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colibri/docs/wiki/daemon-not-demon.md
Sam & Claude b8d499e85c
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docs: rename PLAN/PROPOSAL/HANDOFF/ENHANCEMENT → implementation names 
7 renames (no plan/proposal/handoff/enhancement in filenames):

    CLAWDIE-INSTALLER-HANDOFF.md → CLAWDIE-INSTALLER-VALIDATION.md
    CLAWDIE-STUDIO-PROPOSAL.md   → CLAWDIE-STUDIO.md
    COLIBRI-SKILLS-PLAN.md       → COLIBRI-SKILLS.md
    FREEBSD-BUILD-LANE-HANDOFF.md→ FREEBSD-BUILD-LANE.md
    GLASSPANE-TUI-ENHANCEMENTS.md→ GLASSPANE-TUI-DESIGN.md
    MULTI-AGENT-HOST-PLAN.md     → MULTI-AGENT-HOST.md
    PLAN-WIKI-CLAWDIE-SI.md      → WIKI-CLAWDIE-SI.md

  16 cross-references updated across 10 files.
  wiki-lint --strict: PASS (146 refs, 0 failures).
2026-06-26 17:32:39 +02:00

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title description
daemon — why we never say demon The FreeBSD daemon is a helper spirit. The Slovenian demon is something else entirely.

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The word daemon (spelled with an a) is central to Unix and FreeBSD. It names a background process that runs persistently, handles requests, and stays out of the operator's way. The FreeBSD logo — a cheerful red imp with sneakers and a pitchfork — embodies this idea: a helper that works quietly behind the scenes.

The Slovenian word demon (spelled with an e) means something completely different: a malevolent spirit, a devil. The connotation is destructive, not helpful.

The FreeBSD daemon

FreeBSD's mascot, Beastie, is drawn as a playful red daemon — a nod to the Unix tradition of calling background processes "daemons." The term was borrowed from Maxwell's daemon, a thought experiment in thermodynamics about an invisible being that sorts molecules — neutral, not evil. Early Unix programmers adopted it for programs that sort data invisibly in the background.

An OS daemon:

  • Runs without a controlling terminal
  • Starts at boot and stays alive
  • Responds to requests (signals, sockets, queues)
  • Cleans up after itself on shutdown

Examples: sshd (SSH daemon), cron (scheduler daemon), colibri-daemon (control-plane daemon).

Why we use proces v ozadju in Slovenian

To avoid the demon (devil) connotation, Slovenian documentation translates daemon as proces v ozadju — literally "process in the background."

English Slovenian Why
daemon proces v ozadju Neutral, descriptive — no devil connotation
colibri-daemon proces v ozadju Colibri Same term, always
daemon process proces v ozadju The process IS in the background; the adjective form is less idiomatic

The adjective form ozadnji (background, as in "background process") was considered but proces v ozadju is more natural Slovenian — the noun inflects while the prepositional phrase stays fixed:

Case Slovenian
nominative proces v ozadju
genitive procesa v ozadju
dative / locative procesu v ozadju
instrumental procesom v ozadju

In English: always daemon, never demon

Throughout Colibri's code, comments, and English documentation, the spelling is always daemon (with an a). The word demon does not appear in any English-language Colibri artifact. The wire protocol, CLI commands, Rust enums, and log messages all use daemon.

This is intentional. Daemon is the correct Unix term. Demon is a misspelling that carries the wrong connotation in both English and Slovenian.

In Slovenian: always proces v ozadju, never demon

The same line is held in Slovenian translations: proces v ozadju is used everywhere a daemon is referenced. The word demon (Slovenian for devil) is absent from all Slovenian Colibri documentation. It was removed in a comprehensive sweep and the glossary entry confirms the correct term.

See also