clone with fork-like behaviour

build.zig

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
     const exe = b.addExecutable(.{
         .name = "flicker",
         .root_module = mod,
+        .use_llvm = true,
     });
     exe.pie = true;
     exe.lto = if (optimize == .Debug) .none else .full;
@@ -46,8 +47,56 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
         run_cmd.addArgs(args);
     }
 
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, false, false);
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, false, true);
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, true, true);
+
     const exe_tests = b.addTest(.{ .root_module = mod });
     const run_exe_tests = b.addRunArtifact(exe_tests);
     const test_step = b.step("test", "Run tests");
+    test_step.dependOn(b.getInstallStep());
     test_step.dependOn(&run_exe_tests.step);
 }
+
+pub fn compileTestApplications(
+    b: *std.Build,
+    target: std.Build.ResolvedTarget,
+    optimize: std.builtin.OptimizeMode,
+    comptime link_libc: bool,
+    comptime pie: bool,
+) !void {
+    // Compile test applications
+    const test_path = "src/test/";
+    const test_prefix = prefix: {
+        const p1 = "test_" ++ if (link_libc) "libc_" else "nolibc_";
+        const p2 = p1 ++ if (pie) "pie_" else "nopie_";
+        break :prefix p2;
+    };
+    var test_dir = try std.fs.cwd().openDir(test_path, .{ .iterate = true });
+    defer test_dir.close();
+    var iterator = test_dir.iterate();
+    while (try iterator.next()) |entry| {
+        if (entry.kind != .file) continue;
+        if (!std.mem.endsWith(u8, entry.name, ".zig")) continue;
+
+        const name = try std.mem.concat(b.allocator, u8, &.{
+            test_prefix, entry.name[0 .. entry.name.len - 4], // strip .zig suffix
+        });
+        const test_executable = b.addExecutable(.{
+            .name = name,
+            .root_module = b.createModule(.{
+                .root_source_file = b.path(b.pathJoin(&.{ test_path, entry.name })),
+                .optimize = optimize,
+                .target = target,
+                .link_libc = link_libc,
+                .link_libcpp = false,
+                .pic = pie,
+            }),
+            .linkage = if (link_libc) .dynamic else .static,
+            .use_llvm = true,
+            .use_lld = true,
+        });
+        test_executable.pie = pie;
+        b.installArtifact(test_executable);
+    }
+}

