macOS
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brew install joycelocal Homebrew formula metadata
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Install joyce with Homebrew
Emulates the Amstrad PCW on Unix, Windows and macOS. Version 2.4.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Emulates the Amstrad PCW on Unix, Windows and macOS
Project links
Commands and aliases
- dskconv
- dsklabel
- lsgotek
- xanne
- xjoyce
history
Project history and usage
JOYCE is John Elliott's Amstrad PCW emulator for Unix, Windows, and macOS. It emulates the PCW family and incorporates ANNE for the PcW16, preserving a British word-processor/computer line whose original development codename, Joyce, became the emulator's name.
Project history
The official JOYCE page describes an SDL-based emulator for the Amstrad PCW on Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X, with possible portability to other SDL-supported platforms. The FAQ documents emulation of the Z80 CPU, screen, keyboard, floppy controller, Centronics ports, serial interface, built-in PCW printers, mice, light pen, beeper, and LocoLink.
The update history reaches at least December 2002 with JOYCE v2.0.2 and continues through the 2.2 stable series, 2.4 stable series, and 2.5 development series. Later entries added or repaired hard-drive emulation, host-directory drive support, PcW16 acceleration, joystick support, disk-format support, Mac OS X build support, printer output, PCW-Linkit, and PDF/PNG output paths.
Adoption history
JOYCE is niche by normal package-manager standards, but valuable in retrocomputing because it packages PCW and PcW16 emulation for modern systems. Homebrew packaging makes xjoyce and companion disk utilities available to macOS users without manually building an older SDL-based emulator stack.
How it is used
JOYCE is used to boot and run Amstrad PCW software from disk images, use emulated printers and ports, share files through emulated drives, and preserve workflows around CP/M, LocoScript, PCW games, and PcW16 software. The FAQ is careful about boot disk legality, noting that copyrighted boot disks cannot simply be redistributed.
Why package nerds care
JOYCE matters to package nerds because it is the sort of emulator that keeps historically specific hardware usable from a standard package manager. Its formula bundles not just a main emulator but disk and utility commands, which is typical of preservation-oriented emulator packages.
Timeline
- 2002-12: JOYCE v2.0.2 stable was released.
- 2007-12: JOYCE v2.2.0 stable was released.
- 2021-12: JOYCE v2.4.0 stable was released.
- 2023-05: JOYCE v2.4.2 stable was released with C++17 compilation fixes.
- 2026-03: JOYCE v2.5.5 development was released.
Related projects
- JOYCE is paired with ANNE for PcW16 emulation and is related to the Amstrad PCW, CP/M, LocoScript, DSK disk-image tooling, LocoLink, PCW public-domain software archives, and other PCW emulators and preservation projects.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
dskconv | cli | global executable | |
dsklabel | cli | global executable | |
lsgotek | cli | global executable | |
xanne | cli | global executable | |
xjoyce | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version2.4.2
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Joyce/index.html
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Joyce/index.htmlnone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:joyce |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.4.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/joyce |
| Homepage | https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Joyce/index.html |
| Upstream docs | https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Joyce/faq.html |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Joyce/joyce-2.4.2.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | libdsk, libpng, sdl12-compat |
| Uses from macOS | libxml2 |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | joyce |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment