Synit is a Reactive Operating System

Welcome!

Synit is an experiment in applying pervasive reactivity and object capabilities to the System Layer of an operating system for personal computers, including laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. Its architecture follows the principles of the Syndicated Actor Model.

Synit builds upon the Linux kernel, but replaces many pieces of familiar Linux software, including systemd, NetworkManager, D-Bus, and so on. It makes use of many concepts that will be familiar to Linux users, but also incorporates many ideas drawn from programming languages and operating systems not closely connected with Linux’s Unix heritage.

• Project homepage: https://synit.org/
• Source code: https://git.syndicate-lang.org/synit/

Quickstart

You can run Synit on an emulated device, or if you have a mobile phone or computer capable of running PostmarketOS, then you can install the software on your device to try it out.

See the installation instructions for a list of supported devices.

Acknowledgements

Much initial work on Synit was made possible by a generous grant from the NLnet Foundation as part of the NGI Zero PET programme. Please see “Structuring the System Layer with Dataspaces (2021)” for details of the funded project.

Copyright and License

This manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2021–2023 Tony Garnock-Jones tonyg@leastfixedpoint.com.

The Synit programs and source code are separately licensed. Please see the source code for details.