# Install atari800 with Homebrew

Atari 8-bit machine emulator. Version 7.1.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-26.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:atari800
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install atari800
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:atari800
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 7.1.2
- **Source summary:** Atari 8-bit machine emulator
- **Homepage:** <https://atari800.github.io/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/atari800/atari800>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-26T20:36:52Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- atari800 (alias)
- cart (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 7.1.2
## Project history and usage

Atari800 is a long-running free and portable emulator for Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200 console. It matters to package managers because it is both a retro-gaming executable and a preservation/development tool that spans Unix, Linux, Windows, DOS, Amiga, Atari, Dreamcast, Android, Raspberry Pi, SDL, curses, and embeddable library builds.

### Project history

The official README credits David Firth for the original 1995 emulator and the Atari800 Development Team from 1998 onward. Its stated goal is a freely distributable portable emulator with source available, covering machines from the Atari 400/800 through XL/XE models, XE Game System, and 5200 SuperSystem.

The project accumulated a wide emulation surface: cycle-exact 6502, ANTIC, GTIA, POKEY behavior; many RAM expansions; disk, cartridge, cassette, printer, H: host filesystem, R: serial/network, MIO and Black Box emulation; save states; screenshots; audio/video recording; and libatari800 for embedding. The version 7.0.0 docs show the project still being actively modernized in 2026.

### Adoption history

Atari800’s adoption predates GitHub; the current Git history starts in 2000 with imported project history and early tagged releases such as ATARI800_0_8_7. In package-manager terms it is a classic portable C project that became easy to build across Unix-like systems, then accumulated Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, MacPorts, and Nix packaging in the supplied metadata.

Its importance is not only playing games. The emulator is part of Atari 8-bit software development workflows because it can load executables, disk images, cartridge images, BASIC programs, tapes, and save states; it also cooperates with assemblers and cross-development tooling.

### How it is used

Typical users run `atari800 [options] [filenames]`, passing ATR/XFD/DCM/PRO/ATX disk images, XEX/COM/BAS/LST programs, cartridge ROM/CART files, CAS tapes, or saved states. The emulator requires Atari ROM images unless using newer auto-download behavior, and the first run creates or discovers configuration so ROM paths can be reused.

Version 7.0.0 added built-in Internet downloads for missing OS/BASIC ROMs and zipped disk images, portable mode, and a documented config search order covering explicit `--config`, portable executable-local config, the home default, fallback, and system-wide config.

### Why package nerds care

Atari800 is the sort of package that exposes the whole history of open-source packaging: generated configure scripts, optional zlib/libpng/libmp3lame features, SDL target migration, platform-specific front ends, ROM licensing caveats, and a CLI that doubles as a desktop emulator and automated retro-computing test bed.

### Timeline

- 1995: David Firth copyright and original Atari800 emulator lineage.
- 1998: Atari800 Development Team copyright period begins.
- 2000: Imported Git history begins with early emulator revisions.
- 2026: v6.0.0 made SDL2 the primary SDL target and added NetSIO/FujiNet support.
- 2026: v7.0.0 added built-in Internet downloads, portable mode, and revised config search order.

### Related projects

- Related projects and formats include Atari800Win, Atari++, Altirra-style development workflows, FujiNet/NetSIO, Atari 8-bit ROM and disk-image collections, and cross-assemblers such as ATasm.

### Sources

- Official git metadata from https://github.com/atari800/atari800.git
- <https://github.com/atari800/atari800/blob/master/DOC/INSTALL>
- <https://github.com/atari800/atari800/blob/master/DOC/README>
- <https://github.com/atari800/atari800/blob/master/DOC/USAGE>
- <https://github.com/atari800/atari800/releases.atom>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: <path passed to -config>, <portable executable directory>/.atari800.cfg, ~/.atari800.cfg, /etc/atari800.cfg

## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/atari800.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/atari800.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation