DOSBox Staging

This repository attempts to modernize the DOSBox codebase by using current development practices and tools, fixing issues, and adding features that better support today's systems.

Build status

Code quality status

Stable release builds

Linux, Windows, macOS

Test builds & development snapshots

Development builds.

Key features for developers

Feature	Status
Version control	Git
Language	C++20
SDL	>= 2.0.5
Logging	Loguru for C++5
Buildsystem	Meson or Visual Studio 2022
CI	Yes
Static analysis	Yes1,3,4
Dynamic analysis	Yes
clang-format	Yes
Development builds	Yes
Unit tests	Yes6
Automated regression tests	WIP

Source code analysis tools

• PVS-Studio — C++ static analyser
• Coverity — C++ static analyser
• Clang Static Analyzer — C++ static analyser
• Pylint — Python static analyser
• markdownlint — style checker and linter for Markdown
• ShellCheck — shell script analysis tool

Dependencies

DOSBox Staging has the following library dependencies:

Package	Lib name	Provides feature	Presence	Meson wrap	VCPKG	Repo availability
FluidSynth	fluidsynth	General MIDI playback	Optional	yes	yes	common
Google Test+Mock	gmock	Framework for unit testing (development)	Optional	yes	yes	common
IIR	iir1	Audio filtering	Mandatory	yes	yes	rare
libpng	libpng	PNG-encoding of screen captures	Optional	yes	yes	very common
Munt	libmt32emu	Roland MT-32 and CM-32L playback	Optional	yes	yes	rare
Opus File	opusfile	CDDA playback for Opus-encoded track files	Mandatory	no 🔴	yes	common
SDL 2.0	sdl2	OS-agnostic API for video, audio, and eventing	Mandatory	yes	yes	common
SDL_net 2.0	sdl2-net	Network API for emulated serial and IPX	Optional	yes	yes	common
slirp	libslirp	Unprivileged virtual TCP/IP stack for Ethernet	Optional	yes	yes	less common
SpeexDSP	speexdsp	Audio resampling	Mandatory	yes	yes	common
Tracy Profiler	tracy	Event profile (development)	Optional	yes	yes	rare
zlib	zlib	ZMBV video capture	Optional	no 🔴	yes	very common
zlib-ng	zlib-ng	ZMBV video capture (more performant zlib replacement)	Optional	yes	yes	common

See the Meson wrap files in subprojects the current library versions we use.

Get the sources

Clone the repository (one-time step):

git clone https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging.git

Build instructions

Read BUILD.md for the comprehensive compilation guide.

Note

CMake support is currently an experimental internal-only, work-in-progress feature; it's not ready for public consumption yet. Please ignore the CMakeLists.txt files in the source tree.

Linux, macOS

Install build dependencies appropriate for your OS:

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ccache gcc-c++ meson alsa-lib-devel libatomic libpng-devel \
                 SDL2-devel SDL2_net-devel opusfile-devel \
                 fluidsynth-devel iir1-devel mt32emu-devel libslirp-devel \
                 speexdsp-devel libXi-devel zlib-ng-devel

# Debian, Ubuntu
sudo apt install ccache build-essential libasound2-dev libatomic1 libpng-dev \
                 libsdl2-dev libsdl2-net-dev libopusfile-dev \
                 libfluidsynth-dev libslirp-dev libspeexdsp-dev libxi-dev

# Install Meson on Debian-11 "Bullseye" or Ubuntu-21.04 and newer
sudo apt install meson

# Arch, Manjaro
sudo pacman -S ccache gcc meson alsa-lib libpng sdl2 sdl2_net \
               opusfile fluidsynth libslirp speexdsp libxi pkgconf

# openSUSE
sudo zypper install ccache gcc gcc-c++ meson alsa-devel libatomic1 libpng-devel \
                    libSDL2-devel libSDL2_net-devel \
                    opusfile-devel fluidsynth-devel libmt32emu-devel libslirp-devel \
                    speexdsp libXi-devel

# Void Linux
sudo xbps-install -S SDL2-devel SDL2_net-devel alsa-lib-devel \
                     fluidsynth-devel libiir1-devel libmt32emu-devel \
                     libpng-devel libslirp-devel opusfile-devel \
                     speexdsp-devel libatomic-devel libXi-devel

# NixOS
# With Home Manager on home.nix (Recommended Permanent Installation)
home.packages = [ pkg-config gcc_multi cmake ccache SDL2 SDL2_net \
                  fluidsynth glib gtest libGL libGLU libjack2 libmt32emu libogg \
                  libpng libpulseaudio libslirp libsndfile meson ninja opusfile \
                  libselinux speexdsp stdenv alsa-lib xorg.libXi irr1 ]

# Note: the same package list will work with environment.systemPackages
# on configuration.nix

# macOS
xcode-select --install
brew install cmake ccache meson libpng sdl2 sdl2_net opusfile \
     fluid-synth libslirp pkg-config python3 speexdsp

Build and stay up-to-date with the latest sources

1. Check out the main branch:

   # commit or stash any personal code changes
   git checkout main -f

2. Pull the latest updates. This is necessary every time you want a new build:

   git pull

3. Set up the build. This is a one-time step either after cloning the repo or cleaning your working directories:

   meson setup build

   The above enables all of DOSBox Staging's functional features. If you're interested in seeing all of Meson's setup options, run meson configure.

4. Compile the sources. This is necessary every time you want a new build:

   meson compile -C build

   Your binary is: build/dosbox

   The binary depends on local resources relative to it, so we suggest symlinking to the binary from your PATH, such as into ~/.local/bin/.

   Have fun!

Windows – Visual Studio (2022 or newer)

First, you need to setup vcpkg to install build dependencies. Once vcpkg is bootstrapped, open PowerShell and run:

PS:\> .\vcpkg integrate install

This step will ensure that MSVC can use vcpkg to build, find and links all dependencies.

Start Visual Studio and open the file vs\dosbox.sln. Make sure you have x64 selected as the solution platform. Use Ctrl+Shift+B to build all projects.

Note, the first time you build a configuration, dependencies will be built automatically and stored in the vcpkg_installed directory. This can take a significant length of time.

Windows (MSYS2), macOS (MacPorts), Haiku, NixOS, others

Instructions for other build systems and operating systems are documented in BUILD.md.

Links to OS-specific instructions: MSYS2, MacPorts, Haiku, NixOS.

Imported branches, community patches, old forks

Upstream commits are imported to this repo in a timely manner, see branch svn/trunk.

• svn/* - branches from SVN
• forks/* - code for various abandoned DOSBox forks
• vogons/* - community patches posted on the Vogons forum

Git tags matching pattern svn/* are pointing to the commits referenced by SVN "tag" paths at the time of creation.

Additionally, we attach some optional metadata to the commits in the form of Git notes. To fetch them, run:

git fetch origin "refs/notes/*:refs/notes/*"

Website & documentation

Please refer to the documentation guide before making changes to the website or the documentation.