halfer53/winix
FreeA UNIX-style Operating System for the Waikato RISC Architecture Microprocessor (WRAMP)
FreeFree tier
About halfer53/winix
Winix is a minimal, hobbyistic, educational UNIX-style operating system for the Waikato RISC Architecture Microprocessor (WRAMP). Inspired by Minix1, it includes a full-featured kernel with process and memory management, an in-memory file system supporting most POSIX API calls, exception control and interrupt handling, and a user-space Bourne shell with interactive command line, multiple pipes, and redirection. Additional features include user memory management (malloc/free), coroutine support via ucontext.h, stacktrace dump and segfault analysis, and a classic snake game. The project is open source under GPL-3.0 and includes unit tests.
Key Features
Kernel memory management: virtual memory and page mapping
Process management: kernel threads, process creation
Exception control and interrupt handler
In-memory file system supporting most POSIX API calls
Bourne shell with multiple pipes and redirection
User memory management: malloc() and free()
User coroutine support with ucontext.h
Stacktrace dump and segfault analysis
Built-in snake game
System call tracing via 'trace' command
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Open source with GPL-3.0 license, free to use and modify
- Educational and minimal codebase, easy to understand
- Includes classic snake game for fun and demonstration
- Supports a large subset of POSIX system calls and commands
- Comes with unit tests to ensure reliability
- Well-documented with instructions for compilation and execution
Cons
- Requires specific WRAMP hardware or the Rexsimulator to run
- Not designed for production use; purely educational/hobbyist
- Limited to a small, niche community and minimal external support
- Lacks many features of full-fledged operating systems
Best For
Learning operating system design and conceptsEducational projects on the WRAMP architectureHobbyist OS development experimentationRunning on the Rexsimulator for study and testing
FAQ
What is Winix?
Winix is a minimal, hobbyistic, educational UNIX-style operating system for the Waikato RISC Architecture Microprocessor (WRAMP), inspired by Minix1.
How can I run Winix?
Download the Rexsimulator (requires Mono on Linux/MacOS) and the latest Winix binary (winix.srec). Load the binary in the simulator. Alternatively, clone the repository from GitHub and compile it on a Linux system.
What features does Winix include?
Winix includes a kernel with memory management, process management, exception handling, an in-memory filesystem supporting most POSIX APIs, a Bourne shell with pipes/redirection, user memory management, coroutine support, stacktrace/segfault analysis, system call tracing, and a snake game.
Is Winix free?
Yes, Winix is open source under the GPL-3.0 license.