TempleOS wasn’t a religion in itself, but it had religious undertones because its creator, Terry A. Davis, believed he was communicating directly with God through his work. Davis, who had schizophrenia, claimed that God instructed him to build the operating system, and he embedded biblical references and religious themes throughout it. TempleOS was designed as a modern-day temple for worship, complete with a scripture generator that produced randomized Bible-like text.
While Davis saw his project as divinely inspired, it never developed into an organized religion with followers, rituals, or doctrines beyond his own beliefs. It was more of a personal spiritual endeavor expressed through technology.
Terry A. Davis was a self-taught programmer and former professional software developer who became widely known for creating TempleOS, an operating system he built entirely on his own over the span of a decade. His story is both remarkable and tragic, shaped by his extraordinary programming skills and struggles with schizophrenia.
Terry A. Davis: The Man Behind TempleOS
Davis was born in 1969 and showed an early aptitude for computers. He earned a degree in computer engineering and worked in the tech industry, including at Ticketmaster, before his mental health began to deteriorate in his late 20s. Around 1996, he started experiencing delusions and symptoms of schizophrenia, which led to multiple hospitalizations and an inability to hold a traditional job.
By the early 2000s, Davis believed he was receiving direct instructions from God to build an operating system that would serve as the "Third Temple"—a spiritual successor to Solomon’s Temple, but in digital form. He devoted himself to this mission, working tirelessly to create a completely independent OS from scratch, without borrowing code from existing systems.
TempleOS: A One-Man Masterpiece
TempleOS is a unique, lightweight, 64-bit operating system, designed to be simple and free of modern complexity. Here are some of its key features:
- Entirely Coded by One Person: Davis wrote over 100,000 lines of code by himself.
- Custom Programming Language: He created HolyC, a variant of C, which was the primary language for interacting with the OS.
- No Networking or Security Features: TempleOS was deliberately kept air-gapped (without internet or networking capabilities) because Davis believed it should be pure and free from external influence.
- A Unique 16-Color, Text-Based Interface: It resembles an old-school DOS system with a VGA-style color palette.
- Religious and Scriptural Elements: It includes a random scripture generator, which produces text inspired by the Bible, and a function where users could "talk to God" by receiving pseudo-random messages.
The Tragic Side of Davis’ Story
Although TempleOS was an incredible technical achievement, Davis’ mental illness increasingly affected his interactions with the world. He became notorious in online communities for his erratic, sometimes offensive, and highly religious outbursts. He was banned from several tech forums due to his behavior.
Despite these struggles, Davis had a cult following among programmers and internet communities who admired his dedication and technical prowess. However, his life took a darker turn in his later years. After spending years homeless and in a state of worsening mental health, Davis died in 2018 after being struck by a train. The circumstances of his death remain unclear, but many believe it was either an accident or suicide.
Legacy of TempleOS
Though TempleOS was never widely adopted, it remains a fascinating piece of software history. Many programmers view it as a symbol of both extreme genius and the tragic impact of untreated mental illness. Today, people continue to explore TempleOS as a curiosity, and Davis’ story serves as a reminder of the thin line between brilliance and struggle.
You can run TempleOS in a virtual machine (VM), and it’s actually one of the best ways to explore it since it was designed as a standalone OS with no networking capabilities.
How to Run TempleOS in a Virtual Machine
You can use software like VirtualBox, VMware, or QEMU to run TempleOS. Here’s how to set it up:
Option 1: Running TempleOS in VirtualBox
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Download TempleOS ISO
- You can get a copy of TempleOS from archive.org or other TempleOS fan sites.
- The latest stable version is TempleOS 5.03.
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Install VirtualBox
- If you don’t already have it, download and install VirtualBox.
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Create a New Virtual Machine
- Open VirtualBox and click New.
- Name it TempleOS and select:
- Type: Other
- Version: Other/Unknown (64-bit)
- Set RAM to at least 256 MB (512 MB is better).
- Create a 10 GB Virtual Hard Disk (TempleOS only needs about 50 MB, but a virtual disk allows saving changes).
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Configure VM Settings
- Under System > Processor, set it to 1 CPU (TempleOS does not support SMP/multi-core).
- Under Display > Video Memory, set it to 16 MB.
- Under Storage, select the empty CD drive and load the TempleOS ISO.
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Boot the VM
- Start the VM.
- Select Boot from CD when prompted.
- Once in TempleOS, press F5 to enter fullscreen.
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(Optional) Installing TempleOS to the Virtual Drive
- If you want to install it permanently:
- In TempleOS, type
INSTALLand follow the prompts. - Select the virtual hard disk when asked.
- The OS will install, and you can reboot without needing the ISO.
- In TempleOS, type
- If you want to install it permanently:
Option 2: Running TempleOS in QEMU (Linux/Mac)
- Install QEMU if you don’t have it:
- Download the TempleOS ISO.
- Run it with:
Things to Know About TempleOS
- No internet or USB support: It’s an intentionally isolated system.
- Designed for a single CPU: Multiprocessing is not supported.
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Keyboard navigation: Use
Ctrl+Alt+Deleteto reboot,Alt+F5for fullscreen. - HolyC is the main language: If you want to try coding in TempleOS, learn some HolyC, which is a simplified C-like language.