dosbox-automation vs UniPCemu
dosbox-automation
dosbox-automation.orgUniPCemu
superfury.itch.ioSide by side
| Figure | dosbox-automation | UniPCemu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · MS-DOS Emulators | 7.9 (#10) | 7.1 (#21) |
| Integrations | The maker describes use with shell scripts, Python programs, game launchers, automated test harnesses, and CI/CD pipelines. | Windows MIDI passthrough is supported, and the listing points users of other controllers to x360ce. |
| Purpose | dosbox-automation is a DOSBox Staging fork that lets launchers, test harnesses, and scripts launch, drive, and inspect DOS applications and games. | UniPCemu is a cycle-accurate x86 emulator for running classic PC games on mobile devices and modern PCs. |
| Support | The main branch and latest release are supported with security updates; the policy says private vulnerability reports receive a human reply. | The maker asks users to report issues and bugs through the Bitbucket issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
dosbox-automation
dosbox-automation is a free DOSBox Staging fork for automating the launch, control, and inspection of DOS applications and games. Its HTTP REST API uses bearer-token authentication and includes Swagger UI, while a sandboxed Lua engine can drive execution and input with frame-accurate timing. It can record and replay keyboard and mouse input, capture frames and video, read text in text modes, and inspect memory and CPU registers. TOML recipes can automate installations, including disk swaps, through the API and Lua engine. The project includes DOSBox Staging functionality, added fixes and hardening, and a FluidR3 General MIDI soundfont enabled by default. Official builds are available for Windows and Linux; the Linux build is statically linked and targets x86_64. There are no official macOS builds, and compiling from source is described as untested. The webserver is disabled by default. When enabled, it binds to localhost by default, requires a bearer token, restricts mounted paths, and runs Lua without filesystem or process access. Windows 9x is not supported.
UniPCemu
UniPCemu is a free, downloadable x86 emulator for classic PC software. Its main listing covers Windows and Android, with additional builds mentioned for PSP, Nintendo Switch and PS Vita. The emulator models CPU generations from the 8086/8088 through Pentium II, and drivers can provide software floating-point emulation. Hardware choices are configurable: graphics range from IBM MDA to ET4000/W32 SVGA, while sound options run from the PC speaker to Sound Blaster 2.0. It supports MS-DOS targets, DSK, IMD, CUE, IMG and IMA disk images, gamepads, audio CDs, mouse and keyboard, PSP-style controls and touch input. Windows MIDI passthrough is available. Windows server builds can use TCP to simulate SLIP or PPP connections, with multi-client and protocol support plus IP-based access controls. Android data is not backed up automatically and may be deleted on uninstall. Users provide ROMs and disk images. Windows server builds require WinPcap-compatible software.