diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 635c6c64c..f1406202e 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3,5 +3,126 @@
 version = 3
 
 [[package]]
-name = "common"
+name = "anyhow"
+version = "1.0.75"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a4668cab20f66d8d020e1fbc0ebe47217433c1b6c8f2040faf858554e394ace6"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "autocfg"
+version = "1.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d468802bab17cbc0cc575e9b053f41e72aa36bfa6b7f55e3529ffa43161b97fa"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "either"
+version = "1.9.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a26ae43d7bcc3b814de94796a5e736d4029efb0ee900c12e2d54c993ad1a1e07"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "good_memory_allocator"
+version = "0.1.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b1651659e016ea4259760966432aebcc96c81e26743fb018c59585ddd677127e"
+dependencies = [
+ "either",
+ "spin",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "kona-common"
 version = "0.0.1"
+dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
+ "good_memory_allocator",
+ "num",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "lock_api"
+version = "0.4.11"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3c168f8615b12bc01f9c17e2eb0cc07dcae1940121185446edc3744920e8ef45"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+ "scopeguard",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num"
+version = "0.4.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b05180d69e3da0e530ba2a1dae5110317e49e3b7f3d41be227dc5f92e49ee7af"
+dependencies = [
+ "num-complex",
+ "num-integer",
+ "num-iter",
+ "num-rational",
+ "num-traits",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num-complex"
+version = "0.4.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1ba157ca0885411de85d6ca030ba7e2a83a28636056c7c699b07c8b6f7383214"
+dependencies = [
+ "num-traits",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num-integer"
+version = "0.1.45"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "225d3389fb3509a24c93f5c29eb6bde2586b98d9f016636dff58d7c6f7569cd9"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+ "num-traits",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num-iter"
+version = "0.1.43"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7d03e6c028c5dc5cac6e2dec0efda81fc887605bb3d884578bb6d6bf7514e252"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+ "num-integer",
+ "num-traits",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num-rational"
+version = "0.4.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0638a1c9d0a3c0914158145bc76cff373a75a627e6ecbfb71cbe6f453a5a19b0"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+ "num-integer",
+ "num-traits",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "num-traits"
+version = "0.2.17"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "39e3200413f237f41ab11ad6d161bc7239c84dcb631773ccd7de3dfe4b5c267c"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "scopeguard"
+version = "1.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "94143f37725109f92c262ed2cf5e59bce7498c01bcc1502d7b9afe439a4e9f49"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "spin"
+version = "0.9.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6980e8d7511241f8acf4aebddbb1ff938df5eebe98691418c4468d0b72a96a67"
+dependencies = [
+ "lock_api",
+]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index f842da551..512cb2a51 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ homepage = "https://github.com/anton-rs/kona"
 exclude = ["**/target", "benches/", "tests"]
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
-anyhow = "1.0.75"
+anyhow = { version = "1.0.75", default-features = false }
 tracing = "0.1.40"
 
 [profile.dev]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f1fa58571..a008c67c9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,7 +33,13 @@ This repository also contains an implementation of the [`op-program` specificati
 
 ## Overview
 
-*TODO*
+*todo*
+
+```
+crates
+├── `common-client`: A suite of utilities for developing `client` programs to be ran on top of Fault Proof VMs.
+└── `common-host`: A suite of utilities for developing `host` programs.
+```
 
