[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc."]] [[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled [[GNU Free Documentation License|/fdl]]."]]"""]]

What is the GNU Hurd?

The GNU Hurd is the GNU project's replacement for the Unix kernel. It is a collection of servers that run on the Mach microkernel to implement file systems, network protocols, file access control, and other features that are implemented by the Unix kernel or similar kernels (such as Linux). [[More_detailed|hurd/what_is_the_gnu_hurd]].

What is the mission of the GNU Hurd project?

Our mission is to create a general-purpose kernel suitable for the GNU operating system, which is viable for everyday use, and gives users and programs as much control over their computing environment as possible. [[Our_mission_explained|community/weblogs/antrik/hurd-mission-statement]].

--- [[!toc]] ## News [[!inline pages="news/* and !*/discussion" feedonly=yes feedshow=10 sort=title reverse=yes]] [[!inline pages="news/* and !*/discussion" show=5 feeds=no sort=title reverse=yes template=newsitem actions=yes]] Older news entries can be found in the [[news archive|news]]. For Hurd developers' musings have a look at the [[shared weblog|community/weblogs]]. The [[recent changes]] page lists the latest changes of this website. ## Contributing To help the Hurd you can for example (from high level stuff to the inner core) * [[Contribute_to_these_web_pages|contributing/web_pages]], * [[Run_a_GNU/Hurd_system|index#run]] and help others get their systems running, * [[Port_applications|hurd/running/debian/porting]] to work in Hurd, * Write [[translators|hurd/translator]] to extend the Hurd, * Work on the [[Hurd_on_Mach|contributing#hurd_on_mach]], or * Help to port the Hurd [[to_a_modern_microkernel|contributing#hurd_on_modern_microkernel]]. See our [[source_repositories]] for the source code. Read about ways to contribute [[in_more_detail|contributing]]. ## Getting Help There are a couple of different [[Hurd_FAQs|hurd/FAQ]]. There are a number of [[IRC_channels|IRC]] and several different [[mailing lists]] with searchable archives. Before asking a question on a mailing list or on IRC, first, please try to answer your own question using a search engine and reading the introductory information. If you have done this and you cannot find the answer to your question, feel free to ask on a mailing list or on IRC. ## Running the Hurd The most functional distribution of the Hurd is the one provided by Debian. Find more information about it at the [Debian GNU/Hurd website](http://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/hurd-install). Along with it there are [[various_ways|hurd/running]] to run a GNU/Hurd system. Three of them are * installing a [[GNU/Hurd_distribution|hurd/running/distrib]], * running it [[in_Xen|microkernel/mach/gnumach/ports/xen]] and * starting a [[Hurd_qemu_image|hurd/running/qemu]] or [[Hurd_LiveCD|hurd/running/live_cd/]]. And these web pages are a living proof of the usability of the Hurd, as they are rendered on a [[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] system. ## Current Status There has not yet been an official 1.0 release. The Hurd is developed by a few volunteers in their spare time. The project welcomes any assistance you can provide. Porting and development expertise is still badly needed in many key areas. Functional systems are installable in a dual-boot configuration. Development systems are currently mostly based on the [[Debian_GNU/Hurd|hurd/running/debian]] port sponsored by the [Debian project](http://www.debian.org/). Community resources for related projects focus around these pages, , the [[mailing lists]] and the [[IRC_channels|IRC]]. If you want to see the current discussions in the Hurd project, please have a look at the [bug-hurd mailinglist archives](http://lists.gnu.org/pipermail/bug-hurd/). For more details, please read our writeup on the [[current_state_of_the_GNU_Hurd|hurd/status]]. ## How is this site arranged? The menu on the upper right corner provides a rough structuring about the available content. Just follow those topics and explore these pages. Further information about this site and how it was created can be found in the [[colophon]]. ---- These pages are powered by [ikiwiki](http://ikiwiki.info/).