# apple/darwin-xnu

Legacy mirror of Darwin Kernel. Replaced by https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/xnu

Repository: https://github.com/apple/darwin-xnu
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/darwin-xnu
Homepage: https://opensource.apple.com/
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: kernel
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-01-13T01:48:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3379, "days_push": 1329, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 11266, forks 1681 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:46.588373+00:00)

## What it is
The XNU hybrid kernel (Mach + BSD + IOKit) that powers macOS and iOS, mirrored by Apple on GitHub. This legacy mirror is no longer updated and has been replaced by the apple-oss-distributions/xnu repository.

## Use cases
- study how the macOS and iOS kernel is implemented
- build a custom XNU kernel for research or debugging
- explore Mach microkernel and BSD subsystem source code
- develop and debug kernel extensions (kexts) and drivers
- research kernel internals for security analysis

## When to choose
- you need the historical source of the Darwin kernel as originally mirrored by Apple
- you are studying legacy XNU source for research or education

## When to avoid
- you want current XNU source - use apple-oss-distributions/xnu instead
- you need ARM/Apple Silicon kernel sources, as this mirror targets x86_64
- you want an actively maintained project or official support

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: embedded, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, developer-tools, hardware
- platform: cpp, c
- tags: kernel, darwin, xnu, mach, bsd, iokit, apple, mirror, legacy, operating-systems, macos, ios

## Member repositories
- apple/darwin-xnu (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:46.588373+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:16:23.820946+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/apple/darwin-xnu (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:46.588373+00:00, sha 123bb1980262)
  - homepage: https://opensource.apple.com/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:14:46.098896+00:00, sha 33119c70efff)
  - site_page: https://opensource.apple.com/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T08:14:46.119473+00:00, sha 153ce41f23ad)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.