Build from Visual Studio Code

Install Prerequisites

1. Install
2. Visual Studio Code.
3. Install Docker.
4. Windows: Install WSL and latest version of Ubuntu.

Clone the Solution Repo

WindowsLinux and macOS

1. Open WSL/Ubuntu terminal window.

2. Clone the repo

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/gloveboxes/Altair-8800-Emulator
   

1. Open a terminal window

2. Clone the repo

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/gloveboxes/Altair-8800-Emulator
   

Open the Solution

1. From command line, navigate to the Altair-8800-Emulator folder

2. Run the following command to open the folder with VS Code.

   code .
   

3. Reopen in Container

   • This will build an Ubuntu 25.04 (trixie) environment and install all the dev tools.

4. Optionally update the [args] json property in the .vscode/launch.json file for the build configuration. Available options are:

   • --MqttHost <host>: MQTT broker hostname (required for MQTT)
   • --MqttPort <port>: MQTT broker port (default: 1883)
   • --MqttClientId <client_id>: MQTT client ID (default: AltairEmulator_)
   • --MqttUsername <username>: MQTT username (default: none)
   • --MqttPassword <password>: MQTT password (default: none)
   • --NetworkInterface <iface>: Network interface to use
   • --FrontPanel <mode>: Front panel selection: sensehat, kit, none (default: none)
   • --OpenWeatherMapKey <key>: OpenWeatherMap API key
   • --OpenAIKey <key>: OpenAI API key
   • --OpenAIEndpoint <url>: OpenAIEnpoint
   • --SlowCpuOnDisconnect <bool>: true or false
     • The default endpoint is https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions.
     • For LM Studio, use http://IP_ADDRESS:1234/v1/chat/completions. If Altair runs in a container, use the LM Studio server's IP address—not localhost—since localhost refers to the container itself.

   Example: Connecting to a ThingsBoard MQTT broker

   To connect to a ThingsBoard MQTT broker, set the args property in your .vscode/launch.json like this:

   "args": [
       "--MqttHost", "my-thingsboard-host",
       "--MqttClientId", "vscode",
   ]
   

5. Save the launch.json file.

6. Press F5 to compile and launch the Altair emulator.