How ElastOS works
ElastOS has four parts, each with one job: Home, the Runtime, Carrier and the blockchain. Together they make one system. ElastOS v2 is the first release where all four work together.
The four parts
| Part | Its job | It must never become |
|---|---|---|
| Home | The front door for people. Your desktop, files, people, apps and settings. | The place where security decisions are made. |
| Runtime | The trusted core. It checks who is asking, what they may do and whether a package is signed. It routes each request and keeps an audit trail. | App logic, a wallet app or a storage backend. |
| Carrier | The link between computers. It carries messages, files and updates between Homes, with each end checked. | A chat-only network, or a way around the Runtime’s checks. |
| Blockchain | The trust layer. Identity, wallet signing, proof of who published what. | An app database, or something that slows down everyday use. |
The rule behind this table: keep the trusted core small, and put everything else outside it. Apps and providers do the work. The Runtime decides what they are allowed to do.
How one action works
When you open a file, send a message or ask the Assistant a question, the same steps happen:
- You act in an app. The app does not touch your disk, the network or your keys directly.
- The app asks the Runtime. It sends a typed request, such as “read this file” or “send this message”.
- The Runtime checks. Is this app signed? Is this person signed in? Did they grant this permission? If anything is missing, the request fails and says why.
- A provider does the work. For example, the storage provider reads the file or the model provider runs the AI model.
- If it leaves your computer, Carrier carries it. Carrier checks the other end before it sends anything.
What it is built with
- Runtime: written in Rust (version 1.91 or newer). Rust prevents whole classes of memory bugs, which matters for the part of the system that everything else trusts.
- Home and Apps: web apps (HTML and JavaScript) that run in sandboxed browser frames.
- WASM capsules: WebAssembly components that run in Wasmtime, with limits on memory and processing time.
- Carrier: built on iroh, using encrypted QUIC connections.
- Content names: CIDs and SHA-256 hashes, so content is named by what it contains.
- Licence: all of it is open source under the MIT licence. Read the code.
Honest about today
ElastOS states its limits openly.
- Today, Home can use every app’s permissions. The goal is that Home can only pass on permissions, and each app holds its own.
- Providers run with the rights of your computer account. Only the AI model provider is partly confined.
- Approvals do not yet have a screen that only ElastOS controls.
The isolation plan tracks the remaining steps. See also Security and privacy.