Minimal TCB
A core small enough to read and audit.
Trusted Execution · Minimal by Design
Horseman
Move to tilt · Click to scatter
A small deterministic language and virtual machine for trusted execution.
Most enclave runtimes bring a large software stack into the trusted boundary. Horseman tests a smaller model: a compact interpreter with explicit input and output.
The Research Question
What if the safest enclave runtime is the one that refuses to be general-purpose?
General runtimes favour compatibility. Horseman removes capabilities until every remaining part can be inspected, bounded, or declared.
Read the architecture
Not a container runtime
A purpose-built language boundary
Not an operating system inside SGX
A small VM with two explicit doors
Not a production claim
A research hypothesis to measure
Horseman project overview
Core Constraints
Three rules shape everything else.
Deterministic Execution
Execution does not change with secret data.
A Closed World
Inputs are explicit. Results leave sealed.
Project Chapters
Choose a chapter.
Phase I · Current
Interpreter foundations.
Current work covers the grammar, bytecode rules, and memory boundaries.
Foundation active-
01
Defining nowActive
Grammar & parser
Define the grammar and parser.
-
02
NextNext
Bytecode semantics
Specify each instruction and its tests.
-
03
ConstraintFraming
Memory boundaries
Set limits on storage, observation, and output.
Source code at first release
The interpreter and documentation will be published with the first research prototype.
2
people following
the project
the project
Release notes only. Your address is encrypted and kept by Horseman.