feat: add cwd tracking to kernel, remove shell hack, update system utilities to use getcwd, fix tcc libc stub, fix nonexistent directory issue

kernel/src/Api/Filesystem.hpp

@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
 #include <Memory/HHDM.hpp>
 #include <Memory/Paging.hpp>
 #include <Libraries/Memory.hpp>
+#include "Path.hpp"
 
 namespace Montauk {
     static int Sys_Open(const char* path) {
-        return Fs::Vfs::VfsOpen(path);
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+        return Fs::Vfs::VfsOpen(resolved);
     }
 
     static int Sys_Read(int handle, uint8_t* buffer, uint64_t offset, uint64_t size) {
@@ -31,11 +34,14 @@ namespace Montauk {
     }
 
     static int Sys_ReadDir(const char* path, const char** outNames, int maxEntries) {
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+
         // Get entries from VFS into a kernel-local array
         const char* kernelNames[256];
         int max = maxEntries;
         if (max > 256) max = 256;
-        int count = Fs::Vfs::VfsReadDir(path, kernelNames, max);
+        int count = Fs::Vfs::VfsReadDir(resolved, kernelNames, max);
         if (count <= 0) return count;
 
         // Allocate a user-accessible page for string data via process heap
@@ -70,19 +76,29 @@ namespace Montauk {
     }
 
     static int Sys_FCreate(const char* path) {
-        return Fs::Vfs::VfsCreate(path);
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+        return Fs::Vfs::VfsCreate(resolved);
     }
 
     static int Sys_FDelete(const char* path) {
-        return Fs::Vfs::VfsDelete(path);
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+        return Fs::Vfs::VfsDelete(resolved);
     }
 
     static int Sys_FMkdir(const char* path) {
-        return Fs::Vfs::VfsMkdir(path);
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+        return Fs::Vfs::VfsMkdir(resolved);
     }
 
     static int Sys_FRename(const char* oldPath, const char* newPath) {
-        return Fs::Vfs::VfsRename(oldPath, newPath);
+        char resolvedOld[256];
+        char resolvedNew[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(oldPath, resolvedOld, sizeof(resolvedOld))) return -1;
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(newPath, resolvedNew, sizeof(resolvedNew))) return -1;
+        return Fs::Vfs::VfsRename(resolvedOld, resolvedNew);
     }
 
     static int Sys_DriveList(int* outDrives, int maxEntries) {

kernel/src/Api/IoRedir.hpp

@@ -11,11 +11,15 @@
 
 #include "Syscall.hpp"
 #include "Common.hpp"
+#include "Path.hpp"
 
 namespace Montauk {
 
     static int Sys_SpawnRedir(const char* path, const char* args) {
-        int childPid = Sched::Spawn(path, args);
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+
+        int childPid = Sched::Spawn(resolved, args);
         if (childPid < 0) return -1;
 
         auto* child = Sched::GetProcessByPid(childPid);

