Curated source guide

LK source explorer

Explore the Little Kernel (LK) embedded kernel source code. Study its tiny kernel core, platform ports, target configuration model, and modular embedded build system.

Guide chapters

1. Chapter 1 — What LK Is and What It Optimizes For
2. Chapter 2 — The Boot Flow
3. Chapter 3 — The Tree as an Architectural Contract
4. Chapter 4 — Build Composition Is a First-Class Subsystem
5. Chapter 5 — Concurrency in a Bootloader Kernel
6. Chapter 6 — How to Read LK Effectively

Key directories

• docs/ — Documentation hub that shows how LK explains itself
• top/ — Main entry point and staged boot sequence from architecture handoff into the kernel
• kernel/ — "Earliest kernel bring-up: threads, timers, ports, and multiprocessor support"
• arch/ — Architecture-neutral front door into CPU-family implementations
• app/ — App runtime that turns product behavior into boot-time kernel threads
• arch/arm/arm/ — Representative ARM architecture initialization path used before generic kernel startup