A new AI-generated operating system called Vib-OS has been heavily criticized for being buggy and non-functional despite ambitious claims. A review found it failed basic tasks like connecting to the internet, and core advertised features, such as running the game Doom, did not work at all. The OS scored a deceptively respectable five out of nine in testing only because a poorly executed Snake game technically ran.
The main topics covered are the poor performance and bugs of the AI-coded Vib-OS, the specific failures of its applications and features, and the results of an independent review that contradicted the project's advertised capabilities.
AI vibe-coded operating system is so bad it can't even run Doom — Vib-OS can't connect to the internet, browser app is an image viewer
OS scrapes through the test, scoring deceptively respectable five out of nine.
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A new vibe-coded operating system was found to be a woeful attempt at building a PC operating system. This revelation comes via TechTuber Tirimid, who put an AI-coded OS through his regular set of nine quality checks. Unfortunately, Vib-OS v2.2.1 - Multi-Architecture OS with Full GUI, was found to be difficult to set up, and was stuffed with a mix of serious and/or weird bugs. Even some of its headlining features, like running Doom, simply didn’t work, as evidenced by the video embedded below.
Checking out the Vib-OS GitHub resources, the operating system seems to cover all the bases for a useful modern OS. The blurb insists this custom Unix-like OS “features a custom kernel, a modern macOS-inspired graphical user interface, a full TCP/IP networking stack, and a Virtual File System (VFS).” Moreover, it works natively on real hardware like Raspberry Pi 4/5, x86_64 PCs, and Apple Silicon – as well as in emulators like QEMU, according to the author (or possibly AI also wrote the readme).
At version 2.2.X, one might expect a project to have gotten past teething issues such as major advertised features having obvious bugs, or not even working. Tirimid’s testing of the system using QEMU on Linux x86 (as specifically stated to be compatible) shows that Vib-OS still needs a few fixes to bring it up to the level of being competent.
For example, installation issues foreshadowed the bugginess that was to follow. After several hours of ‘suffering,’ Tirimid finally managed to get the OS to boot, though.
The OS starts with a familiar-looking desktop, displaying a File Manager, Terminal, a central apps bar at the bottom of the screen, and some status icons appearing to show things like network connection status and time. It was promising to see the OS boot up with these familiar windows open and ready to do as instructed. However, the OS failed at several basic tasks:
- Trying to connect to the internet – failed
- The New Folder button and context menu in File Manager don’t do anything
- The Notepad app doesn’t seem to load or save, and doesn’t recognize arrow key input
- There’s no Python support apparent, despite GitHub assertions to the contrary
- Games don’t appear to be installed and/or don’t work properly
- The calculator doesn’t work using the on-screen keypad, but is OK (except for decimals) when inputting using the keyboard
- The Clock app doesn’t update unless you activate (click) its window, and the time isn’t the same as the system time in the status bar
- The ‘Browser’ app is an image viewer
The operating system allegedly supports Doom. The readme includes screens marked “Classic Doom running natively with full graphics, input, and sound support.” And it is claimed, independently, that there is a “Full Doom port with graphics, input, and sound” in the OS. Nevertheless, Tirimid’s clicking of the Doom icon in the launcher did nothing.
Giving up on Doom, a pre-installed version of Snake ran, but had serious issues with screen updates and pacing. This poorly executed game managed to get Vib-OS a tick on Tirimid’s 9-point checklist as it technically ran.
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Finally, the TechTuber couldn’t even ‘destroy’ this OS from within. It was very limited in understanding Terminal commands, meaning that “even something like a file deletion won’t be possible.”
Tirimid has previously tested other interesting operating systems like RetrOS, Hannah Montana Linux, and Windows XP.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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