# AOS Community Edition — Open Source Agent Operating System

> A Rust-based open agent operating system that provides a secure runtime, scheduling, and resource management layer for autonomous AI agents.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# AOS Community Edition — Open Source Agent Operating System

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install the AOS CE runtime
curl -fsSL https://github.com/unicity-aos/aos-ce/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
aos init my-workspace
aos run agent.toml
```

## Introduction
AOS Community Edition is an open-source operating system purpose-built for AI agents. Written in Rust, it provides the scheduling, isolation, resource management, and inter-agent communication primitives that autonomous agents need to run reliably in production. Think of it as a lightweight OS kernel where the processes are agents, not traditional programs.

## What AOS CE Does
- Schedules and manages the lifecycle of multiple concurrent AI agents
- Provides sandboxed execution environments with configurable resource limits
- Handles inter-agent message passing and coordination through typed channels
- Manages tool access and permissions so agents only reach resources they are authorized to use
- Logs every agent action for observability and audit compliance

## Architecture Overview
AOS CE is structured as a microkernel written in Rust. The kernel handles agent scheduling, memory allocation, and IPC. Each agent runs in its own lightweight sandbox with a capability-based permission model — an agent must hold a capability token to access a tool, file, or network endpoint. The system supports both local single-machine deployments and distributed multi-node clusters where agents can migrate between hosts. A TOML-based manifest defines each agent's configuration, dependencies, and resource limits.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Download the pre-built binary or compile from source with Cargo
- Define agents in TOML manifest files specifying model, tools, and resource caps
- Configure the runtime to limit CPU time, memory, and network access per agent
- Set up the built-in telemetry exporter to send metrics to Prometheus or OpenTelemetry
- Enable cluster mode by pointing multiple AOS instances at a shared coordination backend

## Key Features
- Capability-based security model prevents unauthorized tool access by agents
- Lightweight Rust runtime with minimal overhead per agent
- Typed IPC channels for safe inter-agent communication
- Built-in resource quotas prevent runaway agents from consuming all system resources
- Full action logging for compliance and debugging

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Docker / Containers** — isolates processes; AOS CE isolates agents with agent-specific primitives
- **Kubernetes** — orchestrates services; AOS CE orchestrates autonomous agents with tool permissions
- **CrewAI** — Python multi-agent framework; AOS CE operates at the OS level with Rust performance
- **AutoGen** — conversation-based agents; AOS CE provides lower-level scheduling and isolation

## FAQ
**Q: What language are agents written in?**
A: Agents can be written in any language. AOS CE manages them as processes or WASM modules.

**Q: Can agents communicate with each other?**
A: Yes. AOS CE provides typed IPC channels and a publish-subscribe message bus.

**Q: Does AOS CE require a GPU?**
A: No. The runtime itself is CPU-only. Agents can access GPUs through configured tool capabilities.

**Q: Is there a commercial edition?**
A: The Community Edition is fully open source. Enterprise features are planned for a separate edition.

## Sources
- https://github.com/unicity-aos/aos-ce

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-5e671965
Author: AI Open Source