Configuration — `.ecf`, the `set` builtin and eqshell scripts¶

Equinox keeps almost all persistent configuration in .ecf files (Equinox Config File) — a tiny INI-lite format — manipulated by the set builtin and automated by eqshell scripts (.es).

The `.ecf` format¶

# comment
[net]                     # section -> keys become "net.key"
driver = e1000

net.driver = ne2000       # dotted keys are taken as-is (equivalent)

[dependencies]
bash = true

[eggkg]
server = https://raw.githubusercontent.com/amnottdevv/Eggkg-l

Rules (parsed by kernel/library/ecf.c):

# starts a comment; blank lines are ignored.
[section] prefixes subsequent keys until the next section — the store key becomes section.key.
A key containing a dot (net.driver) is stored verbatim.
Values are trimmed strings; no quoting or escaping.
Free-form keys are allowed — unknown keys are preserved by set -w and ignored by consumers.

Where the files live¶

File	Role
`/equinox/conf/system.ecf`	The system configuration. Written by `equinoxinstall` (phase [3/4]), read at every boot
`boot/system.ecf` (on a volume)	Legacy location — still honoured as a fallback
`<name>.ecf` pointed to by `active.conf = <file>`	Overlay: `system.ecf` may redirect the active store to another file (e.g. `drivers.ecf`)

At boot the kernel resolves the active store through ecf_active_path() (conf/ first, legacy boot/ fallback), parses it and dispatches the known keys (net.driver → net_nic_init(), dependencies.bash → /bin sync, eggkg.* → package manager).

The `set` builtin¶

Form	Function
`set`	Show the active store
`set <key> <value>`	Set a key in memory (`set net.driver e1000`)
`set list`	List all keys
`set -a FILE`	Parse FILE and apply every valid entry
`set -w FILE`	Write the entire active store to FILE (the save)
`set -d FILE [-path DIR] [-base SRC]`	Register FILE as the system config (optionally with base dir) — written into `system.ecf` so boots pick it up
`set -b PATH`	Record a base-directory pivot (applied at next boot)
`set -x FILE`	Execute an eqshell script (`.es`) — see below

Typical flow — change the NIC driver persistently:

set net.driver e1000
set -w /equinox/conf/system.ecf

The GUI side: the settings editor (gui → settings) edits the same store and runs an mtcc compile-check on save-time scripts.

System keys used by 0.4¶

Key	Consumer	Meaning
`net.driver`	`net_nic_init()`	`ne2000` (default) / `e1000` / `none` — see DRIVERS.md
`dependencies.bash`	boot sync	`true` → sync `/equinox/.local` into `/bin` before the shell starts
`eggkg.server`	`eggkg update`	Package server URL or local path
`eggkg.mirror`	`eggkg update`	Fallback mirror
`eggkg.local`	eggkg	Local staging root

Unknown keys are allowed and round-trip through set -w.

eqshell scripts (`.es`)¶

An eqshell script is a plain text file whose first meaningful line must be [Eqshell]. Run it with set -x script.es.

[Eqshell]
# comments start with '#'
echo provisioning the base install
Qfs -list-disk
set net.driver e1000
set -w /equinox/conf/system.ecf
Log=True

Lines are shell commands executed in order (builtins included).
Nesting is limited (3 levels) to keep failure modes simple.
Log=True enables the transcript: every executed line + output is journaled to /eqshell.log (8 KB in-memory buffer; on overflow the transcript is truncated with a notice printed).

This is the standard hook for post-install provisioning: the manual install path (INSTALL.md) can be captured as one .es file and replayed with set -x.

Quick reference card¶

set                          # show
set net.driver e1000         # edit one key
set list                     # list keys
set -a drivers.ecf           # apply a file
set -w /equinox/conf/system.ecf   # persist the store
set -d drivers.ecf -path /equinox/conf   # register system config
set -b /mnt/equinox          # pivot base dir (next boot)
set -x setup.es              # run an eqshell script

Configuration — .ecf, the set builtin and eqshell scripts¶

The .ecf format¶