Pass argv to processes on a SysV entry stack; grow the user stack to 32 KiB

Processes now start with C-compatible arguments: the kernel builds the
System V AMD64 entry block (argc, argv, empty envp, auxiliary vector)
at the top of the stack, argv[0] is the path or initial-ramdisk name
the process was spawned as, and system_spawn carries an optional
NUL-separated blob that becomes argv[1..]. The runtime parses the block
(runtime.argumentCount/argument) and its spawn wrappers pass arguments
through. The name is also recorded on the task, so a fault report says
which binary died, not just its id.

The user stack grows from one page to eight (32 KiB,
parameters.user_stack_pages), with the page below left unmapped as a
guard so an overflow faults into a clean process kill rather than
corrupting the image. Task.name_buffer is zero-initialised, not
undefined: an undefined default is materialised as a 0xAA fill that
moved the static task pool out of .bss and made the whole kernel ~7x
slower under QEMU TCG (caught by the affinity test).

Proven end to end by the new args test: args-echo respawns itself with
arguments via the syscall blob, burns more stack than one page could
hold, and echoes its argv intact. Full suite: 44/44.

build.zig

@@ -299,6 +299,7 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
     const hpet_exe = addUserBinary(b, kernel_target, runtime_module, posix_module, mmio_module, "hpet", "system/drivers/hpet/hpet.zig");
     const bus_exe = addUserBinary(b, kernel_target, runtime_module, posix_module, mmio_module, "bus", "system/drivers/bus/bus.zig");
     const device_manager_exe = addUserBinary(b, kernel_target, runtime_module, posix_module, mmio_module, "device-manager", "system/services/device-manager/device-manager.zig");
+    const args_echo_exe = addUserBinary(b, kernel_target, runtime_module, posix_module, mmio_module, "args-echo", "system/services/args-echo/args-echo.zig");
 
     // Pack the user binaries into the initial_ramdisk image with the host-side Python tool
     // (the container format is trivial, and Python sidesteps std API churn). Args:
@@ -316,6 +317,8 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
     mk_run.addFileArg(bus_exe.getEmittedBin());
     mk_run.addArg("device-manager");
     mk_run.addFileArg(device_manager_exe.getEmittedBin());
+    mk_run.addArg("args-echo");
+    mk_run.addFileArg(args_echo_exe.getEmittedBin());
 
     // Also install the packed binaries to their FHS homes, so zig-out is a true image
     // of the filesystem — even though at boot they arrive inside the initial-ramdisk.

docs/driver-model.md

@@ -164,8 +164,11 @@ If a class driver needs `mmio`, it has become an HCD and should be one.
   DMA is still unprotected** (the caveat below). Enforcement lands with the first DMA
   driver, which is what there is to protect and test against. Proven in the `iommu` test,
   booted with an emulated `intel-iommu`.
-- **`system_spawn`** — a user-space supervisor starts a driver: `system_spawn(name)`
+- **`system_spawn`** — a user-space supervisor starts a driver:
-  loads a binary bundled in the initial-ramdisk as a fresh ring-3 process. This is what
+  `system_spawn(name, arguments)` loads a binary bundled in the initial-ramdisk as a
+  fresh ring-3 process; `name` becomes the child's argv[0] and the optional
+  NUL-separated `arguments` blob its argv[1..], delivered on a SysV entry stack
+  ([sysv.md](sysv.md)). This is what
   turned the device manager from "log the match" into "run the driver": the kernel now
   spawns only `init`, `init` spawns the services, and the **device-manager** discovers
   the hardware and spawns each driver ([drivers.md](drivers.md)). Ungated for now — a

docs/drivers.md

@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ kernel  ──spawns──►  init (PID 1)  ──spawns──►  device-manag
 ```
 
 The kernel launches exactly one process — `init` — and hands it nothing but the raw
-ability to start more (`system_spawn(name)`, which loads a binary bundled in the
+ability to start more (`system_spawn(name, arguments)`, which loads a binary bundled
-initial-ramdisk as a fresh ring-3 process). Everything else is a user-space decision:
+in the initial-ramdisk as a fresh ring-3 process — `name` becoming its argv[0],
+the optional arguments its argv[1..], on a SysV entry stack, see sysv.md). Everything else is a user-space decision:
 
 - **init** ([system/services/init](system/services/init/init.zig)) is the **service
   supervisor**. It spawns the system services danos brings up at boot — today `vfs` and
@@ -52,7 +53,8 @@ initial-ramdisk as a fresh ring-3 process). Everything else is a user-space deci
      is a table (`driverFor`): today a static `timer → hpet` map; a fuller system reads
      what each driver *binds* (a manifest under `/system/drivers`, or the driver
      describing its own match).
-  3. **Spawn** — `system_spawn(driver_name)` starts the matched driver, which then claims
+  3. **Spawn** — `system_spawn(driver_name, arguments)` starts the matched driver (the
+     arguments can carry *which* device it matched), which then claims
      its device and runs the event loop below.
