27 handpicked Scratch OS | Scratch projects

The biggest standout feature of this Scratch project is how it recreates the feel of an actual OS. What's particularly noteworthy is the app display and switching mechanism. It uses a message broadcasting system to control each app's launch and termination - when it receives a "close app" message, it smoothly returns to the previous screen.The camera app actually turns on the camera using video sensing blocks, and the paint app lets you draw using pen functions. It even creates fade-in and fade-out effects by gradually changing the Ghost effect, which really sells that authentic OS vibe!

The coolest thing about this Scratch project is its OS detection technique using emoji display differences! Each OS and device renders the same emoji slightly differently. By checking the color of specific pixels, it can identify the operating system. When the scanner sprite touches certain positions on the "Detect" costume, it detects the color - green means "iOS/MacOS," reddish tones indicate "Android," and so on. By combining multiple color detection conditions, it's cleverly designed to distinguish even between Windows 7/8/10/11 and Chrome OS!

What's fascinating is this OS's vector text system! The project uses custom functions like "Animate Text" and "Render Text" to generate each character as individual clones. You can finely control each character's size, ghost effects, and positioning, plus it automatically handles line breaks when text reaches the screen edge. Technically, it's achieved by combining functions like "Calculate Spacing!" for character spacing calculations and "Check Length" for text length checking, and it really shines in features like the potato clicker and assistant functionality. Looking at the scripts, you can clearly see how each character is generated as a clone with individual effects applied. This enables truly interactive text display!

This Scratch project recreates a full-fledged operating system just like Windows! What's particularly impressive is how it leverages broadcast messaging for seamless screen transitions. When you click on "apps" like the camera, browser, or calculator, startup messages get fired off to the relevant sprites, triggering smooth display changes. The clever chain reactions of messages hide and show sprites at just the right moments, creating that authentic OS feel. The variable management is spot-on too - it properly stores things like usernames and browser URLs. The coordination between backdrops and sprites really makes you feel like you're operating a real computer!

From the startup chime to the lock screen to the wallpaper drifting with your mouse, this Scratch project nails the feel of a real OS. The clever bit is how windows work: each app keeps its position in variables and glues its close and minimize buttons on as clones, so grabbing the title bar drags the whole thing along, and stacking order gets sorted out by messages. Dark mode builds its look name on the fly so every window flips at once, and tapping C on the home screen pops a right-click menu right where your cursor is. Weather, music, photos, even a performance monitor — you'll lose an hour just poking around.