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Meta Amiga Emulator
What it is
Meta Amiga Emulator is a free, open-source project intended to become a portable, cycle-accurate Commodore Amiga emulator for games, Workbench, and demoscene productions. It is designed for macOS, Linux, and Windows, with the same source code targeting each platform. Its planned machine range includes A1000, A500, A500+, A600, A1200, A2000, A3000, A4000, CDTV, and CD32, with OCS, ECS, and AGA chipsets. The specification covers floppy, hard disk, directory-mapped, and CD media, including ADF, Extended ADF, ADZ, DMS, SCP, KryoFlux raw, HDF, and ISO/CUE/CHD formats. IPF/CAPS is optional and requires the non-free capsimage library. Kickstart ROMs are not included; the project says it supports user-owned ROMs and includes AROS as a fallback. The project is pre-alpha: the repository contains design, architecture, build work, and CI, but not an emulator that can be run. Building the current core requires CMake 3.28 or newer, Ninja, and a supported C++23 compiler.
For and against
For
- Free and licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later.
- Targets macOS, Linux, and Windows.
- Plans support for a broad range of Amiga systems.
- Specification covers floppy, hard disk, and CD media.
- Build and CI work is already present.
Against
- Pre-alpha; no runnable emulator yet.
- Kickstart ROMs are not included.
- Building requires CMake 3.28 or newer and Ninja.
- IPF/CAPS requires a non-free optional library.
The verdict
Meta Amiga Emulator has a broad planned scope and targets three desktop platforms. Its current pre-alpha state means it is a project to watch, not software to use as an emulator today.
Who it suits
It may interest Amiga enthusiasts and developers who want to follow an open-source emulator project across its design and build stages. It is not yet for people seeking an emulator they can run.
Plans and prices
Free / open source
GPL-3.0-or-later · pre-alpha; no emulator to run yet
Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Amiga Forever support
- The specification says encrypted Amiga Forever ROMs can be decrypted at load time using the user's rom.key.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Architecture
- The specification describes a freestanding emulation core with explicit video, audio, input, storage, and clock interfaces.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Build requirements
- Building requires CMake 3.28 or later, Ninja and a C++23 compiler; the listed compiler minimums include Clang 17, AppleClang 15, GCC 13 or MSVC 19.38.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Compatibility goal
- It targets at least 99% compatibility across a published corpus of games, Workbench revisions and demoscene productions, verified automatically.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Compatibility testing
- Its planned verifier runs a deterministic corpus and compares framebuffer and audio hashes against stored references; regressions are intended to fail CI.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Current status
- The project is pre-alpha and says there is no emulator yet; the existing work is the specification, architecture, build and CI.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Determinism
- The specification requires identical inputs to produce bit-identical runs across platforms and build configurations.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Hardware coverage
- The stated scope includes Amiga models from A1000 through A4000, plus CDTV and CD32, with OCS, ECS and AGA chipsets.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Hardware scope
- The planned machine scope includes A1000, A500, A500+, A600, A1200, A2000, A3000, A4000, CDTV, and CD32 systems.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Implementation
- The project is written from scratch in C++23 and licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Implementation provenance
- The project describes itself as a clean-room implementation containing no code from other emulators.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is licensed under GNU GPL version 3 or later.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Media formats
- Planned media support includes ADF, ADZ, DMS, HDF, LHA/WHDLoad, SCP and raw KryoFlux images.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Media support
- The specification lists ADF, Extended ADF, ADZ, DMS, SCP flux, KryoFlux raw, HDF, directory-mapped volumes, and CD media formats.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Near-term limits
- The roadmap places the GUI, configuration, save states, RTG and releases in phase 8, with release 26.1.0 as its exit criterion.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Optional dependency
- IPF/CAPS support is optional, requires the non-free capsimage library, and is specified to be excluded from release binaries.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Project status
- The project is pre-alpha and says there is no emulator yet; the repository currently contains its design, build, and CI.github.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Meta Amiga is a portable, cycle-accurate Commodore Amiga emulator project for macOS, Linux and Windows.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