 
 So "how is a driver discovered and configured" has two halves: **discovery** is the

docs/sysv.md

@@ -65,6 +65,36 @@ function-pointer type and the kernel's `_start` both carry
 whole reason `kernel_abi` lives in the shared contract — see [efi.md](efi.md) for
 the handoff it governs.
 
+## The process-entry stack (argc/argv)
+
+The SysV ABI also fixes what a *fresh process* finds on its stack — and danos
+follows it, so its own runtime and any future C libc read arguments the same way.
+At the first user instruction, `rsp` is 16-byte aligned and points at (addresses
+growing upward):
+
+```
+rsp →  argc                       u64
+       argv[0] … argv[argc-1]     pointers into the strings area below
+       NULL                       argv terminator
+       NULL                       envp terminator (no environment yet)
+       {AT_PAGESZ, page size}     auxiliary vector
+       {AT_NULL, 0}               auxiliary-vector terminator
+       argv string bytes          NUL-terminated
+       ─────────────────────────  stack top (stack_top_virtual)
+```
+
+The kernel builds this block at the top of the process's stack — 8 pages (32 KiB,
+`parameters.user_stack_pages`) mapped RW+NX below a fixed top, with the page below
+them left unmapped as a **guard**, so a stack overflow faults (killing only that
+process) instead of silently corrupting the image
+(`buildEntryStack` in `system/kernel/process.zig`); `argv[0]` is always the path
+or initial-ramdisk name the process was spawned as, and `system_spawn`'s optional
+argument blob becomes `argv[1..]`. The runtime's `_start`
+(`library/runtime/start.zig`) hands the block to `rt_start`, which exposes it as
+`runtime.argumentCount()` / `runtime.argument(i)`. A C runtime's `crt0` would walk
+the identical layout unmodified — that's the compatibility being bought. The
+`args` test proves the round trip.
+
 ## Where else it surfaces
 
 - **The red zone → `red_zone = false`.** `build.zig` disables the red zone for the

library/runtime/runtime.zig

@@ -26,5 +26,10 @@ pub const dma = @import("dma.zig");
 /// Re-exported so a user binary can `pub const panic = runtime.panic;`.
 pub const panic = start.panic;
 
+/// Process arguments (argc/argv, parsed from the kernel-built entry stack):
+/// `argument(0)` is the path or name this binary was spawned as.
+pub const argumentCount = start.argumentCount;
+pub const argument = start.argument;
+
 /// The heap as a `std.mem.Allocator`, for Zig `std` containers in user code.
 pub const allocator = heap.allocator;

library/runtime/start.zig

@@ -5,25 +5,52 @@
 const std = @import("std");
 const system = @import("system.zig");
 
-/// The kernel enters at `_start` with rsp 16-aligned, but a SystemV function expects
+/// The kernel enters at `_start` with rsp 16-aligned, pointing at the System V
-/// rsp ≡ 8 (mod 16) on entry (as if reached by `call`). The `call` below pushes
+/// process-entry block it built: argc, argv pointers, NULL, envp terminator, the
-/// the 8-byte return address, satisfying the ABI before any Zig frame runs; the
+/// auxiliary vector, then the strings (see system/kernel/process.zig,
-/// `ud2` is a safety net if `rt_start` ever returns.
+/// `buildEntryStack`). Capture that address in rdi — the first SysV argument —
+/// before `call` disturbs the stack; the call's pushed return address also puts
+/// rsp ≡ 8 (mod 16), satisfying the ABI before any Zig frame runs. The `ud2` is a
+/// safety net if `rt_start` ever returns.
 pub export fn _start() callconv(.naked) noreturn {
     asm volatile (
+        \\mov %%rsp, %%rdi
         \\call rt_start
         \\ud2
     );
 }
 
-/// The first Zig frame. The heap is lazy (first alloc grows it), so there is no
+// The process-entry block, recorded by `rt_start` for the accessors below.
-/// runtime init to order here — just hand control to the program's `main`.
+var argument_count: usize = 0;
-export fn rt_start() callconv(.c) noreturn {
+var argument_vector: [*]const u64 = undefined;
+
+/// The first Zig frame, entered with `stack` pointing at the kernel-built entry
+/// block. Record argc/argv for the accessors, then hand control to the program's
+/// `main`. The heap is lazy (first alloc grows it), so there is no other runtime
+/// init to order here.
+export fn rt_start(stack: [*]const u64) callconv(.c) noreturn {
+    argument_count = stack[0];
+    argument_vector = stack + 1;
     const root = @import("root"); // the user binary's root source file
     root.main();
     system.exit(0);
 }
 
+/// Number of process arguments (argc). At least 1: argument 0 is the path or
+/// name this binary was spawned as.
+pub fn argumentCount() usize {
+    return argument_count;
+}
+
+/// Process argument `index` (0 = the program's own path/name), or an empty slice
+/// if out of range. The bytes live in the entry block at the top of the stack
+/// page, NUL-terminated, valid for the process's lifetime.
