86Box/86Box
Emulator of x86-based machines. observed · 2026-08-28
Health v2 · maintenance only
90/100
- Activity 99
- Release rhythm 74
- Longevity 100
How is this computed?
round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10) — computed 2026-09-03. Adoption (stars, forks) is never an input.
- gap_med: 49.0
- age_days: 3721
- days_rel: 94
- days_push: 7
- n_releases_24m: 5
Adoption not part of the score
4736 stars · 570 forks observed · 2026-08-28
What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-29, confidence not recorded
86Box is a low-level x86 emulator that accurately emulates IBM PC-compatible machines from 1981 through PCI-era systems, including CPUs, chipsets, video cards, sound cards, and other peripherals. It is a desktop application for running vintage operating systems and software such as MS-DOS, old Windows versions, OS/2, and classic Linux distributions.
Use cases
- run MS-DOS and old Windows games on a modern PC
- emulate an IBM PC 5150 or PS/2 machine
- test vintage software like BeOS or NEXTSTEP
- build a configurable retro PC virtual machine
- emulate old sound cards and Roland MIDI synthesizers
- preserve and experience retro x86 computing
When to choose
- you need accurate low-level emulation of 8086 through late-90s Pentium-era PCs
- you want fine-grained control over emulated hardware components and peripherals
- you want to run vintage operating systems and software for nostalgia or compatibility testing
When to avoid
- you need to emulate modern x86-64 hardware or run recent operating systems at near-native speed
- you want a lightweight hypervisor for everyday virtualization workloads
- you need multi-threaded emulation performance on low-IPC CPUs
Facets
application · maturity active
simulation gui simulation cross-platform windows cross-platform x86-emulator pc-emulator retro-computing vintage-computing ibm-pc dos virtual-machine linux macos
2 sources
- readme: https://github.com/86Box/86Box · fetched 2026-08-28 · 3e08d204d2c9
- homepage: https://86box.net · fetched 2026-08-29 · 796f3e842d21
Member repositories
| Repository | Role | Health v2 |
|---|---|---|
| 86Box/86Box | main | 90 |
For agents
Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00 · Report a problem