libinit

Overview ¶

Command libinit is PID 1 of a GoNIX Library image: a kernel, this init and one or more Go programs, with no userland (see docs/library-images.md).

It does what the programs cannot do for themselves — mount the kernel filesystems, bring up the network, mount the data disk, reap orphans — then starts the programs listed in the image's manifest and supervises them. When none is left running and none will be restarted, it powers the machine off, so a program that does a job and exits makes a VM that does a job and stops.

A debug image (gonix pack --debug) also carries coreutils: libinit installs the applets, keeps a shell on the console and runs the SSH server, and does not power off when the programs finish.