DOKK / manpages / debian 11 / atari800 / atari800.1.en
ATARI800(1) General Commands Manual ATARI800(1)

atari800 - emulator of Atari 8-bit computers and the 5200 console

atari800 [option]... [file]...

atari800 emulates the Atari 8-bit computer systems including the 400, 800, 1200XL, 600XL, 800XL, 65XE, 130XE, 800XE and the XE Game System, and also the Atari 5200 SuperSystem console.

Print complete and up-to-date list of command line switches
Print emulator version
Display framerate when exiting
Specify an alternative configuration filename
Automatically save the current configuration on emulator exit.
Don't save the current configuration on emulator exit (the default).

Path to file containing Atari Rev.A Operating System.
Path to file containing Atari Rev.B Operating System.
Path to file containing Atari XL/XE Operating System.
-5200_rom filename
Path to file containing Atari 5200 Games System ROM.
Path to file containing Atari BASIC ROM. Used to override paths defined at compile time.

-800-rev auto|a-ntsc|a-pal|b-ntsc|custom|altirra
Select operating system revision for Atari 800:

The default. Use the most appropriate from the available ones.
a-ntsc
Use OS rev. A NTSC from early NTSC 400/800 units.
a-pal
Use OS rev. A PAL from PAL 400/800 units.
b-ntsc
Use OS rev. B NTSC from late NTSC 400/800 units.
Use a custom OS.
Use AltirraOS that is included in the emulator.
-xl-rev auto|10|11|1|2|3a|3b|5|3|4|59|59a|custom|altirra
Select operating system revision for Atari XL/XE:

The default. Use the most appropriate from the available ones.
10
Use OS AA000000 rev. 10 from early 1200XL units.
11
Use OS AA000001 rev. 11 from late 1200XL units.
1
Use OS BB000000 rev. 1 from the 600XL.
2
Use OS BB000001 rev. 2 from the 800XL and early 65XE/130XE units.
3a
Use prototype OS BB000002 rev. 3 from 1400XL/1450XLD units (also known as 1540OS3.V0 and 1450R3V0.ROM).
3b
Use prototype OS BB000002 rev. 3 ver. 4 from 1400XL/1450XLD units (also known as os1450.128 and 1450R3VX.ROM).
5
Use prototype OS CC000001 rev. 4 (also known as Rev. 5), for which sources are available at <http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/78579-a800ossrc/page__view__findpost__p__961535>.
3
Use OS BB000001 rev. 3 from late 65XE/130XE units.
4
Use OS BB000001 rev. 4 from the XEGS.
59
Use OS BB000001 rev. 59 from the Arabic 65XE.
59a
Use OS BB000001 rev. 59 from Kevin Savetz' Arabic 65XE: <http://www.savetz.com/vintagecomputers/arabic65xe/>.
Use a custom OS.
Use AltirraOS that is included in the emulator.
-5200-rev auto|orig|a|custom|altirra
Select BIOS revision for Atari 5200:

The default. Use the most appropriate from the available ones.
Use BIOS from 4-port and early 2-port 5200 units.
Use BIOS rev. A from late 2-port 5200 units.
Use a custom BIOS.
Use Altirra BIOS that is included in the emulator.
-basic-rev auto|a|b|c|custom|altirra
Select BASIC revision:

The default. Use the most appropriate from the available ones.
Use BASIC rev. A.
Use BASIC rev. B from early 600XL/800XL units.
Use BASIC rev. C from late 600XL/800XL and all XE units.
Use a custom BASIC.
Use Altirra BASIC that is included in the emulator.
Select XEGS builtin game version:

The default. Use the most appropriate from the available ones.
Use the original Missile Command game.
Use a custom game ROM.

Emulate Atari 400/800
-1200
Emulate Atari 1200XL
Emulate Atari 800XL
Emulate Atari 130XE
-320xe
Emulate Atari 320XE (Compy-Shop)
Emulate Atari 320XE (Rambo)
Emulate Atari XEGS
-5200
Emulate Atari 5200
Enable RAM between 0xc000 and 0xcfff in Atari 800

Use Atari 800 Axlon memory expansion: n k total RAM
Use Axlon shadow at 0x0fc0-0x0fff
Use 400/800 Mosaic memory expansion: n k total RAM
Enable the MapRAM memory expansion. Works only when emulating an Atari XL/XE machine.
Disable the MapRAM memory expansion.

