Open Source Release: Vi for Windows

 The PC/OpenSystems LLC Open Source team is pleased to announce our new release of Vi for Windows Server 2022/2025 Core and Desktop.  Vi 5.0.0-2026 is our take on the classic Vi editor for the Windows Server platform.  

You can download it from here

https://github.com/rjdohnert/Vi-For-Windows

You can view the user's guide here

https://github.com/rjdohnert/Vi-For-Windows/blob/main/vi-user-guide.md

Key Highlights

• Zero-Dependency Native Binary: Single self-contained executable (vi.exe & view.exe) powered by Windows Console Virtual Terminal Sequences with no external runtime dependencies beyond standard system libraries (user32.dll).
• Full Mouse & Scroll Wheel Support: SGR mouse reporting (:set mouse=a / :set nomouse) with click-to-position cursor in any mode, smooth split-window wheel scrolling, right-click Windows clipboard paste ("+p), and clickable top tabline switching.
• Extended Regular Expression Engine: Vim-compatible regex engine featuring precision match anchors (\zs, \ze), character classes (\d, \D, \w, \W, \s, \S), quantifiers (\+, \?, *), word boundaries (\<, \>), and character sets ([...], [^...]).
• Non-Blocking Async Background Grep: Multithreaded :grep <pattern> on background worker threads with an animated status bar spinner and auto-populated Quickfix list (:copen, :cnext, :cprev, :clist).
• Side-by-Side Diff Mode: Real-time LCS line comparison (vi -d file1 file2, :diffsplit <file>, :diffthis, :diffoff, :diffupdate) with gutter markers (+, -, !) and synchronized dual-window scrolling.

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Window, Tab & Workspace Management

• Multi-Window Viewport Splits: Horizontal and vertical splits (:split, :vsplit, :close, :only), directional navigation (Ctrl-W h/j/k/l), cycling (Ctrl-W w/p), and equal balancing (Ctrl-W =).
• Tab Pages: Multi-tab management (:tabnew, :tabclose, :tabnext / gt, :tabprev / gT, :tabonly) with an interactive top tabline.
• In-Memory Multi-Buffer Manager: Edit multiple files simultaneously (:ls, :b, :bn, :bp, :bd, :badd) with geometric buffer scaling ($O(N)$) for instant large server log loading.
• Workspace Session Persistence: Save and restore complete window layouts, buffers, tabs, and cursor positions (:mksession [path], :source <path>, vi -S [path]).
• Integrated Directory Explorer & Fuzzy Finder: Netrw-style directory browser (:Explore, :Sex, vi <dir>) and fast recursive in-memory file finder (:find <query>).
• CTags Symbol Navigation: Cross-file symbol jump (Ctrl-], :tag <sym>), tag stack pop (Ctrl-T, :pop), and stack inspection (:tags).

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Editing, Reliability & Shell Integration

• Complete Vi Grammar & Text Objects: Full [count][operator][count][motion] composition, inner/around text objects (iw, aw, quotes, and brackets/parentheses/braces), and Visual Block Mode (Ctrl-V / Ctrl-Q) with column insert/append (I, A).
• Indent-Based Code Folding: Collapse and expand code blocks (zc, zo, za, zR, zM, :set fdm=indent).
• Buffer-Word Autocompletion: Zero-dependency Ctrl-N / Ctrl-P keyword completion across all active buffers.
• Crash Recovery & Persistent Undo: Real-time swap journaling (.{filename}.swp, :recover) plus optional disk-persisted multi-session undo trees (.{filename}.un~, :set undofile).
• External Modification & Read-Only Protection: Automatic detection of external disk changes (:set autoread, :checktime) and Windows FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY enforcement ([RO] indicator, vi -R, view.exe).
• Windows Clipboard & Line Endings: Native clipboard bridge ("+y, "+p, "*y, "*p) and transparent CRLF / LF preservation.
• Interactive Subshell & Filter Pipes: Suspend or spawn a nested shell (:terminal, :sh) and pipe buffer ranges through external commands (:%!sort, :'<,'>!findstr ...).

