DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOS Box very easy to port to different platforms. It has already been ported to many different platforms, such as Windows, BeOS, Linux, macOS...
It also emulates CPU:286/386 real-mode/protected mode, Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS, Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics, a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card for excellent sound compatibility with older games...
You can 're-live' the good old days with the help of DOSBox, it can run plenty of the old classics that don't run on your new computer! DOS Emulator is totally free of charge and OpenSource.
At present, DOS Box running on a high-end machine will roughly be the equivalent of a Pentium I PC. It can be configured to run a wide range of DOS games, from CGA/Tandy/PCjr classics up to games from the Quake era.
Command Line Parameters
dosbox
[name] [-exit] [-c command] [-fullscreen] [-userconf]
[-conf congfigfilelocation] [-lang languagefilelocation]
[-machine machine type] [-noconsole] [-startmapper] [-noautoexec]
[-securemode] [-scaler scaler | -forcescaler scaler] [-version]
[-socket socket]
dosbox -version
dosbox -editconf program
dosbox -opencaptures program
dosbox -printconf
dosbox -eraseconf
dosbox -erasemapper
name
If 'name' is a directory it will mount that as the C: drive.
If 'name' is an executable it will mount the directory of 'name'
as the C: drive and execute 'name'.
exit
It will close itself when the DOS application 'name' ends.
c command
Runs the specified command before running 'name'. Multiple commands can be specified. Each command should start with '-c' though. A command can be: an Internal Program, a DOS command or an executable on a mounted drive.
fullscreen
Starts the program in fullscreen mode.
userconf
Start program with the users specific configuration file. Can be used together with multiple -conf parameters, but -userconf will always be loaded before them.
conf configfilelocation
Start tool with the options specified in 'configfilelocation'. Multiple -conf options may be present. See Section 13 for more details.
lang languagefilelocation
Start app using the language specified in 'languagefilelocation'. See Section 14 for more details.
noconsole (Windows Only)
Start app without showing DOS Box Status Window (console). The output will be redirected to stdout.txt and stderr.txt
startmapper
Enter the keymapper directly on startup. Useful for people with keyboard problems.
noautoexec
Skips the [autoexec] section of the loaded configuration file.
securemode
Same as -noautoexec, but adds config.com -securemode at the bottom of AUTOEXEC.BAT (which in turn disables any changes to how the drives are mounted inside the program).
scaler scaler
Uses the scaler specified by 'scaler'. See the configuration file for the available scalers.
forcescaler scaler
Similar to the -scaler parameter, but tries to force usage of the specified scaler even if it might not fit.
version
output version information and exit. Useful for frontends.
editconf program
calls program with as first parameter the configuration file. You can specify this command more than once. In this case, it will move to second program if the first one fails to start.
opencaptures program
calls program with as first parameter the location of the captures folder.
printconf
prints the location of the default configuration file.
resetconf
removes the default configuration file.
resetmapper
removes the mapperfile used by the default clean configuration file.
socket
passes the socket number to the nullmodem emulation.
Also Available: Download DOSBox for Mac and DOSBox Portable