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An operating system for the curious, written by the curious.

"I didn't know it was impossible, so I did it"
— Pretty much what I was thinking when I started this project

What is this?

ALK is my attempt to understand how computers actually work. Not through textbooks and lectures, but through thousands of lines of code, dozens of coffee mugs, and one burnt-out QEMU virtual machine.

I'm 13 years old, and over the past six months, I've written an operating system. Not just a "Hello World", but a full-fledged kernel with multitasking, drivers, and even my own Red Screen of Death (RSOD — my personal contribution to IT history).

Why "ALK"?

Because these letters look cool in the logo :)

What can ALK do?

🎮 Basic functionality

• Multitasking — My scheduler switches between tasks better than I switch between math homework and programming
• Graphical interface — Not Windows, of course, but a terminal with scrolling and command history
• Disk operations — Reads and writes, though sometimes it prefers the latter

🛠️ System features

• RSOD — When something goes wrong, the system shows a red screen with detailed information. Yes, I was inspired by Windows XP
• Drivers — Keyboard, timer, PCI devices... Sometimes they even work!
• Memory management — My malloc and PMM (deleted) has been through more bugs than I can remember

The story of one line of code

When I started, I thought: "Well, a couple hundred lines of code, and I'll have a ready OS." Six months and 10,000 lines later, I realized that:

1. The CPU — doesn't just execute commands, it gets offended if treated wrong
2. Memory — isn't an infinite resource, but a capricious beast requiring careful handling
3. Drivers — aren't boring, they're magic that brings hardware to life

Who is this for?

• For the equally curious — If you've ever wondered what happens between pressing the power button and seeing the desktop
• For beginner developers — Source code is open, comments exist (sometimes)
• For teachers — Look what a 13-year-old can do with internet access and stubbornness

What's next?

Plans include:

• File system (to have somewhere to save errors)
• Network stack (to search Stack Overflow directly from the kernel)
• USB support (because PS/2 is already archaeology)

Want to help?

I'm not looking for co-authors, but I'd be happy with:

• Advice — Especially on architecture and security
• Bug reports — If you build it and something breaks
• Stories — Tell me about your experience with systems programming

Contact

The project lives on GitHub. Questions, suggestions, and words of encouragement — go there.

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P.S. If you're reading this and ALK has already grown into something bigger... Remind yourself that it all started with one teenager who just wanted to understand how computers work.

P.P.S. Thanks to everyone who believed it was possible. And especially to those who didn't — you made this project a personal challenge.

ALK. Written with curiosity. Built with hope. Runs with a smile.