* Project handcrafted by a human
GentleOS/16 is a "post-apocalyptic" fantasy OS for vintage 16-bit PCs, with a handful of built-in apps and a selection of classic games.
Its minimal requirement is a PC-compatible machine with an 8086+ CPU, 512KB of RAM, a keyboard, and a CGA display capable of 320x200x4 mode.
On the high end, it should still work on relatively modern 64-bit PCs, as long as they support BIOS/legacy boot.
It's built specifically for tinkering with old hardware on the bare metal. It doesn't have any "practical" use, there's no web browser and no way to run third-party apps.
It has a sibling version for 32-bit devices, GentleOS/32, with a more advanced GUI.
For more information, see Questions and Answers.
Try in your browser
Open this page in a desktop browser to run an online PC emulator
Click here to launch GentleOS/16 in an online PC emulator.
PC emulation provided by v86.
The timing of music playback may be sligthly off in software emulators.
Gallery
Devices
Apps
Downloads
GT16DISK.IMG - Bootable disk image that can be written to a 1.44M/720K/360K floppy, HDD or USB flash disk
GT16FD14.IMG - 1.44M floppy-sized image for use in emulators
GT16FD72.IMG - 720K floppy-sized image for use in emulators
GT16.COM, GT16.DAT - COM executable with corresponding data file, which can be started from DOS
Links
- Questions and Answers
- GentleOS/32 - Sibling OS for 32-bit devices
- Source code
Discussion threads:
- Thread on HN (2026-06-07)
- Thread on Lobste.rs (2026-06-08)
License
Copyright © 2026 luke8086. GentleOS/16 is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.