Refolk

Top C Operating systems repositories on GitHub

Kernels, microkernels, and OS research projects. Filtered to projects whose primary language is C.

Ranked by stars across 213 C repositories tagged operating-system. Refreshed daily.

  1. 1
    Awesome-HarmonyOS/HarmonyOS19,871 · ⑂ 3,291

    A curated list of awesome things related to HarmonyOS. 华为鸿蒙操作系统。

    • huawei
    • harmonyos
    • os
    • operating-system
    • iot
    • iot-platform
  2. 2
    reactos/reactos17,494 · ⑂ 2,111

    A free Windows-compatible Operating System

    • operating-system
    • c
    • kernel
    • os
    • osdev
    • x86
  3. 3
    s-matyukevich/raspberry-pi-os13,813 · ⑂ 1,345

    Learning operating system development using Linux kernel and Raspberry Pi

    • raspberry-pi
    • linux-kernel
    • osdev
    • arm
    • operating-system
    • raspberry-pi-3
  4. 4
    klange/toaruos6,710 · ⑂ 542

    A completely-from-scratch hobby operating system: bootloader, kernel, drivers, C library, and userspace including a composited graphical UI, dynamic linker, syntax-highlighting text editor, network stack, etc.

    • operating-system
    • toaruos
    • operating-systems
    • c
    • c-library
    • compositor
  5. 5
    ravynsoft/ravynos6,695 · ⑂ 226

    An open-source OS project that aims to provide source and binary compatibility with macOS® and a similar user experience.

    • freebsd
    • macos
    • cocoa
    • objective-c
    • desktop
    • osdev
  6. 6
    yourtion/30dayMakeOS6,395 · ⑂ 1,462

    《30天自制操作系统》源码中文版。自己制作一个操作系统(OSASK)的过程

    • c
    • os
    • diy
    • osask
    • osx
    • linux
  7. 7
    littlekernel/lk3,632 · ⑂ 753

    LK embedded kernel

    • operating-system
    • rtos
  8. 8
    unikraft/unikraft3,616 · ⑂ 1,459

    A next-generation cloud native kernel designed to unlock best-in-class performance, security primitives and efficiency savings.

    • unikernel
    • unikraft
    • library
    • application
    • operating-system
    • os
  9. 9
    PureDarwin/PureDarwin2,591 · ⑂ 200

    Darwin is the Open Source core of macOS, and PureDarwin is a community project to extend Darwin into a complete, usable operating system.

    • darwin
    • operating-system
    • hacktoberfest
  10. 10
    yhzhang0128/egos-20002,532 · ⑂ 214

    Envision a future where everyone can read all the code of an educational operating system.

    • education
    • operating-system
  11. 11
    illumos/illumos-gate1,854 · ⑂ 803

    An open-source Unix operating system -- this is a read-only mirror of the official repository at https://code.illumos.org/plugins/gitiles/illumos-gate

    • illumos
    • unix
    • operating-system
    • os
  12. 12
    HelenOS/helenos1,556 · ⑂ 158

    A portable microkernel-based multiserver operating system written from scratch.

    • microkernel
    • drivers
    • multiserver
    • components
    • kernel
    • gui
  13. 13
    Harvey-OS/harvey1,452 · ⑂ 110

    A distributed operating system

    • operating-system
    • distributed-systems
    • harvey-os
    • c
    • plan9
    • harvey
  14. 14
    AlexFanw/HUSTER-CS1,351 · ⑂ 205

    华中科技大学 计算机科学与技术学院 课程与实验资料💾

    • huster
    • hust
    • cs
    • homework
    • network
    • operating-system
  15. 15
    fenwii/OpenHarmony1,343 · ⑂ 200

    华为鸿蒙分布式操作系统(Huawei HarmonyOS,纯血鸿蒙Harmony Next ),开源鸿蒙分布式操作系统( OpenHarmony)开发技术交流,最全鸿蒙技术资料库,手册,指南,共建国产操作系统万物互联新生态。

    • huawei
    • openharmony
    • harmonyos
    • kernel
    • linux
    • os
  16. 16
    brutal-org/brutal1,103 · ⑂ 42

    🏢 An operating system inspired by brutalist design that combines the ideals of UNIX from the 1970s with modern technology and engineering

    • osdev
    • hobby-os
    • microkernel
    • kernel
    • c
    • operating-system
  17. 17
    halfer53/winix950 · ⑂ 49

    A UNIX-style Operating System for the Waikato RISC Architecture Microprocessor (WRAMP)

    • operating-system
    • filesystem
    • unix-like
    • kernel
    • c
    • unix
  18. 18

    Phantom: Persistent Operating System

    • kernel
    • operating-system
    • virtual-machine
    • bytecode
  19. 19
    xboot/xboot912 · ⑂ 297

    The extensible bootloader for embedded system with application engine, write once, run everywhere.

    • xboot
    • bootloader
    • lua
    • application-engine
    • embedded-systems
    • soc
  20. 20
    xxyzz/ostep-hw859 · ⑂ 189

    Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces(OSTEP) homework and project solutions

    • ostep
    • operating-system
    • c
    • python
  21. 21
    StevenBaby/onix853 · ⑂ 164

    Onix - 操作系统实现

    • os
    • operating-system
  22. 22
    pritamzope/OS805 · ⑂ 110

    Writing & Making Operating System and Kernel parts so simple like Hello World Programs, Starting from writing Bootloaders, Hello World Kernel, GDT, IDT, Terminal, Keyboard/Mouse, Memory Manager, HDD ATA R/W, VGA/VESA Graphics

    • os
    • osdev
    • kernel
    • kernel-driver
    • x86-assembly
    • x86-nasm
  23. 23
    Supercip971/WingOS771 · ⑂ 23

    a little 64bit microkernel based operating system written in c++ with smp support

    • 64bit
    • kernel
    • operating-system
    • cpp
    • osdev
    • wingos
  24. 24
    malwarepad/cavOS676 · ⑂ 46

    💾 Amd64 operating system in C. Trying to make a full OS, with a simple and readable codebase!

    • osdev
    • c
    • kernel
    • operating-system
    • os
    • x86-64
  25. 25

    opuntiaOS - an operating system targeting x86, ARM and RISC-V.

    • kernel
    • os
    • hobby-os
    • hobby-kernel
    • userland
    • operating-system

Find C engineers shipping Operating systems

The list above ranks the most-starred public C repositories tagged with the Operating systems topic, drawn from the public GitHub graph. Across 213 matching repositories, the contributors are a tight cluster of engineers with both C chops and real Operating systems experience.

That overlap is rare. Most C engineers haven’t shipped Operating systems, and most Operating systems maintainers don’t write C. The people on this list’s contributor graph are the ones who do both.

Refolk turns this list into a search. Ask for C Operating systems maintainers hiring” or C engineers shipping Operating systems in 2025” and Refolk returns a ranked shortlist with the commits, profiles, and projects behind each name.

How this list is built

Refolk searched GitHub for public C repositories tagged with the Operating systems topic, ranked them by stargazer count, and kept those with at least 25 stars. The list refreshes once a day.

Last refreshed: Thu, 07 May 2026 07:37:18 GMT

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