+pub fn argument(index: usize) []const u8 {
+    if (index >= argument_count) return "";
+    const string: [*:0]const u8 = @ptrFromInt(argument_vector[index]);
+    return std.mem.span(string);
+}
+
 /// No runtime to unwind into — report a panic as a nonzero exit code.
 pub const panic = std.debug.FullPanic(struct {
     fn panic(_: []const u8, _: ?usize) noreturn {

library/runtime/system.zig

@@ -44,11 +44,31 @@ pub fn exit(code: usize) noreturn {
 }
 
 /// Start the binary bundled in the initial-ramdisk under `name` as a new ring-3
-/// process, returning true on success. This is how a supervisor (the device manager)
+/// process, returning true on success. The child's argv[0] is `name`. This is how
-/// launches a driver it matched — danos-native, not POSIX (a spawn/exec family comes
+/// a supervisor (the device manager) launches a driver it matched — danos-native,
-/// with the process work later).
+/// not POSIX (a spawn/exec family comes with the process work later).
 pub fn spawn(name: []const u8) bool {
-    return sc.systemCall2(.system_spawn, @intFromPtr(name.ptr), name.len) == 0;
+    return sc.systemCall4(.system_spawn, @intFromPtr(name.ptr), name.len, 0, 0) == 0;
+}
+
+/// Like `spawn`, but hands the child command-line arguments: they arrive as
+/// argv[1..] on its System V entry stack (argv[0] is still `name`). Marshalled to
+/// the kernel as one NUL-separated blob; the combined arguments must fit
+/// `blob` (the kernel caps the blob at 256 bytes and argc at 8 anyway).
+pub fn spawnWithArguments(name: []const u8, arguments: []const []const u8) bool {
+    var blob: [256]u8 = undefined;
+    var len: usize = 0;
+    for (arguments, 0..) |argument, i| {
+        if (i != 0) {
+            if (len >= blob.len) return false;
+            blob[len] = 0;
+            len += 1;
+        }
+        if (len + argument.len > blob.len) return false;
+        @memcpy(blob[len..][0..argument.len], argument);
+        len += argument.len;
+    }
+    return sc.systemCall4(.system_spawn, @intFromPtr(name.ptr), name.len, @intFromPtr(&blob), len) == 0;
 }
 
 /// Grant `len` bytes (rounded up to whole pages) of fresh, zeroed, writable

system/kernel/kernel.zig

@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ fn kmain(boot_information: *const BootInformation) noreturn {
     if (boot_information.init_len != 0) {
         status("starting /system/services/init...\n");
         const image = @as([*]const u8, @ptrFromInt(boot_handoff.physicalToVirtual(boot_information.init_base)))[0..boot_information.init_len];
-        process.spawnProcess(image, 4) catch |err| {
+        process.spawnProcess(image, 4, &.{"/system/services/init"}) catch |err| {
             statusPrint("/system/services/init failed to load: {s}\n", .{@errorName(err)});
         };
     } else {
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ fn recoverableFault(vector: u64) bool {
 /// is no scheduled process to kill.)
 fn onException(state: *const architecture.CpuState) noreturn {
     if (architecture.fromUser(state) and scheduler.currentIsUserProcess() and recoverableFault(state.vector)) {
-        statusPrint("\ndanos: process {d} killed by {s} (vector {d}) on core {d}\n", .{ scheduler.currentId(), architecture.exceptionName(state.vector), state.vector, scheduler.currentCpuIndex() });
+        statusPrint("\ndanos: process {d} ({s}) killed by {s} (vector {d}) on core {d}\n", .{ scheduler.currentId(), scheduler.current().name(), architecture.exceptionName(state.vector), state.vector, scheduler.currentCpuIndex() });
         statusPrint("  error code : 0x{x}\n", .{state.error_code});
         statusPrint("  IP         : 0x{x:0>16}\n", .{architecture.instructionPointer(state)});
         if (architecture.faultAddress(state)) |address| statusPrint("  fault addr : 0x{x:0>16}\n", .{address});

system/kernel/process.zig

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ const elf = std.elf;
 const boot_handoff = @import("boot-handoff");
 const abi = @import("abi");
 const device_abi = @import("device-abi");
+const parameters = @import("parameters");
 const architecture = @import("architecture");
 const pmm = @import("pmm.zig");
 const scheduler = @import("scheduler.zig");
@@ -40,9 +41,18 @@ const SystemCall = abi.SystemCall;
 /// User virtual addresses. PML4 index 224 — a user-exclusive region, far from
 /// the identity map (low indices) and the vmm test address (index 128), so
 /// setting the U/S bit on its intermediate tables widens no kernel mapping.
-/// An ELF image may occupy [code_virtual, stack_virtual); the stack page sits above.
+/// An ELF image may occupy [code_virtual, stack_virtual); the stack sits above.
 pub const code_virtual: u64 = 0x0000_7000_0000_0000;
-pub const stack_virtual: u64 = 0x0000_7000_0020_0000;
+
+/// The stack region, above the image. The page at `stack_virtual` is **never
+/// mapped** — it is the guard page: a process that overflows its stack walks into
+/// it and faults (killing only that process) rather than silently corrupting the
+/// top of its own image. The stack proper is `parameters.user_stack_pages` pages
+/// at [stack_base_virtual, stack_top_virtual), RW + NX, with the System V entry
+/// block (argc/argv) at the very top.
