Emulators

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Vote for your favorite emulator Poll on CPCWiki forum

Emulator evaluation tools Software list for evaluating CPC emulator accuracy

Emulator tooling UI screenshots of tooling in CPC emulators

Software Platforms (Full OS independance)

Java Platform

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Arnold Jnr	[1]		Aug 27, 2001	❌	❌	-	Open source
JavaCPC Desktop	[2] JavaGX4000 CPCInAJar	3.0.2	Apr 8, 2022	✅	✅	KC Compact	Donationware & Open source
JEMU	[3]		Feb 19, 2007	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, BBC Micro, VZ-300	Open source
WebCPC	[4] JavaCPC Applet	r15	Dec 31, 2010	❌	❌	-	Open source

Note: Java applets have been discontinued and removed in all major web browsers. So JEMU and WebCPC could belong to the "Discontinued OS" part of this article.

JS / Wasm / Web Platform

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
CPCBox	[5] [6] BZH Games	beta	Dec 28, 2013	❌	❌	-	Freeware
CrocoDS	[7] Repo		Jun 9, 2020	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
Emularity (MAME)	[8] JSMESS Classic Reload Internet Archive CPC Software Library		Jan 27, 2024	❌	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source
Roland	[9] JuegoTk		Sep 24, 2011	❌	❌	-	Open source
Ronald	[10] Repo		Apr 1, 2024	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
RVMplayer	[11] Amstrad ESP	0.1.1	May 6, 2023	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum	Freeware
Tiny Emus	[12] CPC UI yakc zpz mini CPC Online OldGames WebGL 3d 8-bit Arcade Room acpc.me Retro Store BZH Games Sean's CPC Games Amstrad CPC Games		Mar 22, 2024	✅	❌	KC Compact, ZX Spectrum, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Acorn Atom, KC 85, KC 87, Z9001, Z1013, LC80	Open source
Xiragon	[13]		Nov 28, 2012	❌	❌	-	Open source

LibRetro (API for emulators)

Emulator name	Type	External link	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
libretro-cap32	Emulation core	[14]	4.5.4	Dec 18, 2023	-	✅	-	Open source
libretro-crocods	Emulation core	[15]		Oct 16, 2024	-	❌	-	Open source
LRMAME	Emulation core	[16]	0.272	Dec 3, 2024	-	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source
SugarLibRetro	Emulation core	[17] (wraps independent lib CPCCore)	git	Jan 10, 2020	-	✅	-	Open source
EmuVR	Frontend	[18]	1.0.11	Dec 24, 2022	❌	-	Depends on emulation cores	Donationware
Hackable Console	Frontend	[19]		Mar 27, 2022	✅	-	Depends on emulation cores	Open source
Ludo	Frontend	[20] Repo	0.17.3	Dec 8, 2024	❌	-	Depends on emulation cores	Open source
RetroArch	Frontend	[21] RetroAchievements	1.19.1	Jun 5, 2024	❌	-	Depends on emulation cores	Donationware & Open source

Several distributions also exist based on RetroArch or Ludo: RetroBat, Lakka, RetroPie, Batocera, Recalbox, RGB-Pi OS, LudOS

