Write BASIC next to a running C64
Commodore 64 Playground places an emulator and an editor in the same browser workspace. It is designed for trying short programs, returning to saved examples and switching between coding and emulated execution without leaving the page.
The project uses c64-ready, a VICE WebAssembly port, for emulation. Monaco provides the BASIC editing surface, connecting a modern editor experience to the constraints and immediacy of the original platform.
A practical experimentation loop
- Send BASIC from the editor into the emulator.
- Save programs locally through IndexedDB.
- Start from an included catalog of code snippets.
- Resize the editor/emulator panels or enter fullscreen.
- Load cartridge entries from a backend-managed library.
A library alongside the editor
The Express backend watches a configured cartridge folder and makes detected CRT files available through the interface. An authenticated administration view supports catalog management, with configuration kept outside the public description.
Cartridge selection performs a hard reset to reproduce the insertion workflow, so unsaved BASIC in emulator memory is not preserved. Keyboard capture is activated by focusing the emulator, allowing the editor to remain usable for typing code.
A different role from the program collection
This project is the interactive editing and emulation environment. The separate C64 Program Collection focuses on individual finished programs and readable sources; the two entries describe different parts of the retro-computing work.
Docker Compose supplies the documented runtime. The conceptual featured image evokes the editor/emulator combination and does not represent a specific cartridge, an original C64 model specification or a screenshot of the application.
Project notes
This overview was prepared from a private project repository reviewed on October 29, 2026. Source access remains private; credentials, internal endpoints and confidential implementation details are not included.