# How the Operating System Runs Many Tasks on One CPU

DevFeed: [How the Operating System Runs Many Tasks on One CPU](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-the-operating-system-runs-many-tasks-on-one-cpu-18193.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://newsletter.francofernando.com/p/how-the-operating-system-runs-many>)

Author: Franco Fernando

Published: 2026-07-11T08:25:54Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [The Polymathic Engineer](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/the-polymathic-engineer.md>)

Topics: [Operating system](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/operating-system.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cpu.md>), [context](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/context.md>)

Tags: [context](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/context.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cpu.md>), [multitasking](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/multitasking.md>), [scheduler](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/scheduler.md>), [switching](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/switching.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how an operating system runs many tasks on one CPU through multitasking, context switching, and scheduling.

## Source excerpt

Multitasking, context switching, and the scheduler that makes it all work.