# JHRobotics/softgpu

SW and HW accelerated GPU driver for Windows 9x Virtual Machines

Repository: https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/softgpu
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: driver, virtualbox, vmware, windows-95, windows-98, gpu, 3d, windows-me
Last push: 2025-07-29T21:01:25+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 47/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 34, release rhythm 40, longevity 88
- inputs: {"age_days": 1241, "days_push": 400, "days_rel": 400, "gap_med": 20, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1155, forks 35 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:47.857495+00:00)

## What it is
SoftGPU is a software and hardware accelerated GPU driver bundle for Windows 95/98/Me guest systems running in virtual machines like VirtualBox, VMware, and QEMU. It packages several projects (display drivers, Mesa3D, WineD3D, OpenGlide) to provide VGA graphics, 32-bit color, and 3D acceleration for retro Windows environments.

## Use cases
- run Windows 98 games with 3D acceleration in VirtualBox
- get 32-bit color graphics in a Windows 95 VM
- enable OpenGL and DirectX support on Windows 9x guests
- play retro 3D games in QEMU with hardware acceleration
- set up GPU drivers for Windows Me in VMware
- emulate 3dfx Glide games on modern hardware

## When to choose
- you need working graphics and 3D acceleration for Windows 9x in a VM
- you want a ready-to-use bundle rather than assembling individual drivers
- you run retro Windows games or software that requires DirectX or OpenGL

## When to avoid
- you need drivers for modern Windows versions (10/11)
- you run Windows 9x on real hardware without VESA 2.0 support
- you need sound drivers only without graphics acceleration

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, game-engine, developer-tools
- domain: gaming-tools, windows
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: gpu-driver, windows-9x, virtualbox, vmware, qemu, mesa3d, opengl, directx, retro-gaming, vintage-computing, virtualization

## Member repositories
- JHRobotics/softgpu (main) score 47

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:47.857495+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:32:10.888316+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/JHRobotics/softgpu (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:47.857495+00:00, sha fc547a78175b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.