Microkernel-based operating systems

GNU ( ) is an extensive collection of free software (387 packages ), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operating systems popularly known as Linux. Most of GNU is licensed under the GNU Project's own General Public License (GPL).

Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. It was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for personal digital assistants in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian OS is a descendant of Psion's EPOC, and was mostly used on ARM processors, although an x86 port exists. A modified version of Symbian for x86 was used on the Fujitsu LOOX F-07C where it was dual booted with Windows 7. Symbian was used primarily by Nokia, and in select models of Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. It was also prevalent in Japan by brands i

MINIX is a Unix-like operating system based on a microkernel architecture, first released in 1987 and written by American-Dutch computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. It was designed as a clone of the Unix operating system and one that could run on affordable, Intel 8086-based home computers; MINIX was targeted for use in classrooms by computer science students at universities.

general-purpose kernel suitable for the GNU operating system

AmigaOS is a family of proprietary native operating systems of the Amiga and AmigaOne personal computers. It was developed first by Commodore International and introduced with the launch of the first Amiga, the Amiga 1000, in 1985. Early versions of AmigaOS required the Motorola 68000 series of 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors. Later versions, after Commodore's demise, were developed by Haage & Partner (AmigaOS 3.5 and 3.9) and then Hyperion Entertainment (AmigaOS 4.0-4.1). A PowerPC microprocessor is required for the most recent AmigaOS 4-release. Version 4.1 added 64-bit file system support

QNX ( or ) is a commercial Unix-like real-time operating system, aimed primarily at the embedded systems market.

operating system

operating system

operating system

discontinued proprietary mobile operating system by BlackBerry

MorphOS is an AmigaOS-like operating system designed for Power and PowerPC based computers. The core, based on the Quark microkernel, is proprietary; however, several libraries and other parts are open source, such as the Ambient desktop.

FreeRTOS is a real-time operating system kernel for embedded devices that has been ported to 40 microcontroller platforms. It is distributed under the MIT License.

distributed operation system for timesharing on a network, developed at the 'Vrije' University in Amsterdam

operating system

operating system

Redox is a Unix-like operating system based on a microkernel design. It is community-developed, released as free and open-source software and distributed under an MIT License. Written in the programming language Rust, Redox aims to be a general-purpose operating system that is safe and reliable. It is currently in a pre-stable status.

operating system

operating system

MkLinux (Microkernel Linux) is a discontinued open-source experimental operating system for PowerPC Macintosh computers. It was launched in 1995 as a collaboration between the Open Software Foundation (OSF) and Apple Computer, as a critical pivot in Apple's technical and social history. MkLinux became Apple's first official free and open-source software community project, and the debut of Linux on the first Power Macintosh.

operating system

UNICOS is a range of Unix and later Linux operating system (OS) variants developed by Cray for its supercomputers. UNICOS is the successor of the Cray Operating System (COS). It provides network clustering and source code compatibility layers for some other Unixes. UNICOS was originally introduced in 1985 with the Cray-2 system and later ported to other Cray models. The original UNICOS was based on UNIX System V Release 2, and had many Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) features (e.g., computer networking and file system enhancements) added to it.

HelenOS is an operating system based on a multiserver microkernel design. The source code of HelenOS is written in C and published under the BSD-3-Clause license.

distribution of the GNU/Hurd operating system

JavaOS is a discontinued operating system based on a Java virtual machine. It was originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Unlike Windows, macOS, Unix, or Unix-like systems which are primarily written in the C or C++ programming languages, JavaOS is primarily written in Java. It is now considered a legacy system.

operating system for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console

operating system

proprietary operating system of the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2

Real-time operating system

ChorusOS is a microkernel real-time operating system designed as a message passing computing model. ChorusOS began as the Chorus distributed real-time operating system research project at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA) in 1979. During the 1980s, Chorus was one of two earliest microkernels (the other being Mach) and was developed commercially by startup company Chorus Systèmes SA. Over time, development effort shifted away from distribution aspects to real-time for embedded systems.

ChibiOS/RT is a compact and fast real-time operating system for microcontrollers supporting multiple architectures and released under a mix of the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL3) and the Apache License 2.0 (depending on module). It is developed by Giovanni Di Sirio.

Genode is a novel OS architecture that aims to improve software safety by applying a strict organizational structure to all software components including device drivers, system services, and applications.

ThreadX is an embedded real-time operating system (RTOS) programmed mostly in the C language. It was originally released in 1997 as ThreadX when Express Logic first developed it, later it was renamed to Azure RTOS (2019) after Express Logic was purchased by Microsoft, then most recently it was renamed again to Eclipse ThreadX (2023), or "ThreadX" in its short form, after it transitioned to free open source model under the stewardship of the Eclipse Foundation.

real time operating system

experimental computer operating system

Taligent Inc. (a portmanteau of "talent" and "intelligent") was an American software company. Based on the Pink object-oriented operating system conceived by Apple in 1988, Taligent Inc. was incorporated as an Apple/IBM partnership in 1992, and was dissolved into IBM in 1998.

orthogonally persistent managed-code general purpose operating system

Java operating system

real-time operating system

PikeOS is a commercial hard real-time operating system (RTOS) which has a separation kernel-based hypervisor that supports multiple logical partition types for various operating systems (OS) and applications, each referred to as a GuestOS. PikeOS is engineered to support the creation of certifiable smart devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). In instances where memory management units (MMU) are not present but memory protection units (MPU) are available on controller-based systems, PikeOS for MPU is designed for critical real-time applications and provides up-to-standard safety and security

microkernel operating system