Welcome to Retro Rocket!

Retro Rocket is a modern operating system inspired by the look and feel of classic home computers. It combines a clean, lightweight design with the ability to explore and run programs in BASIC - just like the 1980s, but without the need for vintage hardware.

What Retro Rocket is

A self-contained OS you can boot from CD or install to a hard disk.
A retro-inspired environment: simple, fast, and fun to explore.
A way to learn and play with BASIC programs - run built-in demos, type in your own code, or download new ones.
A platform that is retro in spirit, not in hardware: it targets modern 64-bit PCs, so you don’t need old kit.

What you can do with it

Boot into Retro Rocket on almost any PC (or inside a virtual machine).
Use the command shell to explore files and launch programs.
Write, edit, and run BASIC programs - no prior experience needed.
Play with sound and graphics demos to see what the system can do.
Use the 1 GB scratch RAM disk (in LiveCD mode) to save and experiment without touching your hard disk.

What Retro Rocket is not

It is not Linux, Windows, or a clone of another operating system.
It is not intended to run old DOS or Windows programs.
It is not designed for very old PCs with IDE drives or less than 4 GB of memory.

Who this guide is for

This guide is written for non-programmers:

Curious users who want to try Retro Rocket and explore its features.
People new to BASIC who want to load and run programs.
Anyone using the LiveCD who just wants to “poke around” without worrying about breaking their PC.

If you’re a developer or advanced user, there are separate reference pages for system internals, programming, and kernel modules.