docs/use_cases.md

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+# Use Cases for Flicker
+
+Flicker's architecture, load-time binary rewriting without control-flow recovery, uniquely positions
+it to handle scenarios where source code is unavailable (legacy/commercial software) and performance
+is critical. Unlike Dynamic Binary Translation (DBT) tools like Valgrind or QEMU, which incur high
+overhead due to JIT compilation/emulation, Flicker patches code to run natively.
+
+Below are possible use cases categorized by domain.
+
+## High Performance Computing (HPC) & Optimization
+
+### Approximate Computing and Mixed-Precision Analysis
+
+Scientific simulations often default to double precision (64-bit) for safety, even when single
+(32-bit) or half (16-bit) precision would yield accurate results with significantly higher
+performance. But rewriting massive legacy Fortran/C++ codebases to test precision sensitivity is
+impractical.
+
+Flicker could instrument floating-point instructions to perform "Shadow Execution," running
+operations in both double and single precision to log divergence. Alternatively, it can mask lower
+bits of registers to simulate low-precision hardware.
+
+Unlike compiler-based approaches that change the whole binary, Flicker can apply these patches
+selectively to specific "hot" functions at load-time, preserving accuracy in sensitive setup/solver
+phases while optimizing the bulk computation.
+
+### Profiling Memory Access Patterns (False Sharing)
+
+In multi-threaded HPC applications, performance often degrades due to "False Sharing", where multiple
+threads modify independent variables that happen to reside on the same CPU cache line, causing cache
+thrashing.
+
+Sampling profilers (like `perf`) provide statistical approximations but often miss precise
+interaction timings. Source-level instrumentation disrupts compiler optimizations.
+
+Flicker could instrument memory store instructions (`MOV` etc.) to record effective addresses. By
+aggregating this data, it can generate heatmaps of cache line access density, precisely identifying
+false sharing or inefficient strided access patterns in optimized binaries.
+
+### Low-Overhead I/O Tracing
+
+Parallel MPI jobs often inadvertently stress parallel filesystems (Lustre, GPFS) by performing
+excessive small writes or metadata operations.
+
+Tools like `strace` force a context switch for every syscall, slowing down the application so much
+that the race conditions or I/O storms disappear (Heisenbugs).
+
+By intercepting I/O syscalls (`write`, `read`, `open`, ...) inside the process memory, Flicker could
+aggregate I/O statistics (e.g., "Rank 7 performed 50,000 writes of 4 bytes") with negligible
+overhead, providing a lightweight alternative to `strace` for high-throughput jobs.
+
+### MPI Communication Profiling
+
+HPC performance is often bound by network latency between nodes. Profiling tools like Vampir are
+heavy and costly. Flicker can patch shared library exports (like MPI_Send or MPI_Recv) at load-time.
+This allows lightweight logging of message sizes and latencies without recompiling the application
+or linking against special profiling libraries.
+
+## Security and Hardening
+
+### Coverage-Guided Fuzzing (Closed Source)
+
+Fuzzing requires feedback on which code paths are executed to be effective. But for closed-source
+software, researchers typically use QEMU-mode in AFL. QEMU translates instructions dynamically,
+resulting in slow execution speeds (often 2-10x slower than native).
+
+Flicker could inject coverage instrumentation (updating a shared memory bitmap on branch targets)
+directly into the binary at load time. This would allow closed-source binaries to be fuzzed at
+near-native speeds, significantly increasing the number of test cases run per second.
+
+### Software Shadow Stacks
+
+Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) attacks exploit buffer overflows to overwrite return addresses on
+the stack.
+
+Hardware enforcement (Intel CET/AMD Shadow Stack) requires modern CPUs (Intel 11th Gen+, Zen 3+) and
+recent kernels (Linux 6.6+). Older systems remain vulnerable.
+
+Flicker could instrument `CALL` and `RET` instructions to implement a Software Shadow Stack. On
+`CALL`, the return address is pushed to a secure, isolated stack region. On `RET`, the address on
+the stack is compared against the shadow stack. If they mismatch, the program terminates, preventing
+ROP chains.
+
+### Binary-Only Address Sanitizer (ASan)
+
+Memory safety errors (buffer overflows, use-after-free) in C/C++ are often found with ASan or
+Valgrind. ASan requires recompilation. Valgrind works on binaries but slows execution by 20x-50x,
+making it unusable for large datasets.
+
+Flicker could intercept allocator calls (`malloc`/`free`) to poison "red zones" around memory and
+instrument memory access instructions to check these zones. This provides ASan-like capabilities for
+legacy binaries with significantly lower overhead than Valgrind.
+
+## Systems and Maintenance
+
+### Hardware Feature Emulation (Forward Compatibility)
+
+HPC clusters are often heterogeneous, with older nodes lacking newer instruction sets (e.g.,
+AVX-512, AMX). A binary compiled for a newer architecture will crash with `SIGILL` on an older node.
+
+Flicker could detect these instructions and patch them to jump to a software emulation routine or a
+scalar fallback implementation. This allows binaries optimized for the latest hardware to run
+(albeit slower) on legacy nodes for testing or resource-filling purposes.
+
+### Fault Injection
+
+To certify software for mission-critical environments, developers must verify how it handles
+hardware errors.
+
+Flicker could instrument instructions to probabilistically flip bits in registers or memory
+("Bit-flip injection"), or intercept syscalls to return error codes (e.g., returning `ENOSPC` on
+`write`). It can also simulate malfunctioning or intermittent devices by corrupting buffers returned
+by `read`. This allows testing error recovery paths without physical hardware damage.
+
+### Record/Replay Engine
+
+Debugging non-deterministic bugs (race conditions) is difficult because they are hard to reproduce.
+By intercepting all sources of non-determinism (syscalls, `rdtsc`, atomic instructions, signals),
+Flicker could record a trace of an execution. This trace can be replayed later to force the exact
+same execution path, allowing developers to debug the error state interactively.

