Commands

Commands

XAIOS provides a bounded FreeBSD-style command surface for authenticated local and SSH PTY sessions. This page lists session syntax and service or kernel operations. Every dedicated executable, including file, text, archive, and observability utilities, is listed in Applications.

Current ownership

Current owner	Commands or responsibility	Fault boundary
Kernel session layer	cd, pwd, help, exit, quit, logout, aliases, redirection, and pipelines	Maintains per-session state and command composition.
Independent utility ELFs	File, text, archive, and observability tools documented in [[Applications	Applications]]
/bin/sshd userspace service	Outbound ssh and scp protocol clients and inbound SSH/SFTP transport	A fault cannot panic the kernel, but can interrupt the SSH service.
Kernel operations layer	status, power, service, process, network, clock, recovery, update, configuration, and support commands	Capability checks and privileged mechanisms remain authoritative in the kernel.

Session navigation and composition

Command	Supported core behavior
pwd	Print the session working directory.
cd [DIR]	Change directory; no argument selects /; relative, absolute, . and .. paths are normalized.
l, la, ll	Session aliases that dispatch the standalone /bin/ls application.
echo [TEXT...]	Print text. > and >> redirect output to a file.
`COMMAND	COMMAND`
status	Render the bounded administrative status view; detailed operations use the xaiosctl application family.

Outbound network clients

Command	Supported core behavior
ssh [-p PORT] user@host [command]	IPv4/DNS-A SSH client with password authentication, Ed25519 host-key TOFU, persistent known-host verification, PTY or one command.
scp [-r] [-P PORT] SOURCE DESTINATION	Copy files or bounded directory trees between XAIOS and compatible XAIOS, FreeBSD, or OpenSSH servers. Exactly one endpoint may be remote.

The clients do not implement public-key client authentication, IPv6 active opens, forwarding, agents, jump hosts, or hybrid post-quantum key exchange. They remain modules of the persistent SSH service because the current process ABI has synchronous launch but no asynchronous child-channel IPC. Splitting them before that transport exists would break password prompting, interactive PTY forwarding, and concurrent inbound service. This is tracked only on Project Tracker.

Operations and diagnostics

Command	Supported core behavior
shutdown / reboot	Persist lifecycle intent, flush logs and block devices, then power off or reset through the architecture backend.
power status	Show running/quiescing and boot-ready state.
`service list	status
kill PID	Terminate and reclaim a non-running transient process; PID 1/2 and the current process are protected.
ifconfig	Show the active VirtIO interface, IPv4 address, netmask, MTU, and MAC.
route, arp, ndp, netstat	Show bounded routing, neighbor, packet, flow, drop, and resolver state.
ping IP, ping status	Start a validated asynchronous ICMP echo and inspect its result/RTT.
nslookup NAME	Start or read an asynchronous DNS A-record lookup.
date, date -s EPOCH	Show epoch/source or set a validated UTC epoch in seconds.
ntp sync [IP], ntp status	Start a bounded SNTP exchange or inspect source, attempts, stratum, RTT, timeout, and error state.
limits	Show normal/warning/critical pressure plus memory, heap, process, filesystem, and CPU capacity.
`recovery status	enter
`update status	rollback`
`config export	import PATH`
support	Emit a redacted build/lifecycle/clock/resource/network/log bundle suitable for host-side capture.

Power, lifecycle, and recovery details are in Operations and Recovery.

Session control and errors

help prints the available surface. exit, quit, and logout end the session. Unknown commands return command not found; invalid options, missing paths, unsupported archive features, authentication failures, and application exit failures return a nonzero status with command-specific text. Per-session working directories are isolated across concurrent SSH connections.

All executable utilities, diagnostics, and interactive terminal applications are intentionally documented on Applications, not duplicated here. Interoperability coverage is in Testing XAIOS.