Filmed on 27 Sep 2026, at M1, from a real run. Where it says a later milestone will do something, that milestone has been built since (M2 to M5 are done). Where things stand now: MILESTONES.md.
SmartConfig · a short film
One typo in /etc/fstab, undone with sc
From opening the laptop to a byte-for-byte restore. The left side is what you type and see; the right side is an X-ray of what happens inside the machine: system calls, files on disk, rows in the database.
Sun 27 Sep 08:26
vboxuser@Ubuntu: ~/code/smartconfig
vboxuser@Ubuntu:~/code/smartconfig$
vboxuser@Ubuntu: ~/code/smartconfig
Inside the machine
System calls and SQL
/etc
$SC_HOME
changes.db
fstab is back, byte for byte
Same 446 bytes, same mode 0644, same owner root:root. The mistake and the fix are both in the history.
4sc commands
942system calls in the restore
1rename that changed fstab
0:00 / 0:00
SpeedSpace: play/pause · ← →: 5 s · F: fullscreen · double-click the video
This really happenedEvery command, id and output line comes from a run on this VM at 08:26 on 27 Sep 2026. /etc/fstab was really broken and really restored; cmp confirmed it identical.
Where the system calls come fromThey were captured with strace on the real sc snapshot and sc restore. Paths are shortened and a few calls are grouped so they fit; the SQL lines (in violet) are what SQLite does between them.
What M1 can't do yetHere you snapshot by hand and restore before rebooting. The watcher (M2) will snapshot edits automatically, and the rescue boot (M4) will let you restore after the machine fails to start.