Genode OS release 26.05 May 29, 2026

Genode 26.05 features all recent Sculpt OS innovations as reusable building blocks, advances driver support across the board, introduces touch-based window management, updates Qt to version 6.8.3, and is topped off with fresh revisions of the Genode books.

Today, we proudly released version 26.05 of the Genode OS Framework.

Following up on the migration of the project from GitHub to Codeberg as announced earlier this year, we are happy to report the completion of this delicate mission. With Genode 26.05, all source-code repositories and more than 5800 issue discussions have found a new home and Genode Labs happily joined the Codeberg non-profit as a member.

This infrastructure change along with the framework's recent switch of its configuration format called for a holistic documentation update. Therefore, the release is accompanied with fresh revisions of the three Genode books, which can be downloaded for free at genode.org.

At the technical level, the new version advances the driver support regarding LTE, I2C HID, SOF audio, ACPI, Wifi, and graphics. The most innovative aspects of Sculpt OS have now been turned into reusable framework features. Further highlights are touch-based window management, the update of Qt to version 6.8.3, and a variety of Goa SDK improvements. Please find the entire picture presented by the official release documentation.

Sculpt OS version 26.04 May 28, 2026

Sculpt OS 26.04 reshapes the Genode-based general-purpose operating system into re-usable building blocks.

On our roadmap, we announced "building bridges" as our guiding theme for this year. As one particularly enticing way to build bridges, we identified the splitting up of Sculpt OS into distinct features, each ready to be reused in completely different incarnations of Genode-based systems. This would greatly ease the use of Genode as underpinning of alternative OS projects, or the creation of special-purpose headless systems. End of April, we were thrilled to wholly deliver on that promise with the release of Sculpt OS 26.04.

With this version, we now lay the entire construction plan of Sculpt OS into the hands of the user, opening up the system for customization at all levels. The construction plan is not merely a declarative description of the system but it can be live edited at will. Since any change takes immediate effect, declarative system administration becomes an interactive experience.

Should these words sound a little bit intangible to you, it's probably because this new version pretty much re-defines what an operating system can represent. Give it a try, it is eye opening! Sculpt OS is available as a ready-to-use system image and is accompanied with extensive documentation (pdf).

Midway towards Codeberg.org Mar 31, 2026

The active development of the Genode OS Framework is gradually moving from GitHub to Codeberg.

After having started out on Sourceforge, Genode's source-code had been hosted on GitHub since 2012. Since embracing GitHub, all of Genode's development happens in the open, completely transparent for everyone, using GitHub's issue tracker, which accumulated more that 5500 technical topics discussed over the years.

With the acquisition of GitHub by Microsoft in 2018, we initially grew weary of potential conflicts of interests between the new landlord and the interests of the free-software community. However, from our perspective, GitHub seemingly remained largely true to its own mission for many years. So we remained as happy campers enjoying the free hosting. This illusion was ultimately dispelled by Microsoft's AI products, which feast on open-source code as training material while disregarding licensing and ethical concerns. Genode has not been developed to be swallowed as training material for AI products after all.

Fortunately, others have seen the writing on the wall long before us. In particular, a courageous group of Berliners came together, founding a non-profit organization to establish a counter weight to corporate dominance in the domain of open-source code hosting. According to its mission statement, Codeberg.org puts software freedom first. Being a non-profit, it has a transparent and open governance structure, not driven by exploitative motives. The underlying server software Forgejo resembles the best of GitHub's user interface but it is completely open source.

After on-and-off discussing a potential migration from GitHub to Codeberg since mid of 2024, we have eventually taken the leap. By now, all of Genode's source repositories and discussions except for the main repository have been successfully moved over to our new host. This includes the Goa SDK, the genode-world repository, all hardware-specific supplements, and the Genode books. We somewhat expected technical points of friction for a migration like that. But to our surprise there was none. The process was buttery-smooth. Given this delightful experience so far, the main repository will follow suit shortly.

We are not leaving GitHub in grief. In fact, we are thankful for the free hosting we have enjoyed over the past 14 years. However, Codeberg.org feels much closer to home both location-wise and ethically. From now on, you will find our code at https://codeberg.org/genodelabs.

Genode OS release 26.02 Mar 30, 2026

With version 26.02, the framework switches over to Genode's custom designed human-inclined data configuration format.

End of February, we published the first of the four framework releases scheduled for the year. Version 26.02 has prominently replaced the use of XML by our custom designed human-inclined data (HID) format. Structurally, the new format mirrors the time-tested concepts of XML. Data is expressed as a hierarchy of nodes where each node can have attributes. Like XML, data can be validated against schema definitions. Syntactically, however, HID promotes calmness and clarity, and specifically fosters the joyful use of text as an interactive user interface of Sculpt OS.

With the current release, the entirety of the Genode OS framework, including configurations, tests, and packages, has been converted to the new format whereas compatibility to XML will be upheld until autumn. The adaptation of the framework's documentation will follow in the upcoming May release.

Besides the HID format, the highlights of the release are the gradual update of our Linux device-driver environment to kernel version 6.18, new input-processing capabilities, and continuous improvements of the Goa SDK. More details and wealth of background information are provided by the official release documentation.

Road map for 2026 Jan 27, 2026

The roadmap for this year aspires the building of bridges connecting Genode with others.

Adhering to our tradition of publicly discussing our road map by the turn of the years, we started our joint brainstorming with suggesting the theme of building bridges as motif of the year. Bridges to other open-source projects. Bridges to a variety of programming languages. Bridges to new user demographies. Bridges for the interoperability of applications.

Over the course of four weeks - and thanks the vivid participation of our community - this vague picture evolved into a tangible plan and schedule. Today, we made it official...

Chemnitzer Linux-Tage in March Jan 26, 2026

Meet Genode Labs at the Chemnitzer Linux-Tage at the end of March.

The Chemnitzer Linux-Tage is one of the most renowned gatherings of the open-source community in Germany. Its history reaches back to the year 1999! For this year's edition, held during 28th and 29th of March, we will join this fantastic event with a Genode stand for the very first time.