 ## Credits
 
diff --git a/build/Makefile b/build/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f54ba7f3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+all: cannon
+
+.PHONY: cannon
+cannon:
+	docker build -t cannon-pipeline:latest -f cannon/cannon.dockerfile ./cannon
diff --git a/build/README.md b/build/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8dc77abde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# `kona-build`
+
+This directory contains the [`cross`][cross] docker images and custom `rustc` targets used to build verifiable programs targeting various FPVMs.
+
+## Usage
+
+### Building Images
+
+To build the images, run `make` in the root of this directory.
+
+### Compiling Programs
+
+```
+docker run \
+    --rm \
+    --platform linux/amd64 \
+    -v `pwd`/:/workdir \
+    -w="/workdir" \
+    cannon-pipeline:latest cargo build --release -Zbuild-std
+```
+
+[cross]: https://github.com/cross-rs/cross
diff --git a/build/cannon/cannon.dockerfile b/build/cannon/cannon.dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..703e86dbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/cannon/cannon.dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# This image and the `mips-unknown-none` target were derived from `BadBoiLabs`'s
+# `cannon-rs` project.
+#
+# https://github.com/BadBoiLabs/Cannon-rs
+
+FROM --platform=linux/amd64 ubuntu:22.04
+
+ENV SHELL=/bin/bash
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND noninteractive
+
+# todo: pin `nightly` version
+ENV RUST_VERSION nightly
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --assume-yes --no-install-recommends \
+  ca-certificates \
+  build-essential \
+  curl \
+  g++-mips-linux-gnu \
+  libc6-dev-mips-cross \
+  binutils-mips-linux-gnu \
+  llvm \
+  clang \
+  make \
+  cmake \
+  git 
+
+# Install Rustup and Rust
+RUN curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | bash -s -- -y --default-toolchain ${RUST_VERSION} --component rust-src
+ENV PATH="/root/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"
+
+# Add the special cannon build target
+COPY ./mips-unknown-none.json .
+
+# Set up the env vars to instruct rustc to use the correct compiler and linker
+# and to build correctly to support the Cannon processor
+ENV CC_mips_unknown_none=mips-linux-gnu-gcc \
+  CXX_mips_unknown_none=mips-linux-gnu-g++ \
+  CARGO_TARGET_MIPS_UNKNOWN_NONE_LINKER=mips-linux-gnu-gcc \
+  RUSTFLAGS="-Clink-arg=-e_start -C llvm-args=-mno-check-zero-division" \
+  CARGO_BUILD_TARGET="/mips-unknown-none.json" \
+  RUSTUP_TOOLCHAIN=${RUST_VERSION}
diff --git a/build/cannon/mips-unknown-none.json b/build/cannon/mips-unknown-none.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9d0ce305e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/cannon/mips-unknown-none.json
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+  "arch": "mips",
+  "cpu": "mips32",
+  "llvm-target": "mips-unknown-none",
+  "data-layout": "E-m:m-p:32:32-i8:8:32-i16:16:32-i64:64-n32-S64",
+  "target-endian": "big",
+  "target-pointer-width": "32",
+  "target-c-int-width": "32",
+  "os": "none",
+  "features": "+soft-float,+mips32,-mips32r2",
+  "max-atomic-width": "0",
+  "linker": "rust-lld",
+  "linker-flavor": "ld.lld",
+  "executables": true,
+  "panic-strategy": "abort",
+  "relocation-model": "static",
+  "emit-debug-gdb-scripts": false,
+  "singlethread": true
+}
diff --git a/crates/common/Cargo.toml b/crates/common/Cargo.toml
index 28b0cd981..73ed05d93 100644
--- a/crates/common/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/common/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
-name = "common"
-description = "common crate"
+name = "kona-common"
+description = "Common traits and utilities for Kona"
 version = { workspace = true }
 edition = { workspace = true }
 authors = { workspace = true }
@@ -9,3 +9,9 @@ repository = { workspace = true }
 homepage = { workspace = true }
 
 [dependencies]
+# workspace
+anyhow.workspace = true
+
+# external
+num = { version = "0.4.1", default-features = false }
+good_memory_allocator = "0.1.7"
diff --git a/crates/common/README.md b/crates/common/README.md
index f6849c03a..26b6055b9 100644
--- a/crates/common/README.md
+++ b/crates/common/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 # `kona-common`
 
+A suite of utilities for developing `host` programs and verifiable `client` executables.
+
 *TODO*
diff --git a/crates/common/src/lib.rs b/crates/common/src/lib.rs
index fcbe40466..d1c98b58a 100644
--- a/crates/common/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/common/src/lib.rs
@@ -7,5 +7,7 @@
 )]
 #![deny(unused_must_use, rust_2018_idioms)]
 #![cfg_attr(docsrs, feature(doc_cfg, doc_auto_cfg))]
+#![cfg_attr(not(test), no_std)]
 