Emulate PAL TV mode
Emulate NTSC TV mode

Used to disable Basic when starting the emulator in XL/XE mode. Simulates the Option key being held down during system boot.
Turn on Atari BASIC ROM

Insert cartridge (CART or raw format)
Select type of the cartridge inserted with the -cart option. When inserting a raw ROM image its type cannot be detected automaticcaly, and must be provided with this option. Setting to 0 means disabling the cartridge, and any other number indicates a specific cartridge type:
1
Standard 8 KB cartridge
2
Standard 16 KB cartridge
3
OSS two chip 16 KB cartridge (034M)
4
Standard 32 KB 5200 cartridge
5
DB 32 KB cartridge
6
Two chip 16 KB 5200 cartridge
7
Bounty Bob Strikes Back 40 KB 5200 cartridge
8
64 KB Williams cartridge
9
Express 64 KB cartridge
10
Diamond 64 KB cartridge
11
SpartaDos X 64 KB cartridge
12
XEGS 32 KB cartridge
13
XEGS 64 KB cartridge (banks 0-7)
14
XEGS 128 KB cartridge
15
OSS one chip 16 KB cartridge
16
One chip 16 KB 5200 cartridge
17
Decoded Atrax 128 KB cartridge
18
Bounty Bob Strikes Back 40 KB cartridge
19
Standard 8 KB 5200 cartridge
20
Standard 4 KB 5200 cartridge
21
Right slot 8 KB cartridge
22
32 KB Williams cartridge
23
XEGS 256 KB cartridge
24
XEGS 512 KB cartridge
25
XEGS 1 MB cartridge
26
MegaCart 16 KB cartridge
27
MegaCart 32 KB cartridge
28
MegaCart 64 KB cartridge
29
MegaCart 128 KB cartridge
30
MegaCart 256 KB cartridge
31
MegaCart 512 KB cartridge
32
MegaCart 1 MB cartridge
33
Switchable XEGS 32 KB cartridge
34
Switchable XEGS 64 KB cartridge
35
Switchable XEGS 128 KB cartridge
36
Switchable XEGS 256 KB cartridge
37
Switchable XEGS 512 KB cartridge
38
Switchable XEGS 1 MB cartridge
39
Phoenix 8 KB cartridge
40
Blizzard 16 KB cartridge
41
Atarimax 128 KB Flash cartridge
42
Atarimax 1 MB Flash cartridge
43
SpartaDos X 128 KB cartridge
44
OSS 8 KB cartridge
45
OSS two chip 16 KB cartridge (043M)
46
Blizzard 4 KB cartridge
47
AST 32 KB cartridge
48
Atrax SDX 64 KB cartridge
49
Atrax SDX 128 KB cartridge
50
Turbosoft 64 KB cartridge
51
Turbosoft 128 KB cartridge
52
Ultracart 32 KB cartridge
53
Low bank 8 KB cartridge
54
SIC! 128 KB cartridge
55
SIC! 256 KB cartridge
56
SIC! 512 KB cartridge
57
Standard 2 KB cartridge
58
Standard 4 KB cartridge
59
Right slot 4 KB cartridge
60
Blizzard 32 KB cartridge
61
MegaMax 2 MB cartridge
62
The!Cart 128 MB cartridge
63
Flash MegaCart 4 MB cartridge
64
MegaCart 2 MB cartridge
65
The!Cart 32 MB cartridge
66
The!Cart 64 MB cartridge
67
XEGS 64 KB cartridge (banks 8-15)
68
Atrax 128 KB cartridge
69
aDawliah 32 KB cartridge
70
aDawliah 64 KB cartridge
If this option is not given, the user will be asked to choose the cartridge type when the emulator starts.
Insert piggyback cartridge (CART or raw format). This works only if the first cartridge is a pass-through (currently only SpartaDOS X 64KB and 128KB types).
Select type of the cartridge inserted with the -cart2 option. When inserting a raw ROM image its type cannot be detected automatically, and must be provided with this option. The available values are the same as for the -cart-type option above.
Automatically reboot after cartridge inserting/removing (this is the default setting). This does not apply to the piggyback cartridge - inserting or removing it never causes automatic reboot.
Disable automatic reboot after cartridge inserting/removing.

