About Mantle OS
Mantle OS is a reproducible embedded Linux distribution built on Yocto LTS. Its identity is inspired by the geology of our planet — the layered structure of the Earth mirrors the architecture of the operating system itself.
At its core, Mantle OS is not a commercial product. It’s a personal and community-driven effort to build something solid, maintainable, and free — as in freedom. It’s designed to outlast trends, deliver reproducibility, and provide embedded developers with a complete foundation they can trust.
Layered Like the Earth
🌋 Vendor Stack (Inner Earth)
- Inner Core —
openembedded-core.yml
+poky.yml
. The fundamental heat source. - Outer Core — BSP layers such as
meta-freescale
,meta-ti
,meta-arm
,meta-intel
, etc. They supply the molten energy of hardware support. - Mantle — Vendor forks (
imx
,nuvoton
,rz
, etc.) that move and drive change upward. - Crust — Distro-BSP glue (
meta-YOUR-CUSTOM-LAYER.yml
). The thin, essential interface between silicon and everything above.
☁️ Software Stack (Atmosphere)
- Troposphere —
meta-mantle-distro
. The base distribution layer. - Stratosphere — Frameworks:
meta-kde5/6
,meta-qt5/6
,meta-office
,meta-neural-network
. Stable, high altitude. Planes fly here. - Mesosphere — Extras:
meta-browser
,meta-java
,meta-mono
,meta-noto
,meta-clang
. Experimental or less stable — where meteors burn up. - Thermosphere — Cloud + networking + security:
meta-iot-cloud
,meta-aws
,meta-security
,meta-swupdate
,meta-virtualization
. - Exosphere — Edge orchestration:
kas
configs, autobuilders, release machinery. Where Earth fades into space — Mantle becomes an ecosystem.
Philosophy
Mantle OS was founded on the principle of freedom over profit. It’s a gift to the embedded community — a stable base for those who value transparency, reproducibility, and control over their tools.
Rather than chasing revenue, Mantle OS seeks to elevate the quality of embedded Linux systems by doing the hard, unglamorous work: stabilizing layers, fixing broken frameworks, and bringing modern capabilities to Yocto-based systems.
In an era where most projects grow heavier and more dependent on web infrastructure, Mantle OS embraces simplicity, determinism, and the ability to build everything from source — on your own terms.
Scale and Capability
- Over 47,000+ packages across multiple architectures.
- Support for ARMv4–v9, x86_64, and RISC-V.
- Boot times under 2 seconds on embedded hardware.
- OTA-ready with SWUpdate, OSTree, and custom initramfs installers.
- Customizable Exos build orchestration with full containerized reproducibility.
Code Names & Releases
Each Mantle OS release follows a geological naming theme, tracing the evolution of Earth’s mantle and crust — a metaphor for growth and transformation in software.
Early Development (0.x)
- Hadean — Mantle OS 0.0.1. The first public image based on Scarthgap. The fiery beginning — the molten age.
- Magma Ocean — The global sea of molten rock before the first stable crust formed.
- Primordial — The earliest mantle reservoirs. “From the beginning.”
- Archean — When the first stable crust formed, still mantle-heavy.
- Komatiite — Ultramafic lava, rare and ancient, from Earth’s hottest mantle times.
Version 1.X Series (Geologic)
- Basalt — Solidified foundation.
- Obsidian — Bleeding-edge, glassy black innovation branch (mainline).
- Peridotite — Deep mantle strength.
- Gabbro — Coarse, layered stability.
- Aurora — A shimmering, high-atmosphere evolution.
- Noctilucent — Rare, high-altitude brilliance.
- Cirrus — Light, fast, elegant.
- Thermalis — The balance between heat and harmony.
Community & Future
Mantle OS grows quietly and steadily. It’s not built overnight, and it’s not built for flash. Contributions may take years, but they come — because quality, transparency, and engineering integrity stand the test of time.
If you believe in embedded freedom, reproducibility, and building things that last, Mantle OS welcomes you.