Signals over IPC, one-shot timers, and the service harness (M17.4)

Signals are statements delivered as coalescing notifications to the
endpoint a process nominates with signal_bind — never a hijacked stack,
never a question (liveness is the zero-length ping the harness answers).
process_signal is supervisor-or-self gated, like kill; unbound targets
accumulate a pending mask delivered on bind. timer_bind is the missing
timed wait: a one-shot deadline landing in the same replyWait as
everything else — what stop(), hello deadlines, and restart backoff are
built from. runtime.service.run folds requests, signals, and
notifications into callbacks; the VFS conversion deletes its hand-rolled
loop and gains the whole lifecycle contract. The signals scenario drives
ping, reload, terminate->exited, the timer, and the deaf-child
deadline->killed path from ring 3. docs/process-lifecycle.md increments
1-4 are now as-built.

docs/ipc.md

@@ -103,3 +103,22 @@ This is what makes a user-space driver possible at all, and it's the subject of
   the oldest (discrete messages, not a coalescing level like the notification ring).
 - **A bounded reply.** `MSG_MAX` is 256 bytes and the copy runs under the big kernel
   lock; a bulk transfer wants shared pages, not a copy.
+
+## Lifecycle conventions over IPC (M17)
+
+Three conventions from [process-lifecycle.md](process-lifecycle.md) ride the
+notification mechanism:
+
+- **Signals** arrive as notifications on the endpoint a process nominated with
+  `signal_bind` (`runtime.process.bindSignals`): badge = the signal bit plus the
+  coalesced pending mask (`runtime.process.signalsFrom` decodes). Statements,
+  never questions; no payload, no reply.
+- **One-shot timers** (`timer_bind`, `runtime.system.timerOnce`) land as a
+  timer-bit notification — the timed wait: a service arms a deadline and keeps
+  serving, instead of blocking in sleep.
+- **The universal ping**: a **zero-length request is the liveness probe**,
+  answered with a zero-length reply by the service harness itself
+  (`runtime.service.run`). No protocol's requests start at length zero, so the
+  encoding cannot collide, and a wedged service simply fails to answer — which
+  is the diagnosis. Deep health ("can I reach my hardware?") stays a per-service
+  protocol message.

docs/m17-m18-plan.md

@@ -39,7 +39,11 @@ only when its definition of green holds.
       bounded ref-counted table, publish on every death;
       `runtime.process.subscribeExits`; VFS handles carry owners and are swept on
       the owner's death; `vfs-client-death` test; suite 50/50)
-- [ ] **M17.4** — signals, timer notifications, `runtime.process`, the service harness
+- [x] **M17.4** — signals, timer notifications, `runtime.process`, the service
+      harness (signal_bind/process_signal + coalescing pending mask; timer_bind
+      on the tick; bindSignals/signalsFrom/sendSignal/stop + timerOnce;
+      runtime.service.run with the zero-length ping; VFS converted; `signals`
+      scenario; suite 51/51)
 - [ ] **merge** `feat/process-lifecycle` → main, push
 - [ ] **M18.1** — device-manager protocol: hello + restart policy (branch `feat/device-manager`)
 - [ ] **merge** `feat/device-manager` → main, push

docs/process-lifecycle.md

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Process lifecycle: signals over IPC
 
-**Status: design.** The primitives underneath are built ([process-management.md](process-management.md):
+**Status: increments 1–4 built** (2026-07-12): claim release on death, exit
+reasons, published exit events, and signals + one-shot timers + the service
+harness are all in — the interface below is as-built. The primitives underneath
+predate this design ([process-management.md](process-management.md):
 spawn, the supervision link, kill, child-exit notifications); this document designs
 the layer above them — the standard vocabulary a danos process speaks about its own
 life, and the stable `runtime.process` interface that carries it. Nothing here is

library/runtime/ipc.zig

@@ -94,6 +94,15 @@ pub fn send(h: Handle, message: []const u8) bool {
 /// GSI. See `isNotification`.
 pub const notify_badge_bit: u64 = abi.notify_badge_bit;
 
+/// Set alongside `notify_badge_bit` when the notification is a **signal** — the
+/// lifecycle vocabulary of docs/process-lifecycle.md, delivered to the endpoint
+/// nominated with `process.bindSignals`. Decode with `process.signalsFrom`.
+pub const notify_signal_bit: u64 = abi.notify_signal_bit;
+
+/// Set alongside `notify_badge_bit` when the notification is a **one-shot timer**
+/// landing (`system.timerOnce`).
+pub const notify_timer_bit: u64 = abi.notify_timer_bit;
+
 /// Set alongside `notify_badge_bit` when the notification is a **child-exit
 /// notice** — a process this one spawned (with an exit endpoint) has ended —
 /// rather than a device interrupt. The low bits carry the child's process id.
@@ -133,6 +142,17 @@ pub const Received = struct {
     }
 
