Rusty OS

A minimal x86_64 operating system written in Rust, based on a tutorial from https://os.phil-opp.com/.

Overview

Rusty OS is an educational OS project demonstrating low-level systems programming in Rust. It includes a bootloader, interrupt handling, memory management with custom allocators, and async/await task execution without the standard library.

Features

• Bootloader Integration - Uses bootloader crate for x86_64 boot sequence
• Global Descriptor Table (GDT) - CPU privilege levels and task switching
• Interrupt Handling - IDT setup with handlers for exceptions and hardware interrupts
• Memory Management - Virtual memory mapping with custom frame allocator
• Heap Allocation - Multiple allocator strategies:
  • Bump allocator
  • Linked list allocator
  • Fixed-size block allocator
• Async Runtime - Custom task executor with async/await support
• Keyboard Input - Async keyboard handler via PS/2 controller
• VGA Text Buffer - Text-based console output with macros (print!, println!)
• Serial Output - UART for debug logging
• Testing Framework - Built-in test runner for kernel testing

Building

Prerequisites

• Rust nightly toolchain
• QEMU (for running the OS unless you wish to actually boot this... Please do not)
• bootimage tool: cargo install bootimage # This should not be run from the project folder

Build Commands

Build the kernel image:

cargo build --release

Create a bootable image:

cargo bootimage --release

Running

Run in QEMU:

cargo run --release

Testing

Run the test suite:

cargo test

Integration tests are located in tests/ directory:

• basic_boot.rs - Kernel startup
• heap_allocation.rs - Memory allocation
• stack_overflow.rs - Stack protection
• should_panic.rs - Panic handling

Next Steps

• File system implementation (FAT32 or ext2)
• ELF binary loading and execution
• User-space process isolation
• System call interface
• Device driver framework
• Networking stack
• Better console with colors and scrolling

Resources

• Writing an OS in Rust
• x86_64 Crate Documentation
• Bootloader Crate