https://github.com/lifo-sh/lifo
A browser-native operating system. Unix/Linux reimagined where the browser IS the kernel and Web APIs ARE syscalls. 60+ commands, bash-like shell, virtual filesystem, and IndexedDB persistence.
https://github.com/lifo-sh/lifo
browser linux sandbox
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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A browser-native operating system. Unix/Linux reimagined where the browser IS the kernel and Web APIs ARE syscalls. 60+ commands, bash-like shell, virtual filesystem, and IndexedDB persistence.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/lifo-sh/lifo
- Owner: lifo-sh
- Created: 2026-02-23T08:32:23.000Z (4 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-03-19T05:58:59.000Z (3 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-03-28T08:30:18.482Z (3 months ago)
- Topics: browser, linux, sandbox
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage: https://lifo.sh
- Size: 60.3 MB
- Stars: 471
- Watchers: 3
- Forks: 31
- Open Issues: 8
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-atwoods-law - lifo - Browser-native OS. Unix/Linux reimagined where the browser IS the kernel and Web APIs ARE syscalls. 60+ commands, shell, virtual filesystem, IndexedDB persistence. (473 stars) (Operating Systems)
README
# Lifo
A Linux-like operating system that runs natively in the browser. Not a VM, not an emulator -- a reimagination of Unix where the browser runtime is the kernel and browser APIs are the system calls.
```
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Terminal UI │ xterm.js + Tokyo Night theme
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Shell │ bash-like interpreter
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Command Registry / $PATH │ ES module command map
├───────────┬────────────┬─────────────────────────┤
│ Coreutils │ Net Cmds │ User Packages │ each cmd = async function
├───────────┴────────────┴─────────────────────────┤
│ Node.js Compatibility Layer │ thin wrappers over OS APIs
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Virtual Filesystem (VFS) │ in-memory + IndexedDB persistence
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Kernel API Layer │ unified browser API wrappers
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Browser APIs │ fetch, streams, OPFS, etc.
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## Getting Started
```bash
pnpm install
pnpm dev
```
Open http://localhost:5173 in a modern browser. You'll be greeted with a fully functional terminal.
```bash
pnpm build # Production build
pnpm test # Run test suite
pnpm typecheck # Type check without emitting
```
## What's Inside
### Kernel
- **Virtual Filesystem (VFS)** -- synchronous in-memory INode tree with full POSIX-like semantics (read, write, stat, mkdir, symlinks, hard links, permissions)
- **Virtual Providers** -- `/proc` exposes system info (uptime, meminfo, cpuinfo, version) and `/dev` provides device files (null, zero, random, urandom)
- **Persistence** -- IndexedDB-backed filesystem persistence with serialization/deserialization of the entire INode tree
### Shell
A bash-like shell with:
- Full **lexer/parser/interpreter** pipeline producing an AST
- **Pipes** (`ls | grep foo | wc -l`), **redirects** (`>`, `>>`, `<`, `2>`, `&>`)
- **Logical operators** (`&&`, `||`), **sequences** (`;`), **background** (`&`)
- **Variable expansion** (`$VAR`, `${VAR:-default}`), **command substitution** (`$(...)`)
- **Glob expansion** (`*.txt`, `**/*.js`), **tilde expansion** (`~`), **brace expansion** (`{a,b,c}`)
- **Tab completion** for commands, files, and directories
- **Command history** with reverse search
- **Job control** (Ctrl+C, `fg`, `bg`, `jobs`)
- **Builtins**: `cd`, `pwd`, `export`, `alias`, `source`, `read`, `test`, `echo`, and more
### 60+ Commands
| Category | Commands |
|---|---|
| **Filesystem** | `ls`, `cat`, `cp`, `mv`, `rm`, `mkdir`, `rmdir`, `touch`, `ln`, `stat`, `find`, `tree`, `du`, `df`, `chmod`, `file`, `basename`, `dirname`, `realpath`, `mktemp` |
| **Text** | `grep`, `sed`, `awk`, `head`, `tail`, `sort`, `uniq`, `wc`, `cut`, `tr`, `diff`, `nl`, `rev` |
| **I/O** | `printf`, `tee`, `xargs`, `yes` |
| **Network** | `curl`, `wget`, `ping`, `dig` |
| **System** | `ps`, `top`, `kill`, `env`, `uname`, `whoami`, `hostname`, `uptime`, `free`, `date`, `cal`, `bc`, `sleep`, `watch`, `which`, `man`, `help` |
| **Archive** | `tar`, `gzip`, `gunzip`, `zip`, `unzip` |
| **Runtime** | `node` (run JS with Node.js compat layer), `pkg` (package manager) |
### Node.js Compatibility Layer
Run JavaScript files with `node script.js` or `node -e "code"`. The compatibility layer maps 15 Node.js standard library modules to browser APIs:
`fs`, `path`, `events`, `buffer`, `util`, `os`, `process`, `http`, `child_process`, `stream`, `url`, `timers`, `crypto`, `console`
### Package Manager
```bash
pkg install # Install a package from URL
pkg remove # Uninstall a package
pkg list # List installed packages
pkg info # Show package details
```
## Filesystem Hierarchy
```
/
├── home/user/ # User home directory ($HOME)
├── tmp/ # Temporary files (in-memory)
├── etc/ # System configuration
├── var/log/ # System logs
├── usr/bin/ # Installed package binaries
├── proc/ # Virtual: system info (cpuinfo, meminfo, uptime)
├── dev/ # Virtual: devices (null, zero, random, urandom)
└── bin/ # Core commands
```
## Tech Stack
- **TypeScript** (strict mode, ESM throughout)
- **Vite** for builds
- **xterm.js** + WebGL addon for terminal rendering
- **Vitest** for testing
- **Target**: Chrome 110+, Firefox 110+, Safari 16.4+
## Project Structure
```
src/
├── main.ts # Boot sequence
├── kernel/ # VFS, persistence, virtual providers
├── shell/ # Lexer, parser, interpreter, expander, completer
├── commands/ # All 60+ commands organized by category
├── node-compat/ # Node.js standard library shims
├── pkg/ # Package manager
├── terminal/ # xterm.js wrapper
└── utils/ # Path, args, glob, colors, encoding, archive
tests/ # Mirrors src/ structure with full coverage
```
## License
MIT