A modern, real-time operating system built from the ground up with units, capabilities, and message-passing.

The Aion operating system is composed of three main components:

Real-time microkernel providing core primitives:

• Units - Isolated execution containers (not processes)
• Capabilities - Unforgeable access rights
• Message-passing IPC - Primary communication mechanism
• Hard real-time guarantees - Bounded execution time
• Per-CPU design - Lock-free patterns for scalability

Repository: aioncore

Userspace services and system components:

• Device drivers (keyboard, serial, storage, network)
• Filesystems and VFS
• Network stack
• POSIX personality layer
• System utilities and tools

Repository: Coming soon

Distributed system capabilities:

• Multi-node coordination
• Distributed IPC
• Resource federation
• Fault tolerance and replication
• Cluster-wide scheduling

Repository: Coming soon

1. Microkernel First - Keep the kernel small (<10K LOC)
2. Real-Time Throughout - Every operation has bounded time
3. Userspace by Default - If it can run in userspace, it must
4. Capability Security - No ambient authority
5. Message-Passing - IPC over shared memory
6. Per-CPU Everything - Minimize locking, maximize parallelism
7. Formal Verification - Designed for provability

Phase 1 & 2.1: ✅ Complete

• Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
• Per-CPU infrastructure
• Interrupt handling (IDT)
• PIT timer with TSC calibration
• Unit testing framework

Phase 2.2: 🔨 In Progress

• Physical Memory Manager (PMM)
• Basic paging and MMU

Phase 3+: 📋 Planned

• Tasks, threads, and scheduler
• IPC and capabilities
• Userspace services (AionSpace)
• Cluster support (AionMesh)

Built on ideas from:

• seL4 - Formally verified microkernel
• Fuchsia/Zircon - Capability-based design
• QNX - Real-time microkernel architecture
• MINIX - Pioneering microkernel design

With our unique twist:

• Units instead of processes
• Built for RT from day one
• No POSIX in kernel (userspace personality)
• Designed for formal verification
• Modern per-CPU lock-free patterns

MIT License - Copyright (c) 2025 sistemica GmbH

Start here: Check out AionCore to see the kernel implementation!