Project Source Code for Programmers

Browse or check out your own local copy of the project source code from our Bitbucket Git Repository and Gitlab repositories here.

Our software releases

In our software release area you can download the latest Z88 operating system for Flash cards, Z88 emulator, 3rd party applications and desktop tools to upload your files to the Z88.

Chat with us on Telegram

We have a public chat room of all things Z88 on @cambridgez88 (https://t.me/cambridgez88). If you need help with your Z88, want to know latest news and development, this is the place to be.

All notifications of changes in our project is relayed to this chatroom. You will be able to monitor any progress we do.

Watch our YouTube video about the Z88

We are occasionally doing some videos on our YouTube account, see them here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/cambridgez88

This web space has been created by and for the 'die-hard' users of the Cambridge Z88, the iPad of the 80's, launched in September 1987 at the PCW computer show in London. The company behind it was Cambridge Computer, a spring-off company of Sinclair Research, founded by Clive Sinclair. The Z88 was the final computer in the Z80 CPU "series" that Clive Sinclair created with the team of designers and engineers that also were famous for the ZX-80, ZX-81 and ZX Spectrum.

The object of this project is to streamline the operating system, OZ and to build new applications by replacing the built-in ROM with a larger device. All the software and documents here, is provided for free, ready to be downloaded in source code, or as ready-made binaries - all GPL V2 licensed.

This project started in 1989, when the Z88 was still commercially supported by Cambridge Computer - the manufacturer of the Z88. The idea behind this was to identify low cost tools (ideally for free) to develop applications, in the hope that a broader software base would prolong the life of the portable; tools that could be used by both professionals and enthusiasts. Cambridge Computer supported the software with very expensive compiler tools. This, and the cost of the incomplete 'Z88 Developer Notes,' took software development beyond the reach of the hobbyist.

The Z88 project was formed on Sourceforge in 2002, where a group of people uploaded source code and tools, that had been produced since 1989. After the launch of the public project on Sourceforge, a lot of more work has been achieved from valued contributions made during those years by the community, for the community. In 2006 Richard Russell (author of BBC BASIC) released a new version for Z88 which incorporated "the patch" (*EDIT, MODE, CLG, DRAW, MOVE, PLOT and POINT commands), now integrated as part of the Z88 ROM.

Clive Sinclair

30/07/40 - 16/09/21

Doing software development on a real Z88 is possible, but it is very cumbersome and inefficient. A Z88 emulator was built (OZvm) and is still being improved, so that tools could be used to develop, compile, execute and test the software seamlessly on one computer. A small, dedicated team got together, disassembled the original code and provided a full source listing of the "OZ" v4 ROM. This version was then worked on, improving its operation and fixing bugs. Whilst understanding what the software was doing, the 'Z88 Developer Notes' were expanded and updated with this knowledge. You can now upload the completed version of OZ and use it on your own Z88.

Many ideas and suggestions were expressed by individual users at that time in the only public forum available, "Z88 EPROM," a bi-monthly magazine published by Roy Woodward. Many of these ideas from that publication have been implemented into this project.

Years later, long after Cambridge Computer had closed, a small company remained to support the Z88 commercially, Rakewell Ltd - and still does today. The internet has now become a useful way to get support for the Z88.

Latest project news are written in the BLOG.

Z88 Emulator

If you don't have a Z88 and are curious about what this portable can do, download a copy of the OZvm application for your deskop (Linux, Windows or Mac)

Z88 User Guide

Read all about how to use the Z88 and are curious about how to use the computer to its full potential. Click here to read the latest User Guide.

BBC BASIC Reference Guide

The 2nd edition of all the technical details of BBC BASIC available on the Z88. Click here to read it.

Z88 Developers' Notes

Do you want to know how the Z88 operating system is built? How to make new applications? Dive into the deep cave of Z80 Assembly language programming. Click here to read the Z88 Developers' Notes.

Z88 EPROM Magasine

All the "Z88 EPROM" Magasines available here in PDF format,

Click here to read them all

Available documentation:

Space:	BBC BASIC (Z80) Reference Guide for Cambridge Z88 The 2nd edition of the original BBC BASIC Reference Guide, updated with many new details.	Browse the "BBCREF" space Add a page to "BBCREF"
Space:	Cambridge Z88 User Guide Z88 User Guide 6th edition. The user guide reflects the OZ ROM V4.5 and later releases, developed by the Z88 Community.	Browse the "UG" space Add a page to "UG"
Space:	CPU Assembler - Mpm This crossassembler command line tool currently supports compilation of Cambridge Z88 ROM (Zilog Z80) source code and Ca…	Browse the "MPM" space Add a page to "MPM"
Space:	EazyLink Client Documentation about the EazyLink Client that runs on a desktop operating system like Linux, Mac OSX or Windows and conne…	Browse the "EAZ" space Add a page to "EAZ"
Space:	EazyLink Client User Guide V1.0 The online User Guide that is accessed through the browser from the EazyLink II Desktop Client	Browse the "EAZUGV10" space Add a page to "EAZUGV10"
Space:	EazyLink Popdown The EazyLink popdown is run on the Z88, and is the server part which listens to commands sent to it through the serial p…	Browse the "ZEP" space Add a page to "ZEP"
Space:	FlashStore (Z88 popdown) Flashstore is a dedicated file manager for Rakewell flash cards and is also able to fetch & store files on EPROM cards. …	Browse the "ZFS" space Add a page to "ZFS"
Space:	OZvm User Guide V1.1 The online user guide that is referred, when clicking the "User Guide" menu.	Browse the "OZVMUG11" space Add a page to "OZVMUG11"
Space:	PC PipeDream	Browse the "PCPD" space Add a page to "PCPD"
Space:	RomCombiner (Z88 BBC BASIC) RomCombiner is a BASIC program which allows you to combine several ROM images onto a single card, thus enabling you to u…	Browse the "ZRC" space Add a page to "ZRC"
Space:	RomUpdate (Z88 application & BBC BASIC)	Browse the "ZRU" space Add a page to "ZRU"
Space:	UnZip (Z88 Application)	Browse the "ZUZ" space Add a page to "ZUZ"
Space:	Welcome This is the Home Page	Browse the "welcome" space Add a page to "welcome"
Space:	Z88 Developers' Notes These notes provides a comprehensive description of the hardware and software of the Z88 portable. The machine has a pow…	Browse the "DN" space Add a page to "DN"
Space:	Z88 Emulator - "OZvm" The "OZ" virtual machine is the hardware emulation of the Cambridge Z88 portable computer and periphial cards, whose mai…	Browse the "OZVM" space Add a page to "OZVM"
Space:	Z88 EPROM Magazines All the Z88 EPROM Club Magazines in PDF format	Browse the "Z88EPR" space Add a page to "Z88EPR"
Space:	Z88 Leaflets, Applications & Projects Z88 Applications need to be written. Projects need to be built. This section is a central resource for them both, to ac…	Browse the "ZP" space Add a page to "ZP"
Space:	Z88MAGIC This book will help all users of the Z88 to reach an understanding of how to use it with the minimum of hassle. Topics c…	Browse the "ZMAGIC" space Add a page to "ZMAGIC"
Space:	Z88 Quick Guide & Help This section is for users who have acquired a Z88 and want to know either how to get it working, or what they need to ge…	Browse the "QG" space Add a page to "QG"
Space:	Z88 ROM All documentation and information about the Z88 ROM development	Browse the "OZ" space Add a page to "OZ"
Space:	Z88 Service Manual The service manual includes a description of the circuit together with test routines. It also describes details of Z88 T…	Browse the "ZSM" space Add a page to "ZSM"
Space:	Z88 User Guide V4.0 The original Z88 User Guide 4th edition as it was supplied with the Z88 computer, edited with updated screenshots and gr…	Browse the "UG40" space Add a page to "UG40"
Space:	ZipUp	Browse the "ZIP" space Add a page to "ZIP"

What we're working on:

Recent updates

Cambridge Z88
May 21, 2024 • contributed by Gunther Strube
Eazylink2 1.0.4
Sept 17, 2023 • contributed by Steven Pannell
ZEsarUX X
Sept 12, 2023 • contributed by Cesar Hernandez
ZEsarUX 10.3
May 10, 2023 • contributed by Cesar Hernandez
ZEsarUX 10.2 stable
Oct 26, 2022 • contributed by Cesar Hernandez
Fresh developer builds of OZ ROM
Sept 08, 2022 • contributed by Vic Gerhardi
Romcombiner.zip
Sept 08, 2022 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
romupdate.zip
Sept 08, 2022 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
z88-new-standalone-flash-tools (5).zip
Sept 08, 2022 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
Contiguous memory allocation and swap
Sept 22, 2021 • contributed by Elpekos
enter-key.png
Oct 18, 2020 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
symb_square.png
Oct 18, 2020 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
256K-s3.png
Oct 18, 2020 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
1M-s2.png
Oct 18, 2020 • attached by Vic Gerhardi
1M-s1.png
Oct 18, 2020 • attached by Vic Gerhardi

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