-// TODO
+pub mod malloc;
+pub mod traits;
diff --git a/crates/common/src/malloc.rs b/crates/common/src/malloc.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0d7e57d1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/common/src/malloc.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+//! This module contains an implementation of a basic memory allocator for client programs in
+//! running on top of various FPVMs. The allocator is a linked list allocator based on the
+//! `dlmalloc` algorithm, which is a well-known and widely used allocator software such
+//! as OS Kernels.
+
+#[cfg(not(test))]
+use good_memory_allocator::SpinLockedAllocator;
+
+/// The global allocator for the program in the `test` profile uses the standard allocator.
+#[cfg(test)]
+#[global_allocator]
+static ALLOCATOR: std::alloc::System = std::alloc::System;
+
+/// The global allocator for the program in other profiles uses the [SpinLockedAllocator].
+#[cfg(not(test))]
+#[global_allocator]
+static ALLOCATOR: SpinLockedAllocator = SpinLockedAllocator::empty();
+
+/// Initialize the [SpinLockedAllocator] with the following parameters:
+/// * `heap_start_addr` is the starting address of the heap memory region,
+/// * `heap_size` is the size of the heap memory region in bytes.
+///
+/// # Safety
+/// This function is unsafe because the caller must ensure:
+/// * The allocator has not already been initialized.
+/// * The provided memory region must be valid, non-null, and not used by anything else.
+/// * After aligning the start and end addresses, the size of the heap must be > 0, or the function
+///   will panic.
+#[cfg_attr(test, allow(unused_variables))]
+pub unsafe fn init_allocator(heap_start_addr: usize, heap_size: usize) {
+    #[cfg(not(test))]
+    ALLOCATOR.init(heap_start_addr, heap_size)
+}
+
+/// Initialize heap memory for the `client` program with
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! init_heap {
+    ($size:expr) => {{
+        use kona_common::malloc::init_allocator;
+
+        static mut HEAP: [u8; $size] = [0u8; $size];
+        unsafe { init_allocator(HEAP.as_ptr() as usize, $size) }
+    }};
+}
diff --git a/crates/common/src/traits/mod.rs b/crates/common/src/traits/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5d479409d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/common/src/traits/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+//! Contains common traits for the `client` role.
+//!
+//! When developing a new `client` program, these traits are implemented on an
+//! architecture-specific type that provides the concrete implementation of the
+//! kernel interfaces. The `client` program then uses these traits to perform operations
+//! without needing to know the underlying implementation, which allows the same `client`
+//! program to be compiled and ran on different target FPVM architectures.
+
+mod syscall;
+pub use syscall::KernelIO;
diff --git a/crates/common/src/traits/syscall.rs b/crates/common/src/traits/syscall.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9bab6cccc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/common/src/traits/syscall.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+//! Defines the [KernelIO] trait, which describes the functionality of several
+//! system calls inside of the FPVM kernel. This trait is to be implemented by the
+//! `client` program, and then used by the `kernel` to perform IO operations.
+
+use anyhow::Result;
+use num::Unsigned;
+
+/// The [KernelIO] trait describes the functionality of several system calls inside of
+/// the FPVM kernel. Commonly, FPVMs delegate IO operations to custom file descriptors in
+/// the `client` program.
+///
+///
+/// The `RS` type parameter is the size of the registers in the VM. On MIPS32 for example,
+/// this would be 32, and on RISC-V/64 this would be 64.
+///
+/// In cases where the set of system calls defined in this trait need to be extended, an
+/// additional trait should be created that extends this trait.
+pub trait KernelIO<RS: Unsigned> {
+    /// Associated type for the file descriptors available.
+    type FileDescriptor;
+
+    /// Write the given buffer to the given file descriptor.
+    fn write(fd: Self::FileDescriptor, buf: &[u8]) -> Result<RS>;
+
+    /// Read from the given file descriptor into the passed buffer.
+    fn read(fd: Self::FileDescriptor, buf: &mut [u8]) -> Result<RS>;
+
+    /// Exit the process with the given exit code. The implementation of this function
+    /// should always panic after invoking the `EXIT` syscall.
+    fn exit(code: RS) -> !;
+}