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Zinc ✦

Zinc is the small memory and navigation layer for this stack.

It stores exact byte work, keeps package identity facts, and moves the current pointer for a target/request pair.

Circuitry confirms shaped YAML
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Zinc forms exact package request bytes
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Package software does the work
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Zinc stores result bytes as a fragment
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The head moves to that fragment

◌ What this wiki is for

This wiki is a boundary guide.

It explains what Zinc owns, what it does not own, and how the pieces fit together.

✦ Core idea

Zinc does not try to understand every kind of software.

It remembers the work that was done.

target + request + result

That is the whole point.

▣ Official terms

Term	Meaning
fragment	Exact byte work for a target, request, and result.
head	The current pointer for a target/request pair.
package	A directory with a manifest and its own files.
config	Opaque key/value facts Zinc stores for itself.
manifest	The package file Zinc reads to find paths inside the package.

⟡ Zinc-owned facts

packages(package, version, root, source_git, source_ref, source_path)
fragments(fragment, target, request, result, time)
heads(head, fragment)
config(key, value)

↯ Zinc does not own

• shell behavior
• provider behavior
• model behavior
• package internals
• package policy rules
• type systems
• lifecycle states
• JSON as a required output

Those belong to packages.

✧ What to read next

• Architecture
• Fragments and Heads
• Packages
• Executor
• URI Reference