Run Atari program (EXE, COM, XEX, BAS, LST)
Load saved-state file
Attach cassette image (CAS format or raw file)
Attach cassette image and boot it
Set the attached cassette image as read-only.

-1400
Emulate the Atari 1400XL
Emulate the Atari 1450XLD
Emulate the CSS Black Box
Emulate the ICD MIO board

Normally the OS is patched giving very fast I/O. This options prevents the patch from being applied so that the OS accesses the serial port hardware directly. This option will probably never be needed since programs that access the serial hardware should work even if the OS has been patched.
Don't patch OS at all, H:, P: and R: devices won't work

Set path for H1: device
Set path for H2: device
Set path for H3: device
Set path for H4: device
Set path for Atari executables on the H: device
Enable read-only mode for H: device
Disable read-only mode for H: device
Put debugging messages for H: and P: devices in log file

Enable R-Time 8 emulation
Disable R-Time 8 emulation

Enable R: device. If dev is specified then it's used as host serial device name (e.g. /dev/ttyS0 on linux). If there is no dev specified then R: is directed to network.

Do not use mouse
Emulate paddles
Emulate Atari Touch Tablet
Emulate Koala Pad
Emulate Light Pen
Emulate Light Gun
Emulate Amiga mouse
Emulate Atari ST mouse
Emulate Atari Trak-Ball
Emulate joystick using mouse
Set mouse port 1-4 (default 1)
Set mouse speed 1-9 (default 3)
Emulate MultiJoy4 interface
Use mouse's absolute position
Emulate CX85 numeric keypad on port num
SDL only, prevent mouse pointer from leaving the window

Record all input events to filename. Can be used for gaming contests (highest score etc).
Playback input events from filename. Watch an expert play the game.

Controls screen refresh rate. A numerical value follows this option which specifies how many emulated screen updates are required before the actual screen is updated. This value effects the speed of the emulation: A higher value results in faster CPU emulation but a less frequently updated screen.

-ntsc-artif mode, -pal-artif mode
Set emulation mode of video artifacts in NTSC or PAL, respectively. The available values for mode are:
Disable video artifacts.
Simple emulation of NTSC composite video artifacts. Fast but inaccurate.
Improved emulation of NTSC artifacts. May look better than ntsc-old.
Full emulation of NTSC artifacts. Rather slow and available only in 16- and 32-bit video modes.
Simple emulation of PAL chroma blending, without composite artifacts. Fast but inaccurate.
Accurate emulation of PAL chroma blending, without composite artifacts. Available only in 16- and 32-bit video modes.
Set artifacting mode 0-4 (0 = disable). Only for tv effects ntsc-old and ntsc-new.

Use one of predefined colour adjustments
Set screen color saturation (like TV Colour control)
-ntsc-saturation n, -pal-saturation n
Set saturation only for NTSC or PAL, respectively
Set screen contrast (also called white level)
-ntsc-contrast n, -pal-contrast -fIn
Set contrast only for NTSC or PAL, respectively
Set screen brightness (also called black level)
-ntsc-brightness n, -pal-brightness n
Set brightness only for NTSC or PAL, respectively
Set screen gamma correction
-ntsc-gamma n, -pal-gamma n
Set gamma adjustment only for NTSC or PAL, respectively
Set tint -1..1.
-ntsc-tint n, -pal-tint n
Set tint only for NTSC or PAL, respectively
Set GTIA color delay for NTSC system. This emulates adjusting the potentiometer existing at the bottom of Atari computers, which adjusts hues of colors produced by the computer.
-pal-colordelay n
Set GTIA color delay for PAL system.

Read Atari NTSC/PAL colors from ACT file
Apply colour adjustments (brightness, contrast etc.) to the loaded NTSC/PAL palette (by default the loaded palette is displayed unmodified).

Set filename pattern for screenshots. Use to override the default atari000.png, atari001.png etc. filenames. Hashes are replaced with raising numbers. Existing files are overwritten only if all the files defined by the pattern exist.