kernel/src/Api/Path.hpp

@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+/*
+    * Path.hpp
+    * Per-process working-directory path resolution helpers
+    * Copyright (c) 2026 Daniel Hammer
+*/
+
+#pragma once
+#include <cstddef>
+#include <Sched/Scheduler.hpp>
+#include <Libraries/Memory.hpp>
+
+namespace Montauk {
+
+    static int ParseDrivePrefix(const char* path, int* outPrefixLen = nullptr) {
+        if (path == nullptr || path[0] < '0' || path[0] > '9') return -1;
+
+        int drive = 0;
+        int i = 0;
+        while (path[i] >= '0' && path[i] <= '9') {
+            drive = drive * 10 + (path[i] - '0');
+            i++;
+        }
+
+        if (path[i] != ':') return -1;
+        if (outPrefixLen) *outPrefixLen = i + 1;
+        return drive;
+    }
+
+    static int WriteDriveRoot(char* out, int outMax, int drive) {
+        if (out == nullptr || outMax < 4 || drive < 0) return -1;
+
+        char digits[12];
+        int digitCount = 0;
+        do {
+            digits[digitCount++] = (char)('0' + (drive % 10));
+            drive /= 10;
+        } while (drive > 0 && digitCount < (int)sizeof(digits));
+
+        if (digitCount + 2 >= outMax) return -1;
+
+        int len = 0;
+        for (int i = digitCount - 1; i >= 0; i--) out[len++] = digits[i];
+        out[len++] = ':';
+        out[len++] = '/';
+        out[len] = '\0';
+        return len;
+    }
+
+    static bool AppendPathSegment(char* out, int outMax, int& len, int rootLen,
+                                  int* segmentBases, int& segmentCount,
+                                  const char* segment, int segmentLen) {
+        if (segmentLen <= 0) return true;
+        if (segmentLen == 1 && segment[0] == '.') return true;
+
+        if (segmentLen == 2 && segment[0] == '.' && segment[1] == '.') {
+            if (segmentCount > 0) {
+                len = segmentBases[--segmentCount];
+                out[len] = '\0';
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        if (segmentCount >= 64) return false;
+
+        int baseLen = len;
+        if (len > rootLen) {
+            if (len >= outMax - 1) return false;
+            out[len++] = '/';
+        }
+
+        if (len + segmentLen >= outMax) return false;
+        memcpy(out + len, segment, (std::size_t)segmentLen);
+        len += segmentLen;
+        out[len] = '\0';
+        segmentBases[segmentCount++] = baseLen;
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    static bool NormalizePathInto(char* out, int outMax, int& len, int rootLen,
+                                  int* segmentBases, int& segmentCount,
+                                  const char* path) {
+        const char* segmentStart = path;
+        for (const char* p = path;; ++p) {
+            if (*p == '/' || *p == '\0') {
+                if (!AppendPathSegment(out, outMax, len, rootLen, segmentBases,
+                                       segmentCount, segmentStart, (int)(p - segmentStart))) {
+                    return false;
+                }
+                if (*p == '\0') break;
+                segmentStart = p + 1;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    static bool ResolvePathAgainst(const char* cwd, const char* path, char* out, int outMax) {
+        if (cwd == nullptr || path == nullptr || out == nullptr || outMax < 4 || path[0] == '\0') return false;
+
+        int drive = -1;
+        int inputPrefixLen = 0;
+        const char* remainder = path;
+        bool useCwdBase = false;
+
+        drive = ParseDrivePrefix(path, &inputPrefixLen);
+        if (drive >= 0) {
+            remainder = path + inputPrefixLen;
+            if (*remainder == '/') remainder++;
+        } else if (path[0] == '/') {
+            drive = ParseDrivePrefix(cwd);
+            if (drive < 0) return false;
+            remainder = path + 1;
+        } else {
+            drive = ParseDrivePrefix(cwd);
+            if (drive < 0) return false;
+            useCwdBase = true;
+        }
+
+        int segmentBases[64];
+        int segmentCount = 0;
+        int len = WriteDriveRoot(out, outMax, drive);
+        if (len < 0) return false;
+        int rootLen = len;
+
+        if (useCwdBase) {
+            int cwdPrefixLen = 0;
+            if (ParseDrivePrefix(cwd, &cwdPrefixLen) < 0) return false;
+
+            const char* cwdRemainder = cwd + cwdPrefixLen;
+            if (*cwdRemainder == '/') cwdRemainder++;
+            if (!NormalizePathInto(out, outMax, len, rootLen, segmentBases, segmentCount, cwdRemainder)) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return NormalizePathInto(out, outMax, len, rootLen, segmentBases, segmentCount, remainder);
+    }
+
+    static bool ResolveProcessPath(const char* path, char* out, int outMax) {
+        auto* proc = Sched::GetCurrentProcessPtr();
+        const char* cwd = (proc && proc->cwd[0]) ? proc->cwd : "0:/";
+        return ResolvePathAgainst(cwd, path, out, outMax);
+    }
+}

kernel/src/Api/Process.hpp

@@ -11,9 +11,11 @@
 #include <Memory/Paging.hpp>
 #include <Memory/PageFrameAllocator.hpp>
 #include <Memory/HHDM.hpp>
+#include <Fs/Vfs.hpp>
 
