Linux 0.11 rewritten in idiomatic Rust, boots in QEMU
A developer has rewritten the 1991 Linux 0.11 kernel from scratch using the Rust programming language. The project maintains original system semantics while utilizing Rust's memory safety and type system to modernize the kernel's architecture.
Why it matters
It demonstrates the viability of using memory-safe languages like Rust for low-level systems programming, potentially influencing future kernel development.
A modern Rust rewrite of the Linux 0.11 kernel — boots on i386 in QEMU, runs a self-hosted Unix-style userland.
$ cd kernel && make run … Welcome to linux-0.11-rs. https://github.com/Poseidon-fan/linux-0.11-rs (login: 0 @ linux-rs :: Wed May 27 09:35:43 UTC 2026) [root@linux-rs /root] # ls /bin | wc -l 69 linux-0.11-rs rebuilds the 1991 Linux 0.11 kernel from scratch in modern Rust. It keeps the original system's semantics — what it does — while rethinking how it's expressed: stronger types, clearer module boundaries, idiomatic abstractions everywhere. The kernel boots on emulated i386 hardware, runs a full init → shell → coreutils stack, and ships with the tooling to build your own bootable image in one command.
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