AMSpiriT Lite is a Linux/Windows Amstrad CPC emulator based on the AMSpiriT core by David MANUEL.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F1 | Open this help in the browser |
| F2 | Save a PNG screenshot in the current directory |
| F4 | Quick-save snapshot to current slot |
| Shift+F4 | Quick-load snapshot from current slot |
| F6 | Debugger: step back (rewind, when paused and available) |
| F7 | Debugger: pause if running; step (BASIC statement or Z80 instruction) if paused |
| F8 | Debugger: step over (Z80 CALL/CALL cc or BASIC GOSUB; else a plain step) |
| F9 | Debugger: resume (only while paused) |
| Shift+F9 | Toggle turbo mode (full speed, audio muted) |
| F10 | Hard reset (cold boot) |
| Shift+F10 | Soft reset (warm restart) |
| F11 (SDL only) | Cycle monitor preset (colour CTM644, green GT65, TV, ASIC variants) |
| Shift+F11 | Cycle screen types (colour, green monitor, ASIC variants) |
| Ctrl+F11 (SDL only) | Toggle FPS overlay |
| Ctrl+Shift+F11 (SDL only) | Cycle CRTC debug visualisation modes |
| F12 | Toggle fullscreen / windowed |
| Shift+F12 | Toggle display: visible CPC screen ↔ full CRTC frame |
| Ctrl+F12 | Cycle debug screen (current frame ↔ overlay) |
| Pause | Pause / Resume emulation |
| → (when paused) | Step one frame forward |
| ← / → (when paused, rewind on) | Navigate rewind history one frame at a time |
| Alt+F4 | Close window (handled by the window manager) |
| Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+0 | CPC numpad 1–0 (for laptops without a numeric keypad) |
| Mouse wheel (up/down) | Adjust volume (±10% per scroll) |
| Mouse middle click | Toggle mute / unmute |
--web-server). BASIC vs Z80 stepping is auto-detected from whether a BASIC program is currently running — there is no tab to select, unlike the web page.
Drag and drop a file onto the emulator window to load it. The Qt frontend also has a File menu to open a file dialog.
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
.dsk | Standard disk image |
.hfe / .ipf | High-fidelity disk image (CAPS) |
.cdt | Tape (CDT) |
.sna | Snapshot (saved state) |
.cpr | CPC Plus / GX4000 cartridge — automatically switches to CPC 6128+ model and CRTC type 3 |
AMSpiriT Lite maintains 4 quick-save slots (1–4) per game. Slots are stored alongside the ROM/disk image and persist across sessions.
| Action | Key / Button |
|---|---|
| Quick-save to current slot | F4 |
| Quick-load from current slot | Shift+F4 |
| Cycle to next slot (while paused) | Gamepad Start / + button |
| Cycle to previous slot (while paused) | Gamepad Select / − button |
| Save to slot (while running) | Gamepad Start / + button |
| Load from slot (while running) | Gamepad Select / − button |
In the Qt frontend, snapshot slots are also accessible from the Emulation → Snapshots menu.
The optional rewind feature records a rolling buffer of CPC state snapshots in RAM as the emulator runs. When paused, you can step backwards and forwards through the recorded history — useful for debugging, finding the right moment to screenshot, or just rewinding a bad move in a game.
Enable rewind at startup with --enable-rewind. In the Qt frontend, use the Emulation → Rewind menu to enable it and adjust settings.
| Key / Action | Description |
|---|---|
| ← (when paused) | Step one frame backward in the rewind history |
| → (when paused) | Step one frame forward (toward present), or step one normal frame if fully caught up |
| D-pad ← (gamepad, when paused) | Step backward in rewind |
| D-pad → (gamepad, when paused) | Step forward in rewind / resume if at head |
The status bar / title shows < N / M while rewound (N frames ahead of oldest, M total stored).
--rewind-slots N.
Turbo mode disables 50 Hz pacing and mutes audio, letting the emulator run at the host CPU's full speed. Useful for skipping long tape loads or intros.