Show percentage of actual speed

Enable sound
Disable sound
Set sound output frequency in Hz. The default is 44100 Hz.
Set sound output format to 16-bit
Set sound output format to 8-bit
Set length of the hardware sound buffer in milliseconds. Setting to 0 (the default) causes the length to be set automatically. Higher values increase sound latency. Automatic setting should be OK in most cases.
Set sound latency in milliseconds. Increase it if you experience gaps of silence during sound playback.

Use columns 0 to 39
Use columns 20 to 59
Use columns 40 to 79
Use columns 0 to 79. In this mode only the even character positions are used. The odd locations are filled with spaces.
Use columns 0 to 79. This mode is similar to -wide1 except that the spaces are in reverse video if the previous character was also in reverse video.

Generate Falcon screen only every x frame
Direct VIDEL programming (Falcon/VGA only)
Double the screen size on NOVA
Delta screen output (differences only)
Swap joysticks

Scale width and height by n

Start in fullscreen mode. The default resolution is 336x240 and can be later changed.
Start in a window (the default).
Rotate display (useful for devices with 240x320 screen).
Don't rotate display (the default).
Host horizontal resolution for fullscreen.
Host vertical resolution for fullscreen.
Set horizontal size of the window. The window can be later resized manually.
Set vertical size of the window. The window can be later resized nanually.
Sets image color depth when OpenGL acceleration is disabled. Accepted values are: 0 (use desktop depth; this is the default), 8, 16 and 32. Depending on the type of graphics hardware, the fullscreen setting and current desktop bit depth, either of the values might give the best performance. Note that with bit depth set to 16 emulation of colors is slightly less accurate.
Synchronize the display with the monitor's vertical retrace, to remove image tearing artifacts. This improves display quality, but may be not available depending on the current wideo mode (fullscreen/windowed), the chosen SDL_VIDEODRIVER and type of graphics hardware. Synchronization is available for some SDL videodrivers (directx, dga) but not for others. In OpenGL this option has no effect - vertical synchronization must be instead enabled in the video hardware driver's settings, if available.
Disable synchronization with monitor's vertical retrace (the default).
Set amount of visible screen horizontally:

Shows 320 pixels.
The default. Shows area visible on a standard TV (336 pixels).
Shows full overscan area (384 pixels).
An exact horizontal size can be set by providing a number between 160 and 384.
Set amount of visible screen vertically:

Shows 200 pixels.
The default. Shows area visible on a typical TV (224 or 240 pixels, depending on current TV system).
Shows full overscan area, which can be up to 300 pixels in case of the XEP80.
An exact number of visible scanlines can be set by providing a number between 100 and 300.

Note that when displaying output of an XEP80 or Austin Franklin 80 column card, the tv setting will crop the top and bottom parts of text area, just like a real TV does - in such case setting the option to full would be more appriopriate.

When the visible horizontal area is not set to full, this option specifies the screen's area that will be visible. Values higher than 0 will cause showing more of the right side of the screen, while values lower than 0 will cause showing more of the left side. The default is 0 (no shift). -vert-shift number Analogically to -horiz-shift: when the visible vertical area is not set to full, this option specifies the screen's area that will be visible. Values higher than 0 will cause showing more of the bottom part of the screen, while values lower than 0 will cause showing more of the top part. The default is 0 (no shift).
Choose method of stretching the image to fit the screen/window area:

The image won't be stretched at all.
The default. The image will fit the screen/window but will be stretched only by an integral multiplier. This setting allows for nice output when using scanlines in low screen resolutions.
The screen will fit the entire screen/window area. This setting looks best in high screen resolutions.
A custom multiplier (floating point number) can be also provided to precisely set the amount of stretching.
When -stretch is set to integral or full, this parameter controls how the stretching is performed with relation to window/screen size:

Fits the image's width while allowing it to be cropped vertically.
Fits the image's height while allowing it to be cropped horizontally.
The default. Fit both the image's width and height, avoiding cropping.
Choose how the image's aspect ratio should be maintained when stretching:

