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Overview

The Redox kernel is a microkernel written entirely in Rust, emphasizing safety, reliability, and performance. It forms the core of Redox OS and provides essential services for process management, memory management, and inter-process communication.

Kernel Repository

View the kernel source code on GitLab

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Key Features

Microkernel Architecture

Minimal kernel design with most services running in userspace

Memory Safety

Written in Rust to prevent memory-related vulnerabilities

Process Isolation

Strong isolation between processes for enhanced security

Scheme-based I/O

Unique URL-like scheme system for resource access

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Architecture

The Redox kernel follows a microkernel design philosophy, inspired by systems like seL4 and MINIX. This means:
  • Minimal kernel space: Only essential services run in kernel mode
  • Userspace drivers: Device drivers run as separate processes
  • IPC-based communication: Processes communicate through well-defined interfaces
  • Scheme-based I/O: Resources are accessed through URL-like schemes

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Kernel Schemes

The kernel provides several built-in schemes for low-level operations: 
# Example schemes available from the kernel
schemes = [
  "debug",     # Debugging interface
  "event",     # Event handling
  "memory",    # Memory access
  "pipe",      # Pipe communication
  "serio",     # Serial I/O
  "irq",       # Interrupt handling
  "time",      # Time services
  "sys",       # System information
]

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System Initialization

The kernel initializes the system and starts essential services through the init system: 
# Base initialization script
rm -rf /tmp
mkdir -m a=rwxt /tmp

notify ipcd
notify ptyd
nowait sudo --daemon

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Building the Kernel

The kernel is included in the base system configuration: 
[packages]
kernel = {}
The kernel is automatically built as part of the Redox OS build system. See the Build Instructions for details.

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Resources

Kernel Repository

Source code and development

Redox Book

Comprehensive documentation

Contributing

How to contribute to the kernel

Developer FAQ

Common development questions

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Maintainer

Jeremy Soller (@jackpot51)

Primary maintainer of the Redox kernel

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