Install openMSX emulator in Linux Mint, Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distributions

ID: 280

Category: Emulators

Added: 21st of August 2021

Updated On: Tutorial updated and rechecked on 30th of December 2025

Views: 3,002

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 Linux Mint, Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distributions called openMSX

Please note: openMSX 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 openMSX emulator, open your terminal and enter the following command

Once installed, you should then install openMSX Catapult, which is the official GUI for openMSX. It will make the selection of cartridge roms, and changing of basic settings much easier

Enter the following command in the terminal to install openMSX Catapult


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


Launching openMSX 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 openMSX in full screen mode press ALT + RETURN and vice versa.

openMSX will not start
If you are unable to start openMSX and receive the following error in the terminal

Go to your home folder, press CTRL + h to view hidden folders and files

Go to the following folder .openMSX/share

Inside the share folder, move the settings.xml file to your desktop or delete it.

Restart openMSX from the terminal, this will generate a new settings.xml file. OpenMSX should now open.