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SimpleOS

From-scratch x86 kernel with userspace, syscalls, pipes, and browser boot.

Tier
Systems archive
Pillar
Systems lab
Visibility
Public
Status
functional
Date
Nov 2023

Case boundary

Unix-like x86 operating system with paging, ring-3 userspace, pipes, signals, virtual terminals, and a browser-bootable demo.

Claim boundary

Learning OS and systems proof, not a production operating system.

SimpleOS is a Unix-like x86 kernel with userspace programs, shell workflows, and browser boot.

The project is intentionally low-level: process control, memory isolation, syscalls, terminal behavior, and IPC are implemented in the kernel instead of simulated in the web demo.

System

  • Process management with fork, exec, wait, signals, and job control
  • Ring-3 userspace with ring-0 kernel isolation
  • File descriptors, pipes, virtual terminals, and shell state
  • Embedded userspace programs and in-memory ramfs

Runtime

  • Bootable ISO for QEMU
  • v86 browser emulator for the live demo
  • Timer-interrupt scheduler for preemptive multitasking
  • Copy-on-write paging with physical-page reference counts and TLB coordination

Proof

  • Syscall surface covers processes, IO, filesystem, memory, sleep, kill, and time
  • Circular pipe buffer tracks reader and writer references separately
  • Ctrl+C, background jobs, redirection, and tab completion work in the shell
  • Browser boot path uses the same kernel artifact rather than a UI mock