Visual Container Stack Designer for Verified Containers
"Containers for People Who Hate Containers"
A 12-year-old who is reasonably IT-capable can help their parents build a secure container stack. That means no prior container knowledge is required, and security guidance is clear, visual, and actionable.
Honest completion: ~35%
| Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
UI (8 views) |
Working |
All render, navigate, TEA pattern solid |
Backend (Phoenix REST + GraphQL) |
Working |
CRUD + basic validation live |
Zig FFI shared library |
Working |
Real CRUD + validation (not stubs) |
Zig CLI bridge |
Working |
JSON store persistence, full validation |
Export (JSON + compose files) |
Working |
Real container images, not |
Import (JSON designs) |
Working |
Validation + round-trip support |
Simulation mode |
Partial |
WASM/JS packet kernel, sample data only |
Security inspector |
Partial |
UI renders with sample data, no backend calls |
Gap analysis |
Partial |
UI renders with sample data, no backend calls |
Settings |
Partial |
Form renders, localStorage save added |
Frontend-backend wiring |
Partial |
SaveStack/LoadStack wired, data model mismatch remains |
Runtime orchestration boundary |
Working |
stapeln backend handles stack metadata/validation; Svalinn/Vörðr handles runtime container lifecycle |
Idris2 proofs |
Stubs |
Declarations only, zero actual proofs |
miniKanren engine |
Not started |
Documentation only |
VeriSimDB integration |
Not started |
Documentation only |
Authentication |
Not started |
No PAM, JWT, or auth flow |
Database |
Not started |
In-memory GenServer only, no Ecto/PostgreSQL |
Post-quantum crypto |
Not started |
0% |
See STATUS.md for the canonical source of truth.
This repo focuses on the stapeln app UI.
The DOM-mounter workstream has been extracted to a separate repo:
/var$REPOS_DIR/stapeln-dom-mounter.
stapeln (Swedish for "the stack") is a visual drag-and-drop designer for creating secure container stacks. It combines:
-
🎨 Game-like UI - Choose components like customizing a spaceship
-
🛡️ Built-in Security - Real-time attack surface analysis
-
🔍 Smart Validation - miniKanren reasoning engine catches vulnerabilities
-
♿ Accessibility First - WCAG 2.3 AAA compliance
-
🔥 OWASP Integration - ModSecurity firewall with ephemeral pinholes
-
📊 Multi-Modal Database - VeriSimDB (6 modalities)
-
📝 Attested Documentation - A2ML with cryptographic signatures
-
✅ Self-Validating Configs - K9-SVC Nickel contracts
"If you have to read the manual, we failed."
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Paragon View (Vertical Stack)
-
Supply chain hierarchy from Cerro Torre → containers → provenance
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Gap analysis sidebar shows security issues
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Real-time validation
-
GParted-style vertical block layout
-
-
Cisco View (Network Topology)
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Drag-and-drop components onto canvas
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Draw connection lines between services
-
Simulation mode with animated packet flow
-
Configure ports visually (no CLI commands!)
-
Multiple shapes: box, oval, gateway, nested
-
-
Lago Grey Designer (Base Image Designer)
-
Visual minimal Linux distribution designer (Alpine/Chainguard alternative)
-
Interactive ice formation catalog (Floes < 1MB, Icebergs 1-75MB, Glaciers 75MB+)
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Real-time size calculation and competitive comparison
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Security stack indicators (post-quantum + classical crypto)
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Base image selection (Distroless, Alpine, Scratch)
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Export to .tar.gz with triple cryptographic signatures
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14.6 MB minimal image achieved (vs 60MB Alpine)
-
-
Settings
-
Defaults and preferences
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Runtime selection (Podman/Docker/nerdctl)
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Accessibility options
-
Smart defaults (hyperpolymath best practices)
-
-
Attack Surface Analyzer - Real-time security scoring (game-like stats!)
-
miniKanren Engine - Deterministic vulnerability detection (no AI hallucinations!)
-
OWASP ModSecurity CRS - Web application firewall (Paranoia Level 3)
-
Ephemeral Pinholes - Temporary firewall openings with auto-expiry (30s to 24h)
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CVE Integration - Daily updates from NIST NVD
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Gap Analysis - Shows problems before deployment
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OWASP Top 10 Compliance - Built-in rule checking
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CIS Benchmarks - Industry standards
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Provenance Chains - Full audit trail (why something is flagged)
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VeriSimDB - Multi-modal storage (graph, vector, tensor, semantic, document, temporal)
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A2ML - Attested Markup Language for verified documentation (lax → checked → attested)
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K9-SVC - Self-validating component configurations (Kennel → Yard → Hunt security levels)
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Rekor Integration - Signature verification via transparency log
Like customizing a spaceship in a game:
-
✅ Real-time security score (Security: ████████░░░░ 67/100)
-
✅ Visual stat bars (Performance, Reliability, Compliance)
-
✅ Impact indicators (⬆️ Security +15 points)
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✅ Color-coded risk levels (🔴 Critical, 🟠 High, 🟡 Medium, ✅ Safe)
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✅ One-click auto-fix for vulnerabilities
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✅ Simulation mode (test before deploying!)
