# includeos/IncludeOS

A minimal, resource efficient unikernel for cloud services

Repository: https://github.com/includeos/IncludeOS
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/includeos
Homepage: https://includeos.github.io/
Language: C++
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: unikernel, virtualization, operating-system, cpp
Last push: 2026-05-15T07:52:49+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 60/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 82, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4440, "days_push": 110, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5247, forks 396 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:13.646619+00:00)

## What it is
IncludeOS is a minimal, resource-efficient unikernel operating system for C++ services, linked directly into your application via `#include <os>`. It produces tiny virtual machines (a few MB) that boot in milliseconds and run on KVM, VirtualBox, VMWare, or bare x86 hardware.

## Use cases
- build a minimal cloud service without a general-purpose OS
- run a C++ web server in a tiny VM with a few MB of memory
- deploy microservices with millisecond boot times
- create secure single-purpose virtual machines
- run C++ services on KVM, VMware, or VirtualBox
- reduce cloud VM overhead and attack surface

## When to choose
- you need extremely low memory footprint and fast boot for a C++ service
- you want a single-purpose VM without a full OS underneath
- you're deploying to KVM/VMware/cloud providers and want minimal overhead
- you're comfortable with an evolving, not-yet-stable API

## When to avoid
- you need threads or file streams, which lack full backend support
- you need a stable, production-hardened OS with long-term API guarantees
- your service depends on a full POSIX environment or arbitrary Linux software
- you're not writing C++

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, networking, web-framework, concurrency
- domain: operating-systems, cloud-computing, developer-tools, performance
- platform: cpp, cloud
- tags: unikernel, virtualization, operating-system, minimal-footprint, kvm, tcp-ip-stack, single-address-space, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- includeos/IncludeOS (main) score 60

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.646619+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 2026-08-29T17:59:34.871447+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/includeos/IncludeOS (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:13.646619+00:00, sha 022da5f76069)
  - homepage: https://includeos.github.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:54:37.505847+00:00, sha 7b96dd7cf4eb)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.