Phase – Open, Verifiable Compute

Phase is an open protocol for distributed computation: workloads are discovered, executed, and verified across a global network of independent nodes. Plasm is the local runtime engine that turns any computer into a node in the network. Phase Boot enables any machine to boot from the network and join the compute mesh.

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What's Working Today

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         PHASE ECOSYSTEM                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                          │
│   ┌─────────────┐      DHT/mDNS       ┌─────────────┐                   │
│   │ Phase Boot  │ ◄──────────────────► │  Provider   │                   │
│   │  (Client)   │     Discovery        │  (plasmd)   │                   │
│   └──────┬──────┘                      └──────┬──────┘                   │
│          │                                    │                          │
│          │  Fetch kernel, initramfs           │  Serve boot artifacts    │
│          │  Verify signatures                 │  Sign manifests          │
│          │  kexec into target                 │  Advertise to DHT        │
│          ▼                                    ▼                          │
│   ┌─────────────┐                      ┌─────────────┐                   │
│   │   Running   │ ◄──────────────────► │    WASM     │                   │
│   │   System    │     Job Execution    │   Runtime   │                   │
│   └─────────────┘                      └─────────────┘                   │
│                                                                          │
│   Self-Hosting Loop: Boot → Serve → Others boot from you                │
│                                                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Releases Complete

Release	Status	Description
Phase Open MVP	✅ Complete	WASM execution, peer discovery, signed receipts
Phase Boot	✅ Complete	Bootable USB/VM, DHT discovery, kexec handoff
Netboot Provider	✅ Complete	HTTP artifact server, manifest signing, DHT advertisement

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Quick Start

Run a Boot Artifact Provider

# Build plasmd
cd daemon
cargo build --release

# Create artifacts directory
mkdir -p ~/boot-artifacts/stable/arm64
cp /path/to/kernel ~/boot-artifacts/stable/arm64/
cp /path/to/initramfs ~/boot-artifacts/stable/arm64/

# Start provider
./target/release/plasmd serve --artifacts ~/boot-artifacts

# Output:
# ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
# ║           Phase Boot Provider                ║
# ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════╣
# ║ HTTP:     http://0.0.0.0:8080                ║
# ║ Channel:  stable                             ║
# ║ Arch:     arm64                              ║
# ║ DHT:      enabled                            ║
# ║ mDNS:     enabled                            ║
# ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Check Provider Status

# View provider status
./target/release/plasmd provider status

# List available artifacts
./target/release/plasmd provider list

# Fetch manifest
curl http://localhost:8080/manifest.json | jq

Execute a WASM Job

# Run a WASM workload locally
./target/release/plasmd run examples/hello.wasm

# Execute with signed receipt
./target/release/plasmd execute-job --wasm examples/hello.wasm

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Client SDKs (PHP, etc.)         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│       Phase Protocol (Manifests)        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      libp2p (DHT, QUIC, Noise)          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      Plasm Runtime (Rust Daemon)        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│       WASM Runtime (wasmtime)           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Layer	Component	Description
Protocol	Phase	Job manifests, receipts, peer discovery, encrypted transport
Runtime	Plasm	Rust daemon executing WASM workloads with resource limits
Discovery	libp2p	Kademlia DHT for internet-wide discovery, mDNS for LAN
Security	Ed25519	Signed manifests and receipts, SHA256 artifact verification
Boot	Phase Boot	Network boot with kexec, overlayfs, mode-based behavior

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Components

Plasm Daemon (daemon/)

The core runtime engine:

• WASM Execution: Wasmtime runtime with memory/CPU limits
• Peer Discovery: Kademlia DHT + mDNS for node discovery
• Job Protocol: Offer/Accept handshake, signed receipts
• Boot Provider: HTTP server for boot artifacts

# CLI Commands
plasmd start              # Start P2P daemon
plasmd run <wasm>         # Execute WASM locally
plasmd serve              # Start boot artifact provider
plasmd provider status    # Query provider status
plasmd provider list      # List artifacts

Phase Boot (boot/)

Network boot system:

• Boot Stub: Minimal initramfs with discovery tools
• Discovery: phase-discover binary for DHT/mDNS
• Verification: phase-verify for Ed25519 signatures
• Fetch: phase-fetch for content-addressed downloads
• kexec: Fast kernel switch without firmware

