{"slug": "tiny386", "name": "tiny386", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 5, "warners": 0, "score": 3.262, "rising": 0.35, "first": "2025-11-08", "latest": "2026-09-24", "why": "", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/hchunhui/tiny386", "official_url": "https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["tiny386", "Tiny386"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 733793280, "item_id": 45862080, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45862080", "by": "accrual", "date": "2025-11-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Super cool work! Here's the emulator source", "excerpt": "Super cool work! Here's the emulator source: https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386 I wonder what the \"effective\" clock of the emulated CPU is, maybe we could run Speedsys or Landmark under DOS on it to see how it fares against a real 386. I happen to have a top-end 386 at 40MHz, 16MB FPM, and S3 801 VGA, but it's not quite fast enough to \"enjoy\" Win95 for me. :)", "context": "", "use_case": "emulating a 386 PC", "switched_from": "", "story": "He Chunhui's Tiny386 Turns an ESP32-S3 into a Fully-Functional 386-Powered PC"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["386 pc emulation on esp32", "running 386 pc on esp32", "emulating a 386 pc"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49828969", "title": "The newest ESP32 can run Linux and it's getting close to a Raspberry Pi", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49693613", "title": "A 386 PC for Your RP2350", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49389441", "title": "I ran Photoshop on a \u00a30.60 computer chip", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48342399", "title": "Muxcard, a dyi credit card size computer", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45861933", "title": "He Chunhui's Tiny386 Turns an ESP32-S3 into a Fully-Functional 386-Powered PC", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 797277394, "item_id": 49829837, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49829837", "by": "iamnothere", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "It is a great platform for this, considering the cost. There have been several decent ESP based emulators already, including many consoles, a ZX Spectrum emulator, and even a 386 emulator. https://github.com/foky26/Retro-Gamer https://github.com/EremusOne/ESPectrum https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386 New chips like the one in the article should be even more capable. 486 won\u2019t be out of reach for long. One of the big ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The newest ESP32 can run Linux and it's getting close to a Raspberry Pi"}, {"id": 795190784, "item_id": 49699424, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49699424", "by": "jasongill", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "there is a similar project that runs on an ESP32", "excerpt": "In case anyone missed it earlier on HN, there is a similar project that runs on an ESP32: https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386", "context": "", "use_case": "386 PC emulation on ESP32", "switched_from": "", "story": "A 386 PC for Your RP2350"}, {"id": 790309296, "item_id": 49394331, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49394331", "by": "mayli", "date": "2026-08-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Yep, there is a project tiny386, Win95 on ESP32", "excerpt": "Yep, there is a project tiny386, Win95 on ESP32, $1.85 chip. https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386/tree/master https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/11/14/windows-95-made-to-run-on-esp32-s3-hardware-with-tiny386-x86-pc-emulator/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran Photoshop on a \u00a30.60 computer chip"}, {"id": 773902864, "item_id": 48368929, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48368929", "by": "cbdevidal", "date": "2026-06-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "What fun! I\u2019d love to also go the opposite direction, a full-sized laptop with an ESP32 running tiny386 and Windows 95 ^_^ https://www.hackster.io/news/he-chunhui-s-tiny386-turns-the-humble-esp32-s3-into-a-fully-functional-386-powered-desktop-pc-5454cf6e36a1", "context": "", "use_case": "Running 386 PC on ESP32", "switched_from": "", "story": "Muxcard, a dyi credit card size computer"}, {"id": 733793280, "item_id": 45862080, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45862080", "by": "accrual", "date": "2025-11-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Super cool work! Here's the emulator source", "excerpt": "Super cool work! Here's the emulator source: https://github.com/hchunhui/tiny386 I wonder what the \"effective\" clock of the emulated CPU is, maybe we could run Speedsys or Landmark under DOS on it to see how it fares against a real 386. I happen to have a top-end 386 at 40MHz, 16MB FPM, and S3 801 VGA, but it's not quite fast enough to \"enjoy\" Win95 for me. :)", "context": "", "use_case": "emulating a 386 PC", "switched_from": "", "story": "He Chunhui's Tiny386 Turns an ESP32-S3 into a Fully-Functional 386-Powered PC"}]}