Arion - A Learning-Focused x86_64 Operating System

Overview

Arion is an educational operating system project demonstrating the design and implementation of a modern 64-bit OS for x86_64 architecture. Built from scratch with comprehensive documentation, it progresses through 8 phases from bootloader to a fully functional GUI-based system.

Current Status: Phase 1 Complete ✓
Target: Phase 2 (Long Mode Transition)

Repository Structure

Arion/
├── OS/                      # Main OS source code (see OS/README.md)
├── README.md               # This file
└── ProjectReport.md        # Complete documentation of all 8 phases

Quick Start

cd OS
make iso && make run

Expected Output: "Hello Arion" printed to VGA in QEMU

See OS/doc/BUILD.md for detailed setup instructions.

Project Goals

1. Educational: Understand how modern operating systems work at the hardware level
2. Reproducible: Works on Linux, WSL, Windows, and multiple emulators
3. Modular: Easy to extend with new architectures (ARM64, RISC-V) and features
4. Well-Documented: Every phase has clear goals, tasks, and deliverables

8-Phase Development Plan

Phase	Goal	Status
1	Project Foundation & Build Setup	✓ Complete
2	Long Mode Transition & x86_64 Bootstrap	✓ Complete
3	Core Kernel & Process Management	→ In Progress
4	Syscall Layer & Userland	Planned
5	Filesystem & Storage	Planned
6	Drivers & Input/Output	Planned
7	GUI & Compositor	Planned
8	Testing, CI, and Installer	Planned

Estimated Timeline: 8-16 weeks (part-time)

Key Files

• OS/README.md - OS architecture and folder structure
• OS/doc/ROADMAP.md - Detailed 8-phase plan with tasks and deliverables
• OS/doc/BUILD.md - Build system and toolchain setup
• OS/doc/WINDOWS_SETUP.md - Windows development guide
• OS/Makefile - Top-level build orchestration

What You'll Learn

• Bootloaders: BIOS/UEFI multiboot, real to protected to long mode
• Memory Management: Paging, virtual addressing, heap allocation
• Concurrency: Context switching, scheduling, process management
• System Calls: Userland/kernel boundary, privilege levels
• Filesystems: VFS abstraction, RAMFS, file I/O
• Device Drivers: Hardware abstraction, interrupt handling
• GUI: Framebuffer graphics, window management, input handling

Technical Specifications

• Target Architecture: x86_64
• Bootloader: GRUB (multiboot)
• Kernel: Freestanding C
• Build System: Make + cross-compiler (x86_64-elf-gcc)
• Testing: QEMU, VirtualBox
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions (planned)

Getting Started

1. Clone & Setup:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Arion.git
   cd Arion/OS

2. Check Requirements:

   • Linux/WSL: See OS/doc/BUILD.md
   • Windows: See OS/doc/WINDOWS_SETUP.md

3. Build & Run:

   make iso && make run

4. Next Steps:

   • Read OS/doc/ROADMAP.md for Phase 2 tasks
   • Check individual phase implementation guides in OS/doc/

Documentation

All documentation is in OS/doc/:

• ROADMAP.md - Complete 8-phase plan
• BUILD.md - Build system and toolchain
• DESIGN.md - Architecture and design notes
• WINDOWS_SETUP.md - Windows developer setup
• API.md - Kernel and user-space API

Resources & References

• OSDev.org - OS development wiki
• Intel x86-64 ABI - ABI specification
• GRUB Multiboot - Multiboot spec
• Linux Kernel Docs - Reference implementation

Contributing

This is primarily an educational project. Feel free to fork and extend with:

• Additional architectures (ARM64, RISC-V)
• Advanced scheduling algorithms
• Network stack implementation
• Filesystem drivers (EXT2, FAT32)
• Improved GUI capabilities

License

See OS/LICENSE

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Last Updated: February 2026
Current Phase: 2 ✓
Next Phase: 3 (Core Kernel & Process Management)