Rocky Linux Creator Built a New 'Not Linux' Kernel in 11 Days Using AI

Gregory M. Kurtzer, creator of Rocky Linux, developed Ginux, a Rust-first x86-64 kernel and OS prototype that boots via UEFI without a Linux host kernel and runs unmodified Linux userspace inside kernel-native domains, including Rocky Linux 10 systemd reaching multi-user.target. The project was built over eleven days by one persistent OpenAI Codex task using GPT-5.6 Sol, producing roughly 139,000 retained lines of implementation and test code under a method called Human-Directed Agentic Engineering. Ginux is explicitly experimental, with incomplete Linux ABI coverage, device support, and security validation, and is not intended as a production replacement for Linux.