 #include "Syscall.hpp"
 #include "WinServer.hpp"
+#include "Path.hpp"
 
 namespace Montauk {
     static void Sys_Exit(int exitCode) {
@@ -38,8 +40,11 @@ namespace Montauk {
     }
 
     static int Sys_Spawn(const char* path, const char* args) {
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+
         auto* parent = Sched::GetCurrentProcessPtr();
-        int childPid = Sched::Spawn(path, args);
+        int childPid = Sched::Spawn(resolved, args);
         if (childPid < 0) return childPid;
 
             // Inherit I/O redirection: if the parent is redirected, the child
@@ -120,4 +125,46 @@ namespace Montauk {
         buf[i] = '\0';
         return i;
     }
+
+    static int Sys_GetCwd(char* buf, uint64_t maxLen) {
+        auto* proc = Sched::GetCurrentProcessPtr();
+        if (proc == nullptr || buf == nullptr || maxLen == 0) return -1;
+
+        const char* cwd = proc->cwd[0] ? proc->cwd : "0:/";
+        int i = 0;
+        for (; i < (int)maxLen - 1 && cwd[i]; i++) buf[i] = cwd[i];
+        buf[i] = '\0';
+        return i;
+    }
+
+    static int Sys_Chdir(const char* path) {
+        auto* proc = Sched::GetCurrentProcessPtr();
+        if (proc == nullptr || path == nullptr) return -1;
+
+        char resolved[256];
+        if (!ResolveProcessPath(path, resolved, sizeof(resolved))) return -1;
+
+        bool isDriveRoot = false;
+        {
+            int prefixLen = 0;
+            if (ParseDrivePrefix(resolved, &prefixLen) >= 0 &&
+                resolved[prefixLen] == '/' && resolved[prefixLen + 1] == '\0') {
+                isDriveRoot = true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (isDriveRoot) {
+            const char* entries[1];
+            if (Fs::Vfs::VfsReadDir(resolved, entries, 1) < 0) return -1;
+        } else {
+            int handle = Fs::Vfs::VfsOpen(resolved);
+            if (handle < 0) return -1;
+            Fs::Vfs::VfsClose(handle);
+        }
+
+        int i = 0;
+        for (; i < 255 && resolved[i]; i++) proc->cwd[i] = resolved[i];
+        proc->cwd[i] = '\0';
+        return 0;
+    }
 };

kernel/src/Api/Syscall.cpp

@@ -347,6 +347,12 @@ namespace Montauk {
             case SYS_GETUSER:
                 if (!ValidUserPtr(frame->arg1)) return -1;
                 return Sys_GetUser((char*)frame->arg1, frame->arg2);
+            case SYS_GETCWD:
+                if (!ValidUserPtr(frame->arg1)) return -1;
+                return Sys_GetCwd((char*)frame->arg1, frame->arg2);
+            case SYS_CHDIR:
+                if (!ValidUserPtr(frame->arg1)) return -1;
+                return Sys_Chdir((const char*)frame->arg1);
             default:
                 return -1;
         }

kernel/src/Api/Syscall.hpp

@@ -184,6 +184,8 @@ namespace Montauk {
 
     /* Filesystem.hpp */
     static constexpr uint64_t SYS_FRENAME       = 94;
+    static constexpr uint64_t SYS_GETCWD        = 95;
+    static constexpr uint64_t SYS_CHDIR         = 96;
 
     static constexpr int SOCK_TCP = 1;
     static constexpr int SOCK_UDP = 2;

kernel/src/Sched/Scheduler.cpp

@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ namespace Sched {
             processTable[i].heapNext = 0;
             processTable[i].args[0] = '\0';
             processTable[i].user[0] = '\0';
+            processTable[i].cwd[0] = '\0';
             processTable[i].runningOnCpu = -1;
             processTable[i].killPending = false;
             processTable[i].waitingForPid = -1;
@@ -301,6 +302,23 @@ namespace Sched {
             }
         }
 