+pub const stack_virtual: u64 = 0x0000_7000_0020_0000; // guard page (unmapped)
+pub const stack_base_virtual: u64 = stack_virtual + page_size;
+pub const stack_top_virtual: u64 = stack_base_virtual + parameters.user_stack_pages * page_size;
 
 /// The mmap grant arena: where `mmap` hands out fresh user pages, above the image
 /// and stack but still inside PML4[224] (so no kernel mapping is widened). Each
@@ -73,6 +83,19 @@ pub const dma_arena_end: u64 = dma_arena_base + (256 << 20); // 256 MiB per proc
 /// chunks, so this bound is generous; it also caps the frame scratch array below.
 const maximum_mmap_pages = 256;
 
+/// Ceiling on a process's argv entries, including argv[0]. Arguments are spawn
+/// parameters ("you are the driver for device 12"), not bulk data — IPC carries
+/// that — so the bound is small and everything fits the single stack page.
+pub const maximum_arguments = 8;
+
+/// Ceiling on the `system_spawn` extra-arguments blob (argv[1..], NUL-separated).
+pub const maximum_argument_bytes = 256;
+
+/// Auxiliary-vector entry types (System V AMD64 process entry). Only what the
+/// kernel emits today; a C runtime scans the vector until the null terminator.
+const auxiliary_vector_null: u64 = 0; // AT_NULL — end of the vector
+const auxiliary_vector_page_size: u64 = 6; // AT_PAGESZ
+
 // The hand-assembled user program blob (isr.s, .rodata) — the isolation probe.
 const pf_start = @extern([*]const u8, .{ .name = "user_pf_start" });
 const pf_end = @extern([*]const u8, .{ .name = "user_pf_end" });
@@ -392,28 +415,50 @@ fn systemDeviceRegister(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
     architecture.setSystemCallResult(state, id);
 }
 
-/// system_spawn(name_ptr, name_len) -> 0 on success, -1 on failure. Load the binary
+/// system_spawn(name_ptr, name_len, arguments_ptr, arguments_len) -> 0 on success,
-/// bundled in the initial-ramdisk under `name` as a fresh ring-3 process. This is the
+/// -1 on failure. Load the binary bundled in the initial-ramdisk under `name` as a
-/// mechanism a user-space supervisor (the device manager) uses to start a driver it
+/// fresh ring-3 process. `name` becomes the child's argv[0] (and its task name, so
-/// matched: discovery and policy stay in user space, the kernel only spawns.
+/// a fault report can say which binary died); `arguments` is an optional
+/// NUL-separated blob that becomes argv[1..] — how a supervisor parameterises what
+/// it starts ("you are the driver for device 12"). 0/0 means no extra arguments.
+/// This is the mechanism a user-space supervisor (the device manager) uses to start
+/// a driver it matched: discovery and policy stay in user space, the kernel only
+/// spawns.
 ///
 /// Ungated for now — any process may spawn any bundled binary. A capability (only a
 /// supervisor holds the right to spawn) belongs here once the model grows one; see
-/// docs/driver-model.md. The name is bounds-checked into the user half exactly like
+/// docs/driver-model.md. Both buffers are bounds-checked into the user half exactly
-/// `debug_write`, and an unknown name or a load failure returns -1.
+/// like `debug_write`, and an unknown name or a load failure returns -1.
 fn systemSpawn(state: *architecture.CpuState) void {
     const ptr = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 0);
     const len = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 1);
+    const arguments_ptr = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 2);
+    const arguments_len = architecture.systemCallArg(state, 3);
     if (len == 0 or len > 64 or ptr >= user_half_end or ptr + len > user_half_end) return fail(state);
+    if (arguments_len > maximum_argument_bytes) return fail(state);
+    if (arguments_len != 0 and (arguments_ptr >= user_half_end or arguments_ptr + arguments_len > user_half_end)) return fail(state);
     const image = ramdisk_image orelse return fail(state);
     const rd = initial_ramdisk.Reader.init(image) orelse return fail(state);
 
     const name = @as([*]const u8, @ptrFromInt(ptr))[0..len];
+    var argv: [maximum_arguments][]const u8 = undefined;
+    argv[0] = name;
+    var argc: usize = 1;
+    if (arguments_len != 0) {
+        const blob = @as([*]const u8, @ptrFromInt(arguments_ptr))[0..arguments_len];
+        var pieces = std.mem.tokenizeScalar(u8, blob, 0);
+        while (pieces.next()) |piece| {
+            if (argc == maximum_arguments) return fail(state);
+            argv[argc] = piece;
+            argc += 1;
+        }
+    }
+
     var i: u32 = 0;
     while (i < rd.count) : (i += 1) {
         const item = rd.entry(i) orelse continue;
         if (!std.mem.eql(u8, item.name, name)) continue;
-        spawnProcess(item.blob, 4) catch return fail(state);
+        spawnProcess(item.blob, 4, argv[0..argc]) catch return fail(state);
         architecture.setSystemCallResult(state, 0);
         return;
     }
@@ -641,15 +686,15 @@ pub fn run(blob: []const u8) RunError!void {
     @memset(code[blob.len..page_size], 0xCC);
 
     architecture.mapUserPage(code_virtual, code_frame, false, true); // RO + X
-    architecture.mapUserPage(stack_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX
+    architecture.mapUserPage(stack_base_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX (one page; the probe barely stacks)
     resetRecords();
 
-    architecture.enterUser(scheduler.currentCpuIndex(), code_virtual, stack_virtual + page_size);
+    architecture.enterUser(scheduler.currentCpuIndex(), code_virtual, stack_base_virtual + page_size);
 
     // Back via the exit system_call; the interrupt gate left IF clear.
