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State of Nexus: From Redox to Our Own Foundation

· 2 min read
Jenning Schaefer
Jenning Schaefer
Founder, Dev

The Redox Beginning​

When I first started Open Nexus, I took the pragmatic path:
build on Redox's proven microkernel, focus on the UI layer, ship faster.

It worked. We had a login screen, a launcher, a control center.
The foundation felt solid. Redox was Rust-native, microkernel-based, open source.
What could go wrong?

The Realization​

Redox has a different goal: Linux with Rust and a microkernel.
That's a valid direction — but it's not ours.

The deeper I dug, the clearer it became:

  • Wayland is designed to be as powerful as possible, not optimized for microseconds or zero-copy efficiency
  • Battery life wasn't a first-class concern in the architecture
  • Performance was good enough, not exceptional
  • The ecosystem was built for compatibility, not for pushing boundaries

We weren't building a better Linux.
We were building something fundamentally different.

Building Our Own Foundation​

So we started over.

NEURON — our own microkernel, built from scratch.
Capability-based security — not bolted on, but architected in from day one.
RISC-V only — no legacy baggage, no x86 compromises.
Zero-copy data planes — VMOs and filebuffers end-to-end.
Host-first testing — validate logic fast, validate truth in QEMU.

This isn't about reinventing the wheel.
It's about building a wheel that fits our exact needs.

Why This Matters​

Every decision we make now serves one goal:
Speed, efficiency, and security — not as features, but as architecture.

  • Microsecond latency isn't a nice-to-have — it's a requirement
  • Zero-copy isn't an optimization — it's the default
  • Battery life isn't an afterthought — it's designed in
  • Capability security isn't a layer — it's the foundation

We're not trying to be compatible with everything.
We're trying to be better at what matters.

The Road Ahead​

We're past the proof of concept.
We're building the foundation that will power everything else.

Every line of code, every architectural decision, every keystone gate we close —
it's all moving toward one vision:
an OS that's fast, efficient, and secure by design, not by accident.

This is just the beginning.
But it's the right beginning.

Join the discussion on Discord
Contribute to the codebase

Open Nexus is not a fork anymore.
It's its own system, with its own kernel, its own architecture, its own future.
And we're just getting started.