Operating Systems

Desktop

Emulator name	External link	Windows	macOS	Linux	Current version	Latest release	Developer tools	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
ACE	MorphOS and Haiku IRC chan Repo	❌	❌	❌	1.26	Jan 1, 2024	✅	✅	Dozens of CPC hardware expansions thru plugins	Freeware (plugins are Open Source)
ACE-DL	[22] Discord Based on ACE	✅	✅	❗	ODILE	Dec 14, 2024	✅	✅	-	Freeware
AMSpiriT	[23] Discord Forum	✅	❌	❌	1.01 rc	Apr 24, 2024	❌	❌	-	Freeware
Arnimedes	[24]	✅	❌	❌	1.02	Jul 7, 2012	❌	❌	-	Freeware
Arnold	[25] Aeliss fork Arnold TNG macOS AmigaOS PPC	✅	✅	🛠️		May 13, 2017	⚠️	✅	KC Compact, Aleste 520EX	Open source
Caprice Forever	[26]	✅	❌	❌	24.10	Oct 1, 2024	✅	✅	-	Freeware & Outdated sources
Caprice32	[27] Old repo Linux Reloaded Cpc4Rpi CapriceRPI CPC-PI	✅	✅	✅	4.6.0	Oct 8, 2022	⚠️	✅	Aleste 520EX	Donationware & Open source
Clock Signal	[28] Linux Raspberry Pi	❌	✅	✅		Oct 19, 2024	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, Enterprise, MSX 1&2, Oric, ColecoVision, Apple II, VIC-20, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Electron, Archimedes, Macintosh, Master System	Donationware & Open source
CoPaCabana	[29]	✅	❌	❌	0.74	Apr 12, 2006	⚠️	❌	-	Donationware
CPC++	[30]	✅	✅	❗	b700	May 31, 2015	❌	❌	-	Freeware
cpc4x	[31]	❌	❌	🛠️	0.26	Dec 11, 2004	❌	❌	-	Open source
CPCEC	[32] Repo CPCE CPCEG	✅	🛠️	🛠️		Dec 16, 2024	⚠️	✅	ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, MSX 1&2	Open source
cpcec-gtk	[33]	❌	❌	🛠️		Feb 4, 2023	✅	✅	-	Open source
CPCemu	[34]	✅	✅	✅	2.5	Aug 13, 2022	⚠️	❌	-	Freeware
CPCEPower	[35]	✅	✅	✅	2105	Jun 4, 2021	❌	✅	-	Donationware
CPCSharp	[36]	✅	✅	❌	1.0.0-beta1	Apr 7, 2021	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
CPvC	[37]	✅	❌	❌		Sep 30, 2022	❌	❌	-	Open source
CrocoDS	[38] Repo	✅	✅	❌	4.0 beta3	Dec 10, 2023	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
DSP	[39]	✅	✅	🛠️	0.23	Oct 27, 2024	❌	❌	ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, ColecoVision, Game Boy, NES, SG-1000, Master System, Game Gear, Super Cassette Vision, PV-1000, PV-2000, Arcade	Open source
ep128emu	[40]	✅	🛠️	🛠️	2.0.11.2	Apr 19, 2019	⚠️	❌	ZX Spectrum, Enterprise	Donationware & Open source
Gemux	[41]	✅	❌	❗		Nov 5, 2024	❌	❌	-	Freeware
MAME	[42] AmigaOS PPC MorphOS Haiku Tutorial (ES)	✅	✅	✅	0.272	Nov 30, 2024	⚠️	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source
NO$CPC	[43]	✅	❌	❌	1.8	Nov 2, 2000	⚠️	✅	-	Donationware
PC-CPC	[44] Repo	✅	❌	❌	0.1at b29	Nov 17, 2011	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
Retro Virtual Machine	[45]	✅	✅	✅	2.1.19	Dec 9, 2024	❌ Removed	✅	ZX Spectrum, MSX 1, ColecoVision, SG-1000, Master System	Donationware
Roland	[46] Repo	✅	❌	🛠️	0.70	Apr 20, 2017	❌	❌	-	Open source
Ronald	[47]	❌	❌	🛠️		Apr 1, 2024	⚠️	❌	-	Open source
SugarBox	[48] Old site SugarPi	✅	✅	✅	2.0.4	Nov 24, 2024	⚠️	✅	-	Open source
Virtual CPC	[49] Archive	✅	❌	❌	1.1	Aug 8, 2011	⚠️	❌	-	Freeware
WinAPE	[50] CPCwin	✅	❌	❌	2.0b2	Jan 5, 2016	✅	✅	-	Donationware
WinCPC / MacCPC	[51] vbCPC	✅	✅	❌	0.9.2	Jan 22, 2010	✅	❌	-	Freeware
Xcpc	[52] Repo	❌	❌	✅	0.52.1	Sep 8, 2024	❌	❌	-	Open source
XNACPC	[53] CPC3D	✅	❌	❌	1.0	Nov 11, 2011	❌	❌	-	Open source
ZEsarUX	[54] Haiku	✅	✅	✅	11.0	Jun 6, 2024	⚠️	❌	PCW, ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, MSX 1, ColecoVision, Spectravideo, Jupiter ACE, Sam Coupe, SG-1000, Master System, Sinclair QL, MK14, Z88	Donationware & Open source

