xref: /reactos/README.md (revision 84344399)
1<p align=center>
2  <a href="https://reactos.org/">
3    <img alt="ReactOS" src="https://reactos.org/wiki/images/0/02/ReactOS_logo.png">
4  </a>
5</p>
6
7---
8
9<p align=center>
10  <a href="https://reactos.org/project-news/reactos-0414-released/">
11    <img alt="ReactOS 0.4.14 Release" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/release-0.4.14-0688CB.svg"></a>
12  <a href="https://reactos.org/download/">
13    <img alt="Download ReactOS" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/download-latest-0688CB.svg"></a>
14  <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/reactos/">
15    <img alt="SourceForge Download" src="https://img.shields.io/sourceforge/dm/reactos.svg?colorB=0688CB"></a>
16  <a href="https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/COPYING">
17    <img alt="License" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-GNU_GPL_2.0-0688CB.svg"></a>
18  <a href="https://reactos.org/donate/">
19    <img alt="Donate" src="https://img.shields.io/badge/%24-donate-E44E4A.svg"></a>
20  <a href="https://twitter.com/reactos">
21    <img alt="Follow on Twitter" src="https://img.shields.io/twitter/follow/reactos.svg?style=social&label=Follow%20%40reactos"></a>
22</p>
23
24## Quick Links
25[Website](https://reactos.org/) &bull;
26[Official chat](https://chat.reactos.org/) &bull;
27[Wiki](https://reactos.org/wiki/) &bull;
28[Forum](https://reactos.org/forum/) &bull;
29[Community Discord](https://discord.gg/7knjvhT) &bull;
30[JIRA Bug Tracker](https://jira.reactos.org/issues/) &bull;
31[ReactOS Git mirror](https://git.reactos.org/) &bull;
32[Testman](https://reactos.org/testman/)
33
34## What is ReactOS?
35
36ReactOS™ is an Open Source effort to develop a quality operating system that is compatible with applications and drivers written for the Microsoft® Windows™ NT family of operating systems (NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7).
37
38The ReactOS project, although currently focused on Windows Server 2003 compatibility, is always keeping an eye toward compatibility with Windows Vista and future Windows NT releases.
39
40The code of ReactOS is licensed under [GNU GPL 2.0](https://github.com/reactos/reactos/blob/master/COPYING).
41
42### Product quality warning
43
44**ReactOS is currently an Alpha quality operating system.** This means that ReactOS is under heavy development and you have to be ready to encounter some problems. Different things may not work well and it can corrupt the data present on your hard disk. It is HIGHLY recommended to test ReactOS on a virtual machine or on a computer with no sensitive or critical data!
45
46## Building
47
48![Build](https://github.com/reactos/reactos/workflows/Build/badge.svg) [![rosbewin.badge]][rosbewin.link] [![rosbeunix.badge]][rosbeunix.link] [![coverity.badge]][coverity.link]
49
50To build the system it is strongly advised to use the _ReactOS Build Environment (RosBE)._
51Up-to-date versions for Windows and for Unix/GNU-Linux are available from our download page at: ["Build Environment"](https://reactos.org/wiki/Build_Environment).
52
53Alternatively one can use Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) version 2019+. Building with MSVC is covered here: ["Visual Studio or Microsoft Visual C++"](https://reactos.org/wiki/CMake#Visual_Studio_or_Microsoft_Visual_C.2B.2B).
54
55See ["Building ReactOS"](https://reactos.org/wiki/Building_ReactOS) article for more details.
56
57### Binaries
58
59To build ReactOS you must run the `configure` script in the directory you want to have your build files. Choose `configure.cmd` or `configure.sh` depending on your system. Then run `ninja <modulename>` to build a module you want or just `ninja` to build all modules.
60
61### Bootable images
62
63To build a bootable CD image run `ninja bootcd` from the build directory. This will create a CD image with a filename `bootcd.iso`.
64
65You can always download fresh binary builds of bootable images from the ["Daily builds"](https://reactos.org/getbuilds/) page.
