doslingBring a game
Import a ZIP, an executable, or a folder. Keep your favourites together in your own game library.
✦ YOUR LITTLE RETRO PC
Big adventures.
Little Dosling.
A happy home for your DOS games. Bring your favourites, find your controls, and get back to playing.
Being built for Mac, iPhone, iPad and the browser.
In development. Not yet publicly released.
DOSLING / PERSONAL COMPUTER✳
C:\> LET’S PLAY_EST. 1980s ENERGY
Easy game importsControls that fit your gamePrecompiled performanceNo guest JIT
THE GOOD PART IS PLAYING
Your games.
Less setup.
From a folder full of files to a library full of adventures.
Let Dosling help
Known games get a head start with installation, launch and control profiles. Unfamiliar games get guided setup, with manual options when needed.
Make yourself at home
Pick your controls, go fullscreen and play. Save your place and come back to your adventure later.
Controls made for the game
Movement, aiming, firing and tool selection get their own space. Edit touch layouts and map a physical controller to the way you play.
A proper picture
Keep the familiar 4:3 shape, including non-square VGA pixels. Optional image enhancement makes those little worlds feel at home on a bigger screen.
Pick up where you left off
Full-state save and resume in the native apps preserve your place. Browser libraries and file saves stay local to your browser.
3,178DOS game and shareware packages in Dosling’s catalogue
~2,680reach their startup graphics in automated cold-start tests
Not a promiseA picture on screen isn’t proof a game plays all the way through
SMALL PC. CLEVER ENGINE.
The clever work happens
before you play.
Dosling runs real x86 DOS programs without generating guest-machine code at runtime. Frequently used instruction patterns are compiled ahead of time, ready to do useful work together.
JITless execution. Precompiled patterns. A fallback for the rest.
INSIDE DOSLING
- 01Learn the patterns
Gameplay captures reveal frequently used instruction sequences.
- 02Compile ahead of time
Selected sequences become handlers built into the engine.
- 03Run useful work together
Matching sequences share a dispatch, with cached execution for other instructions.
Patterns are generated as C++ and compiled into native Mac/iOS binaries or the WebAssembly module. Validated matches reduce repeated decoding and instruction dispatch. Coverage varies by game; code outside the library still runs through the fallback engine. A browser may JIT its own JavaScript or WebAssembly implementation—Dosling does not JIT the guest x86 program.
GOOD TO KNOW
A few things
before you play.
What kinds of games can I play?
Dosling targets DOS-era PC games, including 286, 386 and early 486 titles. Compatibility varies: some games need manual configuration, and some hardware features are still being developed. In automated tests, about 2,680 of 3,178 catalogued packages reach their startup graphics. That checks startup only, not gameplay. A known profile is helpful setup information, not a guarantee that every part of a game works.
Do I need to install DOS myself?
No. Dosling includes MS-DOS 4.0, built from Microsoft’s open-source, MIT-licensed release, so you can start with a game rather than an operating-system installation. The app also offers a DOS session when you want the command line.
Are the games included?
No commercial games are included. Dosling only bundles games whose licences allow redistribution, such as the MIT-licensed Floppy Bird. Shareware and freeware labels don’t automatically allow bundling, so other games are yours to import, provided you have the right to use them.
Is JITless always faster?
No. Precompiled patterns aim to reduce interpreter overhead while keeping execution JITless. Results depend on the game, pattern coverage and device. Dosling’s performance work uses matched replay benchmarks; there is no blanket speedup claim.
When can I get it?
Dosling is being tested on development Macs and iPhones and has not been released yet. There is no public download, App Store or TestFlight release. This page will link to releases when they are ready.
PICK YOUR PLAYER
One little PC.
A few ways to play.
Every version is still in development. Nothing is publicly downloadable yet.
Mac
The desktop experience, with a game library, imports, fullscreen and mouse capture.
iPhone & iPad
Game-specific touch controls, portrait keyboard, landscape play and controller support.
Web
A WebAssembly player with file imports and a browser-local game library.