Legend: ❗= No Raspberry Pi / ARM build ; 🛠️ = Build it yourself ; ⚠️ = Incomplete tooling

Mobile

You can use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on Android and iOS. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Android	andcpc	[55]	1.5.1	Apr 4, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Android	Azimuth	[56]	1.11	Aug 22, 2023	❌	-	Adware and in-app purchases💲
Android	CPCDroid	[57]	1.5.1	Mar 2, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Android	CPCemu	[58]	2.5	Aug 14, 2022	❌	-	Freeware
Android	Droid-CPC	[59]	1.1.01	Dec 15, 2016	❌	-	Commercial💲
Android	MAME4droid 2024	[60] Repo	1.19 (0.272)	Dec 2, 2024	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source
iOS	CPCemu	[61]	2.5	Aug 13, 2022	❌	-	Software available on request
iOS	CrocoDS	[62] Repo	2.1	Jun 21, 2013	❌	-	Open source
iOS	MAME4iOS	[63]	2022.5	Dec 12, 2022	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source

Discontinued OS

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Acorn RISC OS	!CPC	[64] [65]		Jul 28, 1996	❌	-	Open source
Acorn RISC OS	!CPCemu	[66]	1.21	Mar 22, 2016	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	A-CPC	[67]	2.0	Mar 30, 2002	✅	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	Ami-cpc	[68] Ami-cpc2	0.46	Jan 21, 1998	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	CPE	[69]		Feb 24, 1995	❌	-	Open source
AmigaOS m68k	EmuCPC	[70]	0.7	Sep 15, 1996	❌	-	Open source
AROS	Arnold	[71]		Oct 24, 2010	✅	-	Open source
AROS	Caprice32	[72]	4.2.0	Oct 23, 2010	❌	-	Open source
BlackBerry OS	BB-CPC	[73] (dead link)	1.0.1.3	Jul 15, 2013	❌	-	Commercial💲
Classic Mac OS	CPC++	[74]	1.3.2	Oct 6, 1997	❌	-	Shareware💲
DOS	AdvanceMESS	[75]	3.9	Sep 8, 2018	✅	Tons of vintage computers and game consoles	Open source
DOS	Arnimedes	[76]	0.8a	Apr 15, 2000	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	Caprice32	[77]	1.11	Sep 20, 1999	❌	-	Open source
DOS	CPC	[78]	0.55b	May 16, 1997	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPC-em	[79]	0.4	Jul 7, 2004	❌	-	Open source
DOS	CPCE	[80]	1.94	Jun 2, 2011	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPCemu	[81]	1.5	Jul 7, 1998	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	CPE	[82]	5.2	Apr 21, 1997	❌	-	Open source
DOS	NO$CPC	[83]	1.8	Nov 2, 2000	✅	-	Freeware
DOS	PC-CPC	[84]		Feb 3, 1998	❌	-	Open source
DOS	RWCPC	[85]		Mar 23, 1995	❌	-	Freeware
DOS	SIMCPC	[86]		Dec 10, 1989	❌	-	Shareware💲
DOS	YAGE	[87]	0.91	Oct 24, 1998	❌	-	Freeware
EXOS	Software CPC Emulator	[88] [89]	1.3	Jan 11, 2013	❌	-	Open source
Maemo	CPCm	[90]	1.20-1	Apr 27, 2010	❌	-	Open source
MSX-DOS	EMU6CPC	[91]		Dec 17, 2018	❌	-	Freeware
OS/2	SDLMAME	[92]	0.170	Jan 30, 2016	✅	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Open source
Palm OS	CaPriCe for Palm OS	[93]	2.8	Jun 28, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Palm OS	CoPaCabana	[94]	0.75	Dec 4, 2007	❌	-	Freeware
Pocket PC	PocketCaprice	[95]	0.9	Aug 19, 2007	❌	-	Freeware
SunOS	CPC++	[96]	1.3.0	Feb 22, 1997	❌	-	Shareware💲
Symbian	S60-CPC	[97]	0.74	Feb 21, 2006	❌	-	Open source
Windows 9x	CPC-em	[98]	0.3	Jan 22, 2004	❌	-	Open source
Windows 9x	MTMW	[99]	1.30B	Jan 11, 2000	✅	ZX Spectrum, ZX80/81, Enterprise, Jupiter ACE	Freeware

