Install Open MSX emulator in Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distributions

ID: 280

Category: Emulators

Added: 21st of August 2021

Updated On: Tutorial updated and rechecked on 23rd of March 2023

Views: 2,255

The 1980's saw the boom of home computing in the UK. The most popular home computers at the time were the Commodore Vic 20 and 64, Sinclair ZX 81, Spectrum 48K, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron.

There were other home computers on the market such as the Dragon 32, and the MSX which never really caught on in the UK.



For those who still have fond memories of the MSX, there is an emulator available in Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distributions called Open MSX

Please note: Open MSX can only load .rom cartridge files. To load tape and floppy disk files, you will have to install real ROMs, from real existing MSX machines.

To install the Open MSX emulator, open your terminal and enter the following command

Once installed, you should then install open MSX Catapult, which is the official GUI for Open MSX. It will make the selecting of cartridge roms, and changing of basic settings must easier

Enter the following command in the terminal to install Open MSX Catapult


Once installed launch Open MSX Catapult from the terminal using the command below or from your menu


Launching Open MSX Catapult for the first time, will check to see what other roms and extensions are available on your machine. Once complete the Open MSX Catapult control panel will then launch




The control panel is pretty self explanatory after this. Select your cartrigde .rom files and click start to start enjoying the MSX over again.




To launch Open MSX in full screen mode press ALT + RETURN and vice versa.