🧠 System Architecture
MOS is designed as a lightweight, USB-based operating system.
🔄 Runs in RAM
After boot, the MOS system runs entirely in RAM.
The USB stick is used only for:
- Bootloader
- Base system image
- Updates
The active system itself is not permanently written to disk during runtime.
💾 What Does This Mean?
Any changes made:
- Outside configured storage
- Outside persistent mount points
- Inside temporary system paths
will not survive a reboot.
This includes manually created directories in locations such as:
/root
/home
/tmp
/var
Unless they are part of a persistent storage mount.
📁 Use Persistent Storage Paths
When creating folders, storing data, or configuring services, always use:
- Mounted disks
- Pools
- Configured storage locations
- Relative paths within persistent storage
Example (recommended):
/mnt/cache/appdata/
💾 What Is Stored on the USB Stick?
The MOS USB device is not only used for booting.
It also stores:
- ⚙️ System configuration
- 🌐 WebUI settings
- 🔌 Plugin state and configuration
- 🔑 Network configuration
- 🔄 Update data
These MOS-managed configurations are persistent across reboots.
📌 Why MOS Works This Way
MOS is designed for:
- 🔋 Power-efficient homelabs
- 💽 USB-based deployment
- 🧼 Clean and reproducible system state
- 🔄 Safe upgrades
Running from RAM ensures:
- Reduced disk wear
- Fast boot times
- Clean system state after reboot
⚠️ Common Confusion
If folders disappear after reboot, they were most likely created in a non-persistent location.
MOS itself preserves its configuration — but user-created data must be stored on proper storage devices.
🧪 Summary
- MOS runs in RAM
- The USB stick stores MOS configuration and system data
- Non-persistent paths are reset on reboot
- Always use mounted storage or pools