Hi everyone!
I want to share a project I've been working on: Aura MSX, a fully working MSX1 emulator for the M5Stack Cardputer.
[image: 1782590415550-whatsapp-image-2026-06-06-at-9.06.59-pm.jpeg]
What is Aura MSX?
Aura is an MSX1 emulator written from scratch for the Cardputer. It runs real MSX software — games, BASIC programs, and tools — straight from the SD card, with a custom launcher to pick what to load.
Under the hood:
CPU: Z80 core by superzazu
Video: TMS9918A VDP emulation
Sound: AY-3-8910 PSG
BIOS: C-BIOS (free and open-source — no proprietary firmware required)
Custom launcher to browse ROMs and cassette images from the SD card
Datasette module (this is my favorite part)
Aura includes a working Kansas City Standard datasette emulator. It outputs FSK audio at 1200 baud through the Cardputer's headphone jack, so you can:
Save BASIC programs from the emulator as real .cas files
Load .cas files placed in the /cintas folder on the SD card
Connect the headphone output to a real MSX and transfer programs to original hardware
The timing was validated against cas2wav to make sure the audio is bit-accurate.
[image: 1782590436976-703539445_10238837044962711_853978074363069083_n-resized.jpg]
Hardware compatibility
Aura runs on both the original Cardputer and the Cardputer-ADV from a single binary. On the ADV, it uses the TCA8418 keyboard and the ES8311 audio codec automatically.
How to use it
Flash the firmware to your Cardputer
Prepare a FAT32 microSD card with:
ROM files in the root or in a folder
A /cintas folder for .cas cassette images
Insert the card, power on, and the launcher takes over
Documentation
A full Spanish user manual is included, plus a printable trifold quick reference card.
SD (FAT32)
/msx/roms/ cartuchos .ROM
/msx/disks/ programas .BAS
/cintas/ cintas .CAS
[image: 1782590948349-captura-de-pantalla-2026-06-27-170837.jpg]
I'll be uploading it to M5Burner shortly so it's a single click to flash. I'll edit this post with the link once it's up.
Feedback, bug reports, and suggestions are very welcome.
Cheers,
Altaris Software