--turbo together with --autotype or -A, turbo stops automatically once the auto-typing sequence finishes.The Qt frontend uses the SDL2 GameController API (XInput on Windows, evdev on Linux, GameController on macOS). The SDL frontend uses the legacy joystick API. Both detect controllers at startup and on hot-plug; the first controller found maps to CPC joystick port 1.
| Button | Action (while running) | Action (while paused) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Fire 1 | — |
| B | Fire 2 | — |
| X | Fire 3 | — |
| Y / Guide | Pause | Resume |
| Start / + | Quick-save to current slot | Cycle to next slot |
| Select / − | Quick-load from current slot | Cycle to previous slot |
| Left stick / D-pad | Directions (Up/Down/Left/Right) | Navigate rewind (if active) |
The emulator embeds an HTTP debug server (on by default, bound to 127.0.0.1:6128) that exposes a full web interface in the browser: Z80 registers, Gate Array, PSG, FDC, memory heat map, ASIC, disk, config, scripting, and more.
amspirit-lite-sdl [--no-web-server] [--web-addr 0.0.0.0] [--web-port 6128] [--web-html path/to/ui.html]
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--web-server | Enable the server (on by default) |
--no-web-server | Disable the server |
--web-addr <address> | Bind address (default: 127.0.0.1 — local only; use 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces) |
--web-port <port> | Listening port (default: 6128) |
--web-html <file> | Path to the HTML UI file (default: amspirit-lite.html next to the binary) |
--lua-full-stdlib | Let scripts POSTed to the web API use the full Lua stdlib (io, os.execute, package, debug). Off by default — such scripts are sandboxed to a jailed fs.* file table. Any page open in your browser can reach the API, so only enable this on a machine you trust. |
amspirit-lite.html file can be edited without recompiling. If the file is missing, the UI embedded in the binary is used as a fallback.
The interface is organised into tabs: Keyboard, BASIC, Debug (Z80/disassembly/breakpoints), ROMs (ROM Map), Audio, Heat Map (memory), ASIC, Poke, Script, Config, Disk, and Settings.
The BASIC tab works with Locomotive BASIC programs:
?reset=1 (hard reset first), ?run=1 (auto-type RUN after inject)The Keyboard tab displays the current keyboard layout and all mapped keys (read-only reference for debugging keyboard input issues).
The ROMs tab shows the current ROM catalog: which firmware, extension ROM (R<n>:) and cartridge bank is loaded in each slot, and where it came from. It has a compact view and a per-slot view.
amspirit-lite-sdl [OPTIONS] [FILE]
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-m <model> | CPC model: 464, 664, 6128 (default), 6128+, 464+, GX4000 |
-c <type> | CRTC type (0 to 4) |
--ram <Ko> | Total RAM in Ko: 128 (default), 192, 320, 576 |
-R <path> / --rom-path <path> | Path where ROMs are stored |
-C <path> / --config <path> | Path to config files |
-l <lang> / --lang <lang> | ROM language (sets the core's CPC_COUNTRY): FR (default), EN, SP, DA |
--lang-ui <lang> | Web/UI language: en (default), fr, es, de (auto-detected from $LANG) |
-k <layout> / --keyboard <layout> | Host keyboard layout: fr (default), uk, us |
--keymap <file> | Load a custom keyboard mapping file |
-F / --fullscreen | Start in fullscreen |
-w / --windowed | Windowed mode (overrides --fullscreen) |
--zoom <N> | Initial window zoom factor (1=768×542, 2=1536×1084, …); default 2 with auto fallback to 1 |
--size <WxH> | Initial window size, e.g. 1280x960 |
-Z / --turbo | Start in turbo mode (full speed) |
--monitor <preset> | CRT monitor preset: off (default), ctm644, gt65, tv |
--reset | Ignore saved config, start with built-in defaults |
--no-splash / --splash | Skip / force the startup splash screen (--splash overrides --no-splash from config) |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-A / --autorun[=FILE] | Auto-run the boot disk: guesses the right RUN"<file>/|CPM, or force a filename with --autorun=FILE |
-T <name> / --run <name> | Auto-type RUN"<name> to start a named program |
