AROS boots directly on Raspberry Pi hardware
AROS, the free and open-source reimplementation of AmigaOS, can now boot directly on Raspberry Pi hardware rather than running on top of Linux. This is significant because the Raspberry Pi’s limited range of hardware should make it easier for the small project to support a complete, low-cost platform, bringing a modern Amiga-like operating system to older, modestly specified devices.
Nightly builds now include 64-bit images for Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi Zero-class hardware, plus ARMv6 builds for older models; the core images are just over 100 MB, with optional compressed software packages adding about 1 GB. The Pi 3 version reportedly reaches the Workbench desktop in roughly five seconds, but remains an incomplete prototype: Pi 4 support lacks sound and networking, and there is no 680×0 emulation, so classic Amiga applications cannot yet run.
- AROS now boots natively on Raspberry Pi hardware.
- Raspberry Pi 3 support is the most complete so far.
- Classic Amiga software remains unsupported without 680×0 emulation.
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AROS is an open-source operating system inspired by AmigaOS, the software used on Amiga computers from the 1980s and 1990s. It is developed by a small community and aims to recreate the system’s familiar design and functions on newer hardware.
Raspberry Pi computers are small, inexpensive boards used for learning, hobbies and software projects. Running an operating system directly on one means it controls the hardware itself, rather than relying on another system such as Linux underneath.
The project’s progress matters because a widely available family of computers could give AROS a practical platform to develop for. It also connects two communities interested in accessible computing and the Amiga’s history.
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Originally published by The Register as “AROS, the FOSS recreation of AmigaOS, comes to Raspberry Pi”.