KiNBoL v0.07 - My new x86_64 UEFI System (Runs on Bare Metal!)

[ahlansantosq]

Well, hello!! We made this system (almost) from scratch
I called it (t)KiNBoL - this Kernel is Not Based on Linux.
Why? Because people couldn't accept it wasn't built using linux



The newest change of 0.07+ is APICs + LAPIC and more, processes/threads and a cooperative scheduler, kinsh 2, 16kb paging, 16b aligned stack, and full RAM HHDM mapping leveraging the Limine bootloader protocol.

Open sourced repo: https://github.com/ahlansantos/KiNBOL/tree/x86_64-uefi - (Fun fact: It includes the first ever version (legacy 32bit grub), the first 64x version (legacy x64 grub) and the main x86_64-uefi version.

[AI Warn > Since I took a month off and forgot my own implementation details, I used some help from AI to add very very very detailed comments in almost all files. Some of them still got small docs + AI helped me fix the APIC / LAPIC errors!]

And yes, it also runs on bare metal!
Tested it on my real hardware and it boots successfully! (r5 5500 - 3050 OC - 32gb ram)

[Danieldevir]

Hi! This is really impressive work!

KiNBoL looks like a serious project, especially with APIC/LAPIC support, cooperative scheduling, and full HHDM mapping. Running on bare metal is always a great milestone.

I also love that you kept the older versions in the repo – it's a nice way to show the evolution of the project.

I'm currently working on a 16-bit hobby OS (NovaOS), and seeing projects like yours gives me a lot of motivation. I'm still in the early stages (just released my first alpha), but I hope to reach the level of complexity you have here someday.

A couple of questions if you don't mind:

1. How did you find the transition from legacy GRUB to Limine for UEFI?
2. Any tips for someone just starting out with paging or APIC?

Keep up the great work! I'll definitely follow KiNBoL's progress.

Best,
Daniel (NovaOS)
https://github.com/danieldevir/NovaOS

[ahlansantosq]

Woah! I'll check it out and try your system! Also, I like it! And thx!!

1. How did you find the transition from legacy GRUB to Limine for UEFI?
2. Any tips for someone just starting out with paging or APIC?
https://github.com/danieldevir/NovaOS

About your questions:
1 - > I found it a bit difficult at first—I got pretty frustrated because, since I didn't know anything about it, moving from legacy GRUB to Limine on UEFI seemed really hard. In the end, I used the Limine repository as a reference, and it actually turned out to be pretty easy! At first, it feels like a completely different world going from legacy 32-bit or 64-bit booting to modern UEFI 32/64-bit booting.

2 - > Try not to do everything at once, like I did.

At first, I tried to implement everything at once because I wanted to make the kernel really advanced and prove that I knew what I was doing. Eventually, I learned that it's much better to keep things simple and stable than to start with something modern but unstable.

Also, don't underestimate debugging. I thought I wouldn't need much of it because QEMU would show me what went wrong, but I ended up spending a huge amount of time trying to fix crashes and bugs in my PMM, VMM, and APIC code without getting any useful error messages. Most of the time, I had to figure things out by decoding the CPU exception logs myself.

The same advice applies to the APIC. Start with something simple, like the PIC, before moving on. *(In my case, the PIC never worked properly on its own, so I had to jump straight to the APIC instead.)*


And, keep up with the great work of NovaOS! I liked it!

[Danieldevir]

Hi ahlansantosq,

Thank you so much for your detailed and helpful response! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

Your advice about "not doing everything at once" really resonates with me – I've been tempted to jump straight into 32-bit Protected Mode and paging, but I think I'll take it step by step as you suggested.

I also found your comment about debugging very helpful. I've been relying mostly on QEMU logs, but I'll definitely invest more time in proper debugging tools.

By the way, I'm really glad you liked NovaOS! If you do get a chance to try it out, I'd love to hear your feedback – especially about the CLI and BASIC interpreter.

Thanks again for your help and encouragement!

Best regards,
Daniel (NovaOS)

[ahlansantosq]

I tested it! I really liked it!

Also, sorry for the late reply

[Danieldevir]

Hi ahlansantosq,

Thank you so much for taking the time to test NovaOS! I really appreciate it. Your feedback means a lot to me, especially coming from someone who's building such an advanced project like KiNBoL.

I'm really glad you liked it! If you have any specific feedback – positive or negative – I'd love to hear it. Any suggestions for improvement or bugs you noticed would be incredibly helpful as I continue developing it.

I also wanted to say that your advice from last time really stuck with me. The tip about "not doing everything at once" and your experience with debugging and APIC have genuinely influenced the way I'm approaching the next steps of NovaOS. I'm now focusing more on a stable foundation before adding complex features.

I'm looking forward to seeing how KiNBoL evolves – especially the APIC/LAPIC and scheduler parts. And if you ever have the time, feel free to check out the latest commits on my GitHub.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement!

Best regards,
Daniel (NovaOS)
https://github.com/danieldevir/NovaOS