Causes the image to be stretched without restriction to fit the screen/window area fully.
The default. Causes the image to be stretched by the same amount horizontally and vertically, maintaining square pixels. In low screen resolutions this setting may produce the nicest result.
Recreates the aspect ratio of a real TV display (pixels are not square), but only if the -host-aspect-ratio option is set correctly.
Set the aspect ratio of the host monitor on which the emulator's display is placed. Allowed values are auto for autodetection, or ratios like 4:3, 16:9, 1.25:1 ... This value is used to properly maintain image's aspect ratio when having -image-aspect set to real. The default value is auto. Note that host aspect ratio detection works as expected only if the desktop resolution matches aspect ratio of the display device (in other words, display pixels are square). If, for example, desktop resolution is 800x600 on a 16:9 monitor, autodetection will fail and host aspect ratio will have to be set manually, by measuring physical width and height of the monitor and setting the parameter to width:height.
-80column
Shows output of an 80 column hardware, when it is available (the default). This parameter has effect only if an 80 column hardware is activated, using one of the parameters -af80, -proto80 or -af80.
Deactivates showing output of an 80 column hardware.

Do not initialize SDL joysticks
Define path to device used in LPTjoy 0. Available on linux-ia32 only.
Define path to device used in LPTjoy 1. Available on linux-ia32 only.

-ntsc-filter-preset composite|svideo|rgb|monochrome
Use one of predefined NTSC filter adjustments.
-ntsc-sharpness n
Set sharpness of the NTSC filter.
-ntsc-resolution n
Set resolution of the NTSC filter.
-ntsc-artifacts n
Set artifacts of the NTSC filter.
-ntsc-fringing n
Set fringing of the NTSC filter.
-ntsc-bleed n
Set bleed of the NTSC filter.
-ntsc-burstphase n
Set burst phase of the NTSC filter. This changes colors of artifacts. The best values are 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5.
Set visibility of scanlines (0..100). Scanlines are only visible when the screen's or window's vertical size is at least 480 (more precisely, at least twice the number of scanlines given in -vert-area).
Enable scanlines interpolation (looks nicer).
Disable scanlines interpolation (in software modes may give better performance).
Use OpenGL hardware acceleration for displaying and stretching of the emulator's display. Using OpenGL improves performance.
Don't use OpenGL hardware acceleration (the default).
Choose format of texture data when OpenGL acceleration is enabled. Depending on the type of the graphics hardware, either of the values might give the best performance. Note that with pixel format set to bgr16 or rgb16, emulation of colors is slightly less accurate.
Use Pixel Buffer Objects when OpenGL acceleration is enabled (the default). PBOs are available on newer graphics hardware and when used, substantially improve emulator's performance. However in rare cases (some Intel on-board chips) using PBOs may actually descrease perfromance.
Don't use Pixel Buffer Objects when OpenGL acceleration is used.
Enable bilinear filtering of the screen in OpenGL modes.
Disable bilinear filtering in OpenGL modes (the default).
Provide a custom OpenGL shared library. If not given, Atari800 will use a default system-specific library (typically opengl32.dll or libGL.so).
Emulate a prototype 80 column board for the 1090
Emulate the XEP80
Use XEP80 on joystick port n
Emulate the Austin Franklin 80 column daughterboard for Atari 800.
Sets global volume of Atari 800.

Run the emulator in a small window where each Atari 800 pixel is represented by one X Window pixel
Runs the emulator in a large window where each Atari 800 pixel is represented by a 2x2 X Window rectangle. This mode is selected by default.
Runs the emulator in a huge window where each Atari 800 pixel is represented by a 3x3 X Window rectangle.
Set left offset for clipping
Set the width of the clipping-area
Set top offset for clipping
Set the height of the clipping-area
Use private colormap
Show SIO monitor
Enable debug code in atari_x11.c