Other Platforms

Home Consoles

You can use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on Apple TV, Android TV, Nvidia Shield, Steam Link, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS2, PS Vita TV, GameCube, Wii, Wii U and Switch. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Microsoft XBOX	ArnoldX	[100] [101]	v5	Apr 20, 2010	✅	-	Freeware
Microsoft XBOX	CoinOPS (RetroFE)	[102]	5	Oct 18, 2012	❌	Tons of vintage computers, game consoles and arcade systems	Freeware
Microsoft Xbox 360	XNACPC	[103]	1.0	Nov 11, 2011	❌	-	Open source
Nintendo Wii	Wiituka	[104]	0.98.8	May 15, 2009	❌	-	Open source
Sega Dreamcast	CPCast	[105]		May 6, 2006	❌	-	Freeware
Sega Dreamcast	DreamCPC	[106]	Alpha 3	Oct 16, 2005	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PS2	CPC-em	[107]	0.4	Dec 22, 2004	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PS3	Caprice32	[108]	4.1.0 DBG	Apr 9, 2012	❌	-	Open source

Handheld Consoles

Note: For Android handheld consoles (Razer Edge, Ayn Odin Pro, Retroid Pocket Flip, GPD XP, ...), see the Mobile/Android section.

You can use RetroArch for Amstrad CPC emulation on PSP, PS Vita, DS, 3DS, Switch, Steam Deck, RetroFW, Miyoo, OpenDingux and ArkOS. Or you can use these stand-alone CPC emulators:

Host system	Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	Amstrad Plus	Also emulates	License
Dingoo A320 / A330	Pituka Dingux	[109]	0.8pre	Aug 19, 2010	❌	-	Open source
Dingoo A320 / A330	Dingux-CAP32	[110]	1.1.2	Oct 17, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GamePark Caanoo	Caanoo-CAP32	[111]	1.1.3	Apr 24, 2011	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP2x	CapriceGP2x	[112]	0.5	Feb 22, 2006	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP2x	GP2X-CAP32	[113]	1.5.1	Aug 29, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GamePark GP32	Pituka GP32	[114]	1d	May 15, 2010	❌	-	Open source
GamePark Wiz	Wiz-CAP32	[115]	1.1.0	Aug 29, 2009	❌	-	Open source
GCW Zero	Dingux-CAP32	[116]	1.1.2	May 25, 2014	❌	-	Open source
JXD S5110 / S601 & Yinlips G18	JXD-CAP32	[117]	1.1.1	Oct 27, 2012	❌	-	Open source
Nintendo DS	AmeDS	[118]	4.0	Apr 25, 2010	❌	-	Freeware
Nintendo DS	CrocoDS	[119] Repo	2.0	Nov 9, 2007	❌	-	Open source
Nintendo GameBoy Advance	Mini Amstrad Emulator	[120]		Dec 26, 2005	❌	-	Open source
Odroid GO	CapriceESP32	[121]		Dec 3, 2020	❌	-	Open source
OpenDingux	CrocoDS	[122] Repo		Jan 15, 2020	❌	-	Open source
Pandora	Pandora-CAP32	[123]	1.1.0	Jun 27, 2010	❌	-	Open source
Sony PSP	Caprice32 PSP	[124]	4.2.0.2	Nov 28, 2007	❌	-	Open source
Sony PSP	CPCPSP	[125]	0.1	Dec 24, 2005	❌	-	Freeware
Sony PSP	PSPCAP32	[126]	1.5.1	Aug 21, 2009	❌	-	Open source
Trimui Model S	Arnold Trimui	[127]		Oct 19, 2021	✅	-	Open source

