SystemStudio CIS 450 / ECE 478

The Fall 2026 Operating Systems learning hub for section 001.

The student-facing navigation now begins at Course Dashboard, then groups work under Course Modules, Study and Practice, Homework, Assignments, and Exams, Hands-on Studio, Help and Feedback, and Advanced Setup and Diagnostics. The 13 numbered modules remain grouped by Virtualization, Concurrency, and Persistence, while the studio separates xv6/QEMU, portable C/pthreads, and concept practice. Progressive disclosure keeps the next action visible without hiding where code is edited, built, or executed.

• 13 visible modules across virtualization, concurrency, and persistence
• a dated 27-meeting plan mapped to 29 direct official OSTEP chapter links, concise accessible explanations, and 104 readiness questions with hints, source grounding, and justifications
• five-question practice, saved/due/spaced review, confidence checks, and private per-topic analytics
• fifteen official OSTEP simulator presets mapped to exact chapters, with a pinned opt-in checkout, predict-before--c workflow, native Python/Docker routes, explanations, and private run counts
• thirteen guided C, Python, pthread, scheduler, memory, I/O, and file-system starters with evidence walkthroughs
• portable Docker/Dev Containers workspace generator with C/pthreads, Python, GCC/GDB, and QEMU in one visible Windows/macOS/Linux Linux-container recipe
• one-click, solution-free environment/prerequisite preflights for HW1, HW2, HW3, and PA3, with fixed task commands and evidence anchors
• pinned official MIT x86 xv6 workspace generator with native-Linux and Docker routes, solution-free baseline, PA1A/PA1B/PA2 QEMU preflights, and focused diagnostics
• three-homework/four-programming progression with evidence checks
• private local progress and confidence—not a grade and not sent to Canvas
• one accessible, guarded in-editor Orbit chat with a familiar conversation layout, a safe course navigator, student-controlled Quiet/Guided/Active involvement, six pet-style avatars, private local restoration of up to 24 recent turns, explicit one-shot screenshot sharing, locally enforced monthly request/token caps, and an Orbit · OS launcher at the lower right of VS Code; it can use an instructor's existing signed-in Codex account, the student U-M course configuration, a bring-your-own OpenAI-compatible API token protected by VS Code Secret Storage, or the deterministic private offline helper. Orbit shows its own usage and links to authoritative provider usage pages without guessing account-wide quota. It never captures windows automatically, stores screenshots in history, or keeps its temporary image copy after a reply
• a shared Help and Feedback path matching CIS 310: students can prepare a short issue/suggestion draft for the configured Canvas Course Companion discussion without automatic posting, and can paste selected instructor/GSI comments or preview an instructor-provided .txt, .md, or .html feedback attachment before saving it in VS Code Secret Storage. Assessment-feedback analysis asks for consent every time and is restricted to the approved U-M GPT Toolkit because the selected comments may be FERPA-protected; personal Codex and BYOB providers are excluded from this workflow. See the assessment-feedback workflow
• a dedicated local grade predictor using the verified historical Winter 2026 10/15/40/15/20 weights, with weighted contributions, projected result, normalized pre-final standing, and target-final calculation; it applies no unverified drop rule and remains visibly separate from official Canvas grades
• deterministic offline helper with assessed-work guardrails
• two guarded online routes: an existing signed-in Codex account for instructor/testing use without a U-M key or configuration change, and U-M course Codex using each student's own U-M configuration; the same local assignment/pre-test check runs before either provider receives a prompt, progress sharing is off by default, and Codex runs in an isolated read-only chat folder; the native Getting Started checklist begins with one guided setup that detects a missing CLI, asks for consent, runs OpenAI's official user-level standalone installer, verifies the result, opens the U-M classroom-key page, accepts the key in a masked field, and creates the U-M Toolkit files with backups. The key is never logged, transmitted, or retained in extension storage. Once Codex is ready, students choose Codex-guided dependency setup, fixed automatic setup, or the complete manual checklist
• optional original animated learning companion with reduced-motion and hide/restore controls
• student-controlled issue and suggestion reporting that asks three short questions, copies a privacy-limited draft, and opens the configured Canvas Course Companion discussion; nothing is posted automatically
• accessible standalone syllabus and lesson collection
• verified Fall 2026 meeting calendar and OSTEP preparation-plan export
• configurable Canvas links with HTTPS/host validation, reviewed-before-save Canvas ICS import, and a pre-class question composer that never posts or promises anonymity

No GSI or grader is currently assigned or confirmed; check Canvas and department announcements for updates. Dr. Roy's verified office is CIS Building, Room 230.

Release verification compiles/runs all 13 student starters, executes the portable HW1/HW2/HW3/PA3 public preflight runner, and runs 13 completed internal-only formative references, then reruns mapped checks for all seven coursework guides. It also builds and boots pinned real xv6, validates the PA1B runtime evidence, validates the historical PA2 queue/quanta behavior, and runs full upstream usertests in QEMU. The package audit proves that private known-good implementations are not in the VSIX.

It also fetches the official OSTEP homework repository at exact commit afb36ca8ddbf81d847d18f6bd18a87f0a18667f2 and runs every one of the 15 mapped presets both without -c and with -c. Upstream source is never bundled into the VSIX.

Docker itself is an explicit host prerequisite for the identical cross-platform route. With explicit consent, Windows automatic setup can run the fixed Docker.DockerDesktop package through Windows Package Manager; the extension does not silently enable virtualization or change administrator settings. Linux/macOS students may use an already-installed native POSIX toolchain as a transparent convenience route. The consented Codex CLI installer is the narrow exception: it writes only to the student's user profile and user PATH or shell profile, so elevation is not expected.

Codex machine support

The extension also links directly to the classroom API-key retrieval page. Other OS/CPU combinations are not modified automatically; the matching U-M guide is shown instead.

The novice flow uses native VS Code controls: an automatically available Getting Started checklist, one Start Guided Setup command, a persistent setup-status item, titled and searchable choices, explicit installer consent, masked key entry, staged progress, and a local SystemStudio: Codex Setup log for recovery. It establishes Codex first, then offers Codex-guided, automatic, and manual dependency paths. Automatic course-container work begins only after the Docker server responds; startup waits until readiness or student cancellation. Startup notification chains were removed. See the repository's deep Codex setup usability audit for the VS Code, mature reference-extension, remote-host, and WCAG benchmark.

Canvas is authoritative for current assignments, deadlines, submissions, exams, feedback, policies, and official grades.

Installation and updates

Search for the exact identifier ProbirRoy.systemstudio-cis450-ece478 in VS Code's Extensions view. Until that Marketplace listing is available, download the newest verified VSIX from the public binary-only release channel. The private development source is not needed for installation; install the downloaded package through Extensions: Install from VSIX….

Release automation boundary-audits the VSIX, then installs that artifact into isolated real VS Code Extension Hosts on Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu. A separate Ubuntu-native job compiles/runs the OS starters and private verification fixtures, exercises pinned OSTEP and xv6/QEMU, and builds/runs the generated Linux course container. Hosted Windows/macOS jobs do not claim Docker Desktop or physical student-device acceptance; the instructor/developer verification record is maintained with the private source repository.

The default Fall 2026 Canvas course is https://canvas.umd.umich.edu/courses/552201. See the in-extension FAQ and the generated TROUBLESHOOTING.md for setup, Apple-silicon/QEMU, archive, evidence, xv6, and coursework-specification diagnostics grounded in recurring student concerns.