     /// The task id of whoever posted a buffered message, meaningful only when
+    /// Whether this arrival is a signal notification — decode the set with
+    /// `process.signalsFrom(badge)`.
+    pub fn isSignal(self: Received) bool {
+        return self.isNotification() and self.badge & notify_signal_bit != 0;
+    }
+
+    /// Whether this arrival is a one-shot timer landing (`system.timerOnce`).
+    pub fn isTimer(self: Received) bool {
+        return self.isNotification() and self.badge & notify_timer_bit != 0;
+    }
+
     /// `isMessage`. (The badge's low bits, with the three high marker bits masked off.)
     pub fn senderTaskId(self: Received) u32 {
         return @intCast(self.badge & ~(notify_badge_bit | notify_exit_bit | notify_message_bit));

library/runtime/process.zig

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 const std = @import("std");
 const abi = @import("abi");
 const sc = @import("system-call.zig");
+const ipc = @import("ipc.zig");
+const system = @import("system.zig");
 
 /// Everything a program receives at entry. Passed to
 /// `pub fn main(init: runtime.process.Init)`; programs that need nothing keep
@@ -67,6 +69,63 @@ pub fn exitReason(id: u32) ?ExitReason {
     return @enumFromInt(r);
 }
 
+/// The signal vocabulary (docs/process-lifecycle.md): POSIX's concepts, danos's
+/// names, message delivery. A signal is a one-way coalescing statement — never a
+/// question (liveness is the zero-length ping call) and never kill (that is
+/// `system.kill`, unhandleable by definition).
+pub const Signal = abi.Signal;
+
+/// The coalesced set of signals one notification delivered: two pending
+/// terminates arrive as one. Decode a received badge with `signalsFrom`.
+pub const SignalSet = struct {
+    pending: u32,
+
+    pub fn has(set: SignalSet, signal: Signal) bool {
+        return set.pending & (@as(u32, 1) << @intFromEnum(signal)) != 0;
+    }
+};
+
+/// Nominate `endpoint` as this process's signal endpoint. Signals posted while
+/// unbound have pended; they are delivered immediately on bind, coalesced.
+pub fn bindSignals(endpoint: usize) bool {
+    return sc.systemCall1(.signal_bind, endpoint) == 0;
+}
+
+/// Decode a received badge into the signals it delivered, or null if it is not
+/// a signal notification.
+pub fn signalsFrom(badge: u64) ?SignalSet {
+    if (badge & abi.notify_badge_bit == 0 or badge & abi.notify_signal_bit == 0) return null;
+    return .{ .pending = @truncate(badge & ~(abi.notify_badge_bit | abi.notify_signal_bit)) };
+}
+
+/// Post `signal` to child `id` (or to yourself). Supervisor-gated, like kill;
+/// non-blocking, always — a statement, not a conversation.
+pub fn sendSignal(id: u32, signal: Signal) bool {
+    return sc.systemCall2(.process_signal, id, @intFromEnum(signal)) == 0;
+}
+
+/// The standard stop sequence (docs/process-lifecycle.md): terminate, wait up to
+/// `deadline_ms` for the exit notification on `exit_endpoint` (the endpoint the
+/// child was spawned with), then kill. Any *other* notifications arriving on
+/// that endpoint while stopping are consumed and dropped — a supervisor with
+/// concurrent traffic implements the same sequence inside its own event loop
+/// (arm `system.timerOnce`, keep serving) instead of calling this.
+pub fn stop(id: u32, deadline_ms: u64, exit_endpoint: usize) void {
+    _ = sendSignal(id, .terminate);
+    _ = system.timerOnce(exit_endpoint, deadline_ms);
+    var receive: [8]u8 = undefined;
+    while (true) {
+        const got = ipc.replyWait(exit_endpoint, &.{}, &receive, null);
+        if (got.isChildExit() and got.childProcessId() == id) return;
+        if (got.isTimer()) break; // the deadline passed first — escalate
+    }
+    _ = system.kill(id);
+    while (true) {
+        const got = ipc.replyWait(exit_endpoint, &.{}, &receive, null);
+        if (got.isChildExit() and got.childProcessId() == id) return;
+    }
+}
+
 /// Subscribe `endpoint` to published exit events: every process death posts an
 /// asynchronous notification with the same badge encoding as a supervisor's exit
 /// notice (decode with `ipc.Received.isChildExit`/`childProcessId`). For stateful

library/runtime/runtime.zig

@@ -35,5 +35,9 @@ pub const panic = start.panic;
 /// Process entry types: the `Init` handed to `main`, and its `Arguments`.
 pub const process = @import("process.zig");
 
