Alternatives
Products that do what I spent a year building a desktop environment that runs in the browser does
- 1IR
Years ago I stumbled across a basic version of this concept and it stuck with me. I knew if I was ever going to take on such a project, it would need to be flawless, but without coding experience it was just another idea that would never happen. By the end of 2024, as AI coding tools exploded everywhere, I finally had a way to make it real. I started from zero knowledge and spent months collaborating with AI agents as a learning experience. Every pixel and every function went through me. The AI translated what I asked for into code, but every decision was human. I didn't use existing OS…
Sep 2025 · mitchivin.com
- 2DD
Demo: https://dustinbrett.com Hey HN! I've been building my passion project daedalOS for over 4 years now. The original idea was to give visitors to my website the experience as if they had remotely connected to my personal machine. To do this I decided I would attempt to recreate as much of the functionality as possible. My hope is to keep working on this project for the rest of my life and continue to evolve it's capabilities as technologies progress. Thanks for checking it out!
2025 · github.com
- 3IB
2021 · synergyjs.org
- 4IW
https://lisagui.com/info.html This is a web OS I wrote in vanilla JS that looks like the Apple Lisa Office System (1983-85), with other contemporaneous influences and additional improvements and features. It's currently in alpha and isn't remotely bug free. I had been holding off on posting this here until it was somewhat presentable and useful. Please note; the Lisa conforms more literally to the desktop metaphor than most modern GUIs - some of the important differences are mentioned in the readme. This is a complete recreation of the UI in JS; it all renders to a single…
2025 · alpha.lisagui.com
- 5IA
2011 · ashraful.org
- 6IM
Oct 2025 · nullpt.rs
- 7IB
2011 · use.fontorie.com
- 8IB
2024 · github.com
- 9IB
Hi HN! Korean high school senior here, about to start CS in college. I built a browser engine from scratch in C++ to understand how browsers work. First time using C++, 8 weeks of development, lots of debugging—but it works! Features: - HTML parsing with error correction - CSS cascade and inheritance - Block/inline layout engine - Async image loading + caching - Link navigation + history Hardest parts: - String parsing(html, css) - Rendering - Image Caching & Layout Reflowing What I learned (beyond code): - Systematic debugging is crucial - Ship with known bugs rather than chase…
Jan 2026 · github.com
- 10IB
2013 · oembed.io
- 11IW
Jun 2026 · microsoftedge.microsoft.com
- 12IB
2021 · multy.me
- 13CB
2019 · youtube.com
- 14IB
2020 · react-tutorial.app
- 15IO
2015 · docs.modojs.com
- 16BM
2012 · github.com
- 17AW
2021 · desk.glitchy.website
- 18IR
Hey HN, A few years ago, when I was working as a freelance web developer, there were many projects that used repetitive layouts and designs That's when I built my own collection of basic UI components like buttons and all. At that time, I was using CSS, so I styled my components using CSS. Later, I decided to open-source these components, and that’s when I created HextaUI After a few months, I found out about Tailwind CSS, so I decided to recreate all components with better design, modularity, and accessibility. This time, I also added animated components, not just base components. After…
2025 · hextaui.com
- 19ME
2012 · bvckup2.com
- 20IB
May 2026 · mobilegym.dev
- 21IL
2020 · tapsify.com
- 22IS
2024 · github.com
- 23MB
2014 · varun.ca
- 24JC
2013 · andersevenrud.github.com
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