15os

15os, short for Fifteen Operating System, is a fictional open-source operating system designed to illustrate concepts in modern, modular design. It targets desktops and embedded devices, emphasizing low resource usage, configurability, and a clean separation between core kernel and optional components. In this hypothetical scenario, 15os is implemented as a microkernel with a small, portable core and user-space drivers and services.

Development history places its origins in a 2019 community effort, with the first public release, 0.1, appearing in 2020. Subsequent 1.x and 2.x lines broadened hardware support and user experience. The project is released under the GPLv3 license.

Design and features: 15os uses a microkernel architecture providing memory protection and isolation between drivers, services, and applications. It includes a simple init system and a modular runtime that can be extended with components such as a graphical server, network stack, and media subsystems. It ships with a minimalist Wayland-based desktop environment and a POSIX-compatible userland. A package manager, 15pm, handles binary and source packages from repositories such as 15os-core and 15os-extras. Security features include sandboxing and mandatory access control.

Hardware support: Targeted for x86-64 and ARM architectures, with experimental support for RISC-V. It supports UEFI boot, generic xorg/Wayland graphics, and open-source drivers.

Reception: In this fictional context, 15os is noted for its small footprint and architectural clarity, but adoption is limited by a nascent driver ecosystem and a relatively small software catalog.

See also: List of operating systems, Modular operating system, Wayland.