Systems & CLI · Pro
Build an OS Kernel in Rust
Build a bare-metal x86-64 kernel in Rust that boots, prints to the screen, handles CPU exceptions and hardware interrupts, and manages memory with paging and a heap allocator.
You build a freestanding x86-64 operating system kernel in Rust with no standard library, starting from a binary that boots on real hardware or QEMU and growing into a kernel that prints via the VGA buffer, sets up an interrupt descriptor table, handles CPU exceptions and timer/keyboard interrupts, and manages physical and virtual memory with paging and a working heap allocator. It is worth building because it strips away every abstraction the OS normally provides and makes you implement them yourself, which is the deepest possible test of systems understanding. It is resume-defining because bare-metal Rust combines memory safety with the lowest level of control, and being able to discuss interrupts, page tables, and allocator design from firsthand implementation sets you far apart for embedded and systems roles. You come away genuinely understanding what an operating system does for every program you have ever run.
What you build
- Boots as a freestanding no_std binary on x86-64
- Prints to the screen through the VGA text buffer
- Sets up a Global Descriptor Table and Interrupt Descriptor Table
- Handles CPU exceptions such as breakpoints and double faults
- Services hardware interrupts from the timer and keyboard
- Maps virtual memory and walks page tables with a frame allocator
- Provides a kernel heap backed by a custom allocator for dynamic data
What it teaches
- Freestanding no_std Rust and custom target specs
- Interrupt handling and exception management
- Virtual memory, paging, and page table walks
- Heap allocator design for a kernel
- Booting and debugging under QEMU
- Hardware interaction with the VGA buffer, PIC, and keyboard
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Take it further
- Add cooperative or preemptive multitasking with async tasks or threads.
- Implement a basic in-memory filesystem and a shell.
- Add a userspace mode with a minimal system call interface.
