Other · operating system
KolibriOS
Free, small operating system people call mature, with commented code worth reading. One critic questions whether it is still active.
Summarized from 7 comments.
Free, small operating system people call mature, with commented code worth reading. One critic questions whether it is still active.
- recommend
- 6
- criticize
- 1
- months recommended
- 4 of 13
Why people love it
Mature for its size · 2
The 12 MB OS looks surprisingly mature.
Mar 2026 · commentit's a quite mature assembly repo
Oct 2026 · commentShows what assembly can do · 2
Having seen with my own eyes what you can do with assembly per KolibriOS
Oct 2026 · commentit's a quite mature assembly repo
Oct 2026 · comment
What hackers pick instead
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- MinixFree microkernel Unix-like system praised for isolated drivers and teaching OS design; critics call it a toy that lacks parts for a working system.15recommend
- Inferno operating systemFree operating system from the Plan 9 lineage, praised for its everything-is-a-file design and typed shell, but it was never fully completed and has bit-rotted.12recommend
- VisopsysA free hobby operating system built by a single developer since 1997, praised as an impressive passion project for learning how an OS works. Critics say it is not practical for everyday use.9recommend
Every quote
The 6 most detailed of 7 comments. Each links to the original.
Having seen with my own eyes what you can do with assembly per KolibriOS
Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Battlezone Online: BZFlag in the Browser”
The 12 MB OS looks surprisingly mature.
Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Everything old is new again: memory optimization”
it's a quite mature assembly repo
Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Show HN: Rhun, an open-source code editor written in assembly”
a few simple OSs(including KolibriOS) which had a ton of code to read through that mostly was commented
Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “The Art of 64-bit Assembly”
KolibriOS looks promising.
Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Floppinux – An Embedded Linux on a Single Floppy, 2025 Edition”
I wouldn't call it "active" that much
Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “MenuetOS – a GUI OS that boots from a single floppy disk”
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