Keypad mode

Built in user interface
Option key
Select key
Start key
Reset key ("warm reset")
Reboot ("cold reset")
Help key (XL/XE only)
Break key
Enter monitor
Exit emulator
Save screenshot
Save interlaced screenshot
Run Atari program
Disk management
Cartridge management
Select system
Sound settings
Sound recording start/stop
Save state file
Load state file
About the emulator
Insert line (Atari Shift+'>')
Insert character (Atari Ctrl+'>')
Shift+Ctrl+'>'
Delete line (Atari Shift+Backspace)
Delete line (Atari Shift+Backspace)
Delete character (Atari Ctrl+Backspace)
Delete character (Atari Ctrl+Backspace)
Shift+Ctrl+Backspace
Shift+Ctrl+Backspace
Clear (Atari Shift+'<')
Ctrl+'<' (also clears screen)
Shift+Ctrl+'<'
~
Inverse video
Up (Atari Ctrl+'-')
Down (Atari Ctrl+'=')
Left (Atari ctrl+'+')
Right (Atari ctrl+'*')
-
=
+
*
_ (Atari Shift+'-')
| (Atari Shift+'=')
 (Atari Shift+'+')
^ (Atari Shift+'*')
Shift+Ctrl+-
Shift+Ctrl+=
Ctrl+\
Ctrl+Esc (Workaround for Windows)
Shift+Ctrl+\
Shift+Ctrl+Esc (Workaround for Windows)

host keypad 0123456789-.
0123456789-.
host keypad
NO
host keypad Ctrl+/
ESCAPE
host keypad *
DELETE
host keypad +
YES
host keypad Enter
+ENTER

Paddles, Atari touch tablet, Koala pad, light pen, light gun, ST/Amiga mouse, Atari trak-ball, joystick and Atari 5200 analog controller are emulated using mouse on ports that support it. See the options above for how to enable mouse.

No function keys or Alt+letter shortcuts. Use Ctrl+C to enter the monitor. Controllers not supported in this version.

F10 (Save screenshot) does not work in the default CURSES_BASIC build. Shift+F5 and Shift+F10 don't work at all. Avoid Ctrl + C, H, J, M, Q, S and Z. The remaining control characters can be typed. Control characters are displayed on the screen with the associated upper case character in bold.

Controllers not supported in this version.

Help key (XL/XE)

Joystick 0 is operated by the numeric keypad (make sure that the numeric keypad has been enabled).


7 8 9
\|/
4 5 6
/|\
1 2 3


And 0 is the fire key.

Mouse not supported in this version.

`
Atari/Inverse key
Atari/Inverse key (unusable under Windows)
CapsToggle (+Shift = CapsLock)

Switch fullscreen/windowed display.
Switch visible horizontal area. See -horiz-area.
Swap keyboard_emulated joysticks
Grab mouse (prevents mouse pointer from leaving the window)

Decrease tint (also called hue)
Increase hue
Decrease saturation (like TV Colour control)
Increase saturation
Decrease contrast (also called white level)
Increase contrast
Decrease brightness (also called black level)
Increase brightness
Decrease gamma adjustment
Increase gamma adjustment
Decrease color delay (Atari color adjustment potentiometer)
Increase color delay

The following keys work only when the NTSC filter is enabled (-ntsc-artif set to ntsc-full):

Decrease sharpness
Increase sharpness
Decrease resolution
Increase resolution
Decrease artifacts
Increase artifacts
Decrease fringing
Increase fringing
Decrease bleed
Increase bleed
Decrease NTSC burst phase (use this to change artifacting colours)
Increase NTSC burst phase

Decrease scanlines visibility
Increase scanlines visibility
Toggle NTSC composite/S-Video/RGB/monochrome settings

Enable/disable output of a 80 column hardware (use with -xep80, -proto80 or -af80).

Apart from standard joysticks (handled by the SDL) up to two keyboard joysticks are supported. The keys used for joystick directions and the trigger can be freely defined in the config UI (Controller Config -> Define layout). Keyboard joystick emulation can be enabled/disabled in the Controller Config. By default, joy 0 is enabled and joy 1 is disabled (to not steal normal AWDS keys in the emulator).

Atari key (either Alt key will work)

Joystick 0 is operated by the mouse position relative to the center of the screen. The mouse button acts as the trigger. On Linux, standard joysticks are also supported.

/usr/share/atari800/ATARIOSA.ROM
Atari O/S A
/usr/share/atari800/ATARIOSB.ROM
Atari O/S B
/usr/share/atari800/ATARIXL.ROM
Atari 800XL O/S
/usr/share/atari800/ATARI5200.ROM
Atari 5200 O/S
/usr/share/atari800/ATARIBAS.ROM
Atari Basic

See the BUGS file.

2018-04-21 Atari800 4.0.0