+/// The service harness: one replyWait loop folding requests, signals, and
+/// notifications into callbacks (docs/process-lifecycle.md).
+pub const service = @import("service.zig");
+
 /// The heap as a `std.mem.Allocator`, for Zig `std` containers in user code.
 pub const allocator = heap.allocator;

library/runtime/service.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+//! The service harness (docs/process-lifecycle.md): one replyWait loop that
+//! folds protocol requests, signals, and subscribed notifications into
+//! callbacks — so the lifecycle contract ("answers ping, exits on terminate")
+//! is satisfied by construction and a service author writes domain logic only.
+//! Nothing is asynchronous inside the process: a callback runs at a point the
+//! loop chose, never on a hijacked stack — the whole reason signals are
+//! messages.
+//!
+//! The liveness probe: a **zero-length request is the universal ping**, answered
+//! with a zero-length reply by the harness itself. No protocol's requests start
+//! at length zero, so the encoding cannot collide, and there is nothing for a
+//! service author to implement — a wedged service simply fails to answer, which
+//! is the diagnosis (see docs/ipc.md).
+
+const abi = @import("abi");
+const ipc = @import("ipc.zig");
+const process = @import("process.zig");
+
+pub const Callbacks = struct {
+    /// Called once with the service's endpoint before the loop starts — the
+    /// place to subscribe to exit events, bind IRQs, or announce readiness.
+    /// Return false to abort startup (the process exits).
+    init: ?*const fn (endpoint: ipc.Handle) bool = null,
+    /// One protocol request from `sender` (a task id): write the reply into
+    /// `reply`, return its length. The zero-length ping never reaches this.
+    on_message: *const fn (message: []const u8, reply: []u8, sender: u32) usize,
+    /// A notification that is not a signal — a subscribed exit event, a bound
+    /// IRQ, a timer landing. The raw badge; decode with the ipc helpers.
+    on_notification: ?*const fn (badge: u64) void = null,
+    /// The reload signal. Default: ignored.
+    on_reload: ?*const fn () void = null,
+    /// The terminate signal, called before the loop returns. The clean exit is
+    /// the return itself — never put *necessary* work here (iron rule 1: a kill
+    /// arrives with no warning; this is for graceful extras only).
+    on_terminate: ?*const fn () void = null,
+    /// Publish the endpoint under a well-known service id at startup.
+    service: ?abi.ServiceId = null,
+};
+
+/// Run the service: create and (optionally) register the endpoint, bind signals
+/// to it, call `init`, then serve until `terminate` arrives — at which point the
+/// loop returns and main's return is the clean exit the supervisor reads as
+/// `ExitReason.exited`. `maximum_message` sizes the receive and reply buffers
+/// (a service passes its protocol's message maximum).
+pub fn run(comptime maximum_message: usize, callbacks: Callbacks) void {
+    const endpoint = ipc.createIpcEndpoint() orelse return;
+    if (callbacks.service) |id| {
+        if (!ipc.register(id, endpoint)) return;
+    }
+    _ = process.bindSignals(endpoint);
+    if (callbacks.init) |initialise| {
+        if (!initialise(endpoint)) return;
+    }
+
+    var reply_buffer: [maximum_message]u8 = undefined;
+    var reply_len: usize = 0;
+    var receive: [maximum_message]u8 = undefined;
+    while (true) {
+        const got = ipc.replyWait(endpoint, reply_buffer[0..reply_len], &receive, null);
+        if (got.isNotification()) {
+            reply_len = 0; // nothing owed for a notification
+            if (process.signalsFrom(got.badge)) |signals| {
+                if (signals.has(.reload)) {
+                    if (callbacks.on_reload) |onReload| onReload();
+                }
+                if (signals.has(.terminate)) {
+                    if (callbacks.on_terminate) |onTerminate| onTerminate();
+                    return; // the loop's return IS the clean exit
+                }
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (callbacks.on_notification) |onNotification| onNotification(got.badge);
+            continue;
+        }
+        if (got.len == 0) {
+            reply_len = 0; // the universal ping: a zero-length reply, from the harness
+            continue;
+        }
+        reply_len = callbacks.on_message(receive[0..got.len], &reply_buffer, got.senderTaskId());
+    }
+}

library/runtime/system.zig

@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ pub fn sleep(ms: usize) void {
     _ = sc.systemCall1(.sleep, ms);
 }
 