66
67## Installing
68
69By default, ReactOS currently can only be installed on a machine that has a FAT16 or FAT32 partition as the active (bootable) partition.
70The partition on which ReactOS is to be installed (which may or may not be the bootable partition) must also be formatted as FAT16 or FAT32.
71ReactOS Setup can format the partitions if needed.
72
73Starting with 0.4.10, ReactOS can be installed using the BtrFS file system. But consider this as an experimental feature and thus regressions not triggered on FAT setup may be observed.
74
75To install ReactOS from the bootable CD distribution, extract the archive contents. Then burn the CD image, boot from it, and follow the instructions.
76
77See ["Installing ReactOS"](https://reactos.org/wiki/Installing_ReactOS) Wiki page or [INSTALL](INSTALL) for more details.
78
79## Testing
80
81If you discover a bug in ReactOS search on JIRA first - it might be reported already. If not report the bug providing logs and as much information as possible.
82
83See ["File Bugs"](https://reactos.org/wiki/File_Bugs) for a guide.
84
85__NOTE:__ The bug tracker is _not_ for discussions. Please use our [official chat](https://chat.reactos.org/) or our [forum](https://reactos.org/forum/).
86
87## Contributing  [![prwelcome.badge]](https://reactos.org/wiki/Commiting_Changes)
88
89We are always looking for developers! Check [how to contribute](CONTRIBUTING.md) if you are willing to participate.
90
91__Legal notice__: If you have seen proprietary Microsoft Windows source code (including but not limited to the leaked Windows NT 3.5, NT 4, 2000 source code and the Windows Research Kernel), your contribution won't be accepted because of potential copyright violation.
92
93Try out cloud-based ReactOS development using Gitpod and Docker:
94
95[![Open in Gitpod](https://gitpod.io/button/open-in-gitpod.svg)](https://gitpod.io/#https://github.com/reactos/reactos)
96
97You can also support ReactOS by [donating](https://reactos.org/donate/)! We rely on our backers to maintain our servers and accelerate development by [hiring full-time devs](https://reactos.org/contributing/#paid-jobs).
98
99## More information
100
101ReactOS is a Free and Open Source operating system based on the Windows architecture,
102providing support for existing applications and drivers, and an alternative to the current dominant consumer operating system.
103
104It is not another wrapper built on Linux, like WINE. It does not attempt or plan to compete with WINE; in fact, the user-mode part of ReactOS is almost entirely WINE-based and our two teams have cooperated closely in the past.
105
106ReactOS is also not "yet another OS". It does not attempt to be a third player like any other alternative OS out there. People are not meant to uninstall Linux and use ReactOS instead; ReactOS is a replacement for Windows users who want a Windows replacement that behaves just like Windows.
107
108More information is available at: [reactos.org](https://reactos.org/).
109
110Also see the [media/doc](/media/doc/) subdirectory for some sparse notes.
111
112## Who is responsible
113
114Active devs are listed as members of [GitHub organization](https://github.com/orgs/reactos/people).
115See also the [CREDITS](CREDITS) file for others.
116
117## Code mirrors
118
119The main development is done on [GitHub](https://github.com/reactos/reactos). We have an [alternative mirror](https://git.reactos.org/?p=reactos.git) in case GitHub is down.
120
121There is also an obsolete [SVN archive repository](https://svn.reactos.org/reactos/) that is kept for historical purposes.
122
123[coverity.badge]:   https://scan.coverity.com/projects/205/badge.svg?flat=1
124[rosbewin.badge]:   https://img.shields.io/badge/RosBE_Windows-2.2.1-0688CB.svg
125[rosbeunix.badge]:  https://img.shields.io/badge/RosBE_Unix-2.2.1-0688CB.svg
126[prwelcome.badge]:  https://img.shields.io/badge/PR-welcome-0688CB.svg
127
128[coverity.link]:    https://scan.coverity.com/projects/205
129[rosbewin.link]:    https://sourceforge.net/projects/reactos/files/RosBE-Windows/i386/2.2.1/
130[rosbeunix.link]:   https://sourceforge.net/projects/reactos/files/RosBE-Unix/2.2.1/
131