QSOE 0.1 has been released as the first public version of a new QNX-inspired open-source operating system for 64-bit RISC-V systems. Right from the start, it’s not intended for everyday users or as a typical Linux alternative. Instead, this is a fairly niche project aimed at developers.
QSOE is an experimental microkernel-based OS influenced by QNX Neutrino with a long-term goal of running or porting QNX-style software. It features a small kernel, userspace services, synchronous message-passing IPC, and a resource-manager model.
The 0.1 release combines both QSOE kernel variants, the bootloader, userspace, shell, and C library into a single version. QSOE/N uses Skimmer, a custom microkernel developed for the project, while QSOE/L runs on seL4 15. Both variants share the same userspace, differing only in the task manager and kernel-facing C library component.
The main achievement in this release is getting QSOE running on real RISC-V hardware. With that said, QSOE/L now boots from NVMe storage to an interactive login shell on the SiFive HiFive Unmatched FU740 RISC-V board. QSOE/N had also already achieved an interactive QSH shell from its own filesystem, so both variants can now boot to a shell on the same RISC-V hardware.
As I said at the beginning, the OS targets 64-bit RISC-V, specifically RV64 with Sv39, and uses QEMU for daily development. The SiFive HiFive Unmatched FU740 is the main supported hardware, with SpaceMiT K3 planned for future support.
This release includes mr-bml 0.5.1, a GRUB-derived RISC-V EFI bootloader supporting Multiboot 3, RISC-V Linux-style kernels, and kernels with an EFI stub. Ready-made images are available for QEMU, as well as separate binaries for the Skimmer-based QSOE/N and seL4-based QSOE/L builds.
For QEMU testing, the project provides a self-booting NVMe disk image that launches the mr-bml boot menu and allows either QSOE variant to start. Running on real SiFive hardware requires the RISC-V EFI bootloader, matching kernel files, and a dedicated QSOE filesystem partition.
For additional information, see the announcement. The project is released under the Apache 2.0 license. Source code is hosted on GitLab.
The roadmap to the QSOE 1.0 details a writable filesystem, dual-panel file manager, audio device support, conformance suites, support for a second hardware target, and enhanced QNX libc compatibility.
