K1OS - Linux-based Operating System

Language: English (default) | Русская версия

Overview

K1OS is a Linux-based operating system focused on development.

The project uses the Linux kernel as a reliable foundation (drivers, scheduler, memory, networking) so we do not spend years building a kernel from scratch. K1OS development is focused on user space, boot flow, tooling, and system integration.

K1OS is not "just another distro clone". It is a standalone operating system built on top of the Linux kernel.

Core Components

• Linux kernel (kernel/linux-6.17.9) as the base system layer.
• Minimal initramfs (stage 1) to initialize early boot and prepare the real root.
• system.squashfs as the read-only base rootfs.
• overlayfs over squashfs with either:
  • tmpfs (RAM mode), or
  • ext4 partition labeled K1OS-DATA (persistent mode).
• runit as stage 2 init (/sbin/init inside rootfs).
• Built userland: busybox, fish, curl, git, dropbear, tmux, nano, python3, htop.
• warp (K1OS package manager in C) for package install and management.

Boot Architecture

1. GRUB loads vmlinuz and initramfs.gz.
2. Stage 1 (rootfs/init) mounts system.squashfs.
3. Stage 1 sets up overlayfs (persistent or RAM mode).
4. switch_root transfers control to /sbin/init (stage 2).
5. Stage 2 starts services and the K1OS shell environment.

Repository Layout

K1OS/
├── kernel/              # Linux kernel source/config
├── rootfs/              # Base rootfs and init scripts
├── packages/            # Userland package builds + warp
├── scripts/             # Build scripts for rootfs/ISO/persist
├── docs/                # Project documentation
├── custom/              # Optional extensions (modules/patches/tools)
├── build/               # Intermediate build artifacts/configs
└── Makefile             # Main build and run targets

Quick Start

# 1) Kernel
make kernel

# 2) RootFS
make rootfs

# 3) ISO
make iso

Full build:

make all-build

QEMU test:

# RAM mode
make qemu

# persistent storage
make make-persist
make qemu-persist

Additional Docs

• Kernel integration: docs/MIGRATION.md | docs/MIGRATION.ru.md
• Custom extensions: custom/README.md | custom/README.ru.md

License

Apache License 2.0 - see LICENSE.