Open-source alternatives to HelloSilicon

OffensiveRust is a red team toolkit and malware development kit written in Rust. It serves as an evasion framework and post-exploitation library, providing a collection of offensive security primitives and a Windows API wrapper for interacting with low-level system functions and undocumented APIs. The project focuses on bypassing security software through direct system calls, memory obfuscation, and stealthy payload execution. It implements techniques to defeat static binary analysis via compile-time string encryption and payload obfuscation, while avoiding detection using parent process ID s

This project is an educational resource and technical reference for building operating systems from scratch. It provides a comprehensive guide to mastering x86 architecture and implementing core kernel components by writing code that executes directly on hardware without the support of standard libraries or operating system abstractions. The materials focus on low-level systems engineering, teaching users how to interpret technical datasheets to manage hardware resources. It covers the fundamental mechanics of bare-metal programming, including the use of assembly language to define execution

Cheat Engine is a software reverse engineering suite and memory editor designed for the Windows environment. It functions as a comprehensive platform for inspecting, analyzing, and modifying the internal logic and data structures of running applications. The tool provides capabilities for real-time memory scanning and manipulation, allowing users to locate and alter specific values within a process's address space. It distinguishes itself through advanced debugging features, including hardware-assisted debugging, kernel-mode driver injection for bypassing memory protections, and dynamic binar

The Arm Architecture Binary Interface Specification is a technical standard that defines the rules for procedure calls, object file formats, and exception handling. It serves as a foundational framework for ensuring binary-level compatibility between software components and operating systems across diverse Arm processor implementations. This specification establishes the technical requirements for how software interacts with hardware at the binary level. By standardizing register-based calling conventions, stack-frame layouts, and data-type alignment rules, it enables consistent behavior for

This project is a comprehensive technical guide to advanced Go programming. It serves as a programming guide, technical reference, and textbook covering low-level optimization and distributed systems architecture. The resource provides detailed instructions on writing assembly instructions to optimize performance-critical code and managing C-Go interoperability to bridge C libraries with Go. It also functions as a manual for implementing remote procedure call mechanisms and creating custom plugins for the Protocol Buffers compiler. The material covers high-level capabilities including the de

NuttX is a POSIX-compliant real-time operating system designed for microcontrollers ranging from 8-bit to 64-bit architectures. It provides a deterministic execution environment with a real-time task scheduler and a POSIX embedded kernel to ensure portable code execution across diverse hardware targets. The project distinguishes itself through a comprehensive hardware abstraction layer that provides standardized drivers for I2C, SPI, CAN, and USB across various semiconductor chipsets. It also features an embedded networking stack supporting TCP, UDP, IPv4, and IPv6, alongside industrial proto

BlocksKit is a low-level utility library for Apple platform development, specifically designed for managing the execution flow and memory of blocks within macOS and iOS applications. It provides a collection of helper functions to simplify the use of blocks in Objective-C and C, reducing boilerplate code and addressing inherent technical limitations. The library focuses on bridging Objective-C blocks with legacy C-based APIs by providing compatible wrapper structures and function-pointer emulation. It enables the passing of blocks through system interfaces that require strict C-style callback

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 project is a technical reference and study of the Go language internals, providing a deep dive into the runtime architecture, compiler internals, and memory management mechanisms. It serves as a guide for analyzing how the Go compiler and runtime implement low-level features. The materials specifically detail the implementation of polymorphism through virtual tables and dynamic dispatch. It covers the translation of high-level source code into portable pseudo-assembly and machine-specific instructions, alongside the structural mechanics of the interface system, including scalar type boxi

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

PureScript is a statically typed, purely functional programming language that compiles to JavaScript. It is designed as a cross-platform frontend language for building safe web applications, utilizing a static type system and a JavaScript compiler to ensure program correctness across browser and server environments. The language is distinguished by its emphasis on mathematical purity, featuring a robust type system with first-class support for monads. It provides a sophisticated toolset for static verification, including algebraic data types, type classes, and automatic type inference to reje

Imageflow is a high-performance image manipulation library and composition engine available as a C-compatible library, a command-line image processor, and a dynamic image processing server. It provides the means to decode, encode, and apply complex visual transformations to images through programmatic interfaces, JSON job files, or on-the-fly URL query strings. The system distinguishes itself through a graph-based processing pipeline that allows for single-pass multi-format encoding, generating multiple image sizes and formats from a single decode to reduce overhead. It further features a res

xv6 is a Unix-like educational operating system designed for teaching kernel concepts. It is implemented as an instructional kernel for x86 and RISC-V architectures, featuring a virtual memory manager and support for symmetric multiprocessing. The system is designed to demonstrate core OS principles through a simplified re-implementation of Unix Version 6. It provides a controlled environment for studying system calls, trap handling, and process lifecycles. Its capability surface covers process management, including scheduling and context switching, and memory management via page tables for

This project is a red teaming knowledge base and offensive security playbook designed to simulate adversary behavior. It serves as a comprehensive collection of technical guides and tactics for executing red team operations. The repository provides detailed instructions for Active Directory exploitation, including Kerberos abuse and domain privilege escalation. It covers defense evasion through API unhooking and payload obfuscation, as well as Windows internals research involving the manipulation of kernel objects and system memory. The capability surface extends to network penetration testi