+/// Arm a one-shot timer: after `ms` milliseconds the kernel posts a timer
+/// notification (`ipc.Received.isTimer`) to `endpoint`. The timed wait of
+/// docs/process-lifecycle.md — a service arms a deadline and keeps serving,
+/// instead of blocking in sleep; what stop-sequence escalation, hello deadlines,
+/// and restart backoff are built from.
+pub fn timerOnce(endpoint: usize, ms: u64) bool {
+    return sc.systemCall2(.timer_bind, endpoint, ms) == 0;
+}
+
 /// Monotonic nanoseconds since boot — a time source for timeouts and short delays. It
 /// only ever moves forward. This is *not* wall-clock time (no date, no timezone — that
 /// is a user-space service layered on top). Deadline pattern for a bounded poll loop:

system/abi.zig

@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ pub const SystemCall = enum(u64) {
     ipc_send = 26, // ipc_send(handle, message_ptr, message_len) -> 0/-errno: post a payload to an endpoint's async queue without blocking
     process_exit_reason = 27, // process_exit_reason(id) -> ExitReason/-errno: how a dead child ended (its supervisor only)
     process_subscribe = 28, // process_subscribe(endpoint) -> 0/-errno: subscribe to published exit events — every death posts a notification
+    signal_bind = 29, // signal_bind(endpoint) -> 0/-errno: nominate the endpoint this process's signals arrive on
+    process_signal = 30, // process_signal(id, signal) -> 0/-errno: post a signal to a child (or to yourself)
+    timer_bind = 31, // timer_bind(endpoint, ms) -> 0/-errno: one-shot timer — posts a notification when ms elapse
     _,
 };
 
@@ -112,6 +115,35 @@ pub const notify_exit_bit: u64 = 1 << 62;
 /// broadcasts where a rendezvous is the wrong shape (the input service is the first user).
 pub const notify_message_bit: u64 = 1 << 61;
 
+/// Set (alongside `notify_badge_bit`) in the badge of a **signal notification** —
+/// the process-lifecycle vocabulary of docs/process-lifecycle.md, delivered to the
+/// endpoint the process nominated with `signal_bind`. The low bits carry the
+/// coalesced pending mask (bit positions = `Signal` values): signals are
+/// statements, not questions, and two pending terminates are one terminate.
+pub const notify_signal_bit: u64 = 1 << 60;
+
+/// Set (alongside `notify_badge_bit`) in the badge of a **timer notification** —
+/// a one-shot `timer_bind` deadline landing. No payload bits: what to do when the
+/// deadline fires is whatever the receiver armed it for (a stop-sequence
+/// escalation, a restart backoff, an alarm).
+pub const notify_timer_bit: u64 = 1 << 59;
+
+/// The signal vocabulary (docs/process-lifecycle.md): POSIX's concepts, danos's
+/// names, message delivery. The value is the bit position in the pending mask — a
+/// private kernel/runtime detail, free to change while they ship together. Kill
+/// is not here (it is `process_kill`, unhandleable by definition); faults are not
+/// here (they are `ExitReason`s — recovery is restart, not a handler); liveness is
+/// not here (a question, asked as the zero-length ping call, not a statement).
+pub const Signal = enum(u5) {
+    terminate = 0, // finish up and exit (the polite half of the stop sequence)
+    reload = 1, // re-read configuration / re-scan
+    interrupt = 2, // interactive interrupt (no sender until a console exists)
+    quit = 3, // as interrupt, by convention more final
+    alarm = 4, // a timer the process armed for itself (unbuilt: no consumer yet)
+    user_1 = 5, // service-defined
+    user_2 = 6, // service-defined
+};
+
 /// Capacity of `ProcessDescriptor.name` — matches the longest name `system_spawn`
 /// accepts, so a process's recorded name (its argv[0]) is never truncated.
 pub const maximum_process_name = 64;

system/kernel/process.zig

@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ pub fn init() void {
     architecture.setSystemCallHandler(system_call);
     scheduler.terminate_current_hook = terminateCurrentLocked;
     scheduler.reap_task_hook = reapTaskLocked;
+    scheduler.timer_tick_hook = timerSweepLocked;
 }
 