src/Patcher.zig

@@ -39,9 +39,12 @@ const prefixes = [_]u8{
     0x36,
 };
 
-var syscall_flicken_bytes = [13]u8{
+/// As of the SysV ABI: 'The kernel destroys registers %rcx and %r11."
-    0x49, 0xBB, // mov r11
+/// So we put the address of the function to call into %r11.
-    0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, // 8byte immediate
+// TODO: Don't we need to save the red zone here, because we push the return address onto the stack
+// with the `call r11` instruction?
+var syscall_flicken_bytes = [_]u8{
+    0x49, 0xBB, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, // mov r11 <imm>
     0x41, 0xff, 0xd3, // call r11
 };
 
@@ -52,19 +55,43 @@ pub var address_allocator: AddressAllocator = .empty;
 pub var allocated_pages: std.AutoHashMapUnmanaged(u64, void) = .empty;
 pub var mutex: std.Thread.Mutex = .{};
 
-var init_once = std.once(initInner);
+pub var target_exec_path_buf: [std.fs.max_path_bytes]u8 = @splat(0);
-pub fn init() void {
+pub var target_exec_path: []const u8 = undefined;
-    init_once.call();
+
-}
+/// Initialize the patcher.
-fn initInner() void {
+/// NOTE: This should only be called **once**.
+pub fn init() !void {
     gpa = std.heap.page_allocator;
-    flicken_templates.ensureTotalCapacity(
+
+    try flicken_templates.ensureTotalCapacity(
         std.heap.page_allocator,
         page_size / @sizeOf(Flicken),
-    ) catch @panic("failed initializing patcher");
+    );
     flicken_templates.putAssumeCapacity("nop", .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = &.{} });
-    mem.writeInt(u64, syscall_flicken_bytes[2..][0..8], @intFromPtr(&syscalls.syscall_entry), .little);
+    mem.writeInt(
+        u64,
+        syscall_flicken_bytes[2..][0..8],
+        @intFromPtr(&syscalls.syscall_entry),
+        .little,
+    );
     flicken_templates.putAssumeCapacity("syscall", .{ .name = "syscall", .bytes = &syscall_flicken_bytes });
+
+    {
+        // Read mmap_min_addr to block the low memory range. This prevents us from allocating
+        // trampolines in the forbidden low address range.
+        var min_addr: u64 = 0x10000; // Default safe fallback (64KB)
+        if (std.fs.openFileAbsolute("/proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr", .{})) |file| {
+            defer file.close();
+            var buf: [32]u8 = undefined;
+            if (file.readAll(&buf)) |len| {
+                const trimmed = std.mem.trim(u8, buf[0..len], " \n\r\t");
+                if (std.fmt.parseInt(u64, trimmed, 10)) |val| {
+                    min_addr = val;
+                } else |_| {}
+            } else |_| {}
+        } else |_| {}
+        try address_allocator.block(gpa, .{ .start = 0, .end = @intCast(min_addr) }, 0);
+    }
 }
 
 /// Flicken name and bytes have to be valid for the lifetime it's used. If a trampoline with the

src/Range.zig

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ pub fn touches(range: Range, other: Range) bool {
 pub fn compare(lhs: Range, rhs: Range) std.math.Order {
     assert(lhs.end >= lhs.start);
     assert(rhs.end >= rhs.start);
-    return if (lhs.start >= rhs.end) .gt else if (lhs.end <= rhs.start) .lt else .eq;
+    return if (lhs.start > rhs.end) .gt else if (lhs.end < rhs.start) .lt else .eq;
 }
 
