nip/BUILD_SUCCESS.md

ARM64 Static NIP Build - Success Report

Final Status: ✅ COMPLETE

Binary Specifications

• Path: /home/markus/zWork/_Git/Nexus/core/nip/build/arm64/nip
• Size: 30MB
• Architecture: ARM aarch64, statically linked
• Build Date: 2025-12-28 23:27

Integrated Components

1. LibreSSL 3.8.2 (20MB total)
   • libssl.a (3.5MB)
   • libcrypto.a (16MB)
   • libtls.a (550KB)
2. Zstd 1.5.5 - libzstd.a (1.2MB)
3. Custom OpenSSL Shim - openssl_shim.o (1.4KB)
   • Bridges LibreSSL macros (SSL_in_init) to function symbols
4. NimCrypto - BLAKE2b only (SHA2/NEON removed)

Build Method: Manual Linking ("Iron Hand" Protocol)

Root Cause: Nim's cross-compilation dropped the -o output flag from linker invocation.

Solution:

1. Nim compiled 289 ARM64 .o files successfully
2. Created C shim to bridge LibreSSL macro→function gap
3. Manually invoked aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc with all objects + shim
4. Forced static linking with proper library order

Verification Results

✅ Structure: STATIC (no dynamic dependencies)
✅ No libcrypto.so dlopen references  
✅ BuildID: 4ed2d90fcb6fc82d52429bed63bd1cb378993582

NexBox Integration

• Image Size: 62,469 blocks (30MB+ initramfs)
• Status: Built successfully
• Next: Boot test + Warhead Test II (pack/extract cycle)

Time Investment

• LibreSSL/Zstd Static Build: ~2 hours
• Nim -o Flag Investigation: ~1.5 hours
• Manual Linking + Shim: ~1 hour
• Total: ~4.5 hours

Key Files Created

1. /home/markus/zWork/_Git/Nexus/core/nip/src/openssl_shim.c - Macro bridge
2. /home/markus/zWork/_Git/Nexus/core/nip/link_manual.sh - Manual linker
3. /home/markus/zWork/_Git/Nexus/core/nexus/vendor/libressl-3.8.2/ - ARM64 static libs
4. /home/markus/zWork/_Git/Nexus/core/nexus/vendor/zstd-1.5.5/ - ARM64 static lib