FPGA

CPC TREX CPC-One TurboCPC core by TobiFlex running on different FPGA boards
CPC FPGA CPC emulation by Ranulf (Ralferoo) Doswell, running on a custom made FPGA board
FPGAmstrad CoreAmstrad CoreDocAmstrad Translation by Renaud (Freemac) Hélias of JavaCPC from Java into VHDL for MiST board
CPC for MiST and MiSTer Started by Alexey (Sorgelig) Melnikov as a port of CoreAmstrad, but every module has been either rewritten or replaced
CPC2 Project CPC emulation running on a Cyclone V FPGA board
AmstradCPC core Based on McLeod's core and running on a ZXTres FPGA board

Hardware Replacements

Just CPC4ATX CPC-ITX triple CRTC CPC clones made from NOS chips
CPC Modular Modular Amstrad CPC compatible computer
Amstrad CPC464 mini CPC464-2mini Miniaturised CPCs
Amstrad CPC Portable World's first battery-powered portable Amstrad CPC
CPC 464/6128 replica PCBs To be used as a direct replacement to the original PCBs
CPCESP ESP32 TinyCPC CPC emulators for ESP32 SoC board
SymbOSVM SymbOS for modern 32/64bit hardware

Chips

MCLZ8 z80-open-silicon Z80 emulators to be used as drop-in replacement
Nuked-MD-FPGA A-Z80 Verilog Z80 implementations reverse engineered from decapped chip Baltazar Ken Shirriff Instruction decode PLA table Technical documentation
Visual Z80 Remix Z80 Explorer Netlist-level ultra accurate Z80 simulators
Forum thread Reverse engineered Gate Array by Gerald from decapped chips Ash Evans Gyorgy Szombathelyi AMSGateArray Subsequent Verilog/VHDL implementations Signals analysis by Bread80
ASIC and Pre-ASIC Gate Array Z80 CPU HD6845SP CRTC AY-3-8912 PSG NEC D765 FDC Die shots of decapped CPC chips. How to: Optically decode the ROM of a decapped chip Automate ROM decoding Decap, image and reverse engineer the C128 PLA chip Reverse engineered Oric ULA chip
AY_FPGA AY-3-8912 FPGA replacement with few extra features
Multi-CRTC Board Host and select between multiple CRTC chip types in one CPC

Floppy drives

SDiskEmul Floppy-drive emulator released in 2007. Abandoned now. Supports DSK, EDSK disk-images
HxC Floppy Emulator Commercial floppy-drive emulator. Supports directly DSK, EDSK, HFE disk-images. IPF, CTRAW, SCP disk-images supported through conversion to HFE disk-image [128]
FlashFloppy Open source floppy-drive emulator for the ubiquitous Gotek hardware. Supports DSK, EDSK, HFE disk-images
GreaseWeazle Open source USB floppy adapter Flux reader/writer
SuperCard Pro Claims to be the most advanced flux level copier/imager/converter system
KryoFlux Proprietary floppy adapter Flux reader/writer
Pauline FPGA-based floppy-drive dumper and emulator
DDI-3 USB floppy-drive emulator with an integrated FDC chip, floppy data separator and AMSDOS ROM for CPC464. Current evolution DDI-6 has also integrated a RAM/ROM box
DriveRDY Emulates the Ready signal necessary for floppy drives on Amstrad machines
M4 Board Supports DSK, EDSK images in a limited fashion. Protected disks are not supported
USIFAC ULIfAC Supports DSK, EDSK images in a limited fashion. Protected disks are not supported

Tapes

TZXduino MAXduino Abatape Arduino-based tape deck emulator. Supports many formats of tape-images including CDT and TZX
SVI-CAS Digital Tape Drive for Playback & Recording. Supports many formats of tape-images including CDT and TZX
TapeRider TZX/CDT tape-images player for Android
tapDancer [129] Chrome and Android app that plays back many formats of tape-images including CDT and TZX
PlayUEF Web-browser based tape deck emulator, supporting CDT and TZX tape-images