+        {
+            auto* cpu = Smp::GetCurrentCpuData();
+            int parentSlot = cpu->currentSlot;
+            if (parentSlot >= 0 && processTable[parentSlot].cwd[0]) {
+                int i = 0;
+                for (; i < 255 && processTable[parentSlot].cwd[i]; i++) {
+                    proc.cwd[i] = processTable[parentSlot].cwd[i];
+                }
+                proc.cwd[i] = '\0';
+            } else {
+                proc.cwd[0] = '0';
+                proc.cwd[1] = ':';
+                proc.cwd[2] = '/';
+                proc.cwd[3] = '\0';
+            }
+        }
+
         proc.redirected = false;
         proc.parentPid = -1;
         proc.outBuf = nullptr;

kernel/src/Sched/Scheduler.hpp

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ namespace Sched {
         uint64_t heapNext;        // Simple bump allocator for user heap
         char args[256];           // Command-line arguments (set by parent via Spawn)
         char user[32];            // Owner user name (inherited from parent on spawn)
+        char cwd[256];            // Absolute current working directory
 
         int runningOnCpu;         // CPU index running this process (-1 if not running)
         bool killPending = false; // Set by Sys_Kill when target is running on another CPU

programs/include/Api/Syscall.hpp

@@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ namespace Montauk {
     // User management
     static constexpr uint64_t SYS_SETUSER       = 92;
     static constexpr uint64_t SYS_GETUSER       = 93;
+    static constexpr uint64_t SYS_FRENAME       = 94;
+    static constexpr uint64_t SYS_GETCWD        = 95;
+    static constexpr uint64_t SYS_CHDIR         = 96;
 
     // Audio control commands (for SYS_AUDIOCTL)
     static constexpr int AUDIO_CTL_SET_VOLUME = 0;

programs/include/libc/montauk.h

@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ extern "C" {
 #define MTK_SYS_AUDIOCTL        83
 #define MTK_SYS_SETTZ           90
 #define MTK_SYS_GETTZ           91
+#define MTK_SYS_GETCWD          95
+#define MTK_SYS_CHDIR           96
 
 #define MTK_SOCK_TCP 1
 #define MTK_SOCK_UDP 2
@@ -318,6 +320,14 @@ static inline int mtk_getargs(char *buf, unsigned long max_len) {
     return (int)_mtk_syscall2(MTK_SYS_GETARGS, (long)buf, (long)max_len);
 }
 
+static inline int mtk_chdir(const char *path) {
+    return (int)_mtk_syscall1(MTK_SYS_CHDIR, (long)path);
+}
+
+static inline int mtk_getcwd(char *buf, unsigned long max_len) {
+    return (int)_mtk_syscall2(MTK_SYS_GETCWD, (long)buf, (long)max_len);
+}
+
 /* ====================================================================
    Console I/O
    ==================================================================== */

programs/include/libc/unistd.h

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ int    read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
 int    write(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
 int    close(int fd);
 long   lseek(int fd, long offset, int whence);
+int    chdir(const char *path);
+char  *getcwd(char *buf, size_t size);
 
 unsigned int sleep(unsigned int seconds);
 

programs/include/montauk/syscall.h

@@ -120,6 +120,12 @@ namespace montauk {
     inline int spawn(const char* path, const char* args = nullptr) {
         return (int)syscall2(Montauk::SYS_SPAWN, (uint64_t)path, (uint64_t)args);
     }
+    inline int chdir(const char* path) {
+        return (int)syscall1(Montauk::SYS_CHDIR, (uint64_t)path);
+    }
+    inline int getcwd(char* buf, uint64_t maxLen) {
+        return (int)syscall2(Montauk::SYS_GETCWD, (uint64_t)buf, maxLen);
+    }
 
     // Console
     inline void print(const char* text) { syscall1(Montauk::SYS_PRINT, (uint64_t)text); }

programs/lib/libc/libc.c

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <math.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <errno.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 
 /* ========================================================================
@@ -96,6 +97,8 @@ static inline long _zos_syscall4(long nr, long a1, long a2, long a3, long a4) {
 #define SYS_FDELETE 77
 #define SYS_FMKDIR  78
 #define SYS_FRENAME 94
+#define SYS_GETCWD  95
+#define SYS_CHDIR   96
 
 /* ========================================================================
    errno
@@ -1395,6 +1398,30 @@ long lseek(int fd, long offset, int whence) {
     return (long)newpos;
 }
 