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
Frontend |
ReScript-TEA (The Elm Architecture) + Deno |
Backend |
Elixir (Phoenix) + GraphQL (Absinthe) |
Security Reasoning |
miniKanren (Guile Scheme) + OWASP Rules |
Database |
VeriSimDB (6 modalities: graph, vector, tensor, semantic, document, temporal) |
Documentation |
A2ML (Attested Markup Language) with Idris2 backend |
Config Validation |
K9-SVC (Nickel contracts) |
Validation |
Idris2 proofs + Ephapax linear types |
Firewall |
firewalld/nftables + ephemeral pinholes |
WAF |
OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set v4.0 |
Auth |
PAM (system user verification) |
Signature Verification |
Rekor transparency log |
All state transitions are pure functions:
type model = { /* app state */ }
type msg = AddComponent | DragMove | Deploy | Simulate | ...
let update: (model, msg) => (model, effect<msg>)
let view: model => React.elementTime-travel debugging. Fully testable. Predictable.
Deterministic logic programming for security analysis:
(define (expose-ssh-to-interneto component)
"Rule: SSH port 22 must not be exposed to internet"
(fresh (port interface)
(exposed-porto component port interface)
(== port 22)
(== interface 'public)))
;; Query violations
(run* (component)
(expose-ssh-to-interneto component))
;; => (nginx-1 svalinn-1) ; VIOLATIONS!Why miniKanren, not an SLM?
-
✅ Deterministic (same input → same output)
-
✅ Explainable (full provenance chain)
-
✅ Instantly updateable (new CVEs added immediately)
-
✅ No hallucinations (can’t invent fake CVEs)
-
✅ Fast (milliseconds, not seconds)
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✅ Small (< 10 MB, no GPU needed)
Temporary firewall openings with auto-expiry:
# Open port 8080 for 5 minutes
{:ok, pinhole_id} = EphemeralPinhole.open(8080, 300)
# Auto-closes after 300 seconds
# Audit logged to VeriSimDB
# Can manually close early
:ok = EphemeralPinhole.close(pinhole_id)# Store stack with multiple modalities
VeriSim.insert(%{
uuid: "stack-abc123",
modalities: [:graph, :semantic, :temporal],
data: %{
graph: {"stack:abc123", "stapeln:hasComponent", "comp:nginx"},
semantic: "<http://example.org/stack/abc123> rdf:type stapeln:Stack",
temporal: %{timestamp: DateTime.utc_now(), event: "created"}
}
})
# Query with SPARQL
VeriSim.sparql_query("""
SELECT ?component WHERE {
?stack stapeln:hasComponent ?component .
?component stapeln:exposesPort 22 .
}
""")-
Deno 2.0+
-
Guile Scheme 3.0+ (for miniKanren)
-
Elixir 1.17+ / Erlang 27+
-
firewalld or nftables
-
Podman or Docker
-
VeriSimDB (optional: federated or standalone)
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/hyperpolymath/stapeln.git
cd stapeln
# Frontend setup (Deno, no npm!)
cd frontend
deno install --allow-read --allow-write --allow-env --allow-run -n rescript npm:rescript@11
deno task build
# Backend setup (Elixir)
cd backend
mix deps.get
mix ecto.setup
# Security engine setup (miniKanren)
cd security-rules
guile -s setup.scm
# Firewall setup
sudo ./setup-firewall.sh
# Start all services
./dev.sh-
Open browser: http://localhost:8000
-
Login with your system user credentials (PAM authentication)
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Drag nginx from palette to canvas
-
Configure ports with visual toggles (no CLI!)
-
See real-time security scoring
-
Click [Simulate] to test with packet animation
-
Click [Deploy] when ready
Vertical stack visualization:
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Cerro Torre (Build) ┃ ✅ Active
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
▼
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ Svalinn (Gateway) │ ⚠️ Port 22 exposed
└──────────────────────────┘
▼
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ nginx (Web Server) │ ✅ Healthy
└──────────────────────────┘
▼
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ postgres (Database) │ ❌ No backup volume
└──────────────────────────┘
▼
╔══════════════════════════╗
║ Supply Chain ║ ✅ Verified
╚══════════════════════════╝Gap Analysis Sidebar:
* ❌ CRITICAL: SSH port 22 exposed
*
Network topology with drag-and-drop:
Internet ☁️
│
▼
┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Firewall ┃ 🔥
┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛
│
▼
┌───────────┐
│ nginx │ 🌐
│ :80 🔓 │ ⚠️ Insecure!
