-Windows platform skips the icon step with a notice and the build otherwise completes unchanged; rebuilds are idempotent (re-wrapping an already-iconed build copy converges, no resource accumulation); the override convention (filename/location in the kit's custom .vfs folder vs a mapvfs.config element) and the stub-vs-split ordering decision are recorded in the detail file with the tcl-sfe attribution.
### G-058 [proposed] Boot honours statically-linked runtime packages (static baseline seeding + packagepreference static-awareness)
Scope: src/vfs/_config/punk_main.tcl (boot auto_path/tm path filtering), src/modules/punk/packagepreference-999999.0a1.0.tm, src/modules/punk/repl-999999.0a1.0.tm + src/modules/punk/repl/codethread-999999.0a1.0.tm (code interp / codethread bootstrap), src/modules/shellthread-999999.0a1.0.tm (punkshell-created worker threads) as applicable, src/tests/ (un-gated unit tests + constraint-gated shell/kit integration tests), punkbin artifact repo (separate git repo, local checkout c:/repo/jn/punkbin - pinned runtime additions)
Detail: goals/G-058-static-runtime-packages.md
Goal: punkshell running on a runtime with statically-linked/builtin packages (tclsfe-x64: Thread/twapi/sqlite3/tdbc; punkbin runtimes' builtin Thread/tcllibc/vfs/vlerq; the expected shape of future zig-built static runtimes, G-005) keeps those packages resolvable in every interp and thread punkshell fabricates: boot captures the static baseline (info loaded entries with empty filename, plus their provided versions) before replacing package search paths, code interps and punkshell-created threads are seeded with ifneeded scripts mapping each static package to 'load {} <pkg>', and punk::packagepreference resolves static-vs-bundled by a documented version-aware policy instead of blindly loading a bundled dll over an already-provided static package.
Acceptance: a punk91-style kit (tclsfe-x64 + punk9win.vfs, no thread dll in the vfs) boots to a working repl with no "can't find package Thread" - punk::console loads in the code interp, and package require Thread succeeds there and in a punkshell-created worker thread, resolving to the static version; in the same kit, twapi resolves per the documented policy (no repeat of the observed static-Twapi-masked-by-older-vfs-twapi-5.0.2 double load; a genuinely newer bundled copy remains reachable by that policy); dll-based kits (punk902z) boot and pass their existing shell test baseline unchanged, as does a plain tclsh dev launch; the seeding mechanism is generic - driven by the captured baseline, no runtime-specific package naming - and the boot-time static baseline is introspectable at the repl; the seeding/preference logic is covered by un-gated unit tests against simulated baselines (runnable under plain tclsh), while kit-boot integration tests are gated behind a capability-probed tcltest constraint (a built kit whose baseline shows static entries including Thread) that skips cleanly when no such kit is present; the runtimes used for verification (tclsfe-x64.exe at minimum) are added to the punkbin artifact repository under win32-x86_64 with sha1sums.txt updated, so the constraint is satisfiable on other machines via the existing runtime-retrieval path; the punk91 code-interp vfs/vfs::zip load failure is re-diagnosed after the fix and either resolved or recorded as a distinct issue/candidate goal.

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goals/G-058-static-runtime-packages.md

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# G-058 Boot honours statically-linked runtime packages (static baseline seeding + packagepreference static-awareness)
Status: proposed
Scope: src/vfs/_config/punk_main.tcl (boot auto_path/tm path filtering), src/modules/punk/packagepreference-999999.0a1.0.tm, src/modules/punk/repl-999999.0a1.0.tm + src/modules/punk/repl/codethread-999999.0a1.0.tm (code interp / codethread bootstrap), src/modules/shellthread-999999.0a1.0.tm (punkshell-created worker threads) as applicable, src/tests/ (un-gated unit tests + constraint-gated shell/kit integration tests), punkbin artifact repo (separate git repo, local checkout c:/repo/jn/punkbin - pinned runtime additions)
Acceptance: see GOALS.md index entry (canonical).
## Context
Discovered 2026-07-10 wrapping punk9win.vfs onto the tclsfe-x64.exe runtime
(punk91, part of the tk-loading experiment). tclsfe (by twapi author and Tcl core
member Ashok P. Nadkarni; TEMP_REFERENCE/tcl-sfe) statically links Thread, twapi,
sqlite3 and tdbc::odbc into a Tcl 9.1b0 stub. The punk91 kit's main interp works,
but the repl's code interp fails at boot:
repl code interp FAILED to load vfs,vfs::zip
failed to load punk::console - can't find package Thread
### Probe evidence (2026-07-10)
- Plain tclsfe-x64 stub: static registrations visible as empty-filename entries in
info loaded ({} Thread, {} Twapi, {} Tdbcodbc, {} Tdbc, {} Sqlite3, {} Dde);
`package require Thread` resolves 3.0.5 via a chained ifneeded
(`package require -exact thread 3.0.5`); a fresh thread::create WORKER resolves
Thread 3.0.5 fine and tsv round-trips. The stub seeds its own thread interps
correctly (its _sfeinit.tcl mechanism initializes primary/secondary/thread
interps) - the runtime is not the problem.