Red is a programming language with a native compiler that translates high-level source code into standalone executables for Windows, macOS, and Linux without external runtime dependencies. It combines a cross-platform GUI development framework that renders native operating system widgets from a single codebase with a reactive data binding system that automatically synchronizes UI state with data sources. The language also includes an embedded DSL and parsing engine based on PEG grammar rules for defining and processing domain-specific languages within the language itself. The project distingu

OffensiveNim is a red teaming framework and post-exploitation toolkit developed in Nim. It provides a collection of low-level primitives and a Windows API wrapper designed for offensive security operations, including malware development and shellcode loading. The project focuses on evasion and obfuscation through techniques such as API unhooking, direct system calls, and anti-debugging mechanisms. It features diverse payload delivery methods, including reflective binary loading, the execution of .NET assemblies via CLR hosting, and various shellcode injection techniques using fibers, COM obje

Tock is a secure embedded operating system and microcontroller kernel designed to isolate untrusted applications and drivers. It functions as a memory-safe process isolator that uses a combination of hardware memory protection and language-level type safety to execute mutually distrustful applications on bare metal. The system distinguishes itself through a hardware abstraction layer that decouples high-level components from specific microcontroller implementations using standardized traits. It further employs a virtualization layer to allow multiple independent software components to share a

GodotSteam is a game engine plugin and API wrapper that integrates the Steamworks SDK into the Godot engine. It serves as a bridge between the engine's scripting layer and platform services, allowing applications to access social features and platform-specific connectivity. The project utilizes a C++ wrapper and a C-compatible foreign function interface to bind the Steamworks SDK. It includes a session manager that handles application ID initialization and enforces that the application is launched through the Steam client to validate ownership and session integrity. The integration covers se

This project is a comprehensive educational framework designed to guide learners through the complexities of systems engineering and low-level software development. It provides structured learning paths that integrate hardware simulation, source code analysis, and project-based exercises to help developers master the foundational concepts of computer architecture, operating systems, and firmware design. The curriculum distinguishes itself by emphasizing direct interaction with system internals, requiring learners to examine and modify existing open-source kernel and driver implementations. By

JNA is a foreign function interface and native memory mapper that allows Java applications to call functions in shared native libraries without writing custom JNI wrapper code. It serves as a JNI alternative framework for invoking C functions and mapping native data structures using high-level interfaces. The library distinguishes itself through its ability to translate Java objects and primitives into C-style structs, unions, and pointers for cross-platform memory exchange. On Windows, it provides a dedicated toolkit for interacting with Component Object Model objects using both early and la

AsmJit is a runtime machine code generator and JIT compiler backend that translates high-level definitions into executable processor instructions. It provides a unified instruction emission API and an executable memory manager to allocate and protect virtual memory pages across multiple CPU architectures. The library functions as an assembly engine for x86 and ARM, supporting cross-platform assembly generation through a unified backend. It enables the creation of optimized machine code for different CPUs while maintaining a single codebase. The project covers low-level system abstractions in

CapnProto is a zero-copy serialization framework and remote procedure call system. It serves as a C++ communication library providing a schema-based data interchange format that eliminates the need to encode or decode data before reading it from memory. The system enables high-performance data serialization and low-latency network communication. It supports cross-language data exchange by using a defined schema to ensure consistent binary representation across different platforms. The framework provides tools for implementing remote procedure calls, allowing functions to be invoked on a remo

Wild is a binary linker and compiler integration tool used to merge multiple object files into single executable binaries, shared libraries, or static archives. It functions as a replacement for standard system linkers, automating the final stage of the compilation process to generate binaries across different operating system architectures. The project provides custom binary linking and toolchain integration, allowing for the modification of how compilers resolve symbols and determine memory layouts. It specifically handles the organization of machine code and data sections to meet the requi

SASM is a cross-platform integrated development environment for writing, assembling, and debugging low-level assembly code. It serves as a unified editor and execution flow for assembly language development across different operating systems. The environment supports multiple assembly languages and their respective toolchains, including NASM, MASM, GAS, and FASM, within a single interface. It features a binary-level debugger that allows for stepping through instructions and inspecting CPU registers and variable states. The project provides a toolchain-based build pipeline and a configuration

CoreCLR is a runtime environment that manages the execution, memory, and basic types for applications built on the .NET platform. It serves as a managed execution environment that handles low-level system interactions and provides primitive data types for high-level application code. The project functions as a JIT compilation engine and a garbage collected runtime. It translates intermediate language into machine code at runtime for execution on specific hardware and automatically reclaims unused memory to prevent leaks. The system covers broad capability areas including managed code executi

exif-js is a JavaScript library for extracting image metadata directly in the browser. It functions as a binary image buffer parser that reads raw image bytes to retrieve technical details without requiring files to be uploaded to a server. The library parses data following the EXIF and IPTC standards to extract camera settings, timestamps, GPS coordinates, captions, keywords, and copyright information. It utilizes typed arrays and offset-based traversal to navigate image structures and map numeric identifiers to human-readable tags.

This project is a multi-language compiler collection and cross-platform toolchain used to translate source code from various programming languages into optimized machine code for different hardware architectures. It provides a suite of tools including an optimizing compiler backend, a machine code generator, and a comprehensive runtime library suite that implements necessary execution environments and support functions. The system utilizes a multi-pass compilation pipeline and pluggable language front-ends to process source code into intermediate representations. It distinguishes itself throu