Redox

Redox running Ion shell in Orbital windowing system
Developer	Jeremy Soller, Redox Developers[1]
Written in	Rust, assembly
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Free software
Initial release	20 April 2015; 7 years ago (2015-04-20)
Latest preview	0.8.0 / 24 November 2022; 4 months ago (2022-11-24)
Repository	gitlab.redox-os.org/redox-os/redox
Marketing target	Desktop, workstation, server
Available in	English
Package manager	pkgutils
Platforms	x86-64; ARM64 in development[2]
Kernel type	Microkernel
Userland	Custom
Influenced by	POSIX[3]
Default user interface	Command-line, Orbital
License	MIT
Official website	www.redox-os.org

Redox is a Unix-like microkernel operating system written in the programming language Rust, which has a focus on safety, stability, and performance.^[4][5][6] Redox aims to be secure, usable, and free. Redox is inspired by prior kernels and operating systems, such as SeL4, MINIX, Plan 9, and BSD. It is similar to Linux and BSD, but is written in a memory-safe language.^[7] It is free and open-source software distributed under an MIT License.

Redox gets its name from the reduction-oxidation reactions in chemistry; one redox reaction is the corrosion of iron, also called rust.

Design

The Redox operating system is designed to be secure.^[4] This is reflected in two design decisions:

1. Using the programming language Rust for implementation
2. Using a microkernel design, similar to MINIX

Components

Redox provides packages (memory allocator, file system, display manager, core utilities, etc.) that together make up a functional operating system. Redox relies on an ecosystem of software written in Rust by members of the project.

• Redox kernel – derives from the concept of microkernels, with inspiration from MINIX
• Ralloc – memory allocator
• TFS file system – inspired by the ZFS file system
• Ion shell – the underlying library for shells and command execution in Redox, and the default shell
• pkgutils – package manager
• Orbital windowing system – display and window manager, sets up the orbital: scheme, manages the display, and handles requests for window creation, redraws, and event polling
• relibc – C standard library

Command-line applications

Redox supports command-line interface (CLI) programs, including:

• Sodium – vi-like editor that provides syntax highlighting
• Rusthello – advanced Reversi AI; is highly concurrent, serving as proof of Redox's multithreading abilities; supports various AI strategies, such as brute forcing, minimax, local optimizations, and hybrid AIs

Graphical applications

Redox supports graphical user interface (GUI) programs, including:

• NetSurf – a lightweight web browser which uses its own layout engine
• Calculator – a software calculator which provides functions similar to the Windows Calculator program
• Editor – simple text editor, similar to Microsoft Notepad
• File Browser – a file manager that displays icons, names, sizes, and details for files; uses the launcher command to open files when they are clicked
• Image Viewer – Image viewer for simple file types
• Pixelcannon – 3D renderer, can be used to benchmark the Orbital desktop
• Orbterm – ANSI type terminal emulator

History

Redox was created by Jeremy Soller and was first published on 20 April 2015 on GitHub.^[8] As of July 2021, the Redox repository had a total of 79 contributors.^[9]