PAG-001: Core Runtime Specification
PAG-001: Core Runtime Specification
Status: FINAL
Version: 1.0
Published: 2026-05-01
Category: CORE
Abstract
This document defines the core bare-metal runtime model for PAGI-Substrate: execution environment boundaries, resource accounting hooks, and interfaces that higher layers (MESH, COMPUTE) rely upon. It is the foundational normative specification for PAGI implementations.
1. Introduction
Decentralized infrastructure requires a precise, portable runtime that can be implemented on diverse hardware without mandating a single vendor stack. PAGI-Substrate provides that runtime. This specification establishes terminology, REQUIRED behaviors, and extension points.
2. Requirements and design goals
Implementations MUST:
- Expose a documented ABI between the host bare-metal environment and user-defined workloads where applicable.
- Support deterministic configuration inputs for conformance testing as defined in the conformance suite (see project
test-suites/).
Implementations SHOULD:
- Minimize privileged surface area exposed to untrusted workloads.
- Document platform-specific behavior where portability cannot be guaranteed.
3. Technical specification
(Normative details will expand in subsequent revisions: scheduler contracts, isolation primitives, attestation hook interfaces, and versioning rules.)
3.1 Definitions
- Runtime: The PAGI-Substrate bare-metal execution layer on a single machine.
- Workload: A scheduled unit of execution governed by COMPUTE and MESH policies once those specifications are referenced.
3.2 Versioning
Runtime releases MUST use semantic versioning for API-stable interfaces. Breaking changes require a major version bump and a successor PAG if normative text changes.
4. Implementation considerations
Reference implementation: see implementations/README.md for pagi-rs and compatibility listings.
5. Security and privacy
Runtime implementations MUST document trust boundaries and threat models relevant to attestation and workload isolation. A dedicated security specification will elaborate REQUIRED cryptography and hardware interfaces.
6. References
- Future: PAG-002 (MESH), PAG-003 (COMPUTE), security series.
7. Authors
See front matter. Additional contributors are acknowledged via Git history and release notes.