GitHub – Arc1011/KernelUNO: KernelUNO – a light-weight unix-like shell for arduino UNO r3 · GitHub

A lightweight RAM-based shell for Arduino UNO with filesystem simulation, hardware control, and interactive shell.

• Virtual Filesystem – Create files and directories in RAM (/dev, /home) – Hardware Control – GPIO management with pin mode configuration
• System Monitoring – Memory usage, uptime, kernel messages (dmesg)
• 22 Built-in Commands – From basic file operations to hardware control
• Interactive Shell – Real-time command execution with input buffering
• LED Disco Mode – Fun easter egg for testing GPIO

• Arduino UNO (or compatible board with ATmega328P)
• USB cable for programming
• LEDs and resistors (optional, for GPIO testing)

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Open KernelUNO.ino in Arduino IDE
3. Select Board: Tools → Board → Arduino UNO
4. Select Port: Tools → Port → /dev/ttyUSB0 (or your port)
5. Compile & Upload: Sketch → Upload
6. Open Serial Monitor: Tools → Serial Monitor (115200 baud)

Alternative with arduino-cli:

arduino-cli compile --fqbn arduino:avr:uno .
arduino-cli upload --fqbn arduino:avr:uno -p /dev/ttyUSB0 .

• ls – List files in current directory
• cd [dir] – Change directory
• pwd – Print working directory
• mkdir [name] – Create directory
• touch [name] – Create file
• cat [file] – Read file contents
• echo [text] > [file] – Write to file
• rm [name] – Remove file/directory
• info [name] – Display file information

• pinmode [pin] [in/out] – Set pin mode
• write [pin] [high/low] – Write to pin
• read [pin] – Read pin value
• gpio [pin] [on/off/toggle] – GPIO control
• gpio vixa [count] – LED disco mode (easter egg)

• uptime – System uptime
• uname – System information
• dmesg – Kernel messages
• df / free – Free memory
• whoami – Current user (hardcoded root)
• clear – Clear screen
• reboot – Restart system
• help – Show all commands

# Navigate filesystem
cd home
mkdir myproject
cd myproject
touch notes.txt
echo Hello World > notes.txt
cat notes.txt

# Hardware control
pinmode 13 out
gpio 13 on
gpio 13 toggle
read 2

# System info
uname
uptime
dmesg
df

# Fun mode
gpio vixa 10

• Program: ~38% of 32KB flash
• RAM: ~85% of 2KB SRAM (optimized)
• Filesystem: 10 files/directories max
• DMESG buffer: 6 messages

• Board: Arduino UNO (ATmega328P)
• Clock: 16 MHz
• Serial Baud: 115200
• Filesystem: RAM-based (no EEPROM)
• Storage: Volatile (resets on power cycle)

• Char-array based input buffer (32 bytes max)
• Safe path concatenation to prevent buffer overflow
• Kernel message logging with timestamps
• Real-time GPIO operations
• Efficient memory management

• No persistent storage (EEPROM/SD)
• Limited file size (32 bytes content per file)
• Maximum 10 files/directories
• PATH limited to 16 characters
• Single user (root)

BSD 3-Clause License – See LICENSE file for details

Arc1011 (Arc1011)
Created in 2026.

Feel free to fork, modify, and improve! Send PRs for:

• Bug fixes
• Performance improvements
• New commands
• Code optimization

// The descriptive files (i.e., README and QUICKSTART) were written by Claude AI (with minor tweaks). Why? Because if I had done it myself, it would have ended up as a few lines of incoherent gibberish that wouldn’t tell you anything.//