- punk91 (same stub + punk9win.vfs): main interp shows the static baseline, but
the code interp cannot `package require Thread`. punkshell's boot replaces
auto_path/module paths wholesale (punk_main.tcl filtering) and overloads
`package` (punk::packagepreference), discarding the runtime's seeding; the
interps/threads punkshell fabricates get punkshell-controlled paths only, so
nothing maps Thread -> `load {} Thread` even though that load is available.
- punk902z never hits this: its vfs bundles lib_tcl9/thread3.0.4/tcl9thread304.dll
so punkshell's own paths satisfy the require.
- Shadowing variant: punk91's main interp showed BOTH {} Twapi (static, newer)
and //zipfs:/app/lib_tcl9/twapi5.0.2/...dll Twapi loaded - the bundled OLDER
twapi loaded over the newer static one. Suspected pre-existing instance: the
punkbin runtime README declares builtin Thread/tcllibc/vfs/vlerq, yet punk902z
loads thread3.0.4 from the punk vfs (//zipfs:/app/...) - the bundled-over-
provided pattern likely occurs quietly on the recommended runtime too.
### Precedent (same bug class)
src/tests/runtests.tcl testinterp previously replaced auto_path wholesale and
lost kit-internal package trees; fixed by re-adding the running kit's internal
lib/lib_tcl<N> dirs (see src/tests/AGENTS.md). Static packages are the flavour
with NO directory to re-add - ifneeded seeding is required instead.
## Approach
1. Capture-before-replace: at boot, before punk_main.tcl filters package search
paths, record the static baseline - [info loaded] entries with empty filename
plus their provided versions (package present in the pristine interp). Keep it
introspectable at the repl (diagnostics for future static runtimes).
2. Seed fabricated interps/threads: codethread bootstrap, shellthread workers and
any punkshell-created child interps get
`package ifneeded $pkg $ver [list load {} $pkg]` for each baseline entry.
Generic by construction - driven by the captured baseline, no runtime-specific
package naming (zig-built static runtimes, G-005, inherit it).
3. packagepreference static-awareness: static-vs-bundled resolved by a documented
version-aware policy (e.g latest-version-wins, static preferred on ties -
exact rule recorded here when settled) instead of loading whatever the vfs
paths find over an already-provided static package.
4. Re-diagnose the punk91 code-interp vfs/vfs::zip load failure after the Thread
fix (may be cascade, may be an independent 9.1b0/dll issue) - resolve or
record as a distinct issue/candidate goal.
## Testing and artifacts
- Un-gated unit tests: the seeding generator and preference policy tested against
SIMULATED baselines ({{} Thread} {{} Twapi} + versions; static/bundled version
pairs) under plain tclsh in the normal suite - the logic has coverage on every
machine.
- Constraint-gated integration tests: boot the real static kit and probe the code
interp + a worker thread. The tcltest constraint is CAPABILITY-probed (a built
kit whose baseline shows static entries including Thread), not
filename-hardcoded - skips cleanly when absent, extends automatically to
zig-era static runtimes.
- Artifact pinning: bin/runtime/ binaries are not git-tracked and tclsfe-x64.exe
is a moving upstream beta (github.com/apnadkarni/tcl-sfe releases). Add the
verification runtimes (tclsfe-x64.exe at minimum) to the punkbin artifact repo
(local checkout c:/repo/jn/punkbin, per-platform dirs, sha1sums.txt checksums)
under win32-x86_64 so the integration constraint is satisfiable on other
machines via the existing runtime-retrieval path (bin/runtime.cmd; G-006
direction). The .vfs side needs no preservation work - src/vfs/*.vfs is
git-tracked.
## Notes
- tclsfe's _sfeinit.tcl hook is a runtime-specific customization channel; it is
deliberately NOT the fix - it cannot help interps punkshell fabricates with its
own paths, and the punkshell-side mechanism must stay runtime-agnostic.
- Related: [[G-005]] (zig static runtimes make this foundational), [[G-006]]
(artifact retrieval), the tk-loading experiment that surfaced it (punk91 =
tclsfe-x64 + punk9win.vfs per src/runtime/mapvfs.config).
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