System Overview

VibeOS Architecture

An overview of the components that make up VibeOS and our web-based operating system emulator

os.vibeoscloud.com
VibeOS Sandbox

App Layer

Windowed apps · Dock · Menubar

16+ built-in apps

Kernel

Window mgr · Event bus · Scheduler

postMessage broker

VibeFS (Virtual)

POSIX-like tree · Mounts · ACLs

/Users · /Apps · /Volumes

HTTPS · WSS · postMessage · BroadcastChannel
VibeOS Cloud

VibeAI

Native AI intelligence

VibeFS

Cloud-native filesystem

Persistent Volumes

Encrypted data at rest

Identity & Access Control

Auth · RBAC · Sharing policies

VibeOS is a Web Operating System — a complete personal computing environment that runs entirely inside a browser tab. No installs, no platform lock-in, no local setup. It is orchestrated through four tightly integrated components, each handling a distinct layer of the experience:

The Operating System

VibeOS — the kernel & shell.

VibeOS is the runtime that lives inside your browser tab. It boots a lightweight kernel, mounts the virtual filesystem, and renders a familiar desktop shell — dock, menubar, windowed apps, multitasking — all from a single secure sandbox.

Kernel & event bus

A postMessage broker, window manager, and scheduler coordinate every app running in the session.

App layer

16+ built-in apps plus user-installable ones, all isolated in iframes with capability-scoped permissions.

Sandboxed by default

Each app runs under a restrictive sandbox; system calls are mediated through the kernel — no direct host access.

kernel · event bus
The Filesystem

VibeFS — a virtual POSIX tree.

VibeFS presents a unified, POSIX-like hierarchy to every app. It mounts the per-instance OS volume at root, external persistent volumes under /Volumes, and exposes them through familiar paths — regardless of where the bytes actually live.

OS volume

A per-instance root mount containing system files, user home, and app data — the canonical source of truth.

External volumes

Independent mounts under /Volumes/*, shareable across instances and teams with fine-grained access control.

Lazy hydration

Directories are loaded on demand and cached in IndexedDB; large blobs stream from object storage on access.

/
Users/
me/Documents
Apps/
Volumes/
team-design
projects
VibeFS · Sync Architecture

How an instance stays in sync with a volume.

Every write inside the guest OS travels the same path: a sandboxed iframe emits a postMessage patch, the host bridge merges and persists it through an edge function, and a Realtime broadcast fans the change back to every connected tab and peer.

Browser tab
Operating Systemsandboxed

VibeOS kernel + apps. Owns the in-memory FS tree.

IndexedDB · dir cache
sessionStorage · volatile fallback
Host bridgeadmin app

Transparent relay. Host-authoritative for patches.

• read-merge-write
• path remap + normalize
• per-tab iframe relay
postMessage · vos-* protocol
vos-state-changevos-apply-deltavos-fs-requestvos-set-volumesvos-mount-volume
HTTPS · Edge Functions
WebSocket · Realtime broadcast
VibeOS Cloud · VibeFS plane
OS volume
table · user_fs_dirs
PK · (user, instance, dir_path)
flush · ~3s batched
/Volumes/*
table · volume_entries
rpc · fs_upsert_* / fs_move
fn · volume-fs-op
Object storage
S3 bucket · large blobs
chunked upload sessions
signed URLs · 15 min
Realtime channels
volumes:{volumeId}volume-realtime-{vmId}-{volumeId}volume_mounts
Write path · guest emits vos-state-change → host merges patch → edge fn → row upsert → broadcast to peers.
Read path · DB notify → host fetches full payload (TOAST-safe) → relays vos-apply-delta to each iframe.

Communication channels

  • postMessage — guest ↔ host bridge inside the tab (vos-* protocol).
  • HTTPS — host → edge functions (volume-fs-op, save-instance, sign-large-download).
  • WebSocket — Supabase Realtime channels for cross-tab and cross-peer broadcast.
  • BroadcastChannel — same-origin tab fan-out for non-sandboxed surfaces.

Storage tiers

  • IndexedDB — per-directory cache inside the guest for lazy hydration.
  • sessionStorage — volatile fallback for free / unmanaged sessions; clears on tab close.
  • user_fs_dirs — per-directory rows for an instance's OS volume.
  • volume_entries — per-path rows for shareable /Volumes/*.
  • S3 bucket — large file blobs, accessed via 15-minute signed URLs.
The Intelligence Layer

VibeAI — AI integration for VibeOS

VibeAI is the unified intelligence layer embedded across every VibeOS app. A single gateway routes prompts to the best-suited model, meters usage per user and team, and enforces per-app access policies — so apps stay simple and intelligence stays consistent.

Model routing

Requests are routed across GPT, Gemini, and Claude families based on latency, cost, and task fit.

In-app intelligence

Chat, Code, Slides, Word and others share the same gateway — no per-app keys or vendor lock-in.

Usage & access policies

Per-tier quotas, per-app entitlements, and admin overrides keep AI access controlled and observable.

VibeAI Orchestratorroutes · meters · governs
Sandbox
In-App AI Assistants
Chat · Code · Files · Slides · Sheets
Context Collector
Files · selection · app state
Per-App Policy
Access · scopes · prompts
Cloud
Model Router
Task-aware model selection
Provider APIs
GPT · Gemini · Claude
Usage Metering
Per-user · per-team quotas
Sync & Orchestration

Vibe Cloud — sync & orchestration.

Vibe Cloud is the multi-region backend that orchestrates every VibeOS session. It manages instance lifecycle, persists filesystem state, brokers realtime presence, and enforces identity — all over encrypted channels.

Orchestrator

Edge functions manage instance start, suspend, snapshot, and resume — keeping sessions portable across devices.

Realtime bus

A WebSocket pub/sub layer keeps tabs in sync, surfaces presence, and tracks instance liveness.

Identity & RBAC

Row-level security, teams, and instance ACLs govern every read and write at the data layer.

us-east
eu-west
ap-south
sa-east

Explore the rest of the documentation.

Browse app guides, system reference, and getting-started walkthroughs.