View source for GNU Hurd

== Development history ==
[[Richard Stallman]] founded the [[GNU Project]] in September 1983 with an aim to create a [[Free software|free]] [[GNU]] operating system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GNU History |url=https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/cs181/projects/2000-01/open-source/gnu.htm#:~:text=In%201983,%20the%20GNU%20Project,up%20by%20proprietary%20software%20vendors. |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=cs.stanford.edu}}</ref> Initially the components required for kernel development were written: [[Text editor|editors]], [[Unix shell|shell]], [[compiler]], [[debugger]] etc. By 1989, the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] came into being and the only major component missing was the kernel.<ref name="Richard Hillesley, 2010">{{cite web |last=Hillesley |first=Richard |title=GNU HURD: Altered visions and lost promise | date=June 30, 2010 |url=http://www.h-online.com/open/features/GNU-HURD-Altered-visions-and-lost-promise-1030942.html |access-date=October 1, 2012}}</ref><ref name="linux-and-gnu" />

Development on the Hurd began in 1990 after an abandoned kernel attempt in 1986, based on the research [[Trix (operating system)|TRIX]] operating system developed by Professor [[Steve Ward (computer scientist)|Steve Ward]] and his group at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT's]] [[Laboratory for Computer Science]] (LCS).<ref name="hurd-hist" /> According to [[Thomas Bushnell]], the initial Hurd architect, their early plan was to adapt the [[4.4BSD]]-Lite kernel and, in hindsight, "It is now perfectly obvious to me that this would have succeeded splendidly and the world would be a very different place today."<ref name="hurd-and-bsdi" /> In 1987 Richard Stallman proposed using the [[Mach (kernel)|Mach microkernel]] developed by [[Richard Rashid]] at [[Carnegie Mellon University]]. Work on this was delayed for three years due to uncertainty over whether CMU would release the Mach code under a suitable license.<ref name="hurd-hist" />

With the release of the [[Linux kernel]] in 1991, the primary user of GNU's [[userland (computing)|userland]] components soon became operating systems based on the Linux kernel ([[Linux distribution]]s), prompting the coining of the term [[GNU/Linux naming controversy|''GNU/Linux'']].

Development of the Hurd has proceeded slowly. Despite an optimistic announcement by Stallman in 2002 predicting a release of GNU/Hurd later that year,<ref name="gnu-loose-linux" /> the Hurd is still not considered suitable for production environments. Development in general has not met expectations, and there are still a significant number of bugs and missing features.<ref name="hurd-status" /> This has resulted in a poorer product than many, including Stallman, had expected.<ref name="fsf-future-of-freedom" /> In 2010, after twenty years under development, Stallman said that he was "not very optimistic about the GNU Hurd. It makes some progress, but to be really superior it would require solving a lot of deep problems", but added that "finishing it is not crucial" for the GNU system because a free kernel already existed ([[Linux]]), and completing Hurd would not address the main remaining problem for a free operating system: device support.<ref name="reddit-interview-stallman" />

The [[Debian]] project, among others, have worked on the Hurd project to produce binary distributions of [[Debian GNU/Hurd|Hurd-based GNU operating systems]] for [[IBM PC compatible]] systems.

After years of stagnation, development picked up again in 2015 and 2016, with four releases during these two years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://sdtimes.com/free-software-foundation-changes-priorities/|title=Free Software Foundation changes priorities – SD Times|date=2017-01-17|work=SD Times|access-date=2017-04-17|language=en-US}}</ref> Since then, no release was made, but distributions pick up snapshots to produce distribution releases.
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2015 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2015/04/msg00047.html |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2017 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2017/06/msg00017.html |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2019 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2019/07/msg00001.html |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2021 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2021/08/msg00040.html |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2023 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2023/06/msg00026.html |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Debian GNU/Hurd 2025 released! |url=https://lists.debian.org/debian-hurd/2025/08/msg00038.html |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=lists.debian.org}}</ref>

On August 20, 2015, amid the [[Google Summer of Code]], it was announced that [[GNU Guix]] had been ported to GNU Hurd.<ref name="gsoc">{{cite mailing list|url=https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2015-08/msg00379.html|title=[GSoC update] Porting Guix to GNU/Hurd|date=August 20, 2015|access-date=August 20, 2015|first=Manolis|last=Ragkousis|publisher=guix-devel}}</ref>