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Welcome to the MentOS Wiki

MentOS (Mentoring Operating System) is an open-source educational operating system designed to provide a realistic yet understandable environment for learning OS development.

🚀 Quick Links

• Getting Started - Set up your development environment
• Building MentOS - Compile and build the OS
• Running MentOS - Launch MentOS in QEMU or GRUB
• Architecture - Understand the project structure
• Development Guide - Add programs and features

📚 Core Components

• Bootloader - First code executed, loads the kernel
• Kernel - Core OS functionality (processes, memory, drivers)
• C Library - Standard library and system call wrappers
• Userspace Programs - User applications and utilities

🛠️ Advanced Topics

• Debugging - GDB debugging and kernel logging
• Scheduling - CPU scheduling algorithms
• System Calls - Adding and using system calls
• File Systems - EXT2 and VFS implementation
• IPC - Inter-process communication mechanisms

🎯 What is MentOS?

MentOS is an educational operating system that aims to:

• Follow Linux guidelines - Uses similar data structures and algorithms as Linux
• Be beginner-friendly - Well-documented, simple enough to understand
• Provide realistic experience - Real OS features (processes, filesystems, drivers)
• Enable hands-on learning - Students can modify and extend it

Why MentOS?

There are many educational operating systems, but MentOS stands out by:

1. Following Linux's design patterns and structures
2. Providing comprehensive documentation
3. Supporting multiple scheduling algorithms
4. Including a full C library and userspace programs
5. Compiling quickly on modern laptops (seconds!)

Credits

Parts of MentOS are inherited or inspired by DreamOS by Ivan Gualandri.

📖 Navigation Guide

New to OS development? Follow this path:

1. Start with Getting Started to set up your environment
2. Read Architecture to understand the project structure
3. Follow Building MentOS to compile your first build
4. Try Running MentOS to boot the OS
5. Explore Development Guide to make your first change

Want to dive deep? Check out:

• Kernel - Understand kernel internals
• Memory Management - Paging, buddy system, slab allocation
• Process Management - Scheduler and process structures
• File Systems - VFS and EXT2 implementation

🤝 Contributing

Interested in contributing? See the Contributing guide for:

• Code style guidelines
• Git workflow
• Testing procedures
• Documentation standards

📊 Features

See Features for a complete list of implemented and planned features.

🐛 Troubleshooting

Having issues? Check:

• Debugging - Common debugging techniques
• FAQ - Frequently asked questions
• GitHub Issues - Report bugs

📬 Contact

• GitHub: mentos-team/MentOS
• Issues: Report bugs or request features

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Happy hacking! 🎉