Organelle OS
Firmware for Organelle M / S / S2 (Critter & Guitari)
Official Organelle operating system, a Linux disk image with the C++ menu application that loads Pure Data patches and drives the keys, knobs and OLED, plus WiFi, MIDI and a browser editor.
- Distribution
- Prebuilt image you flash yourself
- Requires stock
- Organelle M, S or S2 (not the original Organelle)
- License notes
- LICENSE.txt grants BSD 3-Clause terms to files copyright Critter & Guitari; imported files carry their own authors and licenses in their comments.
- Source
- github.com https://github.com/critterandguitari/Organelle_OS
- Homepage
- critterandguitari.github.io https://critterandguitari.github.io/cg-docs/Organelle/og_sms2/
- os
- platform
- pure-data
- linux
- editor
Description
The Organelle_OS repository holds the menu application, system scripts and platform files for the Organelle. Its README describes a hardware layer for the Organelle M (Raspberry Pi CM3) and the Organelle S2 (CM4), and a single image that boots on both. Version 5, announced in April 2026, covers the Organelle M, S and S2, groups the factory patches into PLAY and EXPLORE folders, adds a browser-based code editor and a web terminal, and installs Lua, ChucK and Faust. It does not support the original Organelle.
Install notes
Download the disk image linked in section 7.1 of the user manual (OGSMS2_v5.1.img.zip for OS 5.1), write the zipped file to a microSD card of 8 GB or more with balenaEtcher, and put the card back in the unit. This erases the card, so back up patches first. Check the version under Settings > Info.
Version history
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| v5.1 | 2026-04-27 | Date of the tagged commit. |
| v5.0 | 2026-04-03 | Date of the tagged commit. |
| v4.4 | 2025-08-01 | Date of the tagged commit. |
| v4.1 | 2021-05-13 |