Andreas Kling previously worked at Nokia and later at Apple on the WebKit team.[5] He began developing the project in part to aid his recovery from addiction, and as such the name of the project derives from the Serenity Prayer.[6] Starting in 2021, Kling began working full-time on SerenityOS, supported by community donations.[6] On June 3rd, 2024, he stepped down from the project to work on the Ladybird browser.[7]
SerenityOS aims to be a modern Unix-like operating system, with a look and feel that emulates 1990s operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.[8] Incorporating third-party code into the system is discouraged. The web browser, for instance, does not use a pre-existing web engine such as WebKit, instead using its own known as LibWeb. There is a collection of ported software, such as GCC, Git and Doom, with varying levels of functionality.[9]
Development does not adhere to a release cycle; as such, there are no releases.[10] Additionally, no binary distributions are provided and prospects are expected to build the system from source.[11] The system is written in what the authors call "Serenity C++",[12] a variant of C++ that lacks exceptions and features its own standard library.[13]
The relative popularity of SerenityOS compared to other hobbyist systems is in part due to the modest success of Kling's YouTube channel, where he uploads videos of himself developing parts of the system alongside demos and monthly progress updates.[14]
Previously, SerenityOS included the Ladybird browser, a browser built from the ground up. It includes a functional JavaScript engine, JIT compilation, a task manager, and support for CSS and C++. [15][16][17] Kling develops it alongside paid and volunteer contributors. On June 3rd, 2024, Kling announced his plans to fork Ladybird and begin development on the browser as a separate project.[7] Ladybird uses LibWeb and LibJS as its browser and JavaScript engines, respectively.[18][19] On July 1, 2024, Kling announced the founding of the Ladybird Browser Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to support the development of the browser.[20][21]
Jim Salter of Ars Technica regarded the use of the ext2file system as his least favorite feature of the operating system. Compared to TempleOS (another operating system well known in the hobbyist community), he considered it more accessible.[4] For less technical users that are looking for a mid–to–late 90s reminiscent visual style, the Xfce Chicago95 theme or the Redmond Project has been recommended instead.[22]
