NebulaOS

A Linux desktop environment built around a custom compositor, shell, and service stack.

Structure

Path	Purpose
core/nebula-core	Core runtime and platform APIs (growing)
core/applications	Installed .desktop discovery and launching
core/windows	Window and workspace management (WindowService)
compositor/	Compositor configuration (Sway is temporary)
shells/	Desktop and future Bigscreen shells
packages/	Shared UI (Nebula.UI), icons, API, and design tokens
services/	System services (audio, network, bluetooth, power, accounts)
session/	Session manager and desktop entry
packaging/	Distribution packaging (Ubuntu)
branding/	Boot assets, wallpapers, and sounds
scripts/	Development helpers (including the VMware shell wrapper)

Shells

Nebula Desktop 0.2 is a C++20 Qt Quick/QML Wayland shell using LayerShellQt. It is floating-first: ordinary applications open as independently movable windows. See shells/desktop/.

Nebula Bigscreen is planned as a separate Qt Quick/QML shell with a controller-first interaction model, sharing Nebula.UI, Nebula.Applications, and Nebula.Windows.

Standalone Nebula applications may still use React/Tauri where that is a better fit. The operating-system shell does not.

An archived React desktop prototype lives in shells/desktop/prototype-react/ as a design reference only.

Current stack

Ubuntu
 ↓
Wayland
 ↓
Sway                 temporary compositor / window manager
 ↓
Nebula Shell         Qt Quick/QML via LayerShellQt

Window management is abstracted:

Nebula QML
    ↓
WindowService
    ↓
Sway IPC backend     now
Nebula compositor    later
    ↓
Sway
 /    \
Wayland app   XWayland app

Applications and games render on their own Wayland/XWayland paths. They are not composited inside QML.

Sway currently provides temporary window decorations (title bar and border) so windows can be identified, dragged, and resized. Custom Nebula window chrome is later work.

Getting started (development VM)

cd shells/desktop/shell
rm -rf build
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

Then, from the repository root:

sh compositor/sway/dev/run-sway-vm.sh

or:

sway -c compositor/sway/nebula-sway.conf

The VMware wrapper sets QT_QUICK_BACKEND=software. Production nebula-shell does not. Details: shells/desktop/README.md and compositor/README.md.

The Qt shell must be compiled on Linux (the Ubuntu NebulaOS VM). It will not build on Windows.