+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ |
+
+```{image} /_static/MO-1.svg
+ :align: center
+ :alt: Read and parse chisel-releases
+```
+
+ |
+
+
+Chisel fetches, reads and validates the {ref}`chisel-release`.
+This includes parsing the {ref}`chisel_yaml_ref` and {ref}`slice
+definitions` while validating the release and checking for conflicting paths across packages.
+
+ |
+
+
+
+
+
+ |
+
+```{image} /_static/MO-2.svg
+ :align: center
+ :alt: Talk to archives and fetch packages
+```
+
+ |
+
+
+Chisel talks to the {ref}`chisel_yaml_format_spec_archives` directly.
+It fetches, validates and parses their `InRelease` files.
+It then resolves which archive holds the **requested** packages and fetches
+the corresponding package tarballs.
+
+ |
+
+
+
+
+ |
+
+```{image} /_static/MO-3.svg
+ :align: center
+ :alt: Install package slices
+```
+
+ |
+
+
+Chisel groups and merges all slice definitions per package. Then,
+for every package, it extracts the **specified slices' paths** into
+the provided root file system.
+
+ |
+
+
+
+
+ |
+
+```{image} /_static/MO-4.svg
+ :align: center
+ :alt: Run mutation scripts
+```
+
+ |
+
+
+Chisel then runs the {{mutation_scripts}}. Only the
+{ref}`mutable` files may be
+modified at this stage. Finally, the files specified with
+{ref}`until:mutate` are
+removed from the provided root file system.
+
+
+ |
+
+
diff --git a/docs/explanation/slices.md b/docs/explanation/slices.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..98b1cad9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/explanation/slices.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+(slices_explanation)=
+# Slices
+
+## What are package slices?
+
+Since Debian packages are simply archives that can be inspected, navigated and
+deconstructed, it is possible to define slices of packages that contain
+minimal, complementary, loosely-coupled sets of files based on package metadata
+and content. Such **package slices** are subsets of Debian packages, with their
+own content and set of dependencies to other internal and external slices.
+
+The use of package slices provides the ability to build minimal root file
+system from the wider set of Ubuntu packages.
+
+```{image} /_static/package-slices.svg
+ :align: center
+ :width: 75%
+ :alt: Debian package slices with dependencies
+```
+
+This image illustrates the simple case where, at a package level, package _B_
+depends on package _A_. However, there might be files in _A_ that _B_ doesn't
+actually need, but which are provided for convenience or completeness. By
+identifying the files in _A_ that are actually needed by _B_, we can divide _A_
+into slices that serve this purpose. In this example, the files in the package
+slice, _A_slice3_, are not needed for _B_ to function. To make package _B_
+usable in the same way, it can also be divided into slices.
+
+With these slice definitions in place, Chisel is able to extract a
+highly-customised and specialised slice of the Ubuntu distribution, which one
+could see as a block of stone from which we can carve and extract only the
+small and relevant parts that we need to run our applications, thus keeping the
+file system small and less exposed to vulnerabilities.
+
+## Defining slices
+
+A package's slices can be defined via a YAML slice definitions file. Check
+{ref}`slice_definitions_ref` for more information about this file's format.
+
+## Naming convention
+
+In Chisel, slices are recognized by the following pattern:
+`+
{{ project }} ++ +
+
+
+
+