+int chdir(const char *path) {
+    if (path == NULL) {
+        errno = EINVAL;
+        return -1;
+    }
+    if ((int)_zos_syscall1(SYS_CHDIR, (long)path) < 0) {
+        errno = ENOENT;
+        return -1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+char *getcwd(char *buf, size_t size) {
+    if (buf == NULL || size == 0) {
+        errno = EINVAL;
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    if ((int)_zos_syscall2(SYS_GETCWD, (long)buf, (long)size) < 0) {
+        errno = ERANGE;
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    return buf;
+}
+
 /* ========================================================================
    sys/stat.h functions
    ======================================================================== */

programs/src/rm/main.cpp

@@ -11,22 +11,16 @@ extern "C" void _start() {
     char args[256];
     montauk::getargs((char *)&args, 256);
 
-    if (*args) {
+    const char* path = montauk::skip_spaces((const char *)&args);
-        const char* arg = montauk::skip_spaces((const char *)&args);
+    if (*path == '\0') {
-        
-        if (*arg != '\0') {
-            int fd = montauk::open(arg);
-            if (fd < 0) {
-                montauk::print("file not found\n");
-            } else {
-                montauk::close(fd);
-                montauk::fdelete(arg);
-            }
-        }
-    } else {
         montauk::print("usage: rm [file]\n");
         montauk::exit(-1);
     }
 
+    if (montauk::fdelete(path) < 0) {
+        montauk::print("rm: failed to remove file\n");
+        montauk::exit(-1);
+    }
+
     montauk::exit(0);
 }

programs/src/shell/builtins.cpp

@@ -6,6 +6,21 @@
 
 #include "shell.h"
 
+static void print_ls_entry(const char* entry) {
+    int len = slen(entry);
+    bool hadTrailingSlash = len > 0 && entry[len - 1] == '/';
+
+    while (len > 0 && entry[len - 1] == '/') len--;
+
+    int base = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+        if (entry[i] == '/') base = i + 1;
+    }
+
+    for (int i = base; i < len; i++) montauk::putchar(entry[i]);
+    if (hadTrailingSlash) montauk::putchar('/');
+}
+
 // ---- help ----
 
 void cmd_help() {
@@ -67,28 +82,9 @@ void cmd_help() {
 void cmd_ls(const char* arg) {
     arg = skip_spaces(arg);
 
-    char dir[128];
-    int drive = current_drive;
-    if (*arg) {
-        if (has_drive_prefix(arg)) {
-            drive = parse_drive_prefix(arg);
-            int plen = drive_prefix_len(arg);
-            scopy(dir, arg + plen + 1, sizeof(dir));
-        } else if (arg[0] == '/') {
-            scopy(dir, arg + 1, sizeof(dir));
-        } else if (cwd[0]) {
-            scopy(dir, cwd, sizeof(dir));
-            scat(dir, "/", sizeof(dir));
-            scat(dir, arg, sizeof(dir));
-        } else {
-            scopy(dir, arg, sizeof(dir));
-        }
-    } else {
-        scopy(dir, cwd, sizeof(dir));
-    }
-
     char path[128];
-    build_drive_path(drive, dir, path, sizeof(path));
+    if (*arg) scopy(path, arg, sizeof(path));
+    else scopy(path, ".", sizeof(path));
 
     const char* entries[64];
     int count = montauk::readdir(path, entries, 64);
@@ -97,16 +93,9 @@ void cmd_ls(const char* arg) {
         return;
     }
 
-    int prefixLen = 0;
-    if (dir[0]) prefixLen = slen(dir) + 1;
-
     for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
         montauk::print("  ");
-        if (prefixLen > 0 && starts_with(entries[i], dir)) {
+        print_ls_entry(entries[i]);
-            montauk::print(entries[i] + prefixLen);
-        } else {
-            montauk::print(entries[i]);
-        }
         montauk::putchar('\n');
     }
 }
@@ -116,141 +105,30 @@ void cmd_ls(const char* arg) {
 bool switch_drive(int drive) {
     char path[8];
     build_drive_path(drive, "", path, sizeof(path));
-    const char* entries[1];
+    if (montauk::chdir(path) < 0) return false;
-    if (montauk::readdir(path, entries, 1) < 0) return false;
+    sync_cwd();
-    current_drive = drive;
-    cwd[0] = '\0';
     return true;
 }
 
 int cmd_cd(const char* arg) {
     arg = skip_spaces(arg);
 
