Wind River
Developer Program
Build with the software that runs on Mars rovers, surgical robots, and 5G networks. The Wind River Developer Program gives students, hobbyists, researchers, and industry professionals free access to our embedded platforms and development tools for learning and prototyping.
Products / What You Can Build With
Not sure where to start? Here's what's available through the Developer Program.
VxWorks
The industry's most deployed real-time operating system. Deterministic performance for safety-critical and time-sensitive applications in aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, and industrial systems.
Wind River Linux
Enterprise-grade embedded Linux built on the Yocto Project. Optimized for edge computing, IoT, robotics, and applications requiring open-source flexibility with commercial support.
Wind River Studio
Integrated development tools for the full embedded lifecycle: compilers, IDE, debugger, simulation, testing, and deployment. Supports both VxWorks and Linux development.
Get Started / Start Building in Minutes
Create a free account and choose your platform. You'll be writing and running code in minutes.
VxWorks SDK
Real-time applications, safety-critical systems, aerospace/defense projects
- Create a free account at Wind River Labs
- Download the SDK for your target hardware (Raspberry Pi, QEMU, Intel, RISC-V, NXP)
- Follow the quickstart guide to build and run your first application
Wind River Linux
Edge computing, IoT, robotics, open-source development.
- Clone the GitHub repository
- Run the setup script to configure your build environment
- Build and deploy to your target hardware or emulator
eLxr Project
Debian-based, enterprise-grade eLxr open-source distribution for edge-to-cloud deployments, repositories, downloads, etc.
Licensing
For commercial use, contact our sales team.
Trusted by Leading Institutions
FAQs
Students, educators, researchers, hobbyists, and industry professionals using the software for
noncommercial purposes—learning, academic research, prototyping, and personal projects.
VxWorks is a real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for deterministic, safety-critical
applications. Wind River Linux is an embedded Linux distribution optimized for edge computing
and IoT. Choose VxWorks if you need hard real-time guarantees; choose Linux for flexibility and
open-source ecosystem access.
The Developer Program is for noncommercial use only. If you're building a commercial product,
contact our sales team for licensing options.
The SDKs include cross-compilation toolchains and integrate with modern IDEs like VS Code.
For additional tools—simulation, testing, deployment automation—explore Wind River Studio.
Both platforms integrate with industry frameworks including ROS 2, NASA F Prime, NASA Core
Flight System (cFS), DDS, and ARINC 653. See our documentation for integration guides.
Documentation is available at docs.windriver.com. For community support, visit the Wind River
Labs forum. Developer Program users also receive 90 days of online support access.
