Roadmap

Underneath Kromi One

The roadmap on the home page shows the way to Kromi One itself. This page shows the work underneath it, step by step: what is done, what we build now and what follows. It shows the order, not dates.

KROM and the Aura chipset · Status 12 October 2026

The road to KROM 1.0

We build Kromi One in steps. Each step begins once the one before has passed its measured checks on the real hardware, so this shows the order, not dates.

01

Foundations

The chipset, its interfaces and its budgets written down and agreed before any hardware.
Done
02

First picture

KROM boots on the board and shows a picture through our own display engine.
Done
03

Core chipset

The 2D engine, the display and audio, at 1080p and 60 frames a second.
Done
04

Performance

Ten full-screen layers in one 1080p frame, measured on the board.

Milestone · reached

Beta 1

Done
05

Modern 2D and 2.5D

Thousands of sprites a frame, blend modes, upscaling, textured triangles, tile maps and lines. Lighting and raster effects follow.
Now
06

KromiOS on the hardware

KromiOS starts on the real machine. Keyboard, mouse, the time of day, SD-card storage and the network work for programs.
Now
07

Release hardening

Faults and recovery, long runs, power and temperature, updates, reproducible builds.

Milestones

Release candidate, then KROM 1.0

Then

KROM and the Aura chipset · In detail

What is done, what we build now, what follows

Each item starts once the one before it has passed its checks on the real hardware. The release work comes last and ends with KROM 1.0.

Area

Done

Now

Then

Klara · Tina

Graphics

Done

2D engine at 1080p, 60 frames a second
Sprite lists: thousands of objects a frame
Blend modes, filtered scaling and rotation
Textured triangles with bones (2.5D)
Per-pixel colour combiner, first stages
Tile maps for scrolling worlds
Thick, smooth lines

Now —

Lighting and post-processing
Raster lists: per-line effects
Logic operations and fills
Palette, 16-bit and video formats

Then —

Dora

Display

Done

Four planes composed at scan-out
Colour grading tables
Scaler with AMD FSR 1 upscaling
Wrap-around scrolling
Frame statistics for profilers

Now —

Next —

Then —

Aria

Sound

Done

Exact-timed audio through the monitor

Now —

A sound engine on its own real-time core: voices, effects, synthesis

Then —

Ines

Input and devices

Done

USB keyboards and mice, hubs, plugging in and out
Keyboard lights; Ctrl+Alt+Esc ends a stuck program
The time of day for programs
SD card storage
Randomness for security
The network: Ethernet for programs
Which keyboard or mouse each input came from

Now —

Next —

Then —

Firmware · OS

KROM and KromiOS

Done

KromiOS starts on the real machine
All four processor cores for programs
Commands in about one microsecond
One program interface: 21 revisions, each only adding to it
KromiOS's own checks of input and time on the board

Now —

Next —

Then

Updates and recovery
Power management

Milestones

Release

Done

Beta 1

Now —

Next —

Then

Faults and recovery: resets, clocks, hangs
A watchdog on a real-time core
24-hour runs, power and temperature
Reproducible builds
Release candidate, then KROM 1.0

As pictures, for articles and posts (PNG, 3200 px wide): Overview, light · Overview, dark · In detail

KromiOS, our operating system · Status 12 October 2026

The road to KromiOS's first release

KromiOS is built in steps too, on top of KROM. Each part is built and checked in the emulator first. Everything up to step 04 has run on the real machine since KromiOS first started there; step 05 adds keyboard, mouse, the time and storage. This shows the order, not dates.

01

Foundations

The architecture, the screens and the requests to KROM, written down and agreed before any code.
Done
02

The first slice

A desktop with text and vector icons, Lua apps with limits, and the same picture in the emulator and on the Mac.
Done
03

A small working system

Tasks and messages, files in memory, windows, a start-up script, and apps that only do what they may.
Done
04

The Terminal

The Terminal's first version at 1920 × 1080: commands, scripts, a Lua console, tabs, history, copy and find.
Done
05

KromiOS on the hardware

KromiOS starts on the real machine. Keyboard, mouse, keyboard layouts and the time work; storage on the SD card now.
Now
06

Apps you can rely on

When an app hangs you see it and can end it; apps ask before they reach further; every change can be undone.
Done
07

Studio 1

Studio, the Lua editor, in its first version: write, run and fix apps on the machine itself.

Milestone · reached

Studio 1

Done
08

The desktop in motion

All four cores at work, the interface on its own; windows and the pointer as hardware planes, smooth at 60 frames a second.
Then
09

Files that stay

Your files on the SD card; Files, Text and Settings that save; a clock; your session kept across a restart.
Then
10

The network

The network with secure connections, the App Center's catalogue, and later Mail.
Then
11

An installable product

Installed from an SD card onto the machine; updates; switching off and on.

Milestone

First release

Then

KromiOS, our operating system · In detail

What is done, what we build now, what follows

Each item starts once what it needs is in place. The first release comes last: KromiOS installed from an SD card, with updates.

Area

Done

Now

Then

Desktop

Done

Every screen designed first, on one canvas
Text and vector icons drawn by the chipset
Windows you can drag, resize, stack and minimise
A dark theme
Native 1920 × 1080

Now —

Next —

Then

The interface on its own processor core
Windows and the pointer as hardware planes
Settings that are kept, and a clock in the menu bar

Apps

Done

Commands with templates, wildcards and aliases
Shell scripts, Lua scripts and a Lua console
Tabs, history, editing and completion
Scrolling, copying and finding in the output
Studio's editor: undo, find and highlighting
Trial runs with Stop, the console and errors at their line

Now —

Next —

Then

Files
Text
Slides and Sheets
The App Center's catalogue
Mail

Apps platform

Done

Lua apps, each with its own memory and time limits
Apps that only do what their permissions allow
The names apps use, settled for good
When an app hangs: see it, wait or end it
Apps ask before they reach further
Undo and redo for every document

Now —

Next —

Then —

System

Done

The architecture and its key decisions
Handing the machine to a game and getting it back
Tasks and messages between apps
Files and folders in memory, with assigns
A start-up script
A session written down and brought back
The trash and the clipboard
Room for apps: 16 MB each, more memory as needed
Apps hear what changed: files, the clipboard, settings
The time of day

Now

Storage on the SD card
The network, with secure connections

Next —

Then

Home and Disk 1 on the SD card
Your session kept across a restart
Updates and recovery
Switching off and restarting

Input and text

Done

US and German keyboard layouts
USB keyboards and mice

Now —

Keyboard lights, and the key that ends a stuck game

Then

Fonts from a disk

On the board

Done

What KromiOS needs from KROM, asked for in batches
KromiOS starts on the real machine
Up to date with KROM's interface

Now —

Next —

Then

Installing from an SD card

Quality

Done

Checks that can fail, and the same bytes in the emulator and on the Mac

Now —

Next —

Then —