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Build and run TED (a 1991 Dutch MSX2 word processor) and other MSX/Z80 M80 assembly projects on webmsx.org. Use when the user mentions TED, MSX, M80, L80, MSX-DOS, webmsx, .MAC files, or wants to assemble or run Z80 .COM programs in the browser.
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Based on SOC occupation classification
| name | run-ted-msx |
| description | Build and run TED (a 1991 Dutch MSX2 word processor) and other MSX/Z80 M80 assembly projects on webmsx.org. Use when the user mentions TED, MSX, M80, L80, MSX-DOS, webmsx, .MAC files, or wants to assemble or run Z80 .COM programs in the browser. |
A question-driven walkthrough. The build/run loop runs in the browser via webmsx.org (or a local clone of ~/WebMSX). Host side just packs zips with tools/pack.sh; WebMSX auto-creates a 720K floppy from the zip when given ?DISKA_FILES_URL=...zip.
msx2026/
โโโ tools/
โ โโโ m80/ M80.COM, L80.COM, LIB80.COM, CREF80.COM (CP/M-80 binaries)
โ โโโ msxdos/ MSXDOS.SYS + COMMAND.COM โ make any zip-disk bootable
โ โโโ pack.sh Builds the dist/*.zip files
โ โโโ expand-ted-tabs.py Replays MAKESP from GETPUT.MAC to expand TAB โ spaces
โโโ src/
โ โโโ hello/ HELLO.MAC + ML.BAT โ minimal proof of the toolchain
โ โโโ ted/ TED #2.6 source: MAIN/SUBTED/TEDSTR/GETPUT/OFFSET.MAC
โ plus *.TED ruler files and our MK.BAT / SHORT.BAT
โโโ runtime/ted/ Prebuilt TED.COM + helpers + LEES.MIJ + manuals (Dutch + English)
โโโ dist/ Drag any of these onto webmsx.org (or use as DISKA_FILES_URL)
โ โโโ m80-tools.zip
โ โโโ hello-build.zip
โ โโโ ted-build.zip
โ โโโ ted-run.zip
โโโ doc/
โโโ TED26.DOC Original Dutch manual (CP850 + box-drawing chars)
โโโ TED26.utf8.txt Same, transcoded for modern editors
โโโ TED26ENG.DOC English translation (CP850, opens inside TED)
โโโ TED26ENG.utf8.txt English translation, transcoded for modern editors
Verified working as of May 2026 against WebMSX 6.0.8.
The repo is published. Just click:
https://webmsx.org/?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=ML&DISKA_FILES_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/riesvriend/msx2026/main/dist/hello-build.zip
What happens:
hello-build.zip from raw.githubusercontent.com and turns it into a 720K virtual floppy in drive A.MSXDOS.SYS + COMMAND.COM are in the zip, so it boots to A>.AUTOEXEC.BAT runs M80 =HELLO/M/P then L80 HELLO,HELLO/N/E, runs HELLO (Hello, MSX!), then DIR HELLO.COM.BASIC_ENTER=ML invokes ML.BAT again as a re-build sanity check.For local iteration: tools/pack.sh hello rebuilds dist/hello-build.zip. With a CORS-enabled local server: http://localhost:8765/wmsx/index.html?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&DISKA_FILES_URL=http://localhost:8765/dist/hello-build.zip&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=ML. The AUTOEXEC.BAT pattern is what you want to copy for any new .MAC project.
Click:
https://webmsx.org/?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=MK&Z80_CLOCK_MODE=8&VDP_CLOCK_MODE=8&DISKA_FILES_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/riesvriend/msx2026/main/dist/ted-build.zip
What MK.BAT does:
M80 =TEDSTR/M/P, M80 =GETPUT/M/P, M80 =SUBTED/M/P, M80 =MAIN/M/P โ assembles all four modules.L80 SUBTED,GETPUT,TEDSTR,MAIN,TED/N/E โ links them into a fresh TED.COM (~30 KB).TED 12345 โ runs the freshly linked binary's registration entry point (see "Why does my freshly built TED exit immediately?"). This patches TED.COM on disk to make the editor reachable.TED LEES.MIJ โ launches the now-editorial TED.COM with the welcome letter open.At 8x Z80 turbo the full sequence takes ~90 s in a foreground browser tab. The original developer's ML4.BAT is included for reference but doesn't run on stock MSX-DOS 1 (uses > redirection and custom disint/enaint utilities) โ use MK.BAT instead.
For local iteration: tools/pack.sh ted rebuilds dist/ted-build.zip (tools + sources + MK.BAT + LEES.MIJ). Push to GitHub โ next click of the URL above picks it up.
Click:
https://webmsx.org/?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=TED+LEES.MIJ&DISKA_FILES_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/riesvriend/msx2026/main/dist/ted-run.zip
dist/ted-run.zip contains the already-registered prebuilt TED.COM plus LEES.MIJ, the manual, helpers, and MSXDOS.SYS + COMMAND.COM. The editor appears within seconds. Inside TED: F7 help, F2 settings, F3 system, F4 commands, F5 block ops. Status bar is in Dutch.
Local iteration: tools/pack.sh ted-run.