 pub fn getStart(range: Range, T: type) T {

src/main.zig

@@ -49,14 +49,21 @@ pub fn main() !void {
         return;
     }
 
-    // Initialize patcher
+    const file = try lookupFile(mem.sliceTo(std.os.argv[arg_index], 0));
-    Patcher.init();
+
-    // Block the first 64k to avoid mmap_min_addr (EPERM) issues on Linux.
+    {
-    // TODO: read it from `/proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr` instead.
+        // Initialize patcher
-    try Patcher.address_allocator.block(Patcher.gpa, .{ .start = 0, .end = 0x10000 }, 0);
+        try Patcher.init();
+        // Resolve the absolute path of the target executable. This is needed for the
+        // readlink("/proc/self/exe") interception. We use the file descriptor to get the
+        // authoritative path.
+        var self_buf: [128]u8 = undefined;
+        const fd_path = try std.fmt.bufPrint(&self_buf, "/proc/self/fd/{d}", .{file.handle});
+        Patcher.target_exec_path = try std.fs.readLinkAbsolute(fd_path, &Patcher.target_exec_path_buf);
+        log.debug("Resolved target executable path: {s}", .{Patcher.target_exec_path});
+    }
 
     // Map file into memory
-    const file = try lookupFile(mem.sliceTo(std.os.argv[arg_index], 0));
     var file_buffer: [128]u8 = undefined;
     var file_reader = file.reader(&file_buffer);
     log.info("--- Loading executable: {s} ---", .{std.os.argv[arg_index]});
@@ -267,3 +274,122 @@ test {
     _ = @import("Range.zig");
     _ = @import("PatchLocationIterator.zig");
 }
+
+// TODO: make this be passed in from the build system
+const bin_path = "zig-out/bin/";
+fn getTestExePath(comptime name: []const u8) []const u8 {
+    return bin_path ++ "test_" ++ name;
+}
+const flicker_path = bin_path ++ "flicker";
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_exit" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_exit") }, "");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_exit" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_exit") }, "");
+}
+// BUG: This one is flaky
+// test "libc_pie_exit" {
+//     try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_exit") }, "");
+// }
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_helloWorld" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_helloWorld" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+}
+// BUG: This one is flaky
+// test "libc_pie_helloWorld" {
+//     try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+// }
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_printArgs" {
+    try testPrintArgs("nolibc_nopie_printArgs");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_printArgs" {
+    try testPrintArgs("nolibc_pie_printArgs");
+}
+// BUG: This one is flaky
+// test "libc_pie_printArgs" {
+//     try testPrintArgs("libc_pie_printArgs");
+// }
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_readlink" {
+    try testReadlink("nolibc_nopie_readlink");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_readlink" {
+    try testReadlink("nolibc_pie_readlink");
+}
+// BUG: This one just outputs the path to the flicker executable and is likely also flaky
+// test "libc_pie_readlink" {
+//     try testReadlink("libc_pie_readlink");
+// }
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_clone_raw" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_clone_raw") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_clone_raw" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_clone_raw") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_clone_no_new_stack" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_clone_no_new_stack") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_clone_no_new_stack" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_clone_no_new_stack") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "echo" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ "echo", "Hello", "There" }, "Hello There\n");
+}
+
+fn testPrintArgs(comptime name: []const u8) !void {
+    const exe_path = getTestExePath(name);
+    const loader_argv: []const []const u8 = &.{ flicker_path, exe_path, "foo", "bar", "baz hi" };
+    const target_argv = loader_argv[1..];
+    const expected_stout = try mem.join(testing.allocator, " ", target_argv);
+    defer testing.allocator.free(expected_stout);
+    try testHelper(loader_argv, expected_stout);
+}
+
+fn testReadlink(comptime name: []const u8) !void {
+    const exe_path = getTestExePath(name);
+    const loader_argv: []const []const u8 = &.{ flicker_path, exe_path };
+    const cwd_path = try std.fs.cwd().realpathAlloc(testing.allocator, ".");
+    defer testing.allocator.free(cwd_path);
+    const expected_path = try std.fs.path.join(testing.allocator, &.{ cwd_path, exe_path });
+    defer testing.allocator.free(expected_path);
+    try testHelper(loader_argv, expected_path);
+}
+
+fn testHelper(
+    argv: []const []const u8,
+    expected_stdout: []const u8,
+) !void {
+    const result = try std.process.Child.run(.{
+        .allocator = testing.allocator,
+        .argv = argv,
+    });
+    defer testing.allocator.free(result.stdout);
+    defer testing.allocator.free(result.stderr);
+    errdefer std.log.err("term: {}", .{result.term});
+    errdefer std.log.err("stdout: {s}", .{result.stdout});
+    errdefer std.log.err("stderr: {s}", .{result.stderr});
+
+    try testing.expectEqualStrings(expected_stdout, result.stdout);
+    try testing.expect(result.term == .Exited);
+    try testing.expectEqual(0, result.term.Exited);
+}

