The continuation of the classic BASIC256 educational programming environment — modernized to Qt6, CMake, CI and multi-platform, while preserving the spirit and compatibility of the original language.
Released Aug 13, 2026 · GPL v3 or later · Windows · Linux · Raspberry Pi · macOS · Web
About this release
BASIC-256 is a simple, graphical dialect of BASIC designed for education. It lets beginners learn programming through immediate visual feedback — graphics, sound and experimentation. This repository continues the original SourceForge project (last released there as 2.0.0.11 in 2020), taking the 2.0.99.10.2 branch as its starting point with the aim of modernizing the codebase into a v2.1 focused on portability, maintainability and education.
v2.1.0 is the first stable release of that line, ending the beta series that ran through July 2026. Full online help lives at the new documentation site, reachable in-app via Help → Online help or by pressing F1 over a keyword.
Highlights of the modernized build
Qt6 + CMake
Rebuilt on Qt6 with a CMake build system and MSVS 2022 support.
Runs in the browser
A WebAssembly build brings the full editor and interpreter to the web — no install.
CI + test suite
GitHub Actions CI and an automated TestSuite guard against regressions.
Multi-platform
Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi and macOS builds for both Apple Silicon and Intel.
New CLI options
Fullscreen, graphics-only, text-only and silent modes for kiosk-style running.
Standard library
A new math.kbs module adds helpers like clamp, lerp, remap and more.
Changelog
Summarised from the project ChangeLog. Newest first.
2.1.0
The first stable release of the 2.1 series, the continuation of the original BASIC256 at version 2.0.0.11.
A new MAXIMIZE statement lets a program maximise or restore the IDE window itself.
Maximising the IDE no longer hands all the extra width to the Edit window, and re-docking a floated Graphics window no longer drags its floating size in with it.
Checkable menu items now show a check box, or a radio button where only one of a group can apply, drawn clear of the item text at the size the platform intends.
A new logo and a mascot, BitBot, used for the program icon on every platform, the installer, the About box and the browser loading screen.
New and updated example programs, including menu-driven tours of the SPRITE, SOUND and IMAGE statements.
The Windows installer no longer leaves a second copy of the Examples and TestSuite behind.
2.1 Beta 3
Project moved to Beta 3. If no blocking issues arise, this line is intended to become the official, stable v2.1.
Whole numbers are the full 64 bits on every platform. The bitwise shift operators (<< and >>), reading a large whole number from a string or with INPUT, and the error raised on too-large numbers now behave identically on all architectures.
Colour themes. The Edit and Text Output windows follow a theme chosen from View → Theme: Follow System (the default), Light, or Dark. The Graphics Output window stays white and is not themed, so existing programs draw exactly as before.
The About box, Help → Online help and F1 keyword help now open doc.basic256.org, which serves the same documentation site under its own name.
Help → Check for update now opens the GitHub releases page, where builds for every platform are published — compare the version there with the one in Help → About BASIC-256.
Browser: sound and speech now work on iPad and iPhone, started by the first touch anywhere on the page.
Browser: demos that expected a keyboard can now be driven by touch. BubbleUniverse_variations starts on a tap and cycles its variations on a tap or click, StrangeAttractors is explored by dragging and cleared with a double-tap, and AIChatbot fills the window instead of sharing it with the editor.
Examples: PacMan reworked — a fixed 50 frames a second, a score that carries across lives, and a narrowed playfield so the score and legend get a panel of their own. New game Claude-AI-neon_snake added.
2.1 Beta 2
Project moved to Beta 2 — running, with issues possibly still dormant in program and docs.
Relicensed from GPL v2 to GPL v3 or later. The original GPLv2 headers all carried the “or (at your option) any later version” clause, which permits the upgrade; every original copyright holder and year is preserved. The bundled md5 (RSA Data Security) and LineNumberArea (Qt example, BSD) files keep their own compatible licences.
Polyphonic sound corrected.
REF() (passing arrays to subroutines by reference) corrected.
New example SoundStatementDemo.kbs under Examples/Sound_Speech, demonstrating the new SOUND… statements.
New example ImageStatementDemo.kbs under Examples/Image, demonstrating the new IMAGE… statements.
An Apple macOS build for Intel is now available, requiring macOS 15 (Sequoia).
Edit and Output windows pinned to a light scheme so code and text stay readable on dark OS themes — superseded in Beta 3 by the selectable themes above.
2.1 Beta 1
Project moved to Beta state.
New Docusaurus documentation site replaces the old doc.basic256.org, wired to Help → Online help and F1.
All desktops now show File → Open Examples (previously only the WASM build).
Fixed small errors found during testing.
Runs in the browser: the Qt6 move enabled a WebAssembly build — BASIC-256 now runs from a web browser at the live demo (with a few documented caveats).
Fixed small errors found during testing.
Migrated from Qt5 to Qt6 — a major update enabling better performance on ARM-based systems like the Raspberry Pi.
Fixed small errors from edge-case tests in the TestSuite.
Added CLI option -f: with -r/-a/-g/-t, opens the program fullscreen.
Added CLI option -s: suppress all screen output (handy for testing or file/DB scripts).
Bugfix: the Windows installer no longer creates a spurious basic256 directory with Examples and TestSuite.
AppImage files provided for Linux-x86 and Linux-ARM, alongside the tar.gz builds.
CLI -g now opens the Graphics window at the size you defined (500×500 or your graphsize).
Bugfix: on Windows, toolbar icon labels now follow the system settings.
Project start
Copied the SourceForge build 2.0.99.10.2 over to GitHub.
Replaced qmake (*.pro) with CMake (build.yml, CMakeLists.txt).
Replaced MinGW with MSYS2 for Windows builds; replaced deprecated Qt operators and moved some POSIX structures to Qt.
First builds: macOS Silicon .app (brew), standalone tarballs for Linux-x86 and Linux-ARM (Raspberry Pi), and a standalone Windows zip.
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