They used to. TED's editor stores tabs as ASCII 9 in memory and on disk (when F2/T/B "Bewaar Tab-tekens op diskette" is on), and when displaying or loading it expands them using a configurable ruler from a per-file .TED settings file. For TED's own sources that ruler has stops at columns 0, 16, 40, then every 8 up to 248 โ labels at col 0, opcodes at col 16, comments at col 40. Modern viewers (GitHub, VS Code) default to 4- or 8-column tabs, which mangles the layout.
tools/expand-ted-tabs.py re-implements the MAKESP routine from src/ted/GETPUT.MAC byte for byte: it reads the ruler from a .TED file (offset 103, 256-byte column map, 0x2B = stop) and replaces every \t with the right run of spaces. Run it after editing any source:
python3 tools/expand-ted-tabs.py src/ted/MAIN.MAC src/ted/MAIN.TED
The expanded files still assemble identically (same TED.COM bytes from M80/L80); they're just easier to read on github.com. Don't paste tab characters back into the sources โ keep them space-only.
TED's MAIN.MAC declares its entry point as codeer (line ~7678), not the editor. codeer is a one-shot registration routine:
JP instruction at 100h so it points to ini (the real editor).RST 0 (exit to MSX-DOS).So a fresh-from-L80 TED.COM must be run once with TED <some-number> before it functions as an editor. MK.BAT does this with TED 12345. The prebuilt runtime/ted/TED.COM was already registered by its original developer, so it works on first launch.
dist/ted-run.zip and BASIC_ENTER=TED+TED26ENG.DOC (or TED26.DOC for Dutch). Both ship in runtime/ted/.F4, P.mkdir -p src/myproj and add MYPROG.MAC plus an AUTOEXEC.BAT:
M80 =MYPROG/M/P
L80 MYPROG,MYPROG/N/E
MYPROG
Add a pack_myproj() to tools/pack.sh that follows the same shape as pack_hello() (always include MSXDOS.SYS + COMMAND.COM from tools/msxdos/).
tools/pack.sh myproj, launch with ?DISKA_FILES_URL=...&FAST_BOOT=1 โ AUTOEXEC.BAT runs automatically when MSX-DOS boots.
Keep filenames 8.3 and uppercase. Use CRLF line endings (the pack.sh ensure_crlf step does this). Don't strip the CP/M Ctrl-Z (0x1A) EOF marker that's at the end of the original .MAC/.BAT files.
Already done: this repo is public at github.com/riesvriend/msx2026, and raw.githubusercontent.com is CORS-friendly to webmsx.org. The three one-click URLs in README.md work for anyone with a browser. They were verified end-to-end on May 9 2026 against WebMSX 6.0.8.
For your own fork, replace riesvriend with your GitHub username:
https://webmsx.org/?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=TED+LEES.MIJ&DISKA_FILES_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/<user>/msx2026/main/dist/ted-run.zip
Arbitrary other hosts may not have CORS โ drag-drop the zip onto the WebMSX page is the always-works fallback.
The DISK extension only provides the floppy interface โ to actually drop into MSX-DOS the disk needs MSXDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM in its root. pack.sh adds these from tools/msxdos/ to every zip it builds. Without them you land in Disk BASIC (Disk BASIC version 1.0) at the MSX BASIC Ok prompt.
| Param | Why |
|---|---|
MACHINE=MSX2PE | European MSX2+ (PAL 50Hz). TED targets MSX2; MSX2+ runs the same code with more RAM. |
PRESETS=DISK,RAM512 | Floppy interface + 512 KB RAM mapper. Plenty for TED. |
DISKA_FILES_URL=...zip | WebMSX builds a 720K floppy from this zip and inserts in drive A. |
FAST_BOOT=1 | Skips the boot animation. |
BASIC_ENTER=ML | After power-on, types the string + Enter. Works at MSX-DOS A> too, not only BASIC. |
Z80_CLOCK_MODE=8 | 8x Z80 speed โ makes M80/L80 builds tractable. |
VDP_CLOCK_MODE=8 | 8x VDP โ speeds up screen scrolling during M80's verbose output. |
?Command error from COMMAND.COM means MSX-DOS 1 didn't understand the line. Most common causes: > output redirection or | pipes (only in MSX-DOS 2), or ECHO (no built-in in MSX-DOS 1 โ write your message to a .TXT file or just remove it).Bad command or file name means the executable isn't on the disk. Check the zip contents (unzip -l dist/foo.zip) and ensure filenames are uppercase 8.3.Both wmsx/ and dist/ are served from the same localhost:8765 origin, so CORS doesn't apply and stdlib http.server is enough โ no custom server script needed.
# 1. clone WebMSX once
git clone https://github.com/ppeccin/WebMSX ~/WebMSX
# 2. set up a unified test directory side-by-side with the repo
mkdir -p /tmp/wmsx-test
ln -snf ~/WebMSX/release/stable/6.0/standalone /tmp/wmsx-test/wmsx
ln -snf "$(pwd)/dist" /tmp/wmsx-test/dist
# 3. serve it
python3 -m http.server 8765 --directory /tmp/wmsx-test
# 4. open
http://localhost:8765/wmsx/index.html?MACHINE=MSX2PE&PRESETS=DISK,RAM512&DISKA_FILES_URL=http://localhost:8765/dist/ted-run.zip&FAST_BOOT=1&BASIC_ENTER=TED+LEES.MIJ
Webmsx.org is fine for everything except CORS-blocked private zip URLs.
~/msx/. Keep CP850 + Ctrl-Z layout.dist/*.zip is generated, not hand-edited. Re-run tools/pack.sh <target> after any source change.MSX2PE with DISK,RAM512. Add Z80_CLOCK_MODE=8&VDP_CLOCK_MODE=8 for builds.MSXDOS.SYS + COMMAND.COM go in every zip; pack.sh handles this.