src/syscalls.zig

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 const std = @import("std");
 const linux = std.os.linux;
+const Patcher = @import("Patcher.zig");
+const assert = std.debug.assert;
 
 /// Represents the stack layout pushed by `syscall_entry` before calling the handler.
 pub const UserRegs = extern struct {
@@ -20,41 +22,94 @@ pub const UserRegs = extern struct {
     r13: u64,
     r14: u64,
     r15: u64,
+    /// This one isn't pushed on the stack by `syscall_entry`. It's pushed by the `call r11` to get
+    /// to the `syscall_entry`
+    return_address: u64,
 };
 
 /// The main entry point for intercepted syscalls.
 ///
 /// This function is called from `syscall_entry` with a pointer to the saved registers.
 /// It effectively emulates the syscall instruction while allowing for interception.
-export fn syscall_handler(regs: *UserRegs) void {
+export fn syscall_handler(regs: *UserRegs) callconv(.c) void {
     // TODO: Handle signals (masking) to prevent re-entrancy issues if we touch global state.
-    // TODO: Handle `clone` specially because the child thread wakes up with a fresh stack
-    //       and cannot pop the registers we saved here.
 
-    const sys_nr = regs.rax;
+    const sys: linux.SYS = @enumFromInt(regs.rax);
-    const sys: linux.SYS = @enumFromInt(sys_nr);
-    const arg1 = regs.rdi;
-    const arg2 = regs.rsi;
-    const arg3 = regs.rdx;
-    const arg4 = regs.r10;
-    const arg5 = regs.r8;
-    const arg6 = regs.r9;
 
-    std.debug.print("Got syscall {s}\n", .{@tagName(sys)});
+    switch (sys) {
-    // For now, we just pass through everything.
+        .readlink => {
-    // In the future, we will switch on `sys` to handle mmap, mprotect, etc.
+            // readlink(const char *path, char *buf, size_t bufsiz)
-    const result = std.os.linux.syscall6(sys, arg1, arg2, arg3, arg4, arg5, arg6);
+            const path_ptr = @as([*:0]const u8, @ptrFromInt(regs.rdi));
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with cwd
+            if (isProcSelfExe(path_ptr)) {
+                handleReadlink(regs.rsi, regs.rdx, regs);
+                return;
+            }
+        },
+        .readlinkat => {
+            // readlinkat(int dirfd, const char *pathname, char *buf, size_t bufsiz)
+            // We only intercept if pathname is absolute "/proc/self/exe".
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with dirfd pointing to /proc/self
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with dirfd == AT_FDCWD (like readlink)
+            // TODO: handle empty pathname
+            const path_ptr = @as([*:0]const u8, @ptrFromInt(regs.rsi));
+            if (isProcSelfExe(path_ptr)) {
+                handleReadlink(regs.rdx, regs.r10, regs);
+                return;
+            }
+        },
+        .clone, .clone3 => {
+            handleClone(regs);
+            return;
+        },
+        .fork, .vfork => {
+            // fork/vfork duplicate the stack (or share it until exec), so the return path via
+            // syscall_entry works fine.
+        },
+        .rt_sigreturn => {
+            @panic("sigreturn is not supported yet");
+        },
+        .execve, .execveat => |s| {
+            // TODO: option to persist across new processes
+            std.debug.print("syscall {} called\n", .{s});
+        },
+        .prctl, .arch_prctl, .set_tid_address => |s| {
+            // TODO: what do we need to handle from these?
+            // process name
+            // fs base(gs?)
+            // thread id pointers
+            std.debug.print("syscall {} called\n", .{s});
+        },
+        .mmap, .mprotect => {
+            // TODO: JIT support
+            // TODO: cleanup
+        },
+        .munmap, .mremap => {
+            // TODO: cleanup
+        },
+
+        else => {},
+    }
 
