# macOS 14 TCG prerequisite diagnostic

This manual candidate uses the existing Ubuntu/x64 Docker runner. Before downloading Apple Recovery it tests actual AVX/AVX2 instruction execution in the pinned QEMU binary, then probes a fresh macOS 14+ Recovery guest. It does not install macOS, erase a disk, provision .NET/CLT or run Meeting Assistant tests. Readiness is only a prerequisite for full native CI.

## Profile and evidence

The existing Intel Celeron 1037U has neither AVX nor AVX2. KVM run 4187 at `720a431` reached macOS 13.6/x86_64/root and visible whole writable 64-GiB media. Diskutil timed out after 122 seconds; the sampler produced no report after 61 seconds. The screen remained at the Apple boot progress bar. CPU throttling, memory-limit/OOM events and container swap were zero; memory peaked at 2.67 GB. Host paging occurred. No unsupported-instruction crash or particular IPC wait is proved.

[CryptexFixup 1.0.5](https://github.com/acidanthera/CryptexFixup/blob/1.0.5/kern_start.cpp) selects the installed/updated Rosetta Cryptex and patches APFS hash checking; it does not replace the running Recovery cache or emulate instructions. macOS 13 is outside the [.NET 10 supported-OS policy](https://github.com/dotnet/core/blob/main/release-notes/10.0/supported-os.md). This candidate therefore uses macOS 14 and software CPU emulation without Cryptex. It changes the compatibility profile, not one isolated causal variable; actual success must be measured.

Earlier TCG run 4159 observed guest AVX2. Runs 4161/4163 measured slow native startup and reached the 40-minute host limit before readiness. They predated the UDIF CRC repair at `94a70b2`, reuse of successful sw_vers output and capturing the large Recovery hash only once. They do not qualify this candidate. Host/workflow limits are 90/95 minutes; a readiness pass does not establish that full installation/build/tests fit the pipeline.

## Entry points and dependencies

Orchestration remains the .NET 10 file-based app `tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs`. Existing Bash/Python boot integration is necessary before a guest SDK exists. NASM assembles the CPU probe in the disposable image build, without host/runner installation. No new runner, device, capability, secret or service is used.

```sh
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --validate
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --validate --source /path/to/clean/pinned/dockur-clone --output /path/to/fresh/validation
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --run --output artifacts/native-macos
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --cleanup --output artifacts/native-macos
```

The native diagnostic workflow is manual only. Temporary diagnostic branches are excluded from ordinary push jobs to avoid repeating unchanged Wine/portable jobs. Remove this routing when integrating qualified CI into the actual PR.

## Before Apple downloads

The existing daemon must be Linux/x64 with two CPUs and 6 GiB memory; the runner must have 5 GiB available memory and the Docker filesystem 8 GiB free. These checks do not reconfigure resources. Dockur commit `16a5b470cdd601bae8b05b02d748d7edfb36c12e`, both imported QEMU image digests and original source seams remain pinned.

Actual `Haswell-noTSX` CPU flags under TCG use `enforce=on` to reject unsupported requests. The CPU preflight uses that same composed flag list and QEMU binary before Recovery download/boot. `tools/ci/macos-tcg-cpu-preflight.asm` enables long mode/YMM state, executes AVX and AVX2 integer arithmetic, and checks an Int32 from the upper 128-bit lane. Only the correct result reaches [QEMU debug-exit](https://github.com/qemu/qemu/blob/v11.1.1/hw/misc/debugexit.c) code 33. No disks/network attach; failure/timeout fails preflight. This tests that instruction chain, not the complete ISA or macOS.

The locally assembled NASM 2.16.03 ROM is 65,536 bytes, SHA256 `c32746122cc68f3ed642aa46c21b677f803c58f0d4ff665841723fcc5625f549`. Assembly/static review does not prove remote execution.

## Native gates, bounds and cleanup

The original Apple recoveryosd runs under its existing job/PID beside the read-only probe. Exact known macOS 13/14 plist layouts and same-length replacements retain their allowlist. The patcher validates UDIF boundaries, updates changed mish/koly CRCs and reads back the image. Four raw/zlib positive and twelve rejection fixtures use an independent C# CRC32 reader. Apple chunklist authentication applies to the input, not the deliberately modified image.

