A kernel written in Rust that can boot Ubuntu with Plasma desktop
A new Unix-like kernel written in Rust, ruxis, has been released that can run unmodified Linux programs.
The new kernel, ruxis, implements Linux's system call interface, allowing programs built for Linux to run on it without modification. This compatibility extends to a complete Ubuntu 24.04 system, including its init system, desktop environments like GNOME and KDE Plasma, and everyday applications such as bash, Python 3, and nginx.
The project is hosted on GitHub and is available under the MIT license. It is not Linux, but it is compatible with Linux's user space, a key distinction for developers and system administrators.
Technical Features
ruxis is written in Rust and runs on x86_64 and arm64 (aarch64) architectures. It boots with UEFI through Limine and features a custom driver model designed for a stable binary interface, a feature Linux deliberately lacks. The kernel includes SMP and preemptive scheduling, ext4 with journaling, IPv4/IPv6 networking, and drivers for various hardware including virtio, AHCI, NVMe, USB, and Intel/Realtek network cards.
The kernel version is reported as 6.6.0-ruxis, matching the Linux 6.6 system call interface. It supports loadable drivers in the form of .ko files, managed by standard tools like depmod and modprobe, although ruxis cannot load Linux's .ko files.
Development and Usage
The project was created by Claude Opus 5.5. To build and run ruxis, users need the Rust toolchain via rustup, git, and QEMU with UEFI firmware. The build process uses cargo xtask, with commands for building, running, testing, and booting on different architectures.
For a full Ubuntu desktop experience, a root filesystem image can be built using the provided tools. The kernel is still in its early 0.x development stage, and its driver model may change in future versions.
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