{"id":98109,"date":"2025-09-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-09-03T09:20:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:20:27","slug":"microsoft-open-source-historic-6502-basic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/03\/microsoft-open-source-historic-6502-basic\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing BASIC back: Microsoft&#8217;s 6502 BASIC is now Open Source"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Today, we\u2019re opening the vault\u2014for real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For decades, fragments and unofficial copies of Microsoft\u2019s 6502 BASIC have circulated online, mirrored on retrocomputing sites, and preserved in museum archives. Coders have studied the code, rebuilt it, and even run it in modern systems. Today, for the first time, we&#8217;re opening the hatch and officially releasing the code under an open-source license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75 is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/BASIC-M6502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Discover the newly open-sourced Microsoft 6502 BASIC code<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"microsoft-s-first-products-from-the-altair-to-the-commodore-64\">Microsoft\u2019s first products: From the Altair to the Commodore 64<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Microsoft BASIC began in 1975 as the company\u2019s very first product: a BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the Altair 8800. That codebase was soon adapted to run on other 8-bit CPUs, including the MOS 6502, Motorola 6800, and 6809. You can learn more about this time and hear directly from Bill Gates on the <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/shows\/history\/history-of-microsoft-1975\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Learn Website\u2019s History of Microsoft video series<\/a> or by visiting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatesnotes.com\/microsoft-original-source-code\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bill Gates\u2019 blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 6502 port was completed in 1976 by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland. In 1977, Commodore licensed it for a flat fee of $25,000, a deal that placed Microsoft BASIC at the heart of Commodore\u2019s PET computers and, later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. That decision put Microsoft\u2019s BASIC at the heart of Commodore\u2019s machines and helped millions of new programmers learn by typing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>10 PRINT &#8220;HELLO&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>20 GOTO 10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is <strong>BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1<\/strong>, the 6502 BASIC lineage that powered an era of home computing and formed the foundation of <strong>Commodore BASIC<\/strong> in the PET, VIC-20, and the legendary Commodore 64. This very source tree also contains adaptations for the <strong>Apple II<\/strong> (\u201cApplesoft BASIC\u201d), built from the same core BASIC source. The original headers still read, <strong>\u201cBASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1 BY MICRO-SOFT\u201d<\/strong>\u2014a time capsule from 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The version we are releasing here\u2014labeled \u201c1.1\u201d\u2014contains fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft\u2019s Bellevue offices. This is the version that shipped as the PET\u2019s \u201cBASIC V2.\u201d It even contains a playful Bill Gates Easter egg, hidden in the labels STORDO and STORD0, which Gates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pagetable.com\/?p=43#comment-1033\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">himself confirmed in 2010<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-enduring-appeal-of-the-mos-6502-cpu\">The enduring appeal of the MOS 6502 CPU<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The MOS 6502 was the CPU behind the Apple II, Commodore 8-bit series, Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and many more. Its simplicity, efficiency, and influence still inspire educators, hobbyists, and hardware tinkerers today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2025, interest is as strong as ever. The retro-computing scene is thriving, with FPGA-based re-creations, emulator projects, and active development communities. The Commodore brand has returned with the announcement of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commodore.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a new FPGA-powered Commodore 64<\/a>, the first official Commodore hardware in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reconstructing-and-preserving-microsoft-basic\">Reconstructing and preserving Microsoft BASIC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the years, dedicated preservationists have reconstructed build environments and verified that the historical source can still produce byte-exact ROMs. Notably, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pagetable.com\/?p=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Steil<\/a> documented and rebuilt the original BASIC process for multiple targets. He has ported the code to assemblers like <strong>cc65<\/strong>, making it possible to build and run on modern systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This open-source release builds on that work, now with a clear, modern license. It follows Microsoft\u2019s earlier release of <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/GW-BASIC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GW-BASIC<\/a>, which descended from the same lineage and shipped in the original IBM PC\u2019s ROM. That code evolved into QBASIC, and later Visual Basic, which remains a supported language for Windows application development to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the blinking cursor of 1977 to FPGA builds in 2025, BASIC still fits in your hand. Now, for the first time, this influential 6502 version is truly yours to explore, modify, and share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/BASIC-M6502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Start exploring the newly open-sourced Microsoft 6502 BASIC code<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"954\" height=\"1275\" src=\"https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that.jpeg\" alt=\"Listing of Altair BASIC on display at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.\" class=\"wp-image-98113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that.jpeg 954w, https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that-290x388.jpeg 290w, https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that-766x1024.jpeg 766w, https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that-768x1026.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that-337x450.jpeg 337w, https:\/\/opensource.microsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/the-title-page-of-the-assembly-language-code-that-486x650.jpeg 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 954px) 100vw, 954px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Listing of Altair BASIC on display at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Altair Basic Sign\u201d by Swtpc6800, public domain via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nam06.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fw%2Findex.php%3Fcurid%3D10631089%26utm_source%3Dchatgpt.com&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cv-kakrulek%40microsoft.com%7C7d1b02f3b20c48e6ec6608ddea537b6d%7C72f988bf86f141af91ab2d7cd011db47%7C1%7C0%7C638924366490064048%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=yLT%2BxAfs%2B4p4WxVj5UPucOusck5ky%2FM0aAfpHlJSZO4%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, fragments and unofficial copies of Microsoft\u2019s 6502 BASIC have circulated online, mirrored on retrocomputing sites, and preserved in museum archives. Coders have studied the code, rebuilt it, and even run it in modern systems. Today, for the first time, we&#8217;re officially releasing it under an open-source license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6277,"featured_media":98157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"msxcm_post_with_no_image":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","footnotes":""},"post_tag":[136,227],"content-type":[361],"topic":[2251,2247,2252],"programming-languages":[],"coauthors":[2137,2618],"class_list":["post-98109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-github","tag-windows","content-type-project-updates","topic-it-trends","topic-programming-languages","topic-tools","review-flag-1593580771-946","review-flag-1-1593580432-963","review-flag-8-1593580468-572","review-flag-micro-1680215167-604","review-flag-new-1593580248-669"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Microsoft Releases Historic 6502 BASIC | Microsoft Open Source Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the original 6502 BASIC\u2014now open source! 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