# nerves-project/nerves

Craft and deploy bulletproof embedded software in Elixir

Repository: https://github.com/nerves-project/nerves
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nerves
Homepage: http://nerves-project.org
Language: Elixir
License Family: other
Topics: elixir, nerves, embedded
Last push: 2026-08-26T21:05:18+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 93/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 80, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3875, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 52, "gap_med": 30.5, "n_releases_24m": 11}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2484, forks 206 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:55.495727+00:00)

## What it is
Nerves is a framework and set of tools for building and deploying small, self-contained firmware images for embedded Linux devices using Elixir and the Erlang virtual machine. It integrates with Buildroot to provide minimal Linux runtimes and lets developers use the broader Elixir ecosystem on microprocessor-based hardware.

## Use cases
- build firmware for Raspberry Pi in Elixir
- deploy fault-tolerant software to embedded devices
- run Phoenix LiveView on embedded hardware
- create immutable OTA-updatable firmware images
- prototype IoT devices with Livebook on real hardware
- build lean embedded Linux systems with the BEAM runtime

## When to choose
- you want to write embedded software in Elixir or Erlang
- you need small, immutable, reliable firmware images for Linux-capable boards
- you want fault-tolerant, soft real-time behavior from the BEAM on edge devices
- you prefer leveraging the Elixir ecosystem (Phoenix, Nx, Livebook) on hardware

## When to avoid
- you target microcontrollers without Linux support
- you need a full general-purpose Linux distribution with a traditional package ecosystem
- your team has no Elixir/Erlang experience and cannot invest in learning it
- you need hard real-time guarantees

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: stable
- function: embedded, build-tool, deployment, sdk
- domain: embedded-systems, developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: elixir, embedded, iot
- tags: beam, buildroot, firmware, iot, erlang-vm, elixir, linux

## Member repositories
- nerves-project/nerves (main) score 93

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:55.495727+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 2026-08-30T02:28:05.453934+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nerves-project/nerves (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:55.495727+00:00, sha 55389e178ec4)
  - homepage: http://nerves-project.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:09:57.068703+00:00, sha d29439a28de1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.