 /// Return -1 (as an unsigned bit pattern) in the system_call result register.
@@ -202,6 +203,9 @@ fn system_call(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
         .process_kill => systemProcessKill(state),
         .process_exit_reason => systemProcessExitReason(state),
         .process_subscribe => systemProcessSubscribe(state),
+        .signal_bind => systemSignalBind(state),
+        .process_signal => systemProcessSignal(state),
+        .timer_bind => systemTimerBind(state),
         _ => fail(state),
     }
 }
@@ -575,6 +579,20 @@ fn releaseTaskResourcesLocked(t: *scheduler.Task) void {
     recordExitLocked(t);
     irq.releaseOwner(t.id);
     devices_broker.releaseAllOwnedBy(t.id);
+    // The dying task's signal endpoint and one-shot timers go with it.
+    if (t.signal_endpoint) |raw| {
+        ipc.dropRef(@ptrCast(@alignCast(raw)));
+        t.signal_endpoint = null;
+    }
+    t.pending_signals = 0;
+    for (&one_shot_timers) |*slot| {
+        if (slot.*) |timer| {
+            if (timer.owner == t.id) {
+                ipc.dropRef(timer.endpoint);
+                slot.* = null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
     // A dead subscriber's own subscriptions go first: it must not hear about
     // itself, and the slots' endpoint references drop with it.
     for (&exit_subscribers) |*slot| {
@@ -735,6 +753,92 @@ fn systemProcessSubscribe(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
     failErr(state, ipc.ENOSPC);
 }
 
+/// signal_bind(endpoint): nominate where this process's signals arrive — the
+/// IRQ-as-IPC pattern a fourth time (docs/process-lifecycle.md). Replacing a
+/// binding drops the old reference; signals that pended while unbound are
+/// delivered immediately on bind, coalesced into one notification.
+fn systemSignalBind(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
+    const t = scheduler.current();
+    if (t.aspace == 0) return fail(state);
+    const endpoint = ipc.resolveHandle(t, architecture.systemCallArg(state, 0)) orelse return failErr(state, ipc.EBADF);
+    const flags = sync.enter();
+    defer sync.leave(flags);
+    if (t.signal_endpoint) |raw| ipc.dropRef(@ptrCast(@alignCast(raw)));
+    endpoint.refcount += 1;
+    t.signal_endpoint = @ptrCast(endpoint);
+    if (t.pending_signals != 0) {
+        ipc.notifyLocked(endpoint, abi.notify_signal_bit | t.pending_signals);
+        t.pending_signals = 0;
+    }
+    architecture.setSystemCallResult(state, 0);
+}
+
+/// process_signal(id, signal): post a signal — a one-way, coalescing statement,
+/// never a question (docs/process-lifecycle.md). The authority gate is the
+/// supervision link, like kill; a process may also signal itself. Unbound
+/// targets accumulate the signal in their pending mask.
+fn systemProcessSignal(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
+    const t = scheduler.current();
+    if (t.aspace == 0) return fail(state);
+    const id = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 0);
+    const signal = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 1);
+    if (id > std.math.maxInt(u32)) return failErr(state, ipc.ESRCH);
+    if (signal > 31) return failErr(state, ipc.EBADF); // not a Signal bit position
+    const flags = sync.enter();
+    defer sync.leave(flags);
+    const target = scheduler.taskByIdLocked(@intCast(id)) orelse return failErr(state, ipc.ESRCH);
+    if (target.aspace == 0) return failErr(state, ipc.ESRCH);
+    if (target.supervisor != t.id and target.id != t.id) return failErr(state, ipc.EPERM);
+    target.pending_signals |= @as(u32, 1) << @intCast(signal);
+    if (target.signal_endpoint) |raw| {
+        const endpoint: *ipc.Endpoint = @ptrCast(@alignCast(raw));
+        ipc.notifyLocked(endpoint, abi.notify_signal_bit | target.pending_signals);
+        target.pending_signals = 0;
+    }
+    architecture.setSystemCallResult(state, 0);
+}
+
+/// The one-shot timers of timer_bind: the missing timed wait. A service arms a
+/// deadline and keeps serving; the expiry arrives in the same replyWait as
+/// everything else (notify_timer_bit). What stop-sequence escalation, hello
+/// deadlines, and restart backoff are built from — and later, `alarm`.
+const timer_capacity = 16;
+const OneShotTimer = struct { deadline: u64, endpoint: *ipc.Endpoint, owner: u32 };
+var one_shot_timers: [timer_capacity]?OneShotTimer = .{null} ** timer_capacity;
+
+/// Sweep expired timers — hung on scheduler.timer_tick_hook, so it runs on every
+/// tick with the big kernel lock held, like the sleeper wake it rides beside.
+fn timerSweepLocked() void {
+    const now = architecture.millis();
+    for (&one_shot_timers) |*slot| {
+        if (slot.*) |timer| {
+            if (now >= timer.deadline) {
+                ipc.notifyLocked(timer.endpoint, abi.notify_timer_bit);
+                ipc.dropRef(timer.endpoint);
+                slot.* = null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// timer_bind(endpoint, ms): arm a one-shot timer. -ENOSPC when the table is full.
+fn systemTimerBind(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
+    const t = scheduler.current();
+    if (t.aspace == 0) return fail(state);
+    const endpoint = ipc.resolveHandle(t, architecture.systemCallArg(state, 0)) orelse return failErr(state, ipc.EBADF);
+    const ms = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 1);
+    const flags = sync.enter();
+    defer sync.leave(flags);
+    for (&one_shot_timers) |*slot| {
+        if (slot.* == null) {
+            endpoint.refcount += 1;
+            slot.* = .{ .deadline = architecture.millis() + ms, .endpoint = endpoint, .owner = t.id };
+            return architecture.setSystemCallResult(state, 0);
+        }
+    }
+    failErr(state, ipc.ENOSPC);
+}
+
 fn systemProcessExitReason(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
     const t = scheduler.current();
     if (t.aspace == 0) return fail(state);

