How apex-os/apexos works
ApexOS is a freestanding x86-64 operating system: firmware boots a monolithic kernel that initializes hardware and core services, then exposes an interactive shell and early graphical layer. Its documented workflows include persistent AXFS volumes over AHCI, Ring 3 programs loaded in AXF format and using syscalls, and a partial Ethernet/IP network stack. The graph combines README-documented system flows with relationships visible in excerpts; unsampled subsystems are included where the README identifies them, without inferring their internal call graph.
Main entry points: Init.c Kernel initialization · Shell.c Kernel shell · AXFS AXFS filesystem · FilesystemRouter.c Volume routing
Components 17
Boot and kernel core
- UEFI bootloader
ApexKernel/Boot/UEFI/Main.c - Kernel initialization
ApexKernel/Core/Init.c
Kernel services
- Memory management
ApexKernel/Core/Memory - Interrupts and timer
ApexKernel/Core/Interrupts - SMP and scheduling
ApexKernel/Core/SMP - Syscall services
ApexKernel/Core/Syscalls
Storage and filesystems
- AXFS filesystem
ApexKernel/Filesystem/AXFS - Volume routing
ApexKernel/Filesystem/VFS/FilesystemRouter.c
User-facing systems
- AXF loaders
ApexKernel/Formats/AXF - Kernel shell
ApexKernel/Core/Shell/Shell.c - ApexUI
ApexUI/Core/Compositor/Compositor.c
Devices and networking
- AHCI storage driver
ApexKernel/Drivers/Storage/AHCI/Controller.c - Network protocols
ApexKernel/Network/Protocols - Display and console
ApexKernel/Drivers/Display - Keyboard and mouse
ApexKernel/Drivers/Input
Other components
- UEFI firmware
- Operator / program
Connections 22
- UEFI firmware → UEFI bootloader: starts boot
README.md - UEFI bootloader → Kernel initialization: loads kernel
README.md - Kernel initialization → Memory management: initializes
README.md - Kernel initialization → Interrupts and timer: initializes
README.md - Kernel initialization → SMP and scheduling: brings up
ApexKernel/Core/Init.c - Kernel initialization → AHCI storage driver: initializes storage
- Kernel initialization → AXFS filesystem: initializes filesystem
README.md - Kernel initialization → Network protocols: initializes networking
README.md - Kernel initialization → Display and console: initializes display
README.md - Kernel initialization → Kernel shell: starts shell
README.md - AHCI storage driver → AXFS filesystem: backs disk I/O
- AXFS filesystem → Volume routing: routed by
- Volume routing → AXF loaders: provides executable files
- AXF loaders → Syscall services: launches programs
README.md - Syscall services → Operator / program: serves Ring 3
README.md - Kernel shell → Volume routing: accesses volumes
- Operator / program → Kernel shell: interacts with
README.md - Kernel shell → Display and console: prints output
- Keyboard and mouse → ApexUI: provides input
- ApexUI → Display and console: composes framebuffer
README.md - Operator / program → ApexUI: uses graphical layer
README.md - Network protocols → Operator / program: serves network tools