emulator: DOSBox (SDL2 fork)
type: standalone
core_classification: other
source: "https://github.com/duganchen/dosbox"
upstream: "https://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox/"
profiled_date: "2026-10-20"
source_commit: "e6b88ad03202d1f74e329f54f213d3b070bd6202"
core_version: "0.74-2"
display_name: "DOS (DOSBox SDL2)"
cores: [dosbox-sdl2]
systems: [dos]

notes: |
  Dugan Chen's port of DOSBox SVN to SDL2, kept in sync with SVN revision
  4250 (README.md:3), with a FluidSynth MIDI driver added
  (src/gui/midi_fluidsynth.h). RetroPie builds the master branch, renames the
  configuration directory to ~/.dosbox-sdl2 and points fluid.soundfont at the
  FluidR3_GM.sf2 that the distribution's fluid-soundfont-gm package installs.

  No BIOS or ROM is read. The machine BIOS is emulated in code. Keyboard
  layouts and EGA code pages are looked up as files first, through the
  mounted drive and then the host path (keyboard.sys, keybrd2.sys,
  keybrd3.sys, <layout>.kl, EGA*.CPI), and fall back to the copies compiled
  into the binary (src/dos/dos_keyboard_layout.cpp:40-58,271-304,759-783,
  src/dos/dos_codepages.h). The PCjr cartridge loader reads system.rom from
  the drive of the cartridge being booted, which is user content
  (src/dos/dos_programs.cpp:803-811).

  The FluidSynth driver loads the soundfont named by fluid.soundfont, any
  path, and starts without one when it is empty or fails to load
  (src/gui/midi_fluidsynth.h:116-136). A MIDI device that fails to open is
  replaced by the first handler that opens (src/gui/midi.cpp:189-213).

files: []