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Appearance & Syntax Highlighting

• 5 Built-In Color Schemes: :colorscheme <dark|light|monokai|gruvbox|classic> (alias :colo).
• 23 Languages & Formats Supported:
  • Systems & Compiled: C/C++, Rust, Go, Zig, Swift, Objective-C, Java, COBOL, Fortran, Pascal, Basic
  • Web & Scripting: JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, PowerShell, Batch/CMD, Shell (sh/bash/zsh)
  • Data, Config & Markup: TOML, SQL (ANSI & T-SQL), XML/HTML/SVG, YAML, INI/Registry/INF, JSON, Markdown

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Installation & CLI Quick Start

• Per-User Install: .\install.ps1 (installs vi.exe and view.exe to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\vi)
• System-Wide / Server Core Install: .\install.ps1 -AllUsers (installs to %ProgramFiles%\vi for all users, SSH, and WinRM sessions)
• Explorer Context Menu: .\install.ps1 -ContextMenu (adds "Open with Vi" to Windows File Explorer)

CrossShell for UNIX 15.7 Open Source Released

Version 15.7 BSD 3-Clause Windows x64

CrossShell for UNIX 15.7 Released

Over 245 native UNIX command-line utilities reimagined for modern Windows environments.

🚀 What is CrossShell for UNIX?

CrossShell for UNIX are object-oriented reimplementation's of UNIX like and classic UNIX command-line utilities that brings the speed, ergonomics, and simplicity of the BSD coreutils and more command-line tools straight to native Windows.

Unlike virtual machines, WSL2, MSYS2 or Cygwin, CrossShell tools are 100% native 64-bit Windows executables. They run instantly from Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal and interface directly with deep Windows systems like the Windows Registry, CIM/WMI classes, and Win32 subsystems.

✨ Highlights of Version 15.7

📦 245 Native Utilities

Full suite of BSD coreutils (grep, sed, awk, find, xargs, tar) plus shells like ksh, tcsh, and zsh.

⚡ Installs to System32

Installs into C:\Windows\System32 so all commands are instantly available everywhere.

🛠️ Windows Power Tools

Includes custom tools like fsctl, vhdctl, dskctl, registryctl, and driverctl.

🔒 Self-Contained MSI

Single installer file with all 245 binaries compressed inside. No extra downloads needed.

📜 Project History

CrossShell for UNIX represents over a decade of engineering by PC/OpenSystems LLC:

• 2008: Started CrossShellKSH was started as an internal enterprise project to provide a specialized and targeted AT&T KornShell 93 implementation (rjdksh) scripting engine on Windows.
• 2023: PC/OpenSystems LLC resumed active expansion of our KSH implementation into a full UNIX command-line environment when we were contracted to provide HP-UX to Windows Server 2022 migrations, we then tailored the toolkit for native Windows administration.
• Present: Consolidated and released to the open-source community under the permissive BSD 3-Clause License.

📥 How to Install 

Standard Graphical Setup:

1. Download CrossShell-for-UNIX-15.7.msi.
2. Right-click the .msi file and select Run as administrator.
3. Accept the BSD 3-Clause License agreement and click Install.

Portable Binary use

  1.  Download CrossShell-for-UNIX-15.7.zip to your system.

  2.  Unpack the archive and place the bin\ directory anywhere on your system

  3.  Run from the bin\ directory or add to PATH 

💡 Silent / Enterprise Deployment: To install silently across systems, run this in an elevated terminal:

msiexec /i "CrossShell-for-UNIX-15.7.msi" /qn /L*V "install.log"

Ready to Upgrade Your Windows Command Line?

Get 245 native UNIX tools in a single self-contained installer.

Download CrossShell for UNIX 15.7 (.MSI)

Copyright © 2023-2026 PC/OpenSystems LLC, and contributors. Released under the BSD 3-Clause License.

Xandros Cros 2025.02 Beta 1 Released

 

Today the PC/OS development team is releasing Xandros Cros 2025.02 Beta 1.  This is the first desktop distribution for the ChromeOS and ChromeOS Flex Linux container and our first distribution based on Debian 12.  This distribution makes it easy for users of Linux on ChromeOS to download a package, install it and get to work right away.  This distribution is free to use under self support and you can be rest assured that our commercial customers will get the same award winning support and service when necessary in service, deployment and installation of this new distribution.