Cartridges

CPC-plus-cartridge Different PCB designs and code to make a CPC-plus cartridge
Amstrad Multicart 16-in-1 cartridge for the GX4000 or Amstrad Plus computer
GX4000 Homebrew Player CPC+ 32-in-one multigames by Retroelectronik
C4CPC Cartridge replacement for the Amstrad Plus range and the GX4000
Flash+ cartridge Amstrad CPC+ GX4000 reflashable cartridge
BackBit Pro Tutorial Universal instant loading cartridge
M4 Board Supports CPR cartridges, among many other features

Printers

Amstrad CPC Printer Emulator [130] Arduino-based CPC printer emulator that can output text, markdown or HTML
Retro-Printer Plugin module for the Raspberry Pi that makes it possible to connect retro computers to modern USB or network printers
ESCParser Command-line utility, ESC/P printer emulator that can output PostScript, SVG or PDF

Other

LensKey LensLok copy-protection decoder for Windows
CPCPS2 Keyboard Firmware Emulates the keyboard matrix of Amstrad CPC using modern hardware
Sinden Lightgun LCD-compatible lightgun
vga4cpc VGA output for Amstrad CPC based on Raspberry Pi Pico

Peripherals supported in emulators

Mass storage devices

Dobbertin Harddisc is emulated by MAME
uIDE is emulated by Arnold
Symbiface II IDE/PATA interface or compatible (X-Mass, Cyboard) is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, MAME, WinAPE, WinCPC, Arnold, Virtual CPC
Albireo is partially emulated (no direct sector) by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever
M4 Board is emulated by CPCemu
Vortex Winchester Drive, IDE8255, USIfAC / ULIfAC, Symbiface3 / RSF3, Gotek direct access mode are not supported

Network devices

There is a plethora of serial communication devices (using RS232, USB, SPI, Modem, Teletext, Virtual Net 96, etc...) on Amstrad CPC:

Amstrad/Pace RS232 Serial Port is emulated by MAME
Other devices are not supported

Higher-level Ethernet or TCP/IP network devices are much less common:

M4 Board Wifi or compatible (Symbiface 3) is emulated by CPCemu
CPC-ENet, Net4CPC, Fujinet are not supported

Audio devices

SSA-1 speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, MAME
Dk'Tronics speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, MAME
Techni-Musique speech synthesizer is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever
Amdrum is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, JavaCPC, MAME, WinAPE
Digiblaster is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, MAME, WinAPE, WinCPC, CPCEC, CPCEPower, Virtual CPC
PlayCity is fully emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, MAME, Arnold, SugarBox. It is partially emulated (no CTC) by Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, CPCEC
Play2CPC is partially emulated (no FM and no digidrums) by ACE, ACE-DL
Willy OPL3 is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL
Willy MIDI is emulated by ACE (software synth emulation on Haiku, MIDI OUT support on MorphOS)
Music Machine (Sampling/Playback/MIDI ports), EMR MIDI Interface, Ultimate MIDI Board, Speak&SID, LambdaSpeak, Amsdap MoonSound, Amsdap MP3 Player, Amsdap SE-One (MP3/Radio), CPC Radio, Romba, CPC Booster are not supported

Note: all RS232 serial port devices (USIFAC, Amstrad Serial Interface, etc...) and USB port devices with direct control (Albireo, etc...) can also be used as MIDI ports.

Graphics devices

CPC graphics display expansions (CRTC Type 5, Amsdap GFX9000) are not supported.

CPC graphics acquisition devices (Dart Scanner, VIDI digitizer, Digitaliseur Ara) are not supported.

CPC printers are poorly supported. The only emulators that at least do some print rendering emulation are JavaCPC and Caprice Forever.

Input devices

Some lightguns / lightpens are emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, CPCEC, CPCEPower, Virtual CPC, PC-CPC, Wiituka.