-    // cd with no argument -> go to home directory (or root if no session)
-    if (*arg == '\0') {
-        if (session_home[0] && has_drive_prefix(session_home)) {
-            int drive = parse_drive_prefix(session_home);
-            int plen = drive_prefix_len(session_home);
-            const char* rel = session_home + plen;
-            if (*rel == '/') rel++;
-            current_drive = drive;
-            if (*rel) scopy(cwd, rel, sizeof(cwd));
-            else cwd[0] = '\0';
-        } else {
-            cwd[0] = '\0';
-        }
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // cd / -> go to root
-    if (streq(arg, "/")) {
-        cwd[0] = '\0';
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // Strip trailing slashes from argument
-    static char argBuf[128];
-    int aLen = 0;
-    while (arg[aLen] && aLen < 127) { argBuf[aLen] = arg[aLen]; aLen++; }
-    argBuf[aLen] = '\0';
-    while (aLen > 0 && argBuf[aLen - 1] == '/') argBuf[--aLen] = '\0';
-    arg = argBuf;
-
-    if (*arg == '\0') {
-        cwd[0] = '\0';
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // cd .. -> go up one level
-    if (streq(arg, "..")) {
-        int len = slen(cwd);
-        int last = -1;
-        for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
-            if (cwd[i] == '/') last = i;
-        }
-        if (last >= 0) {
-            cwd[last] = '\0';
-        } else {
-            cwd[0] = '\0';
-        }
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // cd /path -> absolute path from root
-    if (arg[0] == '/') {
-        arg++;
-        if (*arg == '\0') { cwd[0] = '\0'; return 0; }
-        char path[128];
-        build_dir_path(arg, path, sizeof(path));
-        const char* entries[1];
-        if (montauk::readdir(path, entries, 1) < 0) {
-            montauk::print("cd: no such directory: ");
-            montauk::print(arg);
-            montauk::putchar('\n');
-            return 1;
-        }
-        scopy(cwd, arg, sizeof(cwd));
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // cd N:/ or cd N:/path -> switch drive
-    if (has_drive_prefix(arg)) {
-        int drive = parse_drive_prefix(arg);
-        int plen = drive_prefix_len(arg);
-        const char* rel = arg + plen;
-        if (*rel == '/') rel++;
-
-        char rootPath[8];
-        build_drive_path(drive, "", rootPath, sizeof(rootPath));
-        const char* rootEntries[1];
-        if (montauk::readdir(rootPath, rootEntries, 1) < 0) {
-            montauk::print("cd: no such drive: ");
-            montauk::print(arg);
-            montauk::putchar('\n');
-            return 1;
-        }
-
-        if (*rel != '\0') {
-            char path[128];
-            build_drive_path(drive, rel, path, sizeof(path));
-            const char* entries[1];
-            if (montauk::readdir(path, entries, 1) < 0) {
-                montauk::print("cd: no such directory: ");
-                montauk::print(arg);
-                montauk::putchar('\n');
-                return 1;
-            }
-            current_drive = drive;
-            scopy(cwd, rel, sizeof(cwd));
-        } else {
-            current_drive = drive;
-            cwd[0] = '\0';
-        }
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    // Relative path
     char target[128];
-    if (cwd[0]) {
+    if (*arg == '\0') {
-        scopy(target, cwd, sizeof(target));
+        if (session_home[0]) scopy(target, session_home, sizeof(target));
-        scat(target, "/", sizeof(target));
+        else scopy(target, "/", sizeof(target));
-        scat(target, arg, sizeof(target));
     } else {
         scopy(target, arg, sizeof(target));
     }
 
-    char path[128];
+    if (montauk::chdir(target) < 0) {
-    build_dir_path(target, path, sizeof(path));
-    const char* entries[1];
-    int count = montauk::readdir(path, entries, 1);
-    if (count < 0) {
         montauk::print("cd: no such directory: ");
-        montauk::print(arg);
+        montauk::print(target);
         montauk::putchar('\n');
         return 1;
     }
 