     // Write result back to the saved RAX so it is restored to the application.
-    regs.rax = result;
+    regs.rax = executeSyscall(regs);
+}
+
+inline fn executeSyscall(regs: *UserRegs) u64 {
+    return linux.syscall6(
+        @enumFromInt(regs.rax),
+        regs.rdi,
+        regs.rsi,
+        regs.rdx,
+        regs.r10,
+        regs.r8,
+        regs.r9,
+    );
 }
 
 /// Assembly trampoline that saves state and calls the Zig handler.
 pub fn syscall_entry() callconv(.naked) void {
     asm volatile (
-        \\     # Respect the Red Zone (128 bytes)
-        \\     sub $128, %rsp
-        \\
         \\     # Save all GPRs that must be preserved or are arguments
         \\     push %r15
         \\     push %r14
@@ -103,8 +158,6 @@ pub fn syscall_entry() callconv(.naked) void {
         \\     pop %r14
         \\     pop %r15
         \\
-        \\     # Restore Red Zone and Return
-        \\     add $128, %rsp
         \\     ret
         :
         // TODO: can we somehow use %[handler] in the assembly instead?
@@ -112,3 +165,78 @@ pub fn syscall_entry() callconv(.naked) void {
         : [handler] "i" (syscall_handler),
     );
 }
+
+fn isProcSelfExe(path: [*:0]const u8) bool {
+    const needle = "/proc/self/exe";
+    var i: usize = 0;
+    while (i < needle.len) : (i += 1) {
+        if (path[i] != needle[i]) return false;
+    }
+    return path[i] == 0;
+}
+
+fn handleReadlink(buf_addr: u64, buf_size: u64, regs: *UserRegs) void {
+    const target = Patcher.target_exec_path;
+    const len = @min(target.len, buf_size);
+    const dest = @as([*]u8, @ptrFromInt(buf_addr));
+    @memcpy(dest[0..len], target[0..len]);
+
+    // readlink does not null-terminate if the buffer is full, it just returns length.
+    regs.rax = len;
+}
+
+const CloneArgs = extern struct {
+    flags: u64,
+    pidfd: u64,
+    child_tid: u64,
+    parent_tid: u64,
+    exit_signal: u64,
+    stack: u64,
+    stack_size: u64,
+    tls: u64,
+    set_tid: u64,
+    set_tid_size: u64,
+    cgroup: u64,
+};
+
+fn handleClone(regs: *UserRegs) void {
+    const sys: linux.syscalls.X64 = @enumFromInt(regs.rax);
+    std.debug.print("got: {}\n", .{sys});
+    var child_stack: u64 = 0;
+
+    // Determine stack
+    if (sys == .clone) {
+        // clone(flags, stack, ...)
+        child_stack = regs.rsi;
+    } else {
+        // clone3(struct clone_args *args, size_t size)
+        const args = @as(*const CloneArgs, @ptrFromInt(regs.rdi));
+        if (args.stack != 0) {
+            child_stack = args.stack + args.stack_size;
+        }
+    }
+    std.debug.print("child_stack: {x}\n", .{child_stack});
+
+    // If no new stack, just execute (like fork)
+    if (child_stack == 0) {
+        regs.rax = executeSyscall(regs);
+        if (regs.rax == 0) {
+            postCloneChild(regs);
+        } else {
+            assert(regs.rax > 0); // TODO:: error handling
+            postCloneParent(regs);
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
+    @panic("case with a different stack is not handled yet");
+}
+
+fn postCloneChild(regs: *UserRegs) void {
+    _ = regs;
+    std.debug.print("Child: post clone\n", .{});
+}
+
+fn postCloneParent(regs: *UserRegs) void {
+    std.debug.print("Parent: post clone; Child PID: {}\n", .{regs.rax});
+}