system/kernel/scheduler.zig

@@ -54,6 +54,13 @@ pub const Task = struct {
     // before the reap records it for `process_exit_reason`. Meaningless while
     // the task lives.
     exit_reason: abi.ExitReason = .exited,
+    // Endpoint this process's signals arrive on (signal_bind), or null — same
+    // ownership rules as exit_endpoint (holds a reference; opaque here).
+    signal_endpoint: ?*anyopaque = null,
+    // Signals posted but not yet delivered: the coalescing pending mask
+    // (docs/process-lifecycle.md). Bits are abi.Signal values. Signals pend here
+    // until an endpoint is bound; two pending terminates are one terminate.
+    pending_signals: u32 = 0,
     // Set by process_kill on a task that is running on another core; the kernel
     // finishes the kill at that task's next system call or timer tick.
     kill_pending: bool = false,
@@ -647,9 +654,15 @@ fn reapKillPendingLocked() void {
 /// other critical section, but releases it *without* touching the interrupt flag
 /// — the handler's `iretq` restores the interrupted context's flags, so
 /// re-enabling here would open a nested-interrupt window before the return.
+/// Called from the tick with the big kernel lock held — process.zig hangs the
+/// one-shot timer sweep here (timer_bind), the same call-up pattern as the
+/// teardown hooks below.
+pub var timer_tick_hook: ?*const fn () void = null;
+
 pub fn tick() void {
     _ = sync.enter();
     wakeExpired();
+    if (timer_tick_hook) |hook| hook();
     reapKillPendingLocked();
     if (preemption_enabled) schedule();
     sync.leaveIsr();

system/kernel/tests.zig

@@ -136,6 +136,8 @@ pub fn run(case: []const u8, boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
         claimReleaseTest(boot_information);
     } else if (eql(case, "vfs-client-death")) {
         vfsClientDeathTest(boot_information);
+    } else if (eql(case, "signals")) {
+        signalsTest(boot_information);
     } else if (eql(case, "initial-ramdisk")) {
         initialRamdiskTest(boot_information);
     } else if (eql(case, "vfs")) {
@@ -1605,6 +1607,53 @@ fn vfsClientDeathTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
     result();
 }
 
