ZX Spectrum dot commands & software: a guide

ZXPkg is a package registry and preservation archive for the ZX Spectrum and ZX Spectrum Next. You can browse and download everything on the web, or manage packages from the Spectrum itself with the on-device client.

What are dot commands?

Dot commands are small programs you run from BASIC by typing a dot and a name, e.g. .morse. They live in the /DOT folder of your SD card and run under esxDOS and NextZXOS. Most are the sort of thing you'd find in /usr/bin on a bigger system: file utilities, converters, network tools and so on.

How to install

1. Open a package page and download the command file (plus its .sig if you want to check the signature).
2. Copy it into /DOT on your SD card (c:/dot on the Next).
3. Type the name with a leading dot in BASIC, e.g. .morse.

That's the whole procedure. If you'd rather skip the card shuffling, the on-device client does it from the Spectrum: .pkg searches the registry and keeps track of what you have installed, and .pkg-inst installs and updates packages after verifying their signatures. Both work on the Next and on classic esxDOS machines.

Which machines are supported?

Each package declares a minimum machine (16k, 48k, 128k or next) and runs on that model and anything above it, since Spectrum software is upward-compatible. It also says which OS it needs: esxDOS, NextZXOS, or either. The catalogue filters on both, so you can see what actually runs on your setup.

Publish your own

Fill in the manifest wizard to get a .zxpkg.toml, commit that file to your public git repo (one manifest per package) and submit the repo. ZXPkg picks the manifest up on the next crawl and publishes a new version each time you bump the version number. It also mirrors the whole repo, binaries included, so your package survives even if your hosting doesn't.

FAQ

What are ZX Spectrum dot commands?

Small programs you run from BASIC by typing a dot followed by a name, e.g. .morse. They sit in the /DOT folder of the SD card and work under esxDOS and NextZXOS. In practice they are the Spectrum's command-line tools.

How do I install a dot command on the ZX Spectrum Next?

Download the command file from its package page, copy it into /DOT on the SD card (c:/dot on the Next), then run it from BASIC with a leading dot, e.g. .morse. If you'd rather not pull the card out, the .pkg and .pkg-inst client does the same job directly on the machine, with signature checks built in.

Does this work on a classic ZX Spectrum, not just the Next?

Yes. Dot commands run on classic 48K/128K Spectrums with a divMMC or DivIDE interface running esxDOS. Check the package page for the minimum machine (16k, 48k, 128k or next) and the OS it supports.

How do I publish my own package?

Generate a .zxpkg.toml with the manifest wizard, commit it to your public git repo (one manifest per package) and submit the repo URL. The crawler indexes the repo once the manifest shows up and re-indexes whenever you push changes.

Where are the files kept?

ZXPkg clones every repo it indexes and mirrors each binary itself, so downloads keep working after the original repository or website is gone. The archive is meant to outlive its sources; that is the preservation half of the project.