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<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>86Box | Emulator of retro x86-based machines</title> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="86Box" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="86Box" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Emulator of retro x86-based machines" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta property="og:image" itemprop="image" content="http://86box.net/assets/images/avaicon.png" /> <meta property="og:description" content="" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"> <link rel="icon" href="/assets/images/favicon.png" type="image/png"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ff4848"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=768" />  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/style.css" media="screen"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/style-print.css" media="print"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/fonts.css">    <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Blog posts" href="/feed.xml" /> </head> <body> <header> <a href="/"><img src="/assets/images/avaicon.png" id="icon" alt="86Box logo" /><img src="/assets/images/86box-logo.png" id="logo" alt="86Box logo" /></a> </header> <nav> <a class="navlink" href="/#downloads">Downloads</a> <a class="navlink" href="https://86box.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html">Docs</a> <a class="navlink" href="/blog.html">Blog</a> <a class="navlink" href="https://github.com/86Box/86Box">GitHub</a> </nav> <hero> <div id="buttons"> <h1>Revolutionize your <br> retro PC experience.</h1> <a href="https://github.com/86Box/86Box/releases/latest"><button>Download Stable</button></a> <a href="https://ci.86box.net/job/86Box"><button>Download Experimental</button></a> </div> </hero> <main> <p><strong>86Box</strong> is a low level x86 emulator that runs older operating systems and software designed for IBM PC systems and compatibles from 1981 through fairly recent system designs based on the PCI bus.</p> <h2 id="features">Features</h2> <ul> <li>Easy to use interface inspired by mainstream hypervisor software</li> <li>Low level emulation of 8086-based processors up to the Pentium with focus on accuracy</li> <li>Great range of customizability of virtual machines</li> <li>Many available systems, such as the very first IBM PC 5150 from 1981, or the more obscure IBM PS/2 line of systems based on the Micro Channel Architecture</li> <li>Lots of supported peripherals including video adapters, sound cards, network adapters, hard disk controllers, and SCSI adapters</li> <li>MIDI output to Windows built-in MIDI support, FluidSynth, or emulated Roland synthesizers</li> <li>Supports running MS-DOS, older Windows versions, OS/2, many Linux distributions, or vintage systems such as BeOS or NEXTSTEP, and applications for these systems</li> </ul> <h2 id="downloads">Downloads</h2> <p>The latest stable version of 86Box is <strong>v4.2.1</strong>, which was released on September 1, 2024, and is available from our <a href="https://github.com/86Box/86Box/releases/latest">GitHub repository</a>.</p> <p>We also offer <a href="https://ci.86box.net/job/86Box">nightly builds</a>, which are built from the latest source code, but may not be as stable and/or optimized as stable builds.</p> <h2 id="minimum-system-requirements-and-recommendations">Minimum system requirements and recommendations</h2> <ul> <li>Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 processor</li> <li>4 GB of RAM</li> <li><strong>Windows version:</strong> Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10</li> <li><strong>macOS version:</strong> macOS High Sierra 10.13</li> <li><strong>Linux version:</strong> Ubuntu 16.04, Debian 9.0 or other distributions from 2016 onwards</li> </ul> <p>Performance may vary depending on both host and guest configuration. Most emulation logic is executed in a single thread; therefore, systems with better IPC (instructions per clock) generally should be able to emulate higher clock speeds.</p> <p>It is also recommended to use a manager application with 86Box for easier handling of multiple virtual machines.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://github.com/86Box/86BoxManager">86Box Manager</a> by <a href="https://github.com/daviunic">Overdoze</a> (Windows only)</li> <li><a href="https://github.com/Moonif/MacBox">MacBox</a> by <a href="https://github.com/Moonif">Silvermoon</a> (macOS only)</li> <li><a href="https://github.com/DDXofficial/sl86">sl86</a> by <a href="https://github.com/DDXofficial">DDX</a> (command-line manager, Python 3.x required - Windows, macOS and Linux)</li> </ul> <p>It is also possible to use 86Box on its own with the <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">--vmpath</code>/<code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">-P</code> command line option.</p> <h2 id="getting-started">Getting started</h2> <p>See <a href="https://86box.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html">our documentation</a> for an overview of the emulator鈥檚 features and user interface.</p> <h2 id="get-in-touch"><a name="social"></a>Get in touch</h2> <p>You can reach us on our IRC channel, Discord server or Twitter to discuss anything related to retro computing and, of course, 86Box. We look forward to hearing from you!</p> <div id="socialnew"> <p><a href="https://kiwiirc.com/client/irc.ringoflightning.net/?nick=website?#86Box"><img src="https://kiwiirc.com/buttons/irc.ringoflightning.net/86Box.png" alt="Visit our IRC channel" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://discord.gg/v5fCgFw"><img src="https://discordapp.com/api/guilds/262614059009048590/embed.png" alt="Visit our Discord server" /></a></p> </div> <div id="socialold"> <p><a href="irc://irc.ringoflightning.net/#86Box">Visit our IRC channel</a> (requires an IRC client)</p> </div> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/86BoxEmulator">Twitter: @86BoxEmulator</a></p> <p><a href="https://youtube.com/c/86Box">YouTube: 86Box</a></p> <h2 id="licensing">Licensing</h2> <p>86Box is released under the <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GNU General Public License, version 2</a> or later. For more information, see the <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">COPYING</code> file in the root of the repository.</p> <p>The emulator can also optionally make use of <a href="https://github.com/munt/munt">munt</a>, <a href="https://www.fluidsynth.org/">FluidSynth</a>, <a href="https://www.ghostscript.com/">Ghostscript</a> and <a href="https://discord.com/developers/docs/game-sdk/sdk-starter-guide">Discord Game SDK</a>, which are distributed under their respective licenses.</p> <h2 id="donations">Donations</h2> <p>We do not charge you for the emulator but <a href="https://paypal.me/86Box">donations</a> are still welcome. You can also support the project on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/86box">Patreon</a>.</p> </main> <footer> <div id="footer">86Box is maintained by <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/OBattler">Miran Gr膷a (OBattler)</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/orgs/86Box/people">the 86Box developers</a>. Website developed by <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/foxlet">Foxlet</a><span id="reduced"> with retro-reduced version by <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/richardg867">richardg867</a></span>.</div> </footer> </body></html>