     architecture.enableInterrupts();
     architecture.unmapPage(code_virtual);
-    architecture.unmapPage(stack_virtual);
+    architecture.unmapPage(stack_base_virtual);
     pmm.free(code_frame);
     pmm.free(stack_frame);
 }
@@ -660,6 +705,7 @@ pub const InitError = error{
     BadElf, // malformed/inapplicable image (magic, class, machine, type, bounds)
     BadSegment, // PT_LOAD unaligned, out of the user region, W&X, or overlapping
     BadEntry, // e_entry not inside an executable segment
+    BadArguments, // no argv[0], too many entries, or too many bytes for the entry stack
     ProgramTooBig, // more pages than the loader's budget
     OutOfMemory,
 };
@@ -760,13 +806,74 @@ fn loadPageInto(aspace: u64, image: []const u8, seg: Segment, page_index: u64) I
     architecture.mapUserPageInto(aspace, seg.vaddr + page_off, frame, seg.writable, seg.executable);
 }
 
+/// Build the System V AMD64 process-entry block at the top of a process's stack
+/// page and return the initial user stack pointer. At the first user instruction,
+/// rsp is 16-byte aligned and points at (addresses growing upward):
+///
+///   argc, argv[0..argc-1], NULL, NULL (empty envp), auxiliary vector, strings
+///
+/// — the layout every C runtime's startup code walks, so danos's own runtime and a
+/// future libc port read arguments identically (docs/sysv.md). `page` is the kernel
+/// (physmap) view of the stack's **top** frame and `page_user_base` that frame's
+/// user address (stack_top_virtual - page_size); the pointers written into it are
+/// user addresses inside that page. The caller has validated the sizes
+/// (`entryStackBytes`), so this cannot overrun.
+fn buildEntryStack(page: [*]u8, page_user_base: u64, argv: []const []const u8) u64 {
+    // The strings live at the very top of the page, packed from the end downward.
+    var string_offset: usize = page_size;
+    var pointers: [maximum_arguments]u64 = undefined;
+    var i: usize = argv.len;
+    while (i > 0) {
+        i -= 1;
+        string_offset -= argv[i].len + 1;
+        @memcpy(page[string_offset..][0..argv[i].len], argv[i]);
+        page[string_offset + argv[i].len] = 0; // NUL-terminated, as C expects
+        pointers[i] = page_user_base + string_offset;
+    }
+
+    // The vector sits below the strings: argc, the argv pointers, the argv
+    // terminator, an empty envp (terminator only), then the auxiliary vector.
+    const word_count = 1 + argv.len + 1 + 1 + 4;
+    const vector_offset = (string_offset - word_count * 8) & ~@as(usize, 15); // entry rsp % 16 == 0
+    const words: [*]u64 = @ptrCast(@alignCast(page + vector_offset));
+    var w: usize = 0;
+    words[w] = argv.len; // argc
+    w += 1;
+    for (pointers[0..argv.len]) |pointer| {
+        words[w] = pointer;
+        w += 1;
+    }
+    words[w] = 0; // argv terminator
+    words[w + 1] = 0; // envp: no environment yet, just the terminator
+    words[w + 2] = auxiliary_vector_page_size;
+    words[w + 3] = page_size;
+    words[w + 4] = auxiliary_vector_null; // end of the auxiliary vector
+    words[w + 5] = 0;
+    return page_user_base + vector_offset;
+}
+
+/// Bytes the entry block for `argv` occupies at the top of the stack page:
+/// strings (each NUL-terminated), vector words, and the alignment slack.
+fn entryStackBytes(argv: []const []const u8) usize {
+    var string_bytes: usize = 0;
+    for (argv) |argument| string_bytes += argument.len + 1;
+    return string_bytes + (1 + argv.len + 1 + 1 + 4) * 8 + 16;
+}
+
 /// Load a user ELF image into a fresh address space and spawn it as a scheduled
-/// ring-3 process at `priority`. Returns immediately — the process runs
+/// ring-3 process at `priority`, entered with `argv` on its stack per the System V
-/// preemptively on its own page tables alongside everything else, and its exit
+/// convention (`buildEntryStack`). `argv[0]` is required — it names the process:
-/// is handled by the system_call layer. The whole build (address space + ELF load +
+/// the path or initial-ramdisk name it was spawned as. It is also recorded on the
-/// task) runs under the kernel lock so it appears atomically and can't race
+/// task, so a fault report can say *which* binary died, not just its id.
