u/NoDiamond9456

I’ve been reading more about Terry Davis and his operating system TempleOS, and I can’t help but wonder — was it actually ahead of its time in some ways?

On the surface, TempleOS looks extremely minimal and unconventional. No internet support, no modern UI, no drivers for most hardware — things that would normally be seen as limitations. But at the same time, there’s something very intentional about it.

The whole system is lightweight, transparent, and fully controllable by the user. No background processes, no hidden complexity, no external dependencies. In a world where modern operating systems are becoming more bloated and abstracted, TempleOS feels almost like the opposite philosophy.

It also mixes programming directly into the OS with HolyC, making development feel immediate and tightly integrated. That’s something you don’t really see in mainstream systems anymore.

So I’m curious what others think:

Do you see TempleOS as a kind of “pure” computing experience that we’ve moved away from?

Or was it more of a personal project that just doesn’t translate well to real-world use today?

Are there any ideas from it that you think modern systems could actually learn from?

Interested to hear your thoughts.