-    scopy(cwd, target, sizeof(cwd));
+    sync_cwd();
     return 0;
 }
 

programs/src/shell/exec.cpp

@@ -36,81 +36,29 @@ static void build_cwd_path(const char* name, char* out, int outMax) {
     scat(out, name, outMax);
 }
 
-// ---- Resolve arguments: expand relative file paths against CWD ----
-
-static void resolve_args(const char* args, char* out, int outMax) {
-    if (!args || !args[0]) { out[0] = '\0'; return; }
-
-    int o = 0;
-    const char* p = args;
-
-    while (*p && o < outMax - 1) {
-        while (*p == ' ' && o < outMax - 1) { out[o++] = *p++; }
-        if (!*p) break;
-
-        const char* tokStart = p;
-        int tokLen = 0;
-        while (p[tokLen] && p[tokLen] != ' ') tokLen++;
-
-        bool resolve = (cwd[0] || current_drive != 0) && !has_drive_prefix(tokStart) && tokStart[0] != '-';
-
-        if (resolve) {
-            char candidate[256];
-            int r = 0;
-            if (current_drive >= 10) candidate[r++] = '0' + current_drive / 10;
-            candidate[r++] = '0' + current_drive % 10;
-            candidate[r++] = ':'; candidate[r++] = '/';
-            int j = 0;
-            while (cwd[j] && r < 255) candidate[r++] = cwd[j++];
-            if (cwd[0] && r < 255) candidate[r++] = '/';
-
-            // Strip leading "./" from token
-            int skip = 0;
-            if (tokLen >= 2 && tokStart[0] == '.' && tokStart[1] == '/') skip = 2;
-
-            for (int k = skip; k < tokLen && r < 255; k++) candidate[r++] = tokStart[k];
-            candidate[r] = '\0';
-
-            int h = montauk::open(candidate);
-            if (h >= 0) {
-                montauk::close(h);
-                for (int k = 0; k < r && o < outMax - 1; k++) out[o++] = candidate[k];
-            } else {
-                bool looksLikeFile = false;
-                for (int k = 0; k < tokLen; k++) {
-                    if (tokStart[k] == '.') { looksLikeFile = true; break; }
-                }
-                if (looksLikeFile) {
-                    for (int k = 0; k < r && o < outMax - 1; k++) out[o++] = candidate[k];
-                } else {
-                    for (int k = 0; k < tokLen && o < outMax - 1; k++) out[o++] = tokStart[k];
-                }
-            }
-        } else {
-            for (int k = 0; k < tokLen && o < outMax - 1; k++) out[o++] = tokStart[k];
-        }
-
-        p = tokStart + tokLen;
-    }
-    out[o] = '\0';
-}
-
 // ---- Search and execute an external command ----
 
 int exec_external(const char* cmd, const char* args) {
     char path[256];
-
+    const char* finalArgs = (args && args[0]) ? args : nullptr;
-    char resolvedArgs[512];
-    resolve_args(args, resolvedArgs, sizeof(resolvedArgs));
-    const char* finalArgs = resolvedArgs[0] ? resolvedArgs : nullptr;
 
     // Strip leading "./" from command name
     const char* name = cmd;
     if (name[0] == '.' && name[1] == '/') name += 2;
 
-    // 0. If cmd has a drive prefix (absolute path), try it directly
+    // 0. Direct paths are resolved by the kernel against the process CWD.
-    if (has_drive_prefix(cmd)) {
+    bool hasSlash = false;
+    for (int i = 0; cmd[i]; i++) {
+        if (cmd[i] == '/') {
+            hasSlash = true;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+    if (has_drive_prefix(cmd) || cmd[0] == '/' || cmd[0] == '.' || hasSlash) {
         if (try_exec(cmd, finalArgs)) return 0;
+        scopy(path, cmd, sizeof(path));
+        scat(path, ".elf", sizeof(path));
+        if (try_exec(path, finalArgs)) return 0;
         montauk::print(cmd);
         montauk::print(": not found\n");
         return 127;

programs/src/shell/main.cpp

@@ -14,6 +14,28 @@ int last_exit = 0;
 char session_user[32] = "";
 char session_home[64] = "";
 