+/// M17.4 from ring 3: process-test's signal-run role drives the whole lifecycle
+/// surface — the zero-length ping (answered by the harness), signals as
+/// statements (reload logged, terminate = clean exit), the one-shot timer, and
+/// both endings of the stop sequence (polite -> exited, deaf -> killed at the
+/// deadline). Its "process-test: signals ok" is the pass marker.
+fn signalsTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
+    log("DANOS-TEST-BEGIN: signals\n", .{});
+    if (boot_information.initial_ramdisk_len == 0) {
+        check("bootloader handed over an initial_ramdisk", false);
+        result();
+        return;
+    }
+    const image = @as([*]const u8, @ptrFromInt(boot_handoff.physicalToVirtual(boot_information.initial_ramdisk_base)))[0..boot_information.initial_ramdisk_len];
+    const rd = initial_ramdisk.Reader.init(image) orelse {
+        check("initial_ramdisk image is valid", false);
+        result();
+        return;
+    };
+
+    process.setInitialRamdisk(image); // the parent system_spawns its children by name
+    process.write_count = 0;
+    var runner: u32 = 0;
+    var i: u32 = 0;
+    while (i < rd.count) : (i += 1) {
+        const item = rd.entry(i) orelse continue;
+        if (!eql(item.name, "process-test")) continue;
+        runner = process.spawnProcessSupervised(item.blob, 4, &.{ "process-test", "signal-run" }, scheduler.currentId(), null) catch 0;
+        break;
+    }
+    check("signal-run parent spawned", runner != 0);
+
+    const pass_marker = "process-test: signals ok";
+    const fail_marker = "process-test: FAIL";
+    scheduler.setPriority(1);
+    const deadline = architecture.millis() + 15000;
+    var saw_pass = false;
+    var saw_fail = false;
+    while (architecture.millis() < deadline and !saw_pass and !saw_fail) {
+        if (process.write_len >= pass_marker.len and eql(process.write_buffer[0..pass_marker.len], pass_marker)) saw_pass = true;
+        if (process.write_len >= fail_marker.len and eql(process.write_buffer[0..fail_marker.len], fail_marker)) saw_fail = true;
+        scheduler.yield();
+    }
+    scheduler.setPriority(4);
+    check("the signal-run parent reported ok", saw_pass and !saw_fail);
+    result();
+}
+
 /// The whole user-side surface at once: spawn process-test's supervisor role,
 /// which — entirely from ring 3 — creates an exit endpoint, spawns its two
 /// children supervised, sees them in process_enumerate, kills them (one blocked,

system/services/process-test/process-test.zig

@@ -48,11 +48,91 @@ fn awaitChildExit(endpoint: runtime.ipc.Handle) u32 {
     return received.childProcessId();
 }
 
+/// The harness-run child of the signals test: echoes requests, logs the two
+/// signals it handles. Terminate makes run() return, and returning from main is
+/// the clean exit the parent reads as ExitReason.exited.
+fn echo(message: []const u8, reply: []u8, sender: u32) usize {
+    _ = sender;
+    const n = @min(message.len, reply.len);
+    @memcpy(reply[0..n], message[0..n]);
+    return n;
+}
+
+fn onReload() void {
+    _ = runtime.system.write("process-test: reloaded\n");
+}
+
+fn onTerminate() void {
+    _ = runtime.system.write("process-test: terminating\n");
+}
+
+/// The parent of the signals test: drives ping, echo, reload, the one-shot
+/// timer, and both endings of the stop sequence (polite -> exited; deaf ->
+/// killed at the deadline). Prints "process-test: signals ok" as the marker.
+fn signalRun() void {
+    const endpoint = runtime.ipc.createIpcEndpoint() orelse fail("create exit endpoint");
+    const child = runtime.system.spawnSupervised("process-test", &.{"service"}, endpoint) orelse fail("spawn service child");
+
+    // Reach the child's endpoint through the registry (retry: it may not be up).
+    var service_handle: ?runtime.ipc.Handle = null;
+    var tries: u32 = 0;
+    while (service_handle == null and tries < 200) : (tries += 1) {
+        service_handle = runtime.ipc.lookup(.input);
+        if (service_handle == null) runtime.system.sleep(20);
+    }
+    const h = service_handle orelse fail("service child never registered");
+
+    // The universal ping: a zero-length call answered zero-length by the harness.
+    var reply: [16]u8 = undefined;
+    const pong = runtime.ipc.call(h, &.{}, &reply) catch fail("ping call failed");
+    if (pong != 0) fail("ping reply not empty");
+
+    // An ordinary request still reaches on_message.
+    const n = runtime.ipc.call(h, "echo!", &reply) catch fail("echo call failed");
+    if (n != 5 or !std.mem.eql(u8, reply[0..5], "echo!")) fail("echo mismatch");
+
+    // reload: a statement — the child logs it; the kernel test reads the serial.
+    if (!runtime.process.sendSignal(child, .reload)) fail("send reload");
+    runtime.system.sleep(200);
+
+    // The one-shot timer: armed on our endpoint, lands as isTimer.
+    if (!runtime.system.timerOnce(endpoint, 100)) fail("arm timer");
+    var scratch: [8]u8 = undefined;
+    const landing = runtime.ipc.replyWait(endpoint, scratch[0..0], &scratch, null);
+    if (!landing.isTimer()) fail("expected the timer landing");
+
+    // The stop sequence, polite path: terminate, clean exit inside the deadline.
+    runtime.process.stop(child, 2000, endpoint);
+    if ((runtime.process.exitReason(child) orelse .killed) != .exited) fail("service child reason not exited");
+
+    // The deaf child: binds nothing, hears nothing — the deadline kills it.
+    const deaf = runtime.system.spawnSupervised("process-test", &.{"sleeper"}, endpoint) orelse fail("spawn deaf child");
+    runtime.system.sleep(50); // let it reach its sleep
+    runtime.process.stop(deaf, 300, endpoint);
+    if ((runtime.process.exitReason(deaf) orelse .exited) != .killed) fail("deaf child reason not killed");
+
+    _ = runtime.system.write("process-test: signals ok\n");
+}
+
 pub fn main(init: runtime.process.Init) void {
     const role = init.arguments.get(1) orelse return; // spawned bare (ramdisk sweep): stay silent
     if (std.mem.eql(u8, role, "sleeper")) {
         while (true) runtime.system.sleep(500);
     }
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, role, "service")) {
+        // Borrowed well-known id: the input service is not part of this scenario.
+        runtime.service.run(64, .{
+            .service = .input,
+            .on_message = echo,
+            .on_reload = onReload,
+            .on_terminate = onTerminate,
+        });
+        return; // terminate arrived; returning is the clean exit
+    }
+    if (std.mem.eql(u8, role, "signal-run")) {
+        signalRun();
+        return;
+    }
     if (std.mem.eql(u8, role, "spinner")) {
         var beat: u64 = 0;
         const touch: *volatile u64 = &beat;

