CIEL
An AI-first Linux operating system built to run on your hardware, keep core control local, and ask before privileged actions.
CIEL is an Ubuntu-based, AI-first operating system designed around local control, explicit approval, and recoverability. Its architecture keeps core system control on the user's machine and treats local, cloud, or hybrid AI as an explicit user choice rather than a hidden dependency.
Core design principles
01
Local-First, Not Cloud-Dependent
Core OS control, local sessions, memory, and offline-capable operation stay on the device. Cloud or hybrid AI is optional and explicit.
02
Approval-Gated
Privileged and self-modifying actions are gated by explicit approval and auditable controls.
03
Built to Evolve Safely
Designed to stage improvements within defined limits, with recovery and rollback rather than uncontrolled self-modification.
04
Security First
Control, privacy, explicit approval, and recovery are foundational to the design, not settings bolted on later.
Current prototype
CIEL is currently an installable pre-alpha prototype. Current prototype work includes the CIEL daemon/control plane, approval and security layers, resource governance, update and recovery logic, local memory and offline-capable foundations, and the CIEL-native shell/orb interface.
Pre-alpha means these components are still being developed and validated. The design principles below describe the constraints the project is being built to preserve, not a claim that every target capability is already production-ready.