-/// pmm/heap on another core.
+/// Returns immediately — the process runs preemptively on its own page tables
-pub fn spawnProcess(image: []const u8, priority: u3) InitError!void {
+/// alongside everything else, and its exit is handled by the system_call layer.
+/// The whole build (address space + ELF load + task) runs under the kernel lock so
+/// it appears atomically and can't race pmm/heap on another core.
+pub fn spawnProcess(image: []const u8, priority: u3, argv: []const []const u8) InitError!void {
+    if (argv.len == 0 or argv.len > maximum_arguments) return error.BadArguments;
+    // The entry block must leave most of the page as actual stack.
+    if (entryStackBytes(argv) > page_size / 2) return error.BadArguments;
+
     var segs: [maximum_segments]Segment = undefined;
     const parsed = try parseSegments(image, &segs);
 
@@ -779,10 +886,22 @@ pub fn spawnProcess(image: []const u8, priority: u3) InitError!void {
     for (segs[0..parsed.count]) |seg| {
         for (0..seg.pages()) |i| try loadPageInto(aspace, image, seg, i);
     }
-    const stack_frame = pmm.alloc() orelse return error.OutOfMemory;
-    architecture.mapUserPageInto(aspace, stack_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX
 
-    if (!scheduler.spawnUserLocked(aspace, parsed.entry, stack_virtual + page_size, priority))
+    // The stack: `user_stack_pages` zeroed pages below stack_top_virtual, RW + NX.
+    // The page below them (`stack_virtual`) stays unmapped as the overflow guard.
+    // The entry block goes at the top of the highest page.
+    var user_sp: u64 = 0;
+    for (0..parameters.user_stack_pages) |i| {
+        const stack_frame = pmm.alloc() orelse return error.OutOfMemory;
+        const stack_page: [*]u8 = @ptrFromInt(boot_handoff.physicalToVirtual(stack_frame));
+        @memset(stack_page[0..page_size], 0); // no stale frame contents leak into user space
+        const page_virtual = stack_base_virtual + i * page_size;
+        if (i == parameters.user_stack_pages - 1)
+            user_sp = buildEntryStack(stack_page, page_virtual, argv);
+        architecture.mapUserPageInto(aspace, page_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX
+    }
+
+    if (!scheduler.spawnUserLocked(aspace, parsed.entry, user_sp, priority, argv[0]))
         return error.OutOfMemory;
 }
 

system/kernel/scheduler.zig

@@ -70,8 +70,24 @@ pub const Task = struct {
     ipc_send_cap: u64 = ~@as(u64, 0), // handle to transfer with this message (abi.no_cap = none)
     ipc_received_cap: u64 = ~@as(u64, 0), // client: handle the reply's transferred cap landed at (abi.no_cap = none)
     next: ?*Task = null, // ready-queue link (also the endpoint sender-FIFO link)
+    // The process's name — argv[0] as it was spawned (a boot-volume path for init,
+    // an initial-ramdisk name for everything else); empty for kernel tasks. Fixed
+    // storage, so the fault path can name the dead without touching the heap.
+    // Zero-initialised (not `undefined`): an undefined default is materialised as
+    // a 0xAA fill, which would move the whole static task pool out of .bss.
+    name_buffer: [maximum_task_name]u8 = .{0} ** maximum_task_name,
+    name_length: u8 = 0,
+
+    /// The task's name (argv[0] at spawn), or empty for a kernel task.
+    pub fn name(self: *const Task) []const u8 {
+        return self.name_buffer[0..self.name_length];
+    }
 };
 
+/// Capacity of `Task.name_buffer` — matches the longest name `system_spawn`
+/// accepts, so a spawned name is never truncated.
+pub const maximum_task_name = 64;
+
 /// Size of each task's IPC handle table. Kept here (not in ipc_sync.zig) because
 /// it dimensions a field of `Task`; ipc_sync.zig re-exports it.
 pub const ipc_maximum_handles = 16;
@@ -258,12 +274,13 @@ pub fn spawnOn(entry: *const fn () void, priority: Priority, cpu: u32) bool {
 }
 
 /// Spawn a **user** task: a task with its own address space (`aspace`) that starts
-/// in user mode at `entry` on `user_sp`. It gets a fresh kernel stack for
+/// in user mode at `entry` on `user_sp`, recorded under `name` (its argv[0]).
-/// syscalls/interrupts, and its first switch-in lands in `user_task_trampoline`.
+/// It gets a fresh kernel stack for syscalls/interrupts, and its first switch-in
+/// lands in `user_task_trampoline`.
 /// Returns false (creating nothing) if the table is full or out of memory.
 /// **Caller must hold the kernel lock** (the loader that builds `aspace` holds it
 /// across the whole spawn, so the address space and the task appear atomically).
