install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install zxcc

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

CP/M 2/3 emulator for cross-compiling and CP/M tools under UNIX

Project links

Commands and aliases

zxas
zxcc
zxlibr
zxlink

history

Project history and usage

ZXCC is John Elliott's CP/M 2/3 emulator for Unix-style cross-development: it runs CP/M tools such as HI-TECH C and Digital Research build utilities while mapping host directories into CP/M drives.

Project history

The original ZXCC page describes a two-purpose emulator: using HI-TECH C for CP/M as a cross-compiler under Unix, and running CP/M build tools such as MAC, RMAC, GENCOM, and LINK under DOS or Unix. The stable 0.5.7 source bundled CPMIO for terminal emulation and CPMREDIR for host-filesystem redirection.

A later community-maintained GitHub repository was extracted from Elliott's stable source in 2021. That tree focuses on keeping ZXCC useful on modern Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS systems, with fixes for HI-TECH Z80 C, CP/M BDOS behavior, Z80 instruction emulation, file tracking, and autotools builds.

Adoption history

ZXCC's adoption is narrow but durable: retrocomputing developers use it when the authentic CP/M compiler or assembler is part of the build, but they want modern host files, scripts, editors, and CI around it. Its wrappers such as zxc, zxas, zxlink, and zxlibr turn CP/M-era tools into commands that fit a Unix workflow.

How it is used

The key trick is BDOS-level emulation rather than a full machine emulator. CPMREDIR presents host directories as CP/M drives, so tools running under the emulator can read and write normal files. That makes ZXCC especially practical for rebuilding old CP/M software, running HI-TECH C, and using Digital Research toolchains from a modern shell.

Why package nerds care

ZXCC is package-nerd catnip because it packages a bridge between package-manager convenience and historical toolchains. Installing it gives modern systems command-line access to a CP/M development environment without booting a full vintage machine image.

Timeline

2013: John Elliott's ZXCC page lists stable 0.5.7 and older 0.4.0 downloads.
2021: The agn453/ZXCC repository is extracted from the stable 0.5.7 source.
2021-2025: Community updates improve HI-TECH C compatibility, Z80 emulation correctness, Windows support, and modern Unix/macOS builds.

Related projects

HI-TECH Z80 C: the CP/M compiler ZXCC commonly wraps for cross-compilation.
CPMIO and CPMREDIR: the terminal and filesystem libraries split out from ZXCC's functionality.
JOYCE: John Elliott's PCW emulator, which also used CPMREDIR.

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 13 platform targets.

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
`zxas`	cli	global executable
`zxcc`	cli	global executable
`zxlibr`	cli	global executable
`zxlink`	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 version0.5.7

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Zxcc/

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Zxcc/none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:zxcc
Version	0.5.7
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/zxcc
Homepage	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Zxcc/
Repository	https://github.com/agn453/ZXCC
Upstream docs	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Zxcc
License	GPL-2.0-or-later AND LGPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://www.seasip.info/Unix/Zxcc/zxcc-0.5.7.tar.gz
Uses from macOS	ncurses
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, 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	zxcc
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/zxcc.yml

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

Install zxcc with Homebrew