DEV Community: Max Paardekam

Building MaxOS #3: Designing the Architecture Before Writing the Application

Max Paardekam — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 23:06:27 +0000

One of the biggest mindset shifts I've had while building MaxOS is this:

I'm no longer thinking about screens.

I'm thinking about systems.

When I first started the project, I imagined building a nice Electron app with an AI chat, a file explorer, and a code editor.

That would've worked.

For a while.

But the more I thought about the long-term vision, the more I realized that MaxOS isn't really about the UI.

It's about what happens behind it.

The Layers

Instead of designing features first, I've started designing the entire system as a collection of layers.

Right now, the architecture looks something like this:

User Interface
AI Layer
Agent Framework
Context Engine
Integrations
Local Operating System

Every layer has a single responsibility.

The UI presents information.

The AI decides what should happen.

Agents perform work.

The Context Engine keeps track of what's happening.

Integrations communicate with external tools.

Windows, macOS, or Linux simply provide access to the hardware and operating system.

Why This Matters

Imagine asking:

"Find the authentication bug, fix it, run the tests, and commit the changes."

That's not one action.

It's dozens of actions.

The AI needs to understand your project.

It needs to know which files are open.

It needs to interact with Git.

It needs to execute terminal commands.

It needs to understand the results.

Without a clear architecture, those responsibilities quickly become tangled together.

Building for the Future

One design decision I'm trying to make early is keeping everything modular.

The file explorer shouldn't know how AI works.

The AI shouldn't know how Git works.

The terminal shouldn't know anything about plugins.

Instead, each part should have one clear responsibility and communicate through well-defined interfaces.

Hopefully that means adding new features won't require rewriting old ones.

What's Next?

The next document I'm working on is probably the most important one so far:

The Context Engine.

If MaxOS is ever going to feel truly intelligent, context is everything.

That's the piece I'm most excited to design.

As always, if you've built large applications or have thoughts on software architecture, I'd love to hear how you approach these kinds of projects.

Building MaxOS #2: Why I Haven't Written Much Code Yet

Max Paardekam — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:59:42 +0000

When I published my first post about MaxOS, I expected to dive straight into building the application.

Instead, I've spent most of my time... writing documentation.

At first, that felt wrong.

Shouldn't I be coding?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that jumping into development would probably create more problems than it solved.

Building the Foundation First

MaxOS isn't just another Electron app.

The goal is to create an AI-first workspace where AI isn't an extra feature—it's the center of the entire experience.

That's a much bigger challenge than building a nice UI.

Before I write thousands of lines of code, I want to answer questions like:

How should every part of the application communicate?
How do AI agents interact with each other?
Where does context live?
How can I make the system modular enough to grow over the next few years?

Those aren't questions I want to answer halfway through development.

What I've Worked On

Over the last couple of days, I've been designing the foundation of MaxOS.

So far I've finished the first part of the architecture, including:

The overall vision and mission
High-level system architecture
A scalable monorepo structure
Core application modules and their responsibilities

Instead of thinking about individual features, I've been thinking about how every future feature should fit into the system.

What's Next

The next pieces are probably the most exciting ones.

I'm going to start designing:

An Event Bus for communication between modules
The Context Engine that keeps track of everything happening in the workspace
An Agent Framework that allows different AI agents to work together
A Plugin System so MaxOS can grow beyond the built-in functionality

These systems will eventually become the backbone of the project.

What I'm Learning

One thing I've already learned is that architecture is much harder than writing code.

Writing a feature is relatively easy.

Designing something that you won't regret six months later is much harder.

I'm sure I'll still make mistakes, but I'd rather spend time thinking through the design now than rewrite half the project later.

Building in Public

I'm documenting everything as I go, even the boring parts.

The goal isn't just to end up with a working application.

I also want to look back in a year and see how the project—and my way of thinking as a developer—has evolved.

If you've built large Electron apps, AI tools, or developer platforms before, I'd genuinely love to hear your advice.

How do you approach architecture on large side projects? Do you design first, or start coding and refactor later? I'd love to hear your process.

Building MaxOS: My Journey Begins

Max Paardekam — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:18:52 +0000

Hey! I'm Max.

I'm an 18-year-old Software Development student from the Netherlands, and I've decided to start sharing what I'm building instead of waiting until everything is "perfect."

For the past few months I've been thinking a lot about AI and how it could change the way we use our computers. Most operating systems are built around apps. I keep wondering, what if everything was built around AI instead?

That's the idea behind MaxOS.

It's not really an operating system. It's an AI-first workspace where AI helps you build, organize, learn, and automate your work from one place.

I have a lot to figure out, and I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes along the way. That's fine. I think sharing the process is more interesting than only showing the finished result.

I'll be posting about what I'm building, the problems I run into, what I learn, and the decisions I make. Hopefully other developers can learn something from it too, and maybe even point me in the right direction when I get stuck.

This is my first post, so thanks for stopping by.