-pub fn spawnUserLocked(aspace: u64, entry: u64, user_sp: u64, priority: Priority) bool {
+pub fn spawnUserLocked(aspace: u64, entry: u64, user_sp: u64, priority: Priority, task_name: []const u8) bool {
     const t = freeSlot() orelse return false;
     const stack = heap.allocator().alloc(u8, stack_size) catch return false;
     t.* = .{
@@ -275,6 +292,9 @@ pub fn spawnUserLocked(aspace: u64, entry: u64, user_sp: u64, priority: Priority
         .user_ip = entry,
         .user_sp = user_sp,
     };
+    const name_length = @min(task_name.len, maximum_task_name);
+    @memcpy(t.name_buffer[0..name_length], task_name[0..name_length]);
+    t.name_length = @intCast(name_length);
     next_id += 1;
     const top = @intFromPtr(stack.ptr) + stack.len;
     t.kstack_top = top;

system/kernel/tests.zig

@@ -120,6 +120,8 @@ pub fn run(case: []const u8, boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
         userPfTest();
     } else if (eql(case, "fault-recovery")) {
         faultRecoveryTest(boot_information);
+    } else if (eql(case, "args")) {
+        argsTest(boot_information);
     } else if (eql(case, "init")) {
         initTest(boot_information);
     } else if (eql(case, "process")) {
@@ -1162,8 +1164,8 @@ fn processTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
     scheduler.spawn(procWorker, 4); // kernel task at the processes' priority
 
     var spawned: u32 = 0;
-    if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4)) spawned += 1 else |_| {}
+    if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4, &.{"/system/services/init"})) spawned += 1 else |_| {}
-    if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4)) spawned += 1 else |_| {}
+    if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4, &.{"/system/services/init"})) spawned += 1 else |_| {}
 
     // Wait (real time) for several heartbeats across the two processes. Each
     // process sleeps ~1 s between beats, so a few seconds yields several.
@@ -1218,9 +1220,9 @@ fn spawnFaultingProcess() bool {
         architecture.destroyAddressSpace(aspace); // frees code_frame too — it's mapped
         return false;
     };
-    architecture.mapUserPageInto(aspace, process.stack_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX
+    architecture.mapUserPageInto(aspace, process.stack_base_virtual, stack_frame, true, false); // RW + NX
 
-    if (!scheduler.spawnUserLocked(aspace, process.code_virtual, process.stack_virtual + abi.page_size, 4)) {
+    if (!scheduler.spawnUserLocked(aspace, process.code_virtual, process.stack_base_virtual + abi.page_size, 4, "fault-probe")) {
         architecture.destroyAddressSpace(aspace);
         return false;
     }
@@ -1243,7 +1245,7 @@ fn faultRecoveryTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
 
     process.write_count = 0;
     process.fault_kill_count = 0;
-    const spawned = if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4)) true else |_| false;
+    const spawned = if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4, &.{"/system/services/init"})) true else |_| false;
     check("init spawned as the surviving process", spawned);
 
     // A first heartbeat proves init runs before the fault.
@@ -1287,7 +1289,7 @@ fn initTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
     }
     const image = @as([*]const u8, @ptrFromInt(boot_handoff.physicalToVirtual(boot_information.init_base)))[0..boot_information.init_len];
     process.write_count = 0;
-    const spawned = if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4)) true else |err| blk: {
+    const spawned = if (process.spawnProcess(image, 4, &.{"/system/services/init"})) true else |err| blk: {
         log("DANOS-INIT-ERR: {s}\n", .{@errorName(err)});
         break :blk false;
     };
@@ -1334,7 +1336,7 @@ fn initialRamdiskTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
     var i: u32 = 0;
     while (i < rd.count) : (i += 1) {
         const item = rd.entry(i) orelse continue;
-        if (process.spawnProcess(item.blob, 4)) spawned += 1 else |err| {
+        if (process.spawnProcess(item.blob, 4, &.{item.name})) spawned += 1 else |err| {
             log("DANOS-INITRD-ERR: {s}: {s}\n", .{ item.name, @errorName(err) });
         }
     }
@@ -1394,6 +1396,44 @@ fn vfsTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
     result();
 }
 
+/// Process arguments, end to end: spawn args-echo bare (its argv[0] is the
+/// initial-ramdisk name). Instance 1 sees argc == 1 and respawns itself through
+/// `system_spawn` with the extra arguments "alpha beta-42" — the syscall argument
+/// blob. Instance 2 parses the kernel-built System V entry stack via the runtime
+/// and echoes its whole argv in one write, which must arrive exactly as sent.
+fn argsTest(boot_information: *const BootInformation) void {
+    log("DANOS-TEST-BEGIN: args\n", .{});
+    check("bootloader handed over an initial_ramdisk", boot_information.initial_ramdisk_len != 0);
+    if (boot_information.initial_ramdisk_len == 0) {
+        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); // args-echo respawns itself through system_spawn
+
+    process.write_count = 0;
+    process.write_from_user = false;
+    check("args-echo spawned from the initial_ramdisk", spawnNamed(rd, "args-echo"));
+
+    // Wait for the *second* instance's echo (the first writes nothing).
