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Life & fun · July 6, 2025

I wrote a "web OS" based on the Apple Lisa's UI, with 1-bit graphics

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…

I wrote a "web OS" based on the Apple Lisa's UI, with 1-bit graphics launched on July 6, 2025 with 516 votes, #25 of 9,223 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.

Visit alpha.lisagui.com ↗Alternativestop 1% of July 2025

In plain words

Lisa is a web-based operating system built in vanilla JavaScript that recreates the user interface of the 1983-85 Apple Lisa Office System. Rendered entirely on a single canvas element rather than using CSS or emulation, it faithfully reproduces the Lisa's 1-bit graphics and desktop metaphor approach to computing. The project is currently in alpha development and targets users interested in retro computing interfaces and historical GUI design. All interface elements, including menus, windows, and controls, are defined through JavaScript objects rather than traditional web technologies.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Alpha release of LisaGUI, a Lisa-themed web OS project with 1-bit graphics.

In the maker’s words, at launch

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…

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