# SerenityOS

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/serenityos/

10 people recommended SerenityOS in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 8 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A Unix-like operating system with a classic Windows 2000 look, built as a hobby project for tinkering. Critics note weak hardware support and slowed momentum since its lead developer left.

Summary written by Claude from 15 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Unix-like with classic Windows UI (3 comments in the sample): "I think SerenityOS's vision of a unix-like environment with classic Windows UI is genius." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47204375)) "It's a Unix-like with a Win2K GUI, which is a pretty attractive combination" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46512429)) "SerenityOS GUI is a dream" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46806000))
- Fun side project for tinkering (3 comments in the sample): "spent years coding an arguably pointless project purely for the enjoyment of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47383819)) "serves as a cool side project for those who like to tinker with OS dev" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47206021)) "It celebrated coding for coding's sake" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48410365))
- Appealing vision and overall project (2 comments in the sample): "I really like what SerenityOS is going for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47994473)) "I love SerenityOS so much" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48591040))

## What people warn about

- Seen as pointless or abandoned (1 comment in the sample): "First he started an OS called Serenity, then abandoned that" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47132086))

## Other operating systems people recommend

- [Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/linux/): 597 recommend, 106 mixed, 243 criticize
- [Windows](https://hackerapproved.com/p/windows/): 537 recommend, 415 mixed, 3187 criticize
- [macOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macos/): 521 recommend, 333 mixed, 1695 criticize
- [FreeBSD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freebsd/): 243 recommend, 65 mixed, 73 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "SerenityOS", https://hackerapproved.com/p/serenityos/ (10 recommend, 4 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.