+    scheduler.setPriority(1);
+    const deadline = architecture.millis() + 8000;
+    while (process.write_count < 1 and architecture.millis() < deadline) scheduler.yield();
+    scheduler.setPriority(4);
+
+    const expected = "args: args-echo alpha beta-42\n";
+    const echoed = process.write_len == expected.len and eql(process.write_buffer[0..process.write_len], expected);
+    if (!echoed and process.write_len > 0) log("DANOS-ARGS: got \"{s}\"\n", .{process.write_buffer[0..process.write_len]});
+    check("argv arrived intact (argv[0] = name, argv[1..] = spawn arguments)", echoed);
+    check("echo came from user mode (CPL 3)", process.write_from_user);
+    result();
+}
+
 /// Spawn the initial_ramdisk binary named `name` as a ring-3 process. Returns false if it
 /// isn't in the image or fails to load.
 fn spawnNamed(rd: initial_ramdisk.Reader, name: []const u8) bool {
@@ -1401,7 +1441,7 @@ fn spawnNamed(rd: initial_ramdisk.Reader, name: []const u8) bool {
     while (i < rd.count) : (i += 1) {
         const item = rd.entry(i) orelse continue;
         if (eql(item.name, name)) {
-            return if (process.spawnProcess(item.blob, 4)) true else |_| false;
+            return if (process.spawnProcess(item.blob, 4, &.{item.name})) true else |_| false;
         }
     }
     return false;

system/parameters.zig

@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@ pub const maximum_tasks = 16;
 /// Each task's kernel stack (also each AP's bring-up stack), in bytes.
 pub const kernel_stack_size = 16 * 1024;
 
+/// Each user process's stack, in pages (32 KiB). Mapped just below a fixed top;
+/// the System V entry block (argc/argv) occupies the top of the highest page, and
+/// the page below the mapping is left unmapped as a guard, so an overflow faults
+/// (killing only that process) instead of silently corrupting the image.
+pub const user_stack_pages = 8;
+
 /// Each core's IST (double-fault) stack, in bytes. The BSP's is static; an AP's is
 /// heap-allocated at bring-up.
 pub const ist_stack_size = 16 * 1024;

system/services/args-echo/args-echo.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+//! args-echo — a test fixture for process arguments (bundled in the
+//! initial-ramdisk, spawned only by the `args` test case). Run with no arguments,
+//! it respawns itself *with* some via `spawnWithArguments` — exercising the
+//! system_spawn argument blob. Run with arguments, it burns more stack than one
+//! page could hold (proving the multi-page stack: on a single-page stack the
+//! recursion would hit the guard and the process would be killed before echoing),
+//! then echoes its whole argv in one `debug_write` the kernel test asserts on —
+//! proving the kernel-built System V entry stack (argc, argv pointers,
+//! NUL-terminated strings) and the runtime's parsing of it, end to end.
+
+const runtime = @import("runtime");
+
+/// Recurse with a real frame each level: `depth` levels of ~0.5 KiB, touched
+/// through a volatile pointer so no optimiser can flatten the frames away.
+fn burnStack(depth: usize) u8 {
+    var frame: [512]u8 = undefined;
+    const touch: *volatile [512]u8 = &frame;
+    touch[0] = @truncate(depth);
+    touch[511] = touch[0];
+    if (depth == 0) return touch[511];
+    return touch[0] +% burnStack(depth - 1);
+}
+
+pub fn main() void {
+    if (runtime.argumentCount() <= 1) {
+        // First instance: spawn the second with real arguments, then exit.
+        _ = runtime.system.spawnWithArguments("args-echo", &.{ "alpha", "beta-42" });
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // ~16 x 0.5 KiB frames: comfortably past one page, well inside the 32 KiB stack.
+    _ = burnStack(16);
+
+    // Second instance: echo "args: <argv0> <argv1> ..." for the test to match.
+    var buffer: [128]u8 = undefined;
+    const prefix = "args:";
+    @memcpy(buffer[0..prefix.len], prefix);
+    var len: usize = prefix.len;
+    for (0..runtime.argumentCount()) |i| {
+        const argument = runtime.argument(i);
+        if (len + 1 + argument.len + 1 > buffer.len) break;
+        buffer[len] = ' ';
+        len += 1;
+        @memcpy(buffer[len..][0..argument.len], argument);
+        len += argument.len;
+    }
+    buffer[len] = '\n';
+    len += 1;
+    _ = runtime.system.write(buffer[0..len]);
+}
+
+pub const panic = runtime.panic;
+comptime {
+    _ = &runtime.start._start; // pull the runtime entry shim into the image
+}

test/qemu_test.py

@@ -205,6 +205,11 @@ CASES = [
      "timeout": 60,
      "expect": r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: PASS",
      "fail":   r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: FAIL"},
+    # Process arguments: argv arrives on the SysV entry stack (argv[0] = the spawned
+    # name, argv[1..] = the system_spawn argument blob) and echoes back intact.
+    {"name": "args",
+     "expect": r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: PASS",
+     "fail":   r"DANOS-TEST-RESULT: FAIL"},
     # The real user binary: the bootloader ships /system/services/init off the ESP, the
     # kernel loads the ELF and runs it in ring 3, and it writes + exits cleanly.
     {"name": "init",