app-console-keys is the always-installed base chassis of os-console. All other console modules — email, content, SLM monitoring, and the rest — are optional cartridges that plug into the framework app-console-keys defines. The module is mandatory: an os-console binary built without it will not compile.

Naming note: "keys" in app-console-keys refers to keyboard function keys — the F1 through F12 strip that navigates between cartridge slots. It does not refer to cryptographic keys. Cryptographic pairing and machine-based authorization are implemented by system-gateway-mba, a separate crate.

The Cartridge trait

app-console-keys defines the Cartridge trait — the interface every app-console-* module must implement. The trait is minimal: a module declares which F-key slot it occupies, what to render when that slot is active, and how to handle keyboard input while active. The chassis handles everything else: slot registration, input dispatch, focus management, and the status bar.

Because cartridges are compiled directly into the os-console binary rather than loaded at runtime, the trait is a compile-time contract. A module that fails to implement it produces a build error, not a runtime failure.

The F-key navigation strip

The primary interface element managed by app-console-keys is the horizontal F-key tab strip at the top of the console. The strip shows one slot per registered cartridge. The active slot is highlighted; inactive slots are greyed when not installed.

The strip does not re-order slots at runtime. Each cartridge's slot position is fixed at the F-key number it claims. app-console-input is permanently fixed at F12 per SYS-ADR-10.

The status bar

The app-console-keys status bar runs along the bottom of the console and is always visible, regardless of which cartridge slot is active. It displays:

Component	Content
Identity	Username and tenant set during the pairing ceremony
Authorization state	MBA LINK ACTIVE, MBA LINK INACTIVE <reason>, or MBA LINK PENDING
Active slot	Name of the currently focused cartridge
SLM tier	Tier A (local), Tier B (cloud burst), or Tier C (frontier API)
Session duration	Elapsed time since console start

The tier indicator reflects the last routing decision made by the inference gateway. It does not poll the gateway — it updates when a request is routed.

Authorization client

app-console-keys maintains the outbound machine-based authorization connections to paired os-* services. Each pairing is independent: the console can hold an active link to os-totebox while the link to os-privategit is inactive.

When an authorization link is inactive, the affected cartridge degrades gracefully. Locally cached content remains accessible; backend requests fail with an explicit status rather than silently. No cartridge crashes the chassis when its backend is unreachable.

Configuration

Profile-based configuration is stored at ~/.config/os-console/config.toml. The configuration file controls which backend services the console attempts to pair with at startup, display preferences, and the SSH server port (if the SSH server feature is compiled in).

PDF rendering and graphics support

app-console-keys provides the graphics infrastructure used by cartridges that render images or PDFs. PDF pages are rendered to RGB bitmaps using the pdfium-render library. The display path uses the Kitty graphics protocol as the primary path, with Sixel encoding as a fallback, and an error message for terminal environments that support neither.

See also

• console-os — the os-console product overview, including the F-key surface and operating modes
• os-console-platform — the complete cartridge architecture and F-key map
• app-console-input — the F12 mandatory input gate; always compiled alongside app-console-keys
• machine-based-auth — the authorization mechanism the chassis client manages
• three-ring-architecture — the Ring 1/2/3 architecture the authorization client connects to