AlkOS is a hobby operating system built from the ground up for x86_64. It boots into a monolithic higher-half kernel, runs its own C library instead of an upstream one, and reaches a userspace real enough to run DOOM. We share the journey and break down how to build an OS in plain terms at blazeddev.com.
You need Linux (Arch or Ubuntu recommended) or Docker. Dependency installation is automated for Arch and Ubuntu. The toolchain step builds a dedicated GCC cross-compiler, so the first run takes a while.
# Install system dependencies and build the cross-toolchain.
./scripts/alkos_cli.bash --install all
# Generate the build configuration (defaults to a release build).
./scripts/alkos_cli.bash --configure
# Build the kernel and userspace, make the ISO, boot it in QEMU.
./scripts/alkos_cli.bash --runRun ./scripts/alkos_cli.bash --help for the full command list. Append --verbose to any
command to see the exact error if something breaks.
--configure picks the build type automatically: release_official on a clean checkout
sitting on a release tag, otherwise release. For a debug build, run configure.bash
directly: ./scripts/config/configure.bash x86_64 debug.
If everything went right, QEMU drops you into the AlkOS shell:
./scripts/actions/build_and_run_tests.bash
./scripts/actions/run_tests.bash| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| 64-bit higher-half kernel (x86_64) | x |
| Physical, virtual, and heap memory management | x |
| Preemptive multitasking and scheduling | x |
| Ring 3 userspace with syscalls and ELF64 loading | x |
| Virtual filesystem with FAT support | x |
| Framebuffer graphics with a window manager | x |
| ACPI and PCI device support | x |
| Running real applications (DOOM) | x |
| Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) | |
| Networking stack | |
| USB support | |
| Persistent storage and disk drivers | |
| Additional architecture ports (ARM, RISC-V) |
MIT. See LICENSE.