tnylpo is a CP/M 2.2 emulator for Unix/Linux that runs CP/M .COM executables. It's required for testing MBASIC programs compiled to CP/M format.

Important: tnylpo must be in your PATH for test scripts to work.

tnylpo must be built from source - there are no package manager installations available.

Install ncurses development libraries:

sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev

sudo dnf install ncurses-devel
# or
sudo yum install ncurses-devel

Should be included with Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

sudo pacman -S ncurses

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://gitlab.com/gbrein/tnylpo.git
cd tnylpo

2. Build tnylpo

make

3. Install Option A: System-wide (requires sudo)

sudo make install
# Installs to /usr/local/bin

4. Install Option B: User directory (no sudo needed)

mkdir -p ~/bin
cp tnylpo ~/bin/

5. Add to PATH (if using Option B)

# Add to current session
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"

# Make permanent - add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc

# Reload bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Verify tnylpo is in PATH
which tnylpo

# Check with our utility
python3 utils/check_tnylpo.py

# Compile a BASIC program
python3 test_compile.py test_loop.bas

# Run with tnylpo
tnylpo test.com

tnylpo program.com

tnylpo program.com arg1 arg2

tnylpo can be configured via ~/.tnylpo/tnylpo.conf. Common settings:

# Terminal settings
set terminal_lines 24
set terminal_columns 80

# Disk configuration
mount a: /path/to/cpm/disk/a
mount b: /path/to/cpm/disk/b

# Printer output
printer /tmp/tnylpo-printer.txt

• Full CP/M 2.2 BDOS/BIOS emulation
• Console I/O with ncurses
• File system access through Unix directories
• Printer support (output to file)
• Accurate Z80 CPU emulation
• Supports most CP/M programs

• tnylpo is not installed or not in PATH
• Run echo $PATH to check your PATH
• Run find / -name tnylpo 2>/dev/null to locate the binary

Install ncurses development package (see Prerequisites)

Install build tools:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install build-essential
• Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf group install "Development Tools"
• macOS: Install Xcode Command Line Tools

• Try different terminal emulator (xterm, gnome-terminal, etc.)
• Check TERM environment variable: echo $TERM
• Try: export TERM=xterm-256color

• Press Ctrl+C to interrupt
• Press Ctrl+Z to suspend, then kill %1 to terminate

The MBASIC compiler test scripts use /usr/bin/env tnylpo to find tnylpo in PATH. This approach is portable across different installation locations.

# 1. Write BASIC program
cat > hello.bas << 'EOF'
10 PRINT "Hello from CP/M!"
20 END
EOF

# 2. Compile to C
python3 test_compile.py hello.bas

# 3. Review generated C code
cat hello.c

# 4. Compile C to CP/M .COM file (done by test_compile.py)
# Uses: /usr/bin/env z88dk.zcc +cpm hello.c -create-app -o hello

# 5. Run on CP/M emulator
tnylpo hello.com

If tnylpo doesn't work for your system, alternatives include:

• RunCPM: https://github.com/MockbaTheBorg/RunCPM
• z80pack: https://github.com/udo-munk/z80pack
• YAZE-AG: http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/users/ag/yaze-ag/

However, test scripts are configured for tnylpo specifically.

• tnylpo on GitLab: https://gitlab.com/gbrein/tnylpo
• CP/M 2.2 Manual: http://www.cpm.z80.de/manuals/cpm22-m.pdf
• Z80 Instruction Set: http://www.z80.info/z80ins.txt

Test scripts use /usr/bin/env tnylpo to locate tnylpo in PATH. See:

• test_compile/test_compile.py - Test compilation and execution script
• utils/check_tnylpo.py - Installation verification utility