-t <text> / --autotype <text> | Type a literal string into the CPC after boot (\n = Enter) |
--autotype-file <file> | Type the contents of a text file into the CPC after boot |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-L <ms> / --audio-latency <ms> | Audio buffer latency in milliseconds (default: 80 — increase if audio crackles) |
--audio-device <name> | Audio output device name (default: system default) |
--show-overlay | Show FPS indicator in the top-left corner (red = too slow, blue = too fast) |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--script <file> | Execute a CSL or Lua script (full stdlib — --script is a local/trusted load, unlike scripts POSTed to the web API) |
--ssm | Enable SSM mode: act on ED FE/FF/00 Z80 opcodes |
--ssm-both | With --ssm, save both snapshot and screenshot on ED FE or ED FF |
--debug-script | Log every executed CSL/Lua line as the script runs |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--enable-rewind | Enable in-RAM rewind buffer (records a snapshot every N frames) |
--rewind-interval <N> | Frames between rewind snapshots (default: 10) |
--rewind-slots <N> | Maximum number of snapshots to keep in the buffer (default: 100, ~160 MB) |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--web-server | Enable the embedded HTTP debug server (on by default) |
--no-web-server | Disable the server |
--web-addr <address> | Bind address (default: 127.0.0.1) |
--web-port <port> | Listening port (default: 6128) |
--web-html <file> | Path to the debug UI HTML file |
--lua-full-stdlib | Let scripts POSTed to the web API use the full Lua stdlib instead of the sandbox (see the Web Debug Server section) |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--bin-address <addr> | Load address for a raw/headerless .bin file (e.g. 4000, B04:2000 — a bare value is the base 64K); ignored for AMSDOS-header files and overridden by the name@addr.bin filename convention |
--bin-entry <addr> | Entry point to jump to after loading a raw .bin file (flat 16-bit address); implies immediate execution |
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-v / --verbose, -q / --quiet | Increase or suppress log verbosity |
-K / --debug-keys | Enable verbose keyboard debug output |
-J / --debug-joystick | Enable verbose joystick debug output |
--debug-rewind | Log rewind store/recall with slot index and history size |
--debug-webapi | Log incoming web API requests, responses, and SSE events |
--debug-audio | Log per-second audio underrun/dropped-byte stats |
--dump-keymap[=FILE] | Export the current keymap to FILE (default: keymap-sdl.cfg) and exit |
-X <N> / --autoExit <N> | Exit automatically after N frames of the 50 Hz loop (paused frames count) — for automated testing |
--save-log <file> | Save all log output to <file> |
--report[=path] | Generate a diagnostic report |
--update-url <url> | Override the update manifest endpoint (testing) |
Generate a keymap file using the --dump-keymap option, then edit it to your preferences and restart the emulator:
amspirit-lite-sdl --dump-keymap=keymap.cfg
(With no filename, --dump-keymap writes keymap-sdl.cfg in the current directory.)
Place the generated keymap.cfg in your ROMs/ or config/ directory (or point --keymap at it directly). The file uses INI format with two sections:
[keyboard layout] and [emulator hotkeys].
Supported hotkey actions: PAUSE, MUTE, HELP, SCREENSHOT, SNAPSHOT_SAVE, SNAPSHOT_LOAD, VOLUME_UP, VOLUME_DOWN, TURBO, HARD_RESET, SOFT_RESET, FULLSCREEN, FULL_FRAME, CYCLE_SCREEN, CYCLE_DEBUG_SCREEN, TOGGLE_OVERLAY, CYCLE_CRTC, CYCLE_MONITOR, FRAME_STEP, DEBUG_STEP, DEBUG_STEP_OVER, DEBUG_RESUME, DEBUG_STEP_BACK, DEBUG_CLEAR_BREAKPOINTS, OPEN_FILE, QUIT
Key format: Single key (F1, A, Escape, Return, Space) or modifiers (Ctrl+X, Shift+F1, Alt+Shift+P). Case-insensitive.
Changes take effect on next restart. To find a key's code, run with -K flag
and watch for DOWN messages in the console. Note: SDL and Qt applications use different key codes;
use separate keymap files for each if you run both.
AMSpiriT core by David MANUEL — Linux port by Siko — amspirit.fr