XAE Operating System Kernel

A custom operating system kernel built from scratch in C, featuring a unique filesystem design.

What You're Building

This OS kernel teaches you the fundamentals of how operating systems work:

1. Bootloader - The first code that runs when your computer starts
2. Kernel - The core of the OS that manages hardware and resources
3. Memory Management - How the OS tracks and allocates RAM
4. Filesystem - Your own unique way of organizing files on disk
5. Device Drivers - Code to communicate with hardware (keyboard, screen, etc.)

Project Structure

/boot          - Bootloader code (starts your OS)
/kernel        - Core kernel code
  /drivers     - Hardware drivers (VGA, keyboard, etc.)
  /mm          - Memory management
  /fs          - Your custom filesystem
  /include     - Header files
/build         - Compiled output files

Building & Running

make           # Compile everything
make run       # Run in QEMU emulator
make clean     # Clean build files

Learning Path

Each component is documented with inline comments explaining:

• WHAT the code does
• WHY it's necessary
• HOW it works at a low level

Unique Features

XAE-FS includes features not found in traditional filesystems:

• File Priorities - Critical, High, Normal, Low priority levels
• Multi-Tag System - Gmail-style tags for flexible organization
• Built-in Versioning - Automatic file version tracking

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.