Native readiness requires x86_64, UID 0, macOS 14+, successful launchd service queries and exactly one writable whole 64-GiB disk. The complete successful sw_vers output must contain one valid ProductVersion field and EOF within 1,024 bytes. The actual native diskutil query remains mandatory.

Required commands retain 45 seconds, UID 180 seconds and the single disk query 120 seconds. The owned observer uses `/bin/ps -M -p <diskutil-child>` with a separate 60-second limit and two-second TERM/KILL grace. It avoids stack symbolication; thread waiting states do not identify an IPC endpoint. Observation failure passes no gate. Owned children are stopped on completion/cancellation; output remains 512 KiB per command and 4 MiB proof.

The container retains 6 GiB memory/swap, two-CPU limit, 512 MiB shared memory and a 4-GiB/two-vCPU guest. One fresh anonymous /storage volume holds the sparse 64-GiB target. Inspection rejects devices, capabilities, binds, ports, host networking and privileged mode. KVM is disabled with no /dev/kvm mapping; guest networking stays slirp.

Evidence retains run/source/profile identity, CPU preflight, original/patched Recovery identity, container/QEMU state, native proof/result and cleanup. Optional bounded before/during/after pressure snapshots record host/cgroup counters. The /storage/14/setup.dmg hash is captured once after staging; successful evidence survives later capture failure. Screenshots/pressure observations pass no gate.

Both cleanup paths verify exact token/label/ID before removing only the owned container, anonymous volume and image. No pruning, host changes, original checkout changes or Meeting Assistant restart occurs. Artifacts remain seven days. Full CI remains unverified until an installed supported guest builds/signs fresh helpers and passes all 577 tests, including the five native macOS tests, with zero skips.

## Prepared full build/test flow

The separate manual `.gitea/workflows/macos-native-full.yaml` and the prepared required PR job invoke the same full mode:

```sh
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --validate --full --source /path/to/clean/pinned/dockur-clone --output /path/to/fresh/full-validation
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --run --full --output artifacts/native-macos-full
dotnet run --file tools/ci/MacOsNativeDiagnostic.cs -- --cleanup --output artifacts/native-macos-full
```

Full mode repeats CPU preflight and Recovery readiness for its own fresh guest. Before erasing the disposable target, the host verifies the owned container/anonymous volume, raw 64-GiB image, actual QEMU attachment/unique disk serial and state share. A token/source/disk-bound permit authorizes the guest. The guest independently checks whole/writable/size/unique serial before `diskutil eraseDisk`. It never erases a host disk or reuses an unrelated guest volume.

The installer provisions the owned guest and returns into the prepared firstboot hook. Early firstboot logs and failures enter the state share even before account-package installation or test bootstrap. The installed root must be APFS backed by the exact owned physical store. Apple softwareupdate provisions CLT; a real Swift/SDK smoke build imports the required Apple frameworks. The source archive is bound to clean Git HEAD and SHA256; the pinned macOS x64 .NET SDK 10.0.401 is checked with SHA512. No prebuilt application/helper result counts as this run's evidence.

`tools/ci/MacOsNativeGuest.cs` restores/builds/tests the source inside the installed guest. Success requires four fresh x86_64 Mach-O helpers, a valid audio-app signature and a fresh source-bound TRX containing exactly 577 distinct passing tests, zero failures/skips and all five named native macOS tests. Archive, SDK, build, signature and TRX receipts are retained. The required PR job follows the existing Wine and portable jobs; all jobs still select `ubuntu-latest`.

The workflow has 180 minutes; the controller reserves cleanup time with a shared 172-minute total deadline. Recovery, installation, CLT and test caps are 90/80/30/25 minutes under that same total, not additive promises. Actual supported-guest installation/performance and remote test success remain unqualified. Do not start this prepared installer until the separate prerequisite diagnostic passes. CI does not deploy or restart the workstation application.