# Boot modes (via kernel cmdline)
phase.mode=internet    # Full network, DHT discovery
phase.mode=local       # LAN only, mDNS discovery
phase.mode=private     # Ephemeral identity, no writes

Provider Module (daemon/src/provider/)

HTTP-based boot artifact serving:

Endpoint	Description
GET /	Provider info
GET /health	Health check (200/503)
GET /status	Detailed status with metrics
GET /manifest.json	Signed boot manifest
GET /:channel/:arch/:artifact	Download artifact (Range supported)

PHP Client SDK (php-sdk/)

$plasm = new Plasm\Client();
$jobId = $plasm->submit('hello.wasm', ['cpu' => 1]);
$result = $plasm->result($jobId);
echo $result->output;  // "dlroW ,olleH"

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Installation

From Source (Recommended)

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/phasebased/phase.git
cd phase

# Install Rust
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Build daemon
cd daemon
cargo build --release

# Binary at: target/release/plasmd

Debian Package

# Install cargo-deb
cargo install cargo-deb

# Build package
cd daemon
cargo deb

# Install
sudo dpkg -i target/debian/plasm_0.1.0_amd64.deb

# Start service
sudo systemctl start plasmd
sudo systemctl enable plasmd

PHP SDK

cd php-sdk
composer install

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Configuration

Provider Configuration

# Start with options
plasmd serve \
  --artifacts /var/lib/plasm/boot-artifacts \
  --channel stable \
  --arch arm64 \
  --port 8080 \
  --no-dht      # Disable DHT (LAN only)

Artifact Directory Structure

/var/lib/plasm/boot-artifacts/
├── stable/
│   ├── arm64/
│   │   ├── kernel
│   │   ├── initramfs
│   │   └── rootfs (optional)
│   └── x86_64/
│       └── ...
└── testing/
    └── ...

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Security Model

• Signed Manifests: Ed25519 signatures over boot manifests
• Content Verification: SHA256 hashes for all artifacts
• Sandboxed Execution: WASM with no host access by default
• Encrypted Transport: Noise protocol over QUIC
• Signed Receipts: Cryptographic proof of execution

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Documentation

Document	Location
Provider Quickstart	daemon/docs/provider-quickstart.md
Architecture	daemon/docs/architecture.md
API Reference	daemon/docs/api-reference.md
Troubleshooting	daemon/docs/troubleshooting.md
Security	daemon/docs/security.md
Boot Architecture	boot/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
Boot Quickstart	boot/docs/QUICKSTART-*.md

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Roadmap

Completed

• Local WASM execution with wasmtime
• Peer discovery via Kademlia DHT
• Remote execution with signed receipts
• Debian packaging
• Phase Boot (USB/VM boot system)
• Netboot Provider (HTTP artifact server)
• Self-hosting loop

In Progress

• Full mDNS service advertisement
• Multi-provider load balancing
• Production key management

Future

• Secure Boot signing chain
• Distributed job streams
• Zero-knowledge execution proofs
• Swift/TypeScript/Python SDKs
• PhaseBased commercial layer

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Project Structure

phase/
├── daemon/                 # Plasm daemon (Rust)
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── main.rs         # CLI entry point
│   │   ├── lib.rs          # Library exports
│   │   ├── provider/       # Boot provider module
│   │   ├── network/        # P2P networking
│   │   └── wasm/           # WASM runtime
│   ├── docs/               # Provider documentation
│   └── Cargo.toml
├── boot/                   # Phase Boot system
│   ├── Makefile            # Build orchestration
│   ├── initramfs/          # Init scripts
│   └── docs/               # Boot documentation
├── php-sdk/                # PHP client SDK
├── examples/               # Example WASM jobs
├── memory-bank/            # Project documentation
│   ├── releases/           # Release plans
│   │   ├── boot/           # Phase Boot release
│   │   └── netboot/        # Netboot Provider release
│   └── tasks/              # Task documentation
└── README.md

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Contributing

1. Read memory-bank/systemPatterns.md for architectural patterns
2. Follow the library + binary pattern for Rust code
3. Run cargo test before submitting changes
4. Update documentation for new features

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License

Apache 2.0 - 2025 PhaseBased

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Stats

• Tests: 80 passing
• Daemon Code: ~5,000 lines Rust
• Boot Code: ~15,000 lines (scripts, configs, docs)
• Provider Module: 2,510 lines Rust
• Documentation: 3,000+ lines