└───────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────┐
│ postgres │ 🗄️
│ :5432 🔒 │
└───────────┘Configuration Panel: * Port 80: ○ Closed ● Open ○ Ephemeral * Security Score: 🟡 67/100 * [Auto-Fix Issues] [Simulate] [Deploy]
stapeln implements defense-in-depth:
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OWASP ModSecurity CRS - WAF at gateway (Paranoia Level 3)
-
firewalld default-deny - Whitelist-only
-
miniKanren reasoning - Deterministic vulnerability detection
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CVE daily sync - NIST NVD integration
-
Ephemeral pinholes - Temporary, auto-expiring firewall rules
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PAM authentication - System user verification
-
Audit logging - VeriSimDB temporal modality
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Signature verification - Rekor transparency log
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SBOM enforcement - Supply chain verification
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Gap analysis - Pre-deployment security checks
| Standard | Status | Score |
|---|---|---|
OWASP Top 10 2021 |
🟡 Partial |
6/10 (→ 10/10 by v1.0) |
CIS Benchmarks |
🟠 In Progress |
12/20 (→ 20/20 by v1.0) |
NIST Cybersecurity |
🟠 In Progress |
8/15 (→ 15/15 by v1.0) |
WCAG 2.3 AAA |
✅ Complete |
100% |
OpenSSF Scorecard |
✅ Complete |
100% |
Post-Quantum Crypto |
❌ Pending |
0% (→ 100% by v1.0) |
Target: 100% across all standards before 1.0 release
stapeln is WCAG 2.3 AAA compliant:
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✅ Full keyboard navigation (no mouse required)
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✅ Screen reader optimized (NVDA, JAWS, Orca tested)
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✅ Braille display annotations
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✅ Semantic XML + ARIA labels
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✅ 7:1 contrast ratio (21:1 for critical elements)
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✅ Reduced motion support
-
✅ System-aware dark/light mode
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✅ Captions and transcripts for media
See ROADMAP.md for detailed timeline.
-
✅ ReScript-TEA architecture
-
✅ Three-page UI design
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✅ Security specifications
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✅ Database integration specs
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✅ Game-like UI mockups
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✅ miniKanren reasoning engine design
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✅ Model, Msg, Update, View (ReScript)
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✅ CiscoView, Settings pages
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✅ LagoGreyImageDesigner component (921 lines)
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✅ Interactive ice formation designer with real-time sizing
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✅ Four-page navigation integrated
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⚠️ Wire existing views to App.res (immediate) -
⚠️ Import/export for designs and images (critical) -
⚠️ Build pipeline (podman integration) -
⚠️ Attack surface analyzer UI -
⚠️ Port configuration panel -
⚠️ Security inspector component -
⚠️ Simulation mode with packet animation -
⚠️ Gap analysis sidebar -
⚠️ Auth flow (PAM login)
-
❌ miniKanren security engine
-
⚠️ Elixir Phoenix + GraphQL (MVP endpoints live, production hardening pending) -
❌ Ephemeral pinhole GenServer
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❌ VeriSimDB integration
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❌ A2ML parser
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❌ K9-SVC validator
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❌ ModSecurity configuration
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❌ firewalld rules
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UX Manifesto - Design philosophy
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Container-Hater Test - Ultimate UX challenge
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Security Audit - Current compliance (47% → 100%)
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Firewall Config - OWASP ModSecurity + ephemeral pinholes
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Security Engine - miniKanren vs SLM comparison
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Database Integration - VeriSimDB + A2ML + K9-SVC
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UI Mockups - Game-like interface designs
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Setup Guide - Deno-only installation
-
.machine_readable/6a2/STATE.a2ml - Current project state
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.machine_readable/6a2/ECOSYSTEM.a2ml - Ecosystem position
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.machine_readable/6a2/META.a2ml - Architecture decisions (14 ADRs)
See CONTRIBUTING.md
Areas needing help:
-
miniKanren security rules (Scheme)
-
ReScript UI components
-
Elixir backend (Phoenix)
-
Accessibility testing
-
Documentation
-
Security auditing
PMPL-1.0-or-later (Palimpsest License)
-
cerro-torre - Container builder
-
lago-grey - Base image designer (Alpine/Chainguard alternative)
-
svalinn - Edge gateway
-
selur - IPC bridge
-
vörðr - Container runtime
-
verisimdb - Multi-modal database
-
a2ml - Attested Markup Language
-
k9-svc - Self-validating configs
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selur-compose - CLI orchestration
-
verified-container-spec - Protocol specification
Created by hyperpolymath
Designed to convert container-haters into container-users. 🎯
Special thanks to the test user: A government cyberwar officer who loathes containerization. If he can use stapeln successfully, anyone can.
Built with ❤️ and formal verification
See TOPOLOGY.md for a visual architecture map and completion dashboard.
