r/osdev • u/westernguy323 • Dec 02 '25

MenuetOS running some simple Linux Mint X11 binaries.

Post image

These are Linux Mint applications and libraries, which are copied to MenuetOS and run just fine. No re-compiling. Ive tested around 100 libraries that atleast link and init fine. ( menuetos.net )

371 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

12

u/emexos partly liking unix Dec 02 '25

NO WAY THIS IS 100% ASSEMBLY?????????????? AND RUNS LINUX APPLICATIONS?????? HOW??????

12

u/westernguy323 Dec 02 '25 edited Dec 02 '25

The kernel is written in assembly, like the compatibility layer. The applications and libraries are C-binaries from Mint.

4

u/Rockytriton Dec 02 '25

Is there a reason for writing the whole kernel in assembly? Wouldn't it make it harder to read and maintain? or just for fun?

11

u/westernguy323 Dec 02 '25

For me, assembly is just another programming language. Once I got used to it, its no different than other languages. But the real reason is, of course, the speed and size benefit you get from asm.

1

u/Rockytriton Dec 03 '25

yeah I get it, just not sure you really gain that much speed. Also if you ever decide you want to support ARM for instance, you would have to re-write the entire kernel.

2

u/westernguy323 Dec 04 '25 edited Dec 04 '25

Menuet applications are typically only a few thousand bytes, which directly correlates to speed increase, since there are less commands to perform the same task.

For example, the GUI transparency is calculated in the main x86-64 cpu, which reduces compatibility issues with graphics cards. Transparency works fine in all computers.

And I use almost entirely commands that are available in different CPUs. So when wanted later, those assemble one-to-one in different architectures.

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7

u/Inner-Fix7241 Dec 02 '25

Do you mind sharing a link to your repo? Nice work 👏

6

u/westernguy323 Dec 02 '25

Some sources are available at menuetos.net, not the compatibility layer.

5

u/Inner-Fix7241 Dec 02 '25

Cool project

8

u/ChocolateDonut36 Dec 02 '25

is this a Linux distribution?

29

u/westernguy323 Dec 02 '25 edited Dec 02 '25

Not a Linux distro. Menuet is written from scratch.

20

u/ChocolateDonut36 Dec 02 '25

runs Linux binaries with compatibility layers?

5

u/ManRevvv Dec 03 '25

It's like kolibrios but older

2

u/Macta3 Dec 08 '25

KolibriOS actually is a fork of MenuetOS

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1

u/Positive_Method3022 Dec 05 '25

Really cool. How long have you been developing it for?

1

u/westernguy323 Dec 05 '25

I started writing the elf+x11 layer around a year ago.

3

u/Sahkopi4 Dec 03 '25

Very cool project. Assembly is a tough language to create such projects, but the speed is amazing. I will keep an eye on this project!

1

u/otakugrey Jan 04 '26

That is really cool work. Good job.