CPC mouse support is as follows:

AMX mouse (1-bit axis, 3 buttons (CPC) / 2 buttons (CPC+)) or compatible (Imperium Solo, Dk'Tronics Genius adapter, DIY GEOS adapter, Atari-ST mouse adapter, PS2Mouse, Marconi Trackerball) is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, WinAPE, Arnold, Virtual CPC, CPCemu, Retro Virtual Machine
Kempston mouse (8-bit axis, 2 buttons) is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Arnold
Reisware mouse (8-bit axis, 2 buttons) is emulated by CPCemu
Symbiface II PS/2 mouse (6-bit axis, 5 buttons, scroll wheel) is emulated by ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, MAME, WinAPE, Arnold, CPCemu
MultiPlay mouse (4-bit axis, 3 buttons) or compatible (Symbiface3 / RSF3 mouse) is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, Arnold, Retro Virtual Machine
Albireo mouse (8-bit axis, 3 buttons), Imperium Solo custom mode (6-bit axis, 3 buttons) are not supported

Note: AMX and MultiPlay are the most widely supported mice in CPC programs.

Hacking devices

Multiface II is emulated by ACE, ACE-DL, Caprice Forever, JavaCPC, MAME, WinAPE, Arnold
HackIt is emulated by ACE-DL, Arnold
Mirage Imager is emulated by ACE
Transtape is emulated by MAME
Programmers Development System is emulated by MAME
Demon Development Cartridge, Action Replay AMX, Disc Wizard are not supported

Rewind feature

The RetroArch CPC emulator has the most convenient rewind feature: Demonstration. To reverse the game, the user press and hold the rewind button. And at any point, releasing the button makes time goes forward again.

ACE-DL also has a rewind feature, but it is not as good as it could be: Demonstration.

One 128KB snapshot per frame allows 10 seconds of rewind with 64MB (128KB * 50 frames * 10 seconds) of memory for the rewind feature. A more efficient method saves only the previous RAM values that are changed between 2 frames, allowing much longer rewinds (even if the CPC is equipped with 4MB RAM expansion) while using less memory, as shown by the GBA emulator SkyEmu.

For step-back debugging, the emulator just needs to store the time when the previous instruction was executed so that he can go back to that instruction. In the same way, emulators can provide access to the previous HBL, IRQ, VBL, etc.

File format specifications

DSK / EDSK HFE IPF CTRAW SCP File formats of disk-image
CDT / TZX PZX CSW FLAC WAV MP3 File formats of tape-image
CPR cartridge SNA snapshot Other file formats used in CPC emulators
Official SNR session spec Discussion about SNR format Archive of SNR sessions
YM AYC MYM VGM Soundchip logging file formats
CSL Cpc Scripting Language, a macro/scripting system to automate emulators
KCR Game launching configuration

Emulation Tools

CPCDiskXP DiskUtil SugarConvDsk DSK iDSK dsktools edsktool ManageDSK WriteDSK SAMdisk Disk Image Manager sector-cpc HxCFloppyEmulator software Disk Utilities dsk-lua upd765pro Amstrad DSK Explorer OmniFlop RIDE Set of tools about disk-images
CPCTapeXP TapeUtil SugarConvTape CDTMaster 2CDT/Samp2CDT CSW2CDT CDT2WAV wav2tzx PZXtools Online Tape to CDT Set of tools about tape-images
CPRTools cpr-tools cpr2bin No$cart UniDOS Cartridge Creator Set of tools about CPR cartridge-images
WinImage, DiskExplorer, Ultimate Imager CP/M Image File Explorer Access and edit hard-drive images
CPC Analyser ImHex CPCRomHacks RunEmu Other tools
WinAPE WinCPC JavaCPC Caprice Reloaded Caprice Forever Emulators with an integrated Z80 Assembler

Cross-Platform Development

Java Z80Assembler Glass Pasmo UZ80 Rasm BASM ABASM zasm vasm SjASMPlus cpctools cpclib bndbuild Disark MDL ASM Code Lens KC IDE Tools for CPC cross-development in Z80 Assembler
SDCC SDCC vs PhrozenC SDCC vs z88dk z88dk can be used with SDCC and provides a huge library ccz80 Phactory cpc-dev-tool-chain CPCtelera WinCPCtelera Cross-platform CPC development in C
Quiche Turbo Rascal Syntax Error CPC demo made with TRSE TRSE CPC tutorial CPC cross-development in Pascal
Millfork Wiz Cowgol Java Grinder CPC cross-development with other programming languages
Multi-Platform Arcade Game Designer The most user-friendly Windows tool for creating CPC games
PunyInform DAAD Reborn Compiler for developing adventure games
SymbOS C Compiler Quigs IDE SymbOS application development
CPC Basic cross-compiler Online CPCBasic Amstrad Basic Helper SDKCPC IDE 8BP CpcAlive ugBASIC ugBASIC IDE Cross-platform CPC development in BASIC
ZX0 Salvador ZX0 decompressor in BASIC Comparative study Compression tools