This is a beta release so we do not recommend this to be used in a production environment.  Also this release is targeted towards Intel Chromebooks and certified Intel based ChromeOS Flex devices.  An ARM release for ARM based Chromebooks will be coming soon.

System Requirements

Xandros Cros has the following minimum system requirements.

• ChromeOS 128, ChromeOS Flex 128, ChromiumOS 128
• 4gb of RAM
• 10 gb of available drive space
• Working Linux Development Environment
• Intel based Chromebook or certified ChromeOS Flex system.

We will support non-certified ChromeOS Flex machines under a paid subscription as long as that system supports the Linux Development Environment.

What's Included

Xandros Cros includes the following utilities and apps:

• Nautilus
• Gimp
• Midnight Commander
• VLC Media Player 
• GCC suite
• Clang compiler Suite
• OpenJDK 21
• .NET SDK 9.0
• Microsoft Powershell 7.5
• Visual Studios Code
• OpenSSH

OnlyOffice will be included in the final release and we will be in touch with users and customers to determine anything else that needs to be included.

You can download Xandros Cros from here

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/XandrosCros/xandros-cros-2025-2.zip

https://distro.ibiblio.org/blacklab/XandrosCros/xandros-cros-2025-2.zip.md5

The package comes with the main distribution and an install guide

FAQ

We sat down with Roberto, the lead developer and systems consultant for PC/OpenSystems LLC and asked a few of the most frequently asked questions.

Q) What are we announcing today?

A) This is our newest product in our Xandros lineup for users of ChromeOS, ChromiumOS and ChromeOS Flex.

Q) Why is this distribution necessary?

A) Look, ChromeOS and ChromeOS Flex have a huge installed base among our enterprise and education customers and its not going away.  We service Chromebooks and we have seen an uptick of customers who want to make their older machines last longer and they have deployed ChromeOS Flex.  One of the main service calls we get is to install and fine-tune the Linux development environment and we had a base image we used and we decided to make that image available to our users and customers.

Q) With recent news of ChromeOS going with the Android kernel and uncertainty around ChromeOS Flex as a viable product, do you share the concerns of some customers that Google will pull the plug on Flex?

A) No.  Google sells ChromeOS Flex into the market to enterprise customers and schools.  They cant and wont just kill Flex at the drop of a hat.  The concerns around it is the Android kernel.  Since Google doesn't include support for Android apps in Flex .  It's a business decision not a technical one.  Google wants to sell Chromebooks, Chromebases, Chromeboxes.  If they include Android app support in Flex what's the motivation for their customers to buy Chrome devices ?  There is none. They already make an Android x86_64 kernel.  Even in Flex they have included Android code in the Bluetooth and Audio stack.  Furthermore, ChromeOS and ChromeOS Flex are built on ChromiumOS which is an Open Source project as is Android.  Do I think Android apps will make it into Flex?  Probably, if they ever decide to make Flex a consumer product.  Right now its an enterprise and school product that they do make available for free to the public following the same strategy as CloudReady did.  

Q) Will we stop producing Xandros as a standalone product?

A) No.  We have a lot of customers and users of Xandros Enterprise both desktop and server and we will continue to produce that product for those users.  It's a top seller and we have a new release coming up soon. 2025.06 will be a great product. Our beta testers and insiders have been using it and love the stability and functionality.  But we will continue to make that product, Xandros Cros and our upcoming WSL product are additions to that catalog and not replacements.

Q) What do you think of ChromeOS and the current iteration of Windows?

A) I think they are fine.  I have a Chromebook that is my main laptop.  I have a ChromeOS Flex machine, a Xandros machine and a Windows system.  I also have a Mac.  I think Windows 11 is the best Windows OS that has come out since Windows NT 3.51.  I do understand the privacy concerns with Windows and Chrome and I share them but I look at privacy like this; if you want everything you do on the internet to be "private" don't connect.  If data is transmitted (encrypted or not) it can be intercepted and the NSA, CIA and the other three letter agencies pay a lot of money for people to decrypt it.  I do turn off all the tracking shit as much as I can but I do have the understanding that nothing will ever truly be private in terms of the internet. 

