ZetaKernel

ZetaKernel is an open-source operating system kernel project designed for both embedded and general-purpose systems. It aims to provide a well-defined, adaptable core with modular components and a structured development process. The project emphasizes safety, performance, and portability, and is developed by the Zeta community under a permissive license.

ZetaKernel uses a microkernel-inspired core that handles fundamental primitives such as inter-process communication, thread scheduling, and memory management, while most drivers and services run in user space. Its modules are designed to be replaceable and optional, enabling builds from small footprints to full-featured desktops. The kernel supports preemptive multitasking, capability-based access control, and strong isolation between components.

The kernel offers a unified IPC mechanism, kernel-user boundary enforcement, optional virtualization support via para-virtualized interfaces or hardware virtualization features, and a driver model that can operate in user space. It includes power management, real-time scheduling options, and a minimal runtime environment for embedded devices. The project also provides a formal verification effort for critical subsystems.

ZetaKernel is released under a permissive license and hosted on platforms like GitHub. It uses a modular build system and continuous integration. The community contributes through mailing lists, issue trackers, and pull requests. Governance is community-driven with a lightweight steering committee.

Supported architectures include x86-64 and AArch64; experimental support for RISC-V. Benchmarks indicate competitive IPC performance in microbenchmarks, with scalable performance on multi-core systems. The kernel prioritizes determinism and predictable latency for embedded use.