Aurora — User Guide
Everything you need to live inside the OS: desktop navigation, shortcuts, the eight applications, and the complete shell command reference.
Desktop navigation
| Element | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Desktop icons | Single click selects, double click launches |
| Start menu (◈) | Click the start button; grid of all apps; Lock and Restart in the footer |
| Taskbar | One button per running app; click toggles minimize/restore; active app is highlighted |
| Right-click desktop | Context menu: Open Terminal, New Folder…, New File…, Change Wallpaper, Lock Screen, Restart |
| Double-click wallpaper | Opens a Terminal |
| 📶 tray icon | Virtual network status popup (AuroraNet) |
| Ctrl+Alt+L | Lock the system; click or press any key to unlock |
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Alt+L |
Lock screen |
Escape |
Close start menu / context menu |
Ctrl+S (in Editor) |
Save the current file |
Ctrl+L (in Terminal) |
Clear the terminal screen |
Ctrl+C (in Terminal) |
Cancel the current input line |
↑ / ↓ (in Terminal) |
Command history |
Tab (in Terminal) |
Path completion |
Applications
| App | Icon | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Files | 📁 | Graphical file manager — breadcrumbs, path input, new file/folder, refresh, up-navigation; double-click files to open them in Editor |
| Terminal | ⌨️ | The shell — full command reference below |
| Editor | 📝 | Plain-text editor with Open / Save and Ctrl+S; accepts a file path as a launch argument (open editor /path/file.txt) |
| Calculator | 🧮 | Expression calculator — operators + − × ÷, parentheses, 30-char limit, error handling |
| Paint | 🎨 | Canvas drawing — 12-color palette, brush size 1–24 px, eraser, Clear, PNG export |
| System Monitor | 📊 | Live CPU and memory graphs, process table with per-process CPU/mem, session stats |
| Settings | ⚙️ | 5 themes, 5 wallpapers, sound toggle, 12/24-hour clock |
| About | ◈ | Version, live session uptime, subsystem statistics, feature grid |
Shell — complete command reference
The AURORA shell (aurora-sh) ships 37 commands. Type help in the
terminal for the same list, or man <command> for the manual entry.
Files & directories
| Command | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
ls |
ls [path] |
List directory contents (directories in cyan) |
ll |
ll [path] |
Long listing with type and human-readable sizes |
cd |
cd <path> |
Change directory (default: home) |
pwd |
pwd |
Print the working directory |
tree |
tree [path] [depth] |
Recursive directory tree |
mkdir |
mkdir [-p] <dir> |
Create a directory (-p creates parents) |
rm |
rm [-r] <path> |
Remove a file (-r for directories) |
cp |
cp <src> <dst> |
Copy file or directory (recursive) |
mv |
mv <src> <dst> |
Move or rename |
Reading & writing
| Command | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
cat |
cat <file>... |
Concatenate files to stdout |
echo |
echo <text> |
Print text (supports "quoted" arguments) |
touch |
touch <file> |
Create an empty file |
head |
head [-n N] <file> |
First N lines (default 10) |
tail |
tail [-n N] <file> |
Last N lines (default 10) |
wc |
wc <file> |
Count lines, words and characters |
grep |
grep <pattern> <file> |
Search a file for a pattern |
Redirection
| Example | Effect |
|---|---|
echo hello > out.txt |
Write output to a file (overwrite) |
ls > listing.txt |
Redirect any command output |
echo more >> out.txt |
Append output to a file |
System information
| Command | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
date |
date |
Current date and time |
whoami |
whoami |
Print the current user (user) |
hostname |
hostname |
Print the machine name (aurora) |
uname |
uname [-a] |
Kernel / system information |
uptime |
uptime |
Time since boot |
neofetch |
neofetch |
System banner with logo |
df |
df |
Filesystem usage across the virtual disk |
du |
du <path> |
Disk usage of a path |
version |
version |
OS, kernel, shell and window-manager versions |
Processes & apps
| Command | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
ps |
ps |
Table of running processes (PID, CPU, memory) |
kill |
kill <pid> |
Terminate a process by PID |
open |
open <app> [args] |
Launch an application (e.g. open editor file.txt) |
apps |
apps |
List installed applications with categories |
Shell conveniences
| Command | Usage | Description |
|---|---|---|
help |
help [command] |
List commands or show help for one |
man |
man <command> |
Manual entry for a command |
history |
history |
Show command history |
clear |
clear |
Clear the screen |
exit |
exit |
Close the terminal |
sudo |
sudo <command> |
Execute as root — you already are root |
shutdown |
shutdown |
Reboot Aurora |
fortune |
fortune |
Random quote |
Tips
- Tab completes paths; type a prefix and press Tab. Multiple matches are listed inline.
- ↑/↓ cycle through command history;
historyshows the numbered list. - Redirection works with any command, not just
echo. - Files created in the terminal appear instantly in the Files app — the
filesystem broadcasts
fs:changedover the EventBus. - The filesystem persists across page reloads (localStorage). Use
rm -rcarefully —EPERMprotects the root directory.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| No sound | Sound requires a first user interaction (autoplay policy) — click anywhere, then check Settings → Behavior → Sound |
| Files missing after reload | Open Settings → theme change reloads cleanly; if storage was cleared, the seed image is restored automatically |
| Terminal not focused | Click inside the terminal; the app focuses itself on open |
| Windows off-screen | Windows cascade and clamp to the viewport; maximize (□) resets geometry |
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