SmileyOS
Bare-metal Rust OS that teaches kids to code on old laptops
9 followers
Bare-metal Rust OS that teaches kids to code on old laptops
9 followers
SmileyOS is an operating system written from scratch in Rust that turns any 32-bit laptop with 256 MB RAM into a learning computer for kids aged 6–13. Boot from a USB stick and get a desktop, a real terminal, an IDE with the beginner language Smilium and 26 lessons, the Gamely2D game engine, a browser with its own HTML5/CSS/JS engines, LAN classroom chat and live-share, and an optional AI helper with age-aware answers and parent limits. No Linux underneath. Works fully offline.
Hi Product Hunt! I'm Nikola, and for two years I've been building SmileyOS in Rust, from the kernel up: no Linux, no third-party runtime, ~300k lines covering drivers, desktop, a beginner language with an IDE, a 2D game engine, a browser with its own HTML5/CSS/JS engines and a kid-safe AI helper.
Why? Every school has a box of 2008 netbooks that nothing modern will run on. SmileyOS boots from a USB stick on any 32-bit laptop with 256 MB RAM and gives a kid a real first computer: terminal → Smilium scripts → UI apps → games, with nothing to install and nothing to distract.
It works fully offline; internet and AI are opt-in and parent-controlled.
I'd love feedback from teachers, parents and OS/Rust people. What would you want on a kid's first machine?