Quickstart

Install the binary, assemble a program for the machine you care about, and run it. Five minutes, no project layout, no build file.

Install

# macOS, Linux
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/asm198x/asm198x/releases/latest/download/asm198x-installer.sh | sh

# Windows
irm https://github.com/asm198x/asm198x/releases/latest/download/asm198x-installer.ps1 | iex

Homebrew, direct archives and the rest are on Install.

asm198x --version

Pick a machine

The same command assembles for all of them. What changes is --dialect, which picks the syntax your source is written in, and the flag naming what to write — a .prg, a snapshot, an executable.

Commodore 64

        *= $0801
        ; BASIC stub, so RUN reaches the code: 10 SYS 2064
        !byte $0c,$08,$0a,$00,$9e,$32,$30,$36,$34,$00,$00,$00

        *= $0810
        lda #$05                ; green
        sta $d020               ; border colour
        rts

asm198x --dialect acme --prg border.asm -o border.prg

Load it in an emulator and RUN. The border turns green and control returns to BASIC.

ZX Spectrum

        org $8000
start:  ld a, 2                 ; red
        out ($fe), a            ; border
loop:   jr loop
        end start

asm198x --dialect pasmo --sna border.asm -o border.sna

Open the snapshot. The border turns red and the program loops — a snapshot owns the machine, so there is nowhere to return to. end start is what tells the snapshot where to begin.

Amiga

        section code,code
start:  moveq   #0,d0           ; return code 0
        rts

asm198x --dialect vasm --exe border.asm -o border

That writes a loadable hunk executable, which is what AmigaDOS runs. It exits quietly with a return code of nothing-went-wrong.