system/services/vfs/vfs.zig

@@ -138,42 +138,36 @@ fn handle(message: []const u8, out: []u8, sender: u32) usize {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn main() void {
+/// Startup, under the harness: subscribe to the published exit events — when a
-    const endpoint = runtime.ipc.createIpcEndpoint() orelse {
+/// client dies holding open handles, the exit notification is how the VFS learns
-        _ = runtime.system.write("vfs: no endpoint\n");
+/// to release them (docs/process-lifecycle.md).
-        return;
+fn initialise(endpoint: runtime.ipc.Handle) bool {
-    };
-    if (!runtime.ipc.register(.vfs, endpoint)) {
-        _ = runtime.system.write("vfs: register failed\n");
-        return;
-    }
-    // First subscriber of the published exit events (docs/process-lifecycle.md):
-    // when a client dies holding open handles, the notification below is how the
-    // VFS learns to release them.
     if (!runtime.process.subscribeExits(endpoint)) {
         _ = runtime.system.write("vfs: exit subscription failed\n");
     }
     _ = runtime.system.write("vfs: ready\n");
+    return true;
+}
 
-    var reply_buffer: [protocol.message_maximum]u8 = undefined;
+/// A non-signal notification: the only kind the VFS subscribes to is exit events.
-    var reply_len: usize = 0;
+fn onNotification(badge: u64) void {
-    var receive: [protocol.message_maximum]u8 = undefined;
+    if (badge & runtime.ipc.notify_exit_bit != 0) {
-    while (true) {
+        releaseClientHandles(@intCast(badge & ~(runtime.ipc.notify_badge_bit | runtime.ipc.notify_exit_bit)));
-        const got = runtime.ipc.replyWait(endpoint, reply_buffer[0..reply_len], &receive, null);
-        if (got.isChildExit()) {
-            // A published exit event: a process died; drop whatever it held.
-            releaseClientHandles(got.childProcessId());
-            reply_len = 0;
-            continue;
-        }
-        if (got.isNotification()) {
-            reply_len = 0; // not a request; nothing owed
-            continue;
-        }
-        reply_len = handle(receive[0..got.len], &reply_buffer, got.senderTaskId());
     }
 }
 
+pub fn main() void {
+    // The harness owns the loop: requests dispatch to handle(), exit events to
+    // onNotification(), ping and terminate are answered for free — this service
+    // gained the whole lifecycle contract by deleting its hand-rolled loop.
+    runtime.service.run(protocol.message_maximum, .{
+        .service = .vfs,
+        .init = initialise,
+        .on_message = handle,
+        .on_notification = onNotification,
+    });
+}
+
 pub const panic = runtime.panic;
 comptime {
     _ = &runtime.start._start;

test/qemu_test.py

@@ -252,6 +252,12 @@ CASES = [
      "smp":    4,
      "expect": r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: PASS",
      "fail":   r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: FAIL"},
+    # M17.4: signals over IPC — ping, reload, terminate (clean exit), the one-shot
+    # timer, and the stop sequence's two endings, all driven from ring 3.
+    {"name": "signals",
+     "smp":    4,
+     "expect": r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: PASS",
+     "fail":   r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: FAIL"},
     # The initial_ramdisk: the loader ferries a bundle of user binaries; the kernel parses
     # it and spawns each as a ring-3 process (here the VFS-server stub heartbeats).
     {"name": "initial-ramdisk",