Cross-Platform Art

ConvGeneric ConvImgCPC ImgToCpc img2cpc cpclib-img2cpc Magick2CPC gfx2crtc DaDither Online Dithertron Martine Splitraster+ UniPixelViewer UniPixelViewer tutorial Image converters from PC to CPC
GrafX2 Multipaint RePAINT! CPCPaint Amstrad CPC Tools Kit Retro Game Asset Studio AkuSprite Editor Z80Editor Online Sprite Creator Aseprite LibreSprite Tiled Maped Cross-platform CPC pixel art editors
vgm-conv YMtoVGM YMcruncher Ym2Mym wav2ay WaoN (wav2midi) YMtoMIDI Music converters
CHIPNSFX Vortex Tracker II WYZTracker Arkos Tracker Furnace Cross-platform CPC music creation suites

Emulator Detection

If you want to promote usage of real CPC computers, you can detect CPC emulators by:

Checking if the memory is initialised with zeroes, as RAM in real machines is not initialised during boot. Source
Configuring the CRTC to stop refreshing part of the RAM. This behaviour has never been emulated. Source

The way to cause the RAM refresh to fail in both a Plus or normal CPC is simply to stop a few bits of the CRTC address changing (ie. never refresh the selected area).
Generally, only the Row address needs to be cycled, so stopping MA0 through MA7 from changing, and stopping the CPU from reading those rows, will cause data to be lost, quite quickly (generally around 4ms).

Playing with the "floating" bus. Using Z80 read I/O commands to write to chip registers. Accessing ghost registers. Using undocumented I/O ports. Writing to multiple chips simultaneously. Changing PPI and PSG ports direction.
Focusing on the minute details in Z80, CRTC, PPI and PAL chips. They are most often wrong in emulators.
Examining the FDC chip. It is only replicated more or less superficially in all emulators because the internals of the chip are still unknown. Many emulators don't even support the FDC SCAN or FORMAT TRACK commands.

Combining these methods will definitely get you a 100% success rate in detecting emulators, even the toughest ones.

Emulator undetected in Open Tower Defense
Emulator detected in Open Tower Defense

Additionally, an Emulator IDs system is available for easier detection of CPC emulators.

On ZX Spectrum, gamedevs are challenging emulators real hard with titles like MEMPTR Snake, Super HALT Invaders Test and Chromatrons Attack.

Emulators running on the Amstrad CPC

Emulator name	External link	Current version	Latest release	License	Emulates
Amstrad BBC BASIC	[131]	2.30	Apr 2, 1986	Commercial💲	BBC BASIC
BASIC 1.1 Fuer CPC464	[132]		Oct 1986	Open source	Locomotive BASIC 1.1
Chip8 CPC	[133] Repo		Nov 12, 2024	Open source	CHIP-8
CPCZVM	[134]		Jul 6, 2019	Open source	Z-Machine
CPvM	[135] Repo	1.0	Apr 17, 2024	Open source	CP/M
Fuzix OS	[136] Repo		Nov 12, 2024	Open source	POSIX (UNIX)
Pac-Man	[137]	1.1	Jun 5, 2014	Open source	Pac-Man arcade
PC-Emulator	[138]		Sep 1986	Hardware💲	IBM PC
Phoenix	[139]		Jan 6, 2019	Freeware	Phoenix arcade
Space Invaders	[140]	1.02	Mar 18, 2017	Freeware	Space Invaders arcade
Vezza	[141] Repo		Jan 7, 2024	Open source	Z-Machine
ZXM	[142]		1993	Freeware	ZX Spectrum
Zym	[143]	0.9	Feb 19, 2022	Open source	Z-Machine

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