Could be tonight. Could be tomorrow. Could be by Christmas 2027.
Could be right after one more feature.
An operating system for yellow hats: built from scratch in Rust for people who want to own their machines down to the bare metal. It has no name yet. The domain does.
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What's being built
This is a whole operating system, not a Linux remix: its own boot loader, kernel, drivers, network stack, desktop and browser, all written in Rust. It has booted a real 2017 laptop, gone online through its own Wi-Fi driver and drawn its own desktop. The whole kernel is one file under 5 MB, and in testing the desktop needs under 20 MB of memory, so almost all of the machine is left for what you run. The computer answers to the person who owns it.
- Every layer is new. Boot loader, kernel, USB, Wi-Fi, network stack, desktop and a browser that never runs JavaScript, all in Rust.
- Not built on top of anything. It isn't Linux, Windows or a skin. Bare metal up, with no legacy layers underneath.
- Quiet by default. Nothing goes online until you ask. In a virtual-machine test it sent zero packets before you did.
- Game First. The program you're using gets the machine; stores, extras and helpers step aside. Already proven in our Linux game mode.
- An AI governor that answers to you. Planned: you set the rules, it advises and enforces them, and the off switch sits outside it.
- Rules that grow, never rot. When a check misses something, a rule gets added. Nothing is silently rewritten, and no AI model decides alone.
- Every program in its own room. Planned: one door per program. A first light version already runs in a virtual machine.
- Honest labels. Every result below says where it ran: a real laptop, a virtual machine, or a Linux prototype.
- yellow hat noun
- A sovereign scrap engineer that takes control of what they own down to any bare metal.
Dev log: what's built so far
Every line says where it ran: on a real laptop, in a virtual machine, or as a Linux prototype. Nothing counts until there's a log, a photo or a test behind it.
- 402 msfrom loader to kernel console on the first bootOn a real laptop
- Under 5 MBthe whole kernel, desktop, browser and drivers includedBuild file
- 1.1 sfrom loader to a ready desktopIn a VM
- Under 20 MBmemory in use at the desktopIn a VM
- 31 of 31self-tests passed on its own desktopOn a real laptop
- 456,670 bytesof a real website, fetched over TLS 1.3 by our own Wi-Fi driver, network stack and browserOn a real laptop
- On a real laptop
First boot in pure Rust
On 29 September our own Rust loader and kernel booted a 2017 Lenovo laptop, reaching a console 0.4 seconds after the loader started. Photographed.
- On a real laptop
Its own desktop, 31 of 31
A classic desktop with windows, a terminal and a store, every pixel drawn by our own code. 31 of 31 self-tests passed on 2 October.
- On a real laptop
Its own Wi-Fi and a secure web
Our Rust Wi-Fi driver joined a WPA2 network, and our browser loaded a real website over TLS 1.3 without running any JavaScript.
- On a real laptop
Lab cable and remote reboot
On 30 October the laptop streamed its boot log over USB-C Ethernet, obeyed signed commands and rebooted on command, back in about 18 seconds.
- Proven in a VM
Clean kernel, rebuilt byte for byte
The 14 October base rebuilds from source with every byte identical, and passes all 46 built-in self-tests.
- Proven in a VM
Remote screen and keyboard
Seeing the screen and typing into it from the workbench over the cable works in a virtual machine. The real laptop is next.
- Proven in a VM
Signed apps, installed to memory
The store installed a signed calculator and calendar into memory only. The calendar asked for the clock and was refused.
- Proven in a VM
A rule-based USB guard
Fixed rules hold any newly plugged keyboard until you approve it and flag inhuman typing. No AI model inside.
- In progress
Graphics: the hard part
Graphics drivers are the hardest part of any OS. Our Intel driver passes 135+ tests on the workbench and in a VM but hasn't lit a real chip yet. NVIDIA: research only.
- Linux prototype
Radio, TV, books and games
Top-bar apps on our dev laptop: 315 radio stations, free TV channels, 181 free audiobooks and shows, and a games shelf, waiting for their Rust rebuild.
- Linux prototype
Private picks, no network
A For You engine learns from your likes and real listening time, keeps one owner-only file and cannot open a network connection at all.
- Linux prototype
Game mode
Hands the game the whole machine. In a full eight-player match, the store app stayed demoted in 407 of 407 samples.
- Linux prototype
Our own AI engine
A dependency-free Rust engine ran two small open language models on a 2017 laptop's processor, with output identical to the reference.
- Planned
The AI governor
You set the rules, it advises and enforces within them, and the off switch sits outside it. No governor code runs yet.
- Planned
Boolean bots
Tiny yes-or-no rule checkers with no AI model inside: same input, same answer, every time. The rules-only USB guard is the closest thing built so far.
- Planned
Walled rooms for every app
Every program in its own room with one door, so one bad app can't reach the rest.
How we build
- Practise on LinuxBuild the idea as a working program on our everyday Linux laptop, and live with it first.
- Write it down twiceFor every wall and app: how it works on Linux, and exactly how the Rust version will work.
- Rust, in a virtual machine firstWrite it fresh in Rust and prove it in virtual machines. A VM is boot camp, not the real thing.
- Prove it on a real laptopLogs or photos, or it didn't happen. Anything that once worked is never erased.
- Clean room for other people's codeThe original is described in plain words, the Rust is written by a builder who never saw it, and a separate check keeps them apart.
Mugs for the job site
Three designs for the first batch, drawn in-house. Art may change before it ships. The coffee stays hot.
Want to be first to pre-order?
Lock in your email and we'll ping you the moment pre-orders open. No payment now.
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Play while you wait
Bare Metal: you're a spark riding the copper traces of a circuit board. Grab chips, dodge locks. The server checks every run against the game's own rules, and every saved score is signed, so the board can't be faked.
When do you think it launches?
Pick one. You get a signed ticket, chained by SHA-256 to every guess before yours. It proves you said it. It proves nothing else.
Ask the crow
The site crow. Hard hat, question-mark feather, no name yet. It knows what the crew has written down, it quotes scripture when it feels like it, and it will absolutely try to sell you on following us.
Live from the job site
- Estimates signed
- 0
- Guess tickets
- 0
- Game runs
- 0
- Questions for the crow
- 0
- Waiting for the email
- 0
Counted live by the site itself. The real launch date, according to the vault: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