src/test/clone_raw.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+const clone = linux.CLONE;
+
+var child_stack: [4096 * 4]u8 align(16) = undefined;
+pub fn main() !void {
+    // SIGCHLD: Send signal to parent on exit (required for waitpid)
+    const flags = clone.VM | clone.FILES | clone.FS | clone.SIGHAND | linux.SIG.CHLD;
+
+    // Stack grows downwards. Point to the end.
+    const stack_top = @intFromPtr(&child_stack) + child_stack.len;
+
+    const msg = "Child: Hello\n";
+    const msg_len = msg.len;
+
+    // We use inline assembly to perform the clone syscall and handle the child path completely to
+    // avoid the compiler generating code that relies on the parent's stack frame in the child
+    // process (where the stack is empty).
+    const ret = asm volatile (
+        \\ syscall
+        \\ test %%rax, %%rax
+        \\ jnz 1f
+        \\
+        \\ # Child Path
+        \\ # Write to stdout
+        \\ mov $1, %%rdi        # fd = 1 (stdout)
+        \\ mov %[msg], %%rsi    # buffer
+        \\ mov %[len], %%rdx    # length
+        \\ mov $1, %%rax        # SYS_write
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ # Exit
+        \\ mov $0, %%rdi        # code = 0
+        \\ mov $60, %%rax       # SYS_exit
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ # Should not be reached
+        \\ ud2
+        \\
+        \\ 1:
+        \\ # Parent Path continues
+        : [ret] "={rax}" (-> usize),
+        : [number] "{rax}" (@intFromEnum(linux.syscalls.X64.clone)),
+          [arg1] "{rdi}" (flags),
+          [arg2] "{rsi}" (stack_top),
+          [arg3] "{rdx}" (0),
+          [arg4] "{r10}" (0),
+          [arg5] "{r8}" (0),
+          [msg] "r" (msg.ptr),
+          [len] "r" (msg_len),
+        : .{ .rcx = true, .r11 = true, .memory = true });
+
+    // Parent Process
+    const child_pid: i32 = @intCast(ret);
+    if (child_pid < 0) {
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr("Parent: Clone failed\n"), 21);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    var status: u32 = 0;
+    // wait4 for the child to exit
+    _ = linux.syscall4(.wait4, @as(usize, @intCast(child_pid)), @intFromPtr(&status), 0, 0);
+
+    _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr("Parent: Goodbye\n"), 16);
+}

src/test/exit.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+pub fn main() void {
+    return;
+}

src/test/helloWorld.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+    try stdout.print("Hello World!\n", .{});
+    try stdout.flush();
+}

src/test/printArgs.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+
+    // It is done this way to remove the trailing space with a naive implementation.
+    var args = std.process.args();
+    if (args.next()) |arg| {
+        try stdout.print("{s}", .{arg});
+    }
+    while (args.next()) |arg| {
+        try stdout.print(" {s}", .{arg});
+    }
+    try stdout.flush();
+}

src/test/readlink.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var buf: [std.fs.max_path_bytes]u8 = undefined;
+    // We use /proc/self/exe to test if the loader interception works.
+    // const path = try std.posix.readlink("/proc/self/exe", &buf);
+    const size = std.posix.system.readlink("/proc/self/exe", &buf, buf.len);
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+    try stdout.print("{s}", .{buf[0..@intCast(size)]});
+    try stdout.flush();
+}