Tool Open source
Ember is an operating system written from scratch in NASM assembly for booting from USB media, running DOS software on modern hardware, and providing its own graphical desktop. It includes a boot sector, FAT12/FAT16 filesystem, DOS-compatible INT 21h services, a 32-bit protected-mode runtime, command shell, file manager, word processor, music player, paint program, and other desktop applications.
The system loads .COM and .EXE programs, batch files, XMS clients, and DOS/4GW software. Its virtual Sound Blaster is provided through a virtual-8086 monitor for real-mode programs or a DPMI host for protected-mode games; audio is sent through Intel HD Audio, with software OPL3 emulation for FM music. A separate UEFI application, Ember 2.0, supplies a BIOS-compatible layer for systems that cannot boot legacy BIOS code. The repository also includes drivers and applications for touch input, Intel graphics, 3D rendering, screenshots, and QEMU-based testing.
Python build scripts and NASM assemble a bootable raw disk image, and the image can be run in QEMU or written to a USB stick. The project is MIT-licensed; its bundled NDOOM component is based on GPL-licensed Doom source, and minimp3 is public domain. The repository documents limitations including no networking or EMS, one active program at a time, and hardware-specific touch, graphics, and 3D support.
1 use taken from transcripts — each links to the moment in the video.
An operating system written in assembly for running old DOS games on modern hardware. It includes its own bootloader, filesystem, virtual Sound Blaster, graphical desktop, file manager, and word processor.
1 in the library.