fix(install): require kernel 3.10, not 5.1, for the bundled runtime

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -307,6 +307,10 @@ public 50 the old detector named an example's `samples.csv` and the input
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- **OpenScience installs and runs on Linux kernels from 3.10.** The installer and
+  the launcher refused any kernel below 5.1, a floor copied from an older Bun
+  release, so CentOS and RHEL 8 (kernel 4.18) could not install or start it.
+  Both checks now require 3.10, the minimum the bundled Bun runtime supports.
 - **Autoresearch launches its own runs on this computer.** A study keeps its
   code under Project files, but local compute only ran from Session scratch, so
   every `study start` failed with "exists only in Project files" and the agent

backend/cli/README.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ npm install -g @synsci/openscience
 
 The command is `openscience`.
 
-On Linux, the bundled runtime requires kernel 5.1 or newer. Glibc binaries require glibc 2.17 or newer; separate musl packages are selected automatically. CentOS 7's stock 3.10 kernel is unsupported. On Linux ARM64, Bun-compiled executables currently require a 4 KB kernel page size; 16 KB and 64 KB page kernels fail early with a clear diagnostic while [upstream support](https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/issues/17627) remains open.
+On Linux, the bundled runtime requires kernel 3.10 or newer, and 5.6 or newer is recommended. Glibc binaries require glibc 2.17 or newer; separate musl packages are selected automatically. Kernels between 3.10 and 5.5 run it with reduced syscall support, which is runtime guidance rather than a completed CentOS 7 certification. On Linux ARM64, Bun-compiled executables currently require a 4 KB kernel page size; 16 KB and 64 KB page kernels fail early with a clear diagnostic while [upstream support](https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/issues/17627) remains open.
 
 ## Quick start
 

backend/cli/bin/openscience

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ const fs = require("fs")
 const path = require("path")
 const os = require("os")
 
-const MIN_LINUX_KERNEL = { major: 5, minor: 1 }
+const MIN_LINUX_KERNEL = { major: 3, minor: 10 }
 
 function parseKernelVersion(release) {
   const match = /^(\d+)\.(\d+)/.exec(release)
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ function linuxKernelProblem(platform = os.platform(), release = os.release()) {
   ) {
     return undefined
   }
-  return `Linux kernel ${release} is unsupported. OpenScience's bundled runtime requires kernel 5.1 or newer.`
+  return `Linux kernel ${release} is unsupported. OpenScience's bundled runtime requires kernel 3.10 or newer.`
 }
 
 function detectMusl(platform = os.platform()) {
@@ -131,7 +131,8 @@ function run(target, fallback) {
   if (kernelProblem) {
     console.error(kernelProblem)
     console.error(
-      "Upgrade the host kernel or run OpenScience on a newer VM. CentOS 7's stock 3.10 kernel is not supported.",
+      "Upgrade the host kernel or run OpenScience on a newer VM. Kernels from 3.10 to 5.5 run the bundled " +
+        "runtime with graceful degradation of newer syscalls; 5.6 or newer is recommended.",
     )
     process.exit(1)
   }

backend/cli/script/postinstall.mjs

@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ function linuxKernelProblem(platform, release = os.release()) {
   if (!match) return undefined
   const major = Number(match[1])
   const minor = Number(match[2])
-  if (major > 5 || (major === 5 && minor >= 1)) return undefined
-  return `Linux kernel ${release} is unsupported; OpenScience's bundled runtime requires kernel 5.1 or newer`
+  if (major > 3 || (major === 3 && minor >= 10)) return undefined
+  return `Linux kernel ${release} is unsupported; OpenScience's bundled runtime requires kernel 3.10 or newer`
 }
 
 function pageSize(platform) {
@@ -203,7 +203,10 @@ function main() {
     const { platform, arch } = detectPlatformAndArch()
     const kernelProblem = linuxKernelProblem(platform)
     if (kernelProblem) {
-      throw new Error(`${kernelProblem}. CentOS 7's stock 3.10 kernel is not supported.`)
+      throw new Error(
+        `${kernelProblem}. Upgrade the host kernel, or run OpenScience on a newer VM. Kernels from 3.10 to 5.5 run ` +
+          `the bundled runtime with graceful degradation of newer syscalls; 5.6 or newer is recommended.`,
+      )
     }
     const pageSizeProblem = linuxArm64PageSizeProblem(platform, arch, pageSize(platform))
     if (pageSizeProblem) {

backend/cli/test/installation/bin-wrapper.test.ts

@@ -22,12 +22,28 @@ const wrapper = require("../../bin/openscience") as {
 }
 
 describe("npm bin wrapper", () => {
-  test("rejects Linux kernels older than the bundled runtime supports", () => {
+  test("accepts Linux kernels from the documented 3.10 floor and rejects older ones", () => {
     expect(wrapper.parseKernelVersion("3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64")).toEqual({ major: 3, minor: 10 })
-    expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("linux", "3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64")).toContain("requires kernel 5.1")
-    expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("linux", "5.1.0")).toBeUndefined()
+
+    // 3.10 is the runtime floor docs/notes/linux-compatibility.md records for
+    // the pinned Bun release. The gate used to demand 5.1, so it refused to
+    // start on CentOS 7, CentOS 8 and every host below them (#772).
+    const accepted = ["3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64", "4.18.0-348.7.1.el8_5.x86_64", "5.1.0", "6.8.0-generic"]
+    for (const release of accepted) {
+      expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("linux", release)).toBeUndefined()
+      expect(postinstallKernelProblem("linux", release)).toBeUndefined()
+    }
+
+    const rejected = ["2.6.32-754.el6.x86_64", "3.9.0-40-generic"]
+    for (const release of rejected) {
+      expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("linux", release)).toContain("requires kernel 3.10")
+      expect(postinstallKernelProblem("linux", release)).toContain("requires kernel 3.10")
+    }
+
     expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("darwin", "23.0.0")).toBeUndefined()
-    expect(postinstallKernelProblem("linux", "3.10.0-1160.el7.x86_64")).toContain("requires kernel 5.1")
+    expect(postinstallKernelProblem("darwin", "23.0.0")).toBeUndefined()
+    // An unparseable release is not a reason to refuse to start.
+    expect(wrapper.linuxKernelProblem("linux", "not-a-kernel")).toBeUndefined()
   })
 
   test("reports signal exits using shell-compatible status codes", () => {

frontend/landing/src/pages/Download.tsx

@@ -119,8 +119,8 @@ const FAQ = [
     q: "What are the system requirements?",
     a: (
       <p>
-        macOS 12 or newer, Windows 10 or 11 (x64), or Linux with kernel 5.1 or newer and glibc 2.17 or newer. Additional
-        command line builds are available on the{" "}
+        macOS 12 or newer, Windows 10 or 11 (x64), or Linux with kernel 3.10 or newer and glibc 2.17 or newer.
+        Additional command line builds are available on the{" "}
         <a href={RELEASES} target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">
           releases page
         </a>