NEXT temporary contract 3.18 — Future Linux distribution shape and readiness boundary
01Temporary normative staging unit. Its body is the accepted architecture from refined plan revision 4, section 3.18. Before production code cites this law, promote the relevant clauses into permanent specifications. This file is consumed only after semantic coverage, implemented behavior and retained evidence are accepted. The task/retirement checker cannot perform semantic acceptance.
02Target result: an Arch-derived system definition with captured repository epoch, base userspace, kernel/initramfs/bootloader provider contracts, users/groups, filesystem/mount layout, networking, services and agent environments. Vibe is the uniform human/machine entry for composition, inspection, prepared changes and evidence. Arch backend may initially retain package ownership; Vibe supplies extra tools, boot knowledge, client adapters and service interfaces. Full backend replacement requires separate package format/DB/signature/hook/version/upgrade/recovery compatibility acceptance, not renaming a command.
03M-14 reserves typed account/service/config/mount/boot resources and executor capabilities without claiming implemented OS support. M-15 concretely installs tools, populates Linux userspace, composes profiles and builds images; it must not require a perpetual running Vibe daemon. Bootstrap accepts a captured Vibe binary/distribution plus backend/base prerequisites; a minimal recovery path reads manifest/lock/inventory even if ordinary profile activation fails. Self-update protects the manager currently needed to recover, rather than overwriting its running recovery chain.
04Future VMware gate covers firmware/bootloader/kernel/init, devices/network startup, login/users, reboot, interrupted full-system upgrades, rescue/rollback and writable state migrations. Docker proves userspace and image behavior only; it shares the Linux executor kernel, so no kernel/bootability claim follows (E41). No bootable ISO, disk installer, live root replacement, VMware setup or new distro release is implemented in this design pass or required to close M-15.