u/Neither_Sentence_941

i've been working on this little project for awhile... it’s called SexOS / Sex, and it started as an old microkernel idea I had years ago that I’m now trying to push into a real working system with restricted AI-assisted development.

Very rough pitch:

• strict no_std Rust microkernel / SaaS-OS experiment
• capability-routed services over a tiny PDX message layer
• Intel MPK / PKU / protection-key isolation as a core design idea
• no POSIX compatibility layer, no Unix filesystem assumptions, no “just make it Linux-ish”
• userland-ish servers for display, input, storage, notifications, shell, etc.
• Silk DE: a keyboard-first desktop environment because pointer handling in QEMU is currently cursed
• Linen: object/graph-style file organization instead of a normal folder tree
• Quil: editor/document surface
• Spindle: little terminal/command surface
• Collar: capability/grant UI
• Bell: notification/event system
• Atlas/Mesh: scene/theme/system-map style overlays

Current status is somewhere between hobby OS and weird research prototype that keeps accidentally becoming real. It successfully boots on Amd64 hardware and in QEMU, spawns protected domains, has a working (unique) display path, usb input (tested only for cursor control), keyboard-driven window controls, basic app surfaces, command palette actions, Spindle text/history, Linen navigation, Bell/Atlas/Collar keyboard proofs, and a lot of serial-log gates.

What I mean by restricted AI workflow: I’m using Codex/Claude/DeepSeek as bounded agents that get tiny missions like “prove keyboard window controls” or “fix topbar restore regression,” then build, boot, grep serial logs, and stop if the change would cross kernel/ABI boundaries. So, not vibe coded, but definitely a major help speeding up proofing and debugging. What I've found most useful is feeding my logs into NotebookLM and making little podcasts about the project along the way, which I'm listening to and using to work on the project. I made a youtube channel to put the videos (https://www.youtube.com/@SexMicrokernel) and I honestly think it's the best use of Ai so far, because it helps organize the thought and give me a simulated second opinion.

Not claiming it’s good yet. It’s still fragile, weird, and the pointer path is currently humbled by imperfect control, but it’s been surprisingly effective to develop an OS by turning every subsystem into a proof-gated mission and I wanted to share it.

Mostly posting because I figured r/osdev might appreciate either the architecture, the madness, or both. Sorry for those who hate all use of any Ai whatsoever, I mean no offense.