Introduction

OS development isn’t some quick, glamorous project you can knock out in a weekend. It’s a brutal, unforgiving process. You’ll spend countless hours—or even days—staring at code and chasing down bugs, just to make something as simple as “Hello, World!” work. It’s frustrating, tedious, and requires a level of persistence most people don’t have. If you’re looking for instant results, you’re in the wrong place.

The Reality of Debugging

(Note: While some debugging tools exist—such as GDB for certain setups—debugging in OS development is still a challenge. Unlike debugging user-space applications, you often deal with limited visibility, no standard runtime, and hardware-specific behavior that makes traditional debugging approaches less straightforward.)

Debugging in OS development is not like debugging a regular application. There are no fancy debuggers, no step-throughs of high-level code—you’re dealing with raw hardware and memory, and one wrong byte can bring your whole system crashing down. You’ll often find yourself stuck for days, trying to figure out why your kernel panics or why certain hardware isn’t responding the way you expect. It’s a mental battle, and sometimes the simplest issues take days to identify and fix. If you’re not prepared for the frustration of staring at a blank screen for hours, this might not be the path for you.

You’re On Your Own: RTFM or Fail

When it comes to OS development, no one’s going to hold your hand. There’s no fancy IDE to guide you, no helpful error messages to tell you what went wrong, and certainly no “easy” way to get started. If you’re not the type of person who can dive into documentation, stare at it for hours, and still not understand a damn thing—then don’t even bother. You’ll be spending most of your time reading manuals, wading through cryptic docs, and trying to decipher forum posts from people who barely explain anything. If you think you can get by without reading the manual or putting in the hours to figure things out on your own, OS development is not for you. You can’t Google your way through this; it’s all about learning to survive by the documentation that’s out there—if it even exists in the first place.

RTFM: The Most Common Thing You’ll Hear—and It’s True

“RTFM.” It’s the most common piece of advice you’ll hear when working on OS development, and trust me—it’s true. You will have to read the fucking manual, over and over again. Whether it’s a hardware manual, a CPU specification, or a piece of software documentation, there’s no escaping it. And it’s not easy. The docs are often vague, incomplete, or outdated, but they’re your best shot at figuring out what the heck is going wrong. If you can’t handle this harsh truth, then OS development is not the right path for you. It’s a constant cycle of reading, experimenting, and reading again. But without it, you’ll be stuck spinning your wheels, never making progress.

Realistic Goals: Don’t Expect to Build a Windows or Linux Clone

Let’s face it—if you’re thinking you’re going to build a fully-fledged operating system that can compete with Windows, Linux, or macOS, you’re setting yourself up for failure. OS development is not about replicating multi-billion-dollar systems that took decades to build. Look at ReactOS—it’s been in development for over 20 years and still only has about 70% compatibility with Windows XP. That’s just one example, but it highlights the point: even the most ambitious projects take an enormous amount of time and effort, and the road is long and full of setbacks.

You’re not going to be running Photoshop or playing AAA games on your OS anytime soon. Heck, you might not even get a basic desktop environment working in your first few years. If you’re expecting that kind of result quickly, you’re living in a fantasy. The reality is that OS development takes time—years, in some cases—and the majority of what you’ll be doing is building basic functionality like memory management, process handling, and file systems. Don’t expect to get everything working in a few months, or even a few years. Your first “OS” might be nothing more than a simple bootloader, and that’s fine. Aim for small, manageable goals and celebrate the tiny victories. The big stuff? That comes way later.

Prepare for Isolation and Loneliness

OS development isn’t just mentally exhausting—it’s also a lonely road. The community is small, and many of the people who are in it are at varying skill levels, so don’t expect to have a huge support network at your fingertips. Most of the time, you’ll be alone with your thoughts, sitting in front of your screen, making minimal progress while you hunt for solutions. This isn’t like app development where there’s an abundance of tutorials and forums dedicated to helping you; you’re on your own, and you better learn how to handle the silence.

You’ll Have to Be Your Own Teacher

OS development isn’t like following an easy tutorial. If you don’t know how a memory manager works or how interrupts are handled at the hardware level, no one is going to step in and explain it to you. You have to be ready to teach yourself. Expect to dive deep into low-level resources, reverse-engineer older systems, and understand complex algorithms just to understand the basics. If you’re not a self-starter, you’ll drown in the information overload.

The Harsh Reality of the OSDev Community: Prepare for Gatekeeping

If you’re entering the OS development community, be prepared to deal with some serious gatekeeping. Many people in this space have been doing it for years and aren’t exactly welcoming to newcomers. You’ll see condescending comments, “git gud” replies, and harsh criticisms of your questions or progress. It’s a community where experience is highly valued, and if you don’t show that you’ve spent significant time working through issues on your own, you’re likely to get brushed off or mocked. So, if you’re someone who’s easily discouraged by criticism or isn’t comfortable with people who hold your progress to a high standard, OS development might not be for you. You’re going to need thick skin and a lot of patience to deal with this.

You’re Going to Want to Quit, A Lot

The most brutal truth is that there will be moments where you want to give up, quit, and never look back. Whether it’s from the overwhelming frustration of getting nothing to work or because you’re stuck on an issue that seems unsolvable, it’ll hit you hard. You’ll face moments where you’re questioning why you even started. But that’s the thing about OS development—it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you don’t have the mental toughness to push through those moments of doubt, then the road is going to be even harder than it already is.

You’ll Need to Get Comfortable with Failure

Failure is going to become your best friend. Whether it’s a failed bootloader, broken memory allocation, or something even more catastrophic—expect it. But here’s the kicker: the more you fail, the more you learn. Your failures aren’t permanent; they’re opportunities for improvement. If you’re not okay with screwing things up and learning from those screw-ups, you won’t get anywhere.

Think of It Like a Long-Term Project

Don’t think of OS development as something you can finish in a few months. It’s a long-term commitment that might take years. It’s going to test your dedication. You’ll go through cycles of boredom, frustration, and occasionally, excitement when things work. You can’t expect a quick payoff. If you do, you’ll be disappointed. You might have a functional bootloader after a few months, but even the simplest features will take an immense amount of time. Treat this as a multi-year project—maybe even a lifelong pursuit if you want to make any real impact.

Real World Use Case: Why It’s Not Practical (Yet)

OS development is incredibly powerful for learning about the inner workings of computers. But in terms of practical, day-to-day applications, it’s often not worth the hassle. Sure, it’s great for learning, but no one’s really going to use your OS unless it gets really polished. For the average person, using Linux, Windows, or macOS is far more practical and reliable. So, the question is: why are you doing it? Are you doing it to prove a point, for personal satisfaction, or just for the sheer challenge? Be honest with yourself—OS development isn’t practical for 99% of users, and you should be prepared for that reality.

It’s Not About Competing—It’s About Learning

Many people get into OS development thinking they’re going to outdo Linux, Windows, or even create something innovative. The reality? You’re not going to compete with those systems any time soon. The real value in OS development is the learning experience. It’s about diving into low-level hardware control, understanding how systems work, and experiencing the raw technical aspects of computing that most people never even consider. Focus on the learning process, not some end goal of creating a popular OS.

Resources for Getting Started

If you plan on starting OS development, here are some essential references to get you going:

And remember: RTFM :^)