Q) Do we have any partnerships with Google or Microsoft?

A) No, I do have personal relationships with people who work at both and they are very good relationships but nothing official.  I have two people in Google who have used and liked Xandros Cros.  Any new partnerships and the like will be communicated to customers and users should any partnerships develop.

How we update our distributions

 

Many people have asked us; How often are your distributions updated?  Well we have two different ways we update our distributions.  One set of those distributions is for home and consumer use and the other one is our enterprise Linux distribution meant for businesses, schools, researchers and developers.

We base our distributions on Ubuntu's LTS release.  So we are just like Pop_OS, Linux Mint, ZorinOS and many more of your favorite community based distributions.  We take Ubuntu and strip out many of their default apps and add our own apps and features to the distribution.  We also strip out many of Canonicals own features that they add which includes; Ubuntu Advantage, SNAP's and much of Ubuntu's branding.   

While Linux Mint, ZorinOS and Pop_OS create distribution releases based on Canonicals non-LTS releases we stick with only LTS releases.

Our consumer and home distributions, Linspire and Freespire, follow every new LTS release.  So during 12 months after Canonical releases a new LTS release we go to work building the new releases and testing the new releases.  We also work with beta testers and partners to make sure we work out as many bugs as we can.  If we have to make any code changes they are submitted back to the proper channels.  So during every LTS release you can expect two distinct releases of Linspire and two distinct releases of Freespire.  Linspire is updated and released every 12 months with interim security releases "Service Packs" released every 4 to 6 months.  Linspire 12 and Linspire 14 are based on Ubuntu 22.04 and Linspire 15 and Linspire 16 will be based on Ubuntu 22.04.  We have been looking at basing our distributions on a different base such as Oracle Linux 9 or CentOS Stream 9 for right now we are sticking with Ubuntu.  Freespire is a distribution for Linux enthusiasts who dont want or dont need support.  It is totally free to use, deploy and redistribute on as many systems as you would like whereas Linspire you are paying us to support that distribution.  A new version of Freespire is released every 6 months.  Because those releases are so close together while we do monthly ISO refreshes those refreshes are not point releases or new versions.  Freespire 9 and Freespire 10 are based on Ubuntu 22.04, Freespire 11 and Freespire 12 will be based on Ubuntu 24.04 (Maybe Fedora 38 or CentOS Stream 9 depending)

Our enterprise distributions: PC/OS, Xandros Enterprise Linux and Xandros Community Edition are much much different.  We base these releases on every other LTS release as our business customers do not upgrade as often as our home and consumer releases.  You will get 4 distinct releases from these with new releases every 12 to 14 months and security updates every 6 to 8 months.  So while Xandros Enterprise Linux and Xandros Community Edition 2022.x, 2023.x, 2024.x and 2025.x are based on Ubuntu 22.04.  Xandros Enterprise Linux and Xandros Community Edition  2026.x, 2027.x, 2028.x and 2029.x will be based on Ubuntu 26.04.

Linspire and Freespire are supported for the entire life of that LTS release.  So Linspire and Freespire being based on Ubuntu 22.04 will be supported until 2027.  Our Enterprise distributions are supported for 10 years.  No more and no less.  So our Enterprise Distributions based on Ubuntu 22.04 will be supported by us until 2032.  We do this for all of our business class distributions.  We are one of the ONLY companies left that support our distributions based on Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04. So how do we do this?  When an LTS release support ends from Canonical our distributions based on that LTS release enters maintenance mode.  There are no new distributions released based on that LTS.  We strip out all of Canonicals Ubuntu repositories and add our own which contains kernel bug fixes, recompiled kernels and updated browsers and other apps so in essence it becomes a franken-Ubuntu.  After that 10 years, it enters Archive mode which we strip out all repositories, updates stop completely and we keep images of that system for customers who still use it for whatever obscure reason.  We still have images for our Gentoo based distributions produced in 2006 and some of our Ubuntu distributions produced in 2008 and beyond and yes we still have some customers who request them.  

So this is how we release and maintain our distributions.  Our processes are unique and a lot of times people are surprised by how much work we actually do to maintain all of our distributions.