m6502(6)

📦
version 6.15 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

🎀 m6502 — the 6502 Microprocessor Emulator, bestie edition 🎀

okay so this is a page from the XScreenSaver manual (section 6, screensavers, iykyk) and it's literally about a tiny little chip emulator that lives in your screensaver. come on, let's get into it 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

m6502 [--display host:display.screen] [--foreground color] [--background
color] [--window] [--root] [--window-id number][--mono] [--install]
[--visual visual] [--file filename] [-displaytime seconds] [--fps]

that's the whole vibe check right there — every flag you could possibly throw at it, bestie 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so the m6502 screensaver emulates a 6502 microprocessor. and NOT to be dramatic but the 6502 family of chips was literally everywhere in the 70's and 80's — like, main character energy in machines such as the Atari 2600, Commodore PET, VIC20 and C64, Apple ][, and the NES 🔥. iconic lineage, no cap.

there are some example programs included (yes, actual little programs to watch run, slay) and it can also read in an assembly file as input. like, you can feed it your own code. obsessed 💜

🌸 OPTIONS 🌸

m6502 accepts the following options — here we go, one by one, no skipping, we respect all of them:

  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this one is the default, so if you do nothing, this is what you get ✨
  • --root — draw on the root window instead. big "put it on the wallpaper" energy 🖼️
  • --window-id number — draw on the specified window. you point, it draws there, periodt.
  • --mono — if you're on a color display, this makes it pretend we're on a monochrome display. retro filter but make it literally real 💀
  • --install — install a private colormap for the window. fancy colormap, just for you 👑
  • --visual visual — specify which visual to use. legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. no funny business.
  • --file filename — lets you load an assembly file. your code, your rules 🎀
  • --displaytime seconds — lets you set the number of seconds to display each program. the default is 60. yes, a whole minute per program, it's giving slow-burn cinema 😭
  • --fps — display the current frame rate and CPU load. numbers go brrr 📊

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number. the classic ✨
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property. lowkey a mouthful but it's just "where my custom resources at" 🫶
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root.

🌈 X RESOURCES 🌈

notable X resources supported include the following, which correspond to standard TV controls (yes, like an actual television, we're being so authentic here): analogTVTint, analogTVColor, analogTVBrightness, and analogTVContrast. 📺

they range from 0 to 100, except for tint which is an angle between -180 and +180. angles, bestie. geometry in my screensaver. 💅

💀 TRADEMARKS 💀

"I'm sure some of the programs contain trademarks." — the manpage, being extremely chill about it 🙈

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

go read those too, iykyk 🧚

permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. no representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. it is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty. 📜

fr fr read the warranty bit — "as is", no promises, we said what we said 💀

👑 AUTHOR 👑

original Javascript version by Stian Soreng; 2006. ported to XScreenSaver by Jeremy English; 2007. legends, both of them 🫶

and that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this was m6502 from XScreenSaver, X Version 11, 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — write that down, cite your sources, slay ✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from