MenuetOS
MenuetOS is an open-source, monolithic, PC-based operating system written mostly in assembly language. It is known for its speed, small size and native GUI API.
assembly
monolithic
gui
small
fast
MenuetOS: Open-Source OS with Native GUI
A fast and lightweight PC-based operating system written mostly in assembly language, known for its speed and small size, with a native GUI API.
What is MenuetOS?
MenuetOS is an experimental open-source operating system for personal computers. It is written mostly in assembly language and designed to be fast, lightweight, and include a graphical user interface.
Some key features of MenuetOS:
- Monolithic kernel architecture - All core OS functionality is handled by the kernel rather than separate processes.
- Very small footprint - The OS can run on systems with as little as 4MB of RAM.
- Speed - MenuetOS is very fast compared to other OSes due to its assembly code and efficiency.
- Native GUI - It has its own graphical API for building interfaces rather than using X11.
- 32-bit & 64-bit support - Available for both x86 and x64 CPU architectures.
- Free and open source - Licensed under GPL, source code is fully available.
While not suitable for mainstream adoption, MenuetOS is used and developed by OS enthusiasts as an example of extremely efficient OS design. Its small size and speed make it useful for certain specialized applications as well.
MenuetOS Features
Features
- Monolithic kernel architecture
- Written mostly in assembly language
- Native GUI API
- Small memory footprint
- Fast performance
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Very fast and lightweight
Low resource usage
Native GUI for good performance
Very small OS size
Open source
Cons
Limited hardware support
Lack of drivers
Not actively maintained anymore
Very few applications available
Primarily an academic project
Official Links
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