VM manager

Opening 86Box will start the virtual machine manager, which allows for creating, managing, starting and controlling multiple emulated machine configurations.

Note

• This manager is currently a preview, with a limited feature set expanding upon the previous standalone 86Box Manager app. Other managers with more features can still be used.

• Running 86Box directly no longer creates or starts an emulated machine in the current folder like on previous versions. The -P/--vmpath command line option can be used to start a machine directly instead.

• The manager can be fully disabled (restoring the behavior of previous 86Box versions when launched without specifying a virtual machine path on the command line) by adding vmm_disabled = 1 to the global configuration file, which is stored at one of the following locations based on the platform:

  • Windows: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\86Box\86box_global.cfg

  • Linux: ~/.config/86Box/86box_global.cfg

  • macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/86Box/86box_global.cfg

Machine list

The left-hand side of the manager window displays a list of all machines found in the system directory, along with their current state and icon. Click on a machine to select it.

The following options are available by right-clicking a machine:

• Start: start the machine.

• Hard reset: force a reset of the machine.

• Force shutdown: force a shutdown of the machine. If this fails due to a frozen 86Box process, try Kill.

• Ctrl+Alt+Del: send a Ctrl+Alt+Del key combination to the machine.

• Settings: open the Settings window to configure the machine.

• Change display name: change the name by which the machine is identified on the manager and 86Box window. Changing this will not rename the machine’s folder.

• Set icon: change the icon displayed next to the machine on the list.

  • Select an icon from the preset list, or click Reset to restore the default icon.

• Clone: make a copy of the machine.

• Kill: forcibly terminate the machine’s 86Box process if one is running.

• Wipe NVRAM: clear the machine’s CMOS non-volatile memory. On models with Flash ROM, the original BIOS is also reflashed.

• Delete: delete the machine, along with everything stored within its directory.

• Open folder: open the directory where the machine’s configuration file is stored.

• Open printer tray: open the directory where documents printed by the machine’s emulated printers are saved.

• Open screenshots folder: open the directory where screenshots of the machine are saved.

• Show config file: display the contents of the machine’s 86box.cfg file for sharing, support requests and bug reports.

Search

The search box at the bottom of the machine list allows for filtering the list by any of the following criteria:

• Display name and folder name.

• Names of hardware components present in the machines, as displayed in the details pane.

• Image file names for any media inserted into the machines, including hard disks, floppies and CDs.

Advanced users can enable regular expressions to perform more complex searches.

Machine details

The right-hand side of the manager window displays information and controls for the selected machine:

• A summary of the machine’s configuration.

• A gallery of screenshots saved through Take screenshot or the respective keyboard shortcut.

• A small text area for writing any notes about the machine.

• Controls for the machine: Settings, Hard reset, Force shutdown, Start/Pause, Ctrl+Alt+Del.

• The machine’s current status, with the 86Box process ID if one is running.

Menu bar

The menu bar located at the top of the manager window provides controls for the manager as a whole.

File

• New machine: create a new machine from scratch or from an existing configuration file.

• Exit: quit the manager. Requires confirmation if any machines are currently running.

Tools

• Preferences: open the Preferences window, which provides the following options:

  • System Directory: view or change the folder where emulated machines are stored.

  • Language: select a language for the 86Box user interface. The Default button resets back to the system language.

  • Remember size & position: automatically save the manager window’s size and position and the machine list’s width.

  • Check for updates on startup: automatically check for 86Box updates when starting the manager.

  • Use regular expressions in search box: enable the use of Perl-syntax regexes to perform more complex searches with the search box.

  • Color scheme: select a visual style for the 86Box user interface. System uses the operating system’s global preference if possible.

Note

• The manager must be restarted for any changes to the system directory to take effect.

• The system directory is scanned recursively for machines through their 86box.cfg files.

Warning

When setting a new system directory, make sure there is no 86box.cfg file at its root; otherwise, the system directory itself will be detected as an emulated machine, and deleting that machine will also delete all machines stored in the system directory. This bug was fixed in 86Box 6.0.

• Check for updates: check for and download any available 86Box version update.

Help

• Documentation: open the very documentation you’re reading.

• About 86Box: show credits, license and build information about 86Box.

Status bar

The status bar located at the bottom of the manager window displays a count of running, paused and total available machines.

Additionally, any information about available updates will be displayed in the status bar if checking for updates on startup is enabled.