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complete 2026 web-applications

Emulatron E6

A browser-based retro BBS terminal emulator for connecting to classic bulletin board systems.

Emulatron E6 brings the nostalgia of 1980s and 1990s bulletin board systems to your modern browser. Connect to classic BBSes, run vintage software, and experience the text-based interfaces, ANSI art, and door games that defined early online communities.

What It Does

This isn’t just a terminal emulator—it’s a full retrocomputing platform. You can dial into real BBSes over Telnet, but you can also boot standalone systems: a TI CC-40 calculator, a Commodore VIC-20, an Altair 8800. Each backend runs its own CPU emulator, storage system, and peripheral simulation.

The project grew from “let’s make modem sounds” to a 150,000+ line codebase with five CPU architectures, three interpreted languages, a packet-switched network simulation, and a multiplayer game about being a goose.

Technical Deep Dives

I’ve written extensively about the engineering challenges and solutions:

Hardware Emulation

Audio & Modems

Storage & Peripherals

Languages & Interpreters

Networking & Protocols

Games & Applications

Identity & Infrastructure

Development Journey

The project evolved over several intense weeks. These journey logs capture the day-to-day decisions, rabbit holes, and breakthroughs:

Tech Stack

  • Frontend: TypeScript, React, Next.js, Canvas API, Web Audio API, Web Workers
  • Backend Services: Rust (Axum), gRPC, NATS messaging
  • CPU Emulation: Rust compiled to WebAssembly
  • Parsing: Pest parser generator (Rust)
  • Infrastructure: Docker, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL

Whether you’re a BBS veteran looking to revisit the old days or a newcomer curious about pre-web online culture, Emulatron provides an accessible gateway to this fascinating piece of computing history.