https://github.com/nsputnik/sc68-buildkit
Prebuilt static libsc68 (Benjamin Gerard's sc68 / Atari ST + Amiga SNDH player) + a one-command cross-build recipe.
https://github.com/nsputnik/sc68-buildkit
Last synced: 16 days ago
JSON representation
Prebuilt static libsc68 (Benjamin Gerard's sc68 / Atari ST + Amiga SNDH player) + a one-command cross-build recipe.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/nsputnik/sc68-buildkit
- Owner: nsputnik
- License: other
- Created: 2026-07-03T20:28:47.000Z (21 days ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-07-03T20:33:52.000Z (21 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-07-03T22:23:28.228Z (21 days ago)
- Language: C
- Size: 1.18 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: COPYING-sc68
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# sc68-buildkit
**Prebuilt static `libsc68` + a one-command recipe to build more targets.**
`libsc68` is the engine of **sc68** — Benjamin Gerard's Atari ST / Amiga music
player (Motorola 68000 CPU + YM-2149 / Paula emulation) that plays **SNDH** and
`.sc68` files. sc68 is a ~2016 autotools project whose source tree **no longer
builds cleanly** on modern systems. This kit packages the fixes and ships the
resulting libraries so you don't have to rediscover them.
> **Upstream:** sc68 © **Benjamin Gerard** (*Ben/OVR*) — ,
> source (mirror
> ), **GPLv3**. This repo only builds/repackages
> it — see *Credit & license* below.
## When to use sc68 vs psgplay
If you just want the best Atari **ST/STE** SNDH playback, reach for
**[psgplay](https://github.com/frno7/psgplay)** first: it emulates the **STE DMA
sound** (and the LMC1992 mixer), which sc68 does **not**, so it plays the STe /
MaxYMiser tunes (with their sampled drums/bass) that sc68 renders thin. psgplay
also builds cleanly on a Pi in ~1 minute (no source fixes), so it needs no
prebuilt kit like this one.
sc68 keeps two niches psgplay doesn't cover, which is why this kit still exists:
- **ICE-packed SNDH** — `psgplay` requires *uncompressed* SNDH data and refuses
packed files; **libsc68 depacks ICE transparently** (via the bundled `unice68`).
If your `.sndh` files are ICE-packed (magic `ICE!`), sc68 plays them as-is.
- **`.sc68` files and Amiga (Paula) tunes** — psgplay is Atari ST/STE only; sc68
covers `.sc68` and Amiga.
In the [retropie-game-music-player](https://github.com/nsputnik/retropie-game-music-player)
jukebox that consumes this kit, `psgjuke` (psgplay) is the primary SNDH engine and
`stjuke` (these libs) is the **fallback** — it fires only for ICE-packed / `.sc68`
/ Amiga tunes psgplay can't load.
## Just grab the prebuilt libs — no build needed
`prebuilt//` has ready-to-link static libraries + headers:
| target | CPU / libc | good for |
|---|---|---|
| `linux-armv7-glibc2.28` | 32-bit ARM, glibc 2.28 | Raspberry Pi OS "Buster", Pi Zero 2 W / 3 / 4 |
Link them into your program:
```sh
L=prebuilt/linux-armv7-glibc2.28
cc your_player.c -I"$L/include" \
-Wl,--start-group "$L"/lib/lib{sc68,dial68,io68,emu68,file68,unice68}.a -Wl,--end-group \
-lao -lz -lm -lpthread -ldl -o your_player
```
Runtime dependency: **libao** (`apt install libao-dev`). See
[`example/sndhtest.c`](example/sndhtest.c) for a minimal loader (opens an SNDH,
renders a few seconds, reports whether there's sound).
### Music to play
Grab SNDH tunes to feed it from the **[SNDH Archive](https://sndh.atari.org/)** —
the full, curated collection of Atari ST YM-2149 music (~9,900 tunes, organised
by composer). Download the whole set here:
> ****
Every `.sndh` there plays with these libraries.
## Build for another target
[`build/build.sh`](build/build.sh) cross-builds inside a Debian container that
matches the target's CPU **and** glibc, so the output runs there unchanged.
Needs Docker.
```sh
cd build
./build.sh # default: linux/arm/v7 buster (the Pi)
./build.sh linux/arm64 bookworm # aarch64
./build.sh linux/amd64 bookworm # x86-64
```
Results land in `prebuilt//`. PRs adding prebuilt targets welcome.
## What the build has to work around
The sc68 SVN/mirror tree won't configure or compile as-is. `build.sh` applies:
- **`tools/vcversion.sh` is missing** (it's SVN-generated). `configure.ac` runs
it via `esyscmd`, so it's stubbed — emitting the revision with **no trailing
newline** (a newline ends up inside `AC_INIT`'s version string and breaks
every generated `configure` with *"missing terminating `"`"*).
- **The meta-package bootstrap fails** (`Makefile.am: SOURCE_UNICE68 does not
appear in AM_CONDITIONAL`), so the sub-packages are built **standalone** in
order: