CiukiOS is a personal open source operating system project built from scratch, with a clear long-term goal: to progressively create a retro-compatible environment capable of running DOS, FreeDOS, and pre-NT Windows software. The repository currently presents the project as an Alpha release, with a working shell, an interactive desktop session, graphical improvements, DOS compatibility work through INT21 support, and a roadmap centered on eventually running real DOS programs, including DOS DOOM.
The project exists primarily as a fun personal project, and it is also openly described in the README as being heavily assisted by LLM tooling during development, including OpenAI, Claude, and GitHub Copilot.
The name CiukiOS comes from a private joke between me and my girlfriend about our dog Jack, also called Jacky, who is no longer with us. His nickname was Ciuk or Ciuki, and we used to joke that if we ever built an operating system, we would call it CiukiOS. For that reason, the project is dedicated to Jack.
From a technical perspective, CiukiOS is a low-level systems project that combines C, Assembly, shell scripting, Makefile-based builds, and compatibility-oriented architecture work. It reflects an experimental but concrete approach to system programming, focused on gradually extending runtime behavior, desktop interaction, and software compatibility over time.
If you want to support CiukiOS development (including recurring LLM/tooling costs such as OpenAI, Claude and Copilot subscriptions), see: https://github.com/PeronSlayer/CiukiOS/blob/main/DONATIONS.md
Provider selection is currently in progress to choose the most convenient and transparent option for contributors.
