{"slug": "box64", "name": "Box64", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 6, "warners": 1, "score": 2.224, "rising": 0.35, "first": "2025-11-20", "latest": "2026-09-13", "why": "to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 0, "compare": 2, "warn": 1}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://box86.org/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Box64", "box64"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 794661619, "item_id": 49666351, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49666351", "by": "westurner", "date": "2026-09-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Box96/Box64 emulates x86 on ARM64 and RISC-V", "excerpt": "Emulation of RISC-V in software; container2wasm has TinyEmu for RISC-V. dearchap/tinyemu: https://github.com/dearchap/tinyemu Qemu also supports 32bit and 64bit RISC-V: \"RISC-V System emulator \u2014 QEMU documentation\" https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/target-riscv.html Emu86 emulates RISC-V in Python and also WASM now IIRC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41899475 .. https://github.com/gcallah/Emu86/blob/mast", "context": "", "use_case": "x86 emulation on ARM64/RISC-V", "switched_from": "", "story": "RISC-V Emulator and Linux System from Scratch"}, {"id": 769048880, "item_id": 48065555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48065555", "by": "Venn1", "date": "2026-05-08", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem", "excerpt": "They are powerful little devices. I used a Pi Zero 2 with an ethernet adapter to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem. Only swapped it out recently because I needed the Zero 2 for another project.", "context": "", "use_case": "running x86 game server on Pi Zero 2", "switched_from": "", "story": "Serving a Website on a Raspberry Pi Zero Running in RAM"}, {"id": 736248193, "item_id": 46015512, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46015512", "by": "zozbot234", "date": "2025-11-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Results on existing mobile hardware seem promising already.", "excerpt": "https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Steam states that you can simply run the x86-64 Steam client under emulation, in FEX-Emu or Box64. Results on existing mobile hardware seem promising already.", "context": "", "use_case": "Running x86 apps on ARM", "switched_from": "", "story": "Helping Valve to power up Steam devices"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 735998401, "item_id": 45999900, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45999900", "by": "geerlingguy", "date": "2025-11-20", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "there may be some bugs with both that and box64 right now, I was having trouble with both of them.", "excerpt": "CodeWeavers' Crossover just released a Preview version for Arm that incorporates Fex and allows games like Cyberpunk 2077 to run: https://www.codeweavers.com/blog/mjohnson/2025/11/6/twist-our-arm64-heres-the-latest-crossover-preview I've tested it on an Ampere workstation, and was trying it on a Pi, but it seems with Trixie, there may be some bugs with both that and box64 right now, I was having trouble with both of ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "FEX-emu \u2013 Run x86 applications on ARM64 Linux devices"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["running x86 apps on arm", "x86 emulation on arm64/risc-v", "running x86 game server on pi zero 2"], "compared": [{"slug": "fex", "name": "FEX", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49651107", "title": "On Binary Translation and Its Consequences", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49603397", "title": "RISC-V Emulator and Linux System from Scratch", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48064312", "title": "Serving a Website on a Raspberry Pi Zero Running in RAM", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558148", "title": "RTX 5090 and Raspberry Pi: Can It Game?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46006616", "title": "Helping Valve to power up Steam devices", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45905850", "title": "FEX-emu \u2013 Run x86 applications on ARM64 Linux devices", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1, "compare": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 794996259, "item_id": 49687266, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49687266", "by": "MayeulC", "date": "2026-09-13", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "I'd be curious to see some Prism vs FEX (vs Rosetta vs Box64) benchmarks.", "excerpt": "I'd be curious to know the compiler used by the Geekbench version they tested. MSVC2019+ now include \"volatile metadata\" to the output executables to make emulation on ARM faster[0][1], though it seems to be off by default since MSVC2022, I am curious to know why they disabled it. Microsoft now also offers an \"Arm64EC\" ABI, that, as I understand it, helps calling into native ARM libraries from emulated x86 code by av", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "On Binary Translation and Its Consequences"}, {"id": 794661619, "item_id": 49666351, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49666351", "by": "westurner", "date": "2026-09-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Box96/Box64 emulates x86 on ARM64 and RISC-V", "excerpt": "Emulation of RISC-V in software; container2wasm has TinyEmu for RISC-V. dearchap/tinyemu: https://github.com/dearchap/tinyemu Qemu also supports 32bit and 64bit RISC-V: \"RISC-V System emulator \u2014 QEMU documentation\" https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/target-riscv.html Emu86 emulates RISC-V in Python and also WASM now IIRC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41899475 .. https://github.com/gcallah/Emu86/blob/mast", "context": "", "use_case": "x86 emulation on ARM64/RISC-V", "switched_from": "", "story": "RISC-V Emulator and Linux System from Scratch"}, {"id": 769048880, "item_id": 48065555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48065555", "by": "Venn1", "date": "2026-05-08", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem", "excerpt": "They are powerful little devices. I used a Pi Zero 2 with an ethernet adapter to host an x86 TrackMania\u00b2 server using BOX64 and it never had a problem. Only swapped it out recently because I needed the Zero 2 for another project.", "context": "", "use_case": "running x86 game server on Pi Zero 2", "switched_from": "", "story": "Serving a Website on a Raspberry Pi Zero Running in RAM"}, {"id": 745019025, "item_id": 46563689, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563689", "by": "ValdikSS", "date": "2026-01-09", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "And sometimes quite faster: https://printserver.ink/blog/box64-vs-fex/", "excerpt": "And sometimes quite faster: https://printserver.ink/blog/box64-vs-fex/", "context": "", "use_case": "Running x86 apps on ARM", "switched_from": "", "story": "RTX 5090 and Raspberry Pi: Can It Game?"}, {"id": 736248193, "item_id": 46015512, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46015512", "by": "zozbot234", "date": "2025-11-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Results on existing mobile hardware seem promising already.", "excerpt": "https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Steam states that you can simply run the x86-64 Steam client under emulation, in FEX-Emu or Box64. Results on existing mobile hardware seem promising already.", "context": "", "use_case": "Running x86 apps on ARM", "switched_from": "", "story": "Helping Valve to power up Steam devices"}, {"id": 735998401, "item_id": 45999900, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45999900", "by": "geerlingguy", "date": "2025-11-20", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "there may be some bugs with both that and box64 right now, I was having trouble with both of them.", "excerpt": "CodeWeavers' Crossover just released a Preview version for Arm that incorporates Fex and allows games like Cyberpunk 2077 to run: https://www.codeweavers.com/blog/mjohnson/2025/11/6/twist-our-arm64-heres-the-latest-crossover-preview I've tested it on an Ampere workstation, and was trying it on a Pi, but it seems with Trixie, there may be some bugs with both that and box64 right now, I was having trouble with both of ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "FEX-emu \u2013 Run x86 applications on ARM64 Linux devices"}]}