[*]

openMSX

the MSX emulator that aims for perfection

Documentation

Most Frequently Asked Questions

What is openMSX?
openMSX is an emulator for the MSX home computer system. Its goal is to emulate all aspects of the MSX with 100% accuracy: perfection in emulation. You can find everything you ever wanted to know about MSX, and more, in the Ultimate MSX FAQ.
All I get is "Cartridge not found." What's wrong?
Nothing, actually. Your openMSX is running a machine named 'C-BIOS'. C-BIOS is a free BIOS for MSX, which—like openMSX—is still in development, and therefore doesn't provide all functionality to run a complete MSX machine, yet.

It can, however, still load and run ROM files, such as homebrew games obtained from the MSXdev competition, or dumped from your own cartridges.
To run these files, just drag-and-drop them onto the open openMSX window or shortcut, or watch this video showcasing one of the other ways to load ROMs.

Read the Setup Guide to learn how to make openMSX emulate real MSX machines.
More Frequenty Asked Questions
The openMSX FAQ answers more frequently asked questions.

Installing and Running openMSX

Compilation Guide
This guide describes how you can get the openMSX sources and compile them. If you downloaded a binary release, you can skip this.
Setup Guide
This guide describes how you can configure openMSX to emulate actual MSX machines. It also describes how you can have openMSX start up with your personal settings, how you can configure openMSX and your system for optimal performance, and several other configuration related topics.
User's Manual
This manual describes all the things you can do with openMSX once it is fully running.
Console Command Reference
An overview of all commands and settings that can be used from the openMSX built in console. Check this if you want to know exactly how to control openMSX. Because the current openMSX Catapult GUI is running behind in functionality, it is also useful to read this for some common settings not supported in Catapult yet.
Diskmanipulator
The diskmanipulator command is so powerful that we made a separate manual for it. Use it to create (hard)disk images, import files to them, export files from them, etc.

Installing and Running Catapult

Compilation Guide
This guide describes how you can get the Catapult sources and compile them. If you downloaded a binary release, you can skip this.
User's Manual
This manual describes all the things you can do with Catapult once it is fully running.

Documentation For Developers

Controlling openMSX from External Applications
A guide for application developers who want to control openMSX from their own programs. Very useful if you're planning to make a launcher, GUI, debugger or another kind of external program that needs to control openMSX.
Source Code Documentation
Source code documentation generated using Doxygen.
V9938 VRAM timings
Specific V9938 timing information as measured and analyzed by some openMSX Team members. Part 1.
V9938 VRAM timings, part II
Specific V9938 timing information as measured and analyzed by some openMSX Team members. Part 2.

There is additional documentation for (would-be) developers in the doc directory in the openMSX code tree.