+void sync_cwd() {
+    char abs[128];
+    if (montauk::getcwd(abs, sizeof(abs)) < 0) {
+        current_drive = 0;
+        cwd[0] = '\0';
+        return;
+    }
+
+    int drive = parse_drive_prefix(abs);
+    if (drive < 0) {
+        current_drive = 0;
+        cwd[0] = '\0';
+        return;
+    }
+
+    current_drive = drive;
+    int plen = drive_prefix_len(abs);
+    const char* rel = abs + plen;
+    if (*rel == '/') rel++;
+    scopy(cwd, rel, sizeof(cwd));
+}
+
 // ---- Session info (read once at startup) ----
 
 void read_session() {
@@ -165,6 +187,7 @@ static int process_command(const char* line) {
     if (streq(cmd, "false")) { return 1; }
 
     if (streq(cmd, "pwd")) {
+        sync_cwd();
         char path[128];
         build_dir_path(cwd, path, sizeof(path));
         montauk::print(path);
@@ -202,6 +225,7 @@ static int process_command(const char* line) {
                 montauk::print(session_home);
                 montauk::putchar('\n');
             }
+            sync_cwd();
             char path[128];
             build_dir_path(cwd, path, sizeof(path));
             montauk::print("PWD=");
@@ -331,6 +355,7 @@ static constexpr uint8_t SC_RIGHT = 0x4D;
 // ---- Entry point ----
 
 extern "C" void _start() {
+    sync_cwd();
     read_session();
 
     montauk::print("\n");

programs/src/shell/shell.h

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ const char* var_user_value(int idx);
 // ---- Session (main.cpp) ----
 
 void read_session();
+void sync_cwd();
 
 // ---- Builtins (builtins.cpp) ----
 

programs/src/shell/vars.cpp

@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ const char* var_get(const char* name) {
     if (streq(name, "USER")) return session_user[0] ? session_user : nullptr;
     if (streq(name, "HOME")) return session_home[0] ? session_home : nullptr;
     if (streq(name, "PWD")) {
+        sync_cwd();
         build_dir_path(cwd, synth, sizeof(synth));
         return synth;
     }

programs/src/tcc/montauk_compat.h

@@ -72,19 +72,8 @@ static inline int gettimeofday(struct timeval *tv, struct timezone *tz) {
     return 0;
 }
 
-/* ====================================================================
+/* getcwd is provided by libc now */
-   getcwd stub (for debug info)
+char *getcwd(char *buf, size_t size);
-   ==================================================================== */
-
-static inline char *getcwd(char *buf, size_t size) {
-    if (buf && size > 4) {
-        buf[0] = '0';
-        buf[1] = ':';
-        buf[2] = '/';
-        buf[3] = '\0';
-    }
-    return buf;
-}
 
 /* ====================================================================
    POSIX file access stubs

programs/src/touch/main.cpp

@@ -11,21 +11,24 @@ extern "C" void _start() {
     char args[256];
     montauk::getargs((char *)&args, 256);
 
-    if (*args) {
+    const char* path = montauk::skip_spaces((const char *)&args);
-        const char* arg = montauk::skip_spaces((const char *)&args);
+    if (*path == '\0') {
-        int fd = montauk::open(arg);
-        montauk::close(fd);
-
-        if (fd >= 0) { /* file already exists */
-            montauk::exit(0);
-        } else {
-            int fd = montauk::fcreate(arg);
-            montauk::close(fd);
-
-            montauk::exit(0);
-        }
-    } else {
         montauk::print("usage: touch [filename]\n");
         montauk::exit(-1);
     }
+
+    int fd = montauk::open(path);
+    if (fd >= 0) {
+        montauk::close(fd);
+        montauk::exit(0);
+    }
+
+    fd = montauk::fcreate(path);
+    if (fd < 0) {
+        montauk::print("touch: failed to create file\n");
+        montauk::exit(-1);
+    }
+
+    montauk::close(fd);
+    montauk::exit(0);
 }