Open-source alternatives to WSL2 Linux Kernel

This project provides a customized Linux kernel and driver suite designed to enable hardware compatibility for Surface devices. It focuses on building and patching the Linux kernel to provide driver support for proprietary hardware components that are missing from the upstream source. The system includes a secure boot kernel signing mechanism and a process for enrolling custom keys into the system firmware. This allows the execution of patched kernels while maintaining system security protections. The project covers peripheral driver support for touchscreens, styluses, and keyboards, as well

WSABuilds is a management framework designed to deploy and customize virtualized mobile runtime environments on desktop operating systems. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for building, installing, and maintaining these environments, enabling the native execution of mobile applications alongside standard desktop software. The project distinguishes itself through its focus on deep system integration and lifecycle management. It allows users to generate tailored virtual environment packages by injecting administrative tools, service components, and specific configurations prior to dep

Firecracker is a virtual machine monitor that leverages hardware-assisted virtualization to create and manage isolated execution environments. It functions as a lightweight runtime designed to launch virtual machines with minimal memory overhead and near-instantaneous startup times, providing the security of traditional hardware virtualization with the efficiency of containerized workloads. The project distinguishes itself through a security-focused architecture that enforces strict process boundaries using system-level barriers and restricted user privileges. It minimizes the attack surface

UTM is a comprehensive virtualization suite that provides a unified interface for running guest operating systems on host hardware. It functions as a cross-platform system emulator and hypervisor, coordinating both hardware-accelerated virtualization and software-based instruction emulation to execute diverse operating systems. By leveraging native kernel-level virtualization frameworks, the software achieves near-native performance while maintaining strict security through sandboxed process isolation. The project distinguishes itself by enabling full-featured desktop operating systems to run

Hyperkit is a userspace virtual machine monitor and a development toolkit for building custom hypervisors. It provides primitives for embedding virtualization and hardware emulation capabilities directly into applications to execute guest operating systems within a userspace environment. The project features a guest operating system bootstrapping tool that loads kernels and initializes CPU states without relying on traditional firmware. It includes a hardware emulation library to create virtualized storage, serial ports, and networking components for guest system access. The system covers vi

The Linux kernel is a monolithic operating system core that manages hardware resources, memory, and process scheduling across diverse computing architectures. It provides a standardized, POSIX-compliant environment for application execution while maintaining a modular driver framework that allows for the dynamic loading and removal of hardware interfaces. The project is distinguished by its high-performance concurrency toolkit, which utilizes lockless synchronization primitives and read-copy-update mechanisms to manage shared data access in multi-core environments. It incorporates a comprehen

This project is a tutorial and framework for building a low-level, bare-metal operating system from scratch using the Rust language. It focuses on ARMv8 kernel development specifically for the Raspberry Pi 3, providing the resources necessary to implement a monolithic kernel that runs directly on hardware without an underlying operating system. The project distinguishes itself by providing a complete embedded cross-compilation suite within a containerized environment to ensure consistent builds. It includes a dedicated kernel deployer that uses a serial interface and chainloader to load and b

This repository contains the complete source code for a Unix-like operating system, including the monolithic kernel and base system utilities. It provides a BSD-derived system core and a full build toolchain required to compile a functional operating system for servers, desktops, or embedded devices. The system features a Linux binary compatibility layer that enables the execution and emulation of Linux binaries on a non-Linux platform. It also includes a modular kernel configuration process to tailor hardware support and system features during compilation. The project covers broad system ca

xv6-riscv is a simplified Unix-like teaching operating system designed for the study of kernel design and hardware interaction. It provides a low-level RISC-V kernel implementation that serves as a bootable system image for execution and debugging within a virtual machine or emulator. The project focuses on educational instruction regarding the RISC-V architecture. It enables the study of operating system concepts through a minimal kernel that implements process management and memory handling. The system covers core kernel operations including multiprocessor resource management and the imple

Kata Containers is an OCI container runtime that launches containers inside lightweight virtual machines to combine hardware-level isolation with container operational speed. It functions as a hardware-isolated container engine and lightweight VM hypervisor, providing a virtual machine monitor interface that abstracts multiple hypervisors to optimize for performance or specific hardware emulation. The project distinguishes itself through a confidential computing runtime that leverages hardware-backed trusted execution environments, such as Intel TDX and AMD SEV-SNP, to protect data in use. It

This project is a monolithic operating system kernel designed to serve as the foundational software layer for diverse computing architectures and embedded platforms. It manages core system services, including processor scheduling, memory allocation, and hardware resource distribution, to facilitate communication between user applications and physical hardware. The kernel utilizes a hardware abstraction layer and platform-specific device trees to ensure consistent operation across a wide variety of processors and specialized computing devices. It supports dynamic functionality through loadable

30dayMakeOS is an educational hobby operating system project designed for the x86 architecture. It implements a monolithic kernel and a custom bootloader that transitions the CPU from real mode to 32-bit protected mode to enable flat memory addressing. The project focuses on low-level system development, featuring a custom graphics driver for direct pixel-buffer rendering and window management without an existing operating system. It includes an x86 bootloader that loads the kernel from disk into memory. The system covers core kernel capabilities including round-robin task scheduling for pro

This repository provides the original source code and binaries for legacy disk operating systems. It serves as a historical software archive and a reference implementation for early personal computer operating systems. The project is designed for software archaeology, legacy operating system research, and the study of foundational kernel design. It allows for the technical analysis of historical software architecture and implementation. The codebase covers several core system areas, including monolithic kernel design, segmented memory addressing, and file allocation table indexing. It also i

Btrfs for Windows is a kernel-mode driver and filesystem manager that enables read and write access to Btrfs formatted drives on Windows operating systems. It implements the Linux Btrfs on-disk format, providing a bridge for native filesystem interaction including a dedicated integration for the Windows Subsystem for Linux. The project distinguishes itself through an identity mapping layer that translates Linux user and group IDs into Windows security identifiers to maintain file ownership and permissions. It further integrates with the Windows environment via a shell extension for managing s

This project is an educational operating system kernel designed to demonstrate the fundamental architectural principles of memory paging and process management. It is implemented as a minimal kernel that serves as a practical reference for building a functioning system from the ground up. The implementation features a preemptive multitasking kernel that switches execution contexts between threads to share a single CPU. It includes an x86 virtual memory manager that uses paging to map virtual addresses to physical memory and isolate processes. The system covers low-level hardware interfacing

Winapps is a virtualization bridge that allows Windows applications to run on a Linux desktop as if they were native. It uses the Remote Desktop Protocol to stream individual application windows from a background virtual machine or remote server, avoiding the need for a full virtual machine window. The system identifies installed software by scanning the guest registry to automatically generate native desktop shortcuts and icons. It integrates these applications into the local desktop environment, including the mapping of executables to desktop entries and the configuration of file manager co

ggez is a 2D game framework for the Rust programming language. It provides a hardware abstraction layer for accessing keyboard, mouse, sound, and graphics hardware, alongside a dedicated game loop manager that synchronizes input processing, state updates, and frame rendering for real-time applications. The framework includes a hardware-accelerated rendering engine for drawing sprites, shapes, and text using shader programs. It also features a resource management system that uses a filesystem abstraction to load and manage game assets from physical directories or compressed archives. Addition

rCore is a Rust-based operating system kernel and microkernel designed for Linux compatibility. It functions as a self-hosted development kit that implements a system call interface to support the execution of standard Linux userspace applications. The system is designed for modularity, featuring a mechanism for loading and integrating kernel modules into the active environment without requiring a system reboot. The kernel provides core operating system capabilities, including virtual memory mapping for process isolation, a disk-based file system for data persistence, and a layered network p

XNU is an operating system kernel designed to manage system hardware and process execution across different processor architectures. It utilizes a hybrid microkernel design that combines microkernel message passing with monolithic kernel performance by embedding critical subsystems into a single address space. The project implements a port-based asynchronous messaging system for communication between kernel tasks and userspace processes. It manages hardware interactions through a layered driver architecture and enforces system-wide security policies via a mandatory access control interface.

This project is an educational framework and toolkit designed for developing and testing operating system kernels. It provides a structured environment for implementing fundamental system primitives, including virtual memory management, preemptive process scheduling, and filesystem organization, using Rust and C. The framework is specifically oriented toward RISC-V and x86 architectures, serving as a laboratory for learning how to build core system software from the ground up. The project distinguishes itself by supporting both bare-metal deployment and hardware emulation, allowing developers

ReactOS is an open-source operating system designed to be binary compatible with Windows applications and drivers. It consists of a low-level system kernel that manages hardware resources and a binary compatibility layer that enables the execution of software designed for the Windows binary interface. The project implements a cross-platform build system and toolchain for compiling and deploying bootable operating system images across different hardware architectures. This includes the use of cross-compilation toolchains and a hardware-abstraction layer to support various processor and motherb

This repository provides the Android device kernel and the corresponding Linux kernel source tree. It serves as the foundational codebase for managing the hardware architecture and power management of mobile devices. The project includes a comprehensive mobile hardware driver set designed to manage device-specific components, such as CPUs, GPUs, and cellular modems. The source code supports activities including Android kernel customization, custom ROM development, Linux kernel auditing, and mobile driver development.

Kernel-Bridge is a C++ framework designed for Windows kernel-mode development, providing a comprehensive toolkit for building drivers, hypervisors, and system-level monitoring tools. It serves as a foundational environment for managing low-level operating system interactions, including memory management, process control, and cross-layer communication. The project distinguishes itself by offering specialized primitives for hypervisor construction and hardware-assisted memory isolation. It facilitates advanced system manipulation through techniques such as direct kernel object modification, asy

WSL is a compatibility layer and virtualization platform that enables the execution of native Linux binaries directly on a host operating system. By utilizing a lightweight virtual machine and direct kernel system call mapping, it provides a high-performance environment that bridges Linux-based command line utilities with host-native tools. This architecture allows for full system call compatibility while maintaining minimal resource overhead. The platform distinguishes itself through deep integration with the host environment, allowing users to run isolated Linux distributions alongside stan

This project provides a graphical terminal emulator designed specifically for the Windows Subsystem for Linux. It functions as a bridge between the Windows host operating system and Linux environments, enabling users to run shell sessions with support for custom configurations, visual themes, and flexible window layouts. The emulator distinguishes itself through deep system integration, allowing users to launch terminal sessions directly from the Windows File Explorer context menu or via system-wide keyboard shortcuts. It facilitates a unified development workflow by enabling the execution of

This project provides a framework and toolset for developing memory-safe kernel-mode and user-mode drivers for the Windows operating system. It enables developers to build drivers using safe programming patterns that prevent common memory errors and system crashes, while providing the necessary infrastructure to interface with low-level hardware and system APIs. The framework distinguishes itself by offering procedural macros and binding generation tools that translate complex C-style system headers into idiomatic, type-safe code. It includes a custom global allocator designed for the strict

Kwrt is a custom router firmware generator and build system designed to compile personalized network hardware images and Linux-based router operating systems. It specifically serves as an OpenWrt firmware builder and image customizer, allowing for the creation of tailored operating systems based on specific software packages, kernel configurations, and hardware targets. The system produces firmware in multiple boot formats, including EFI, Legacy, virtual disk files, and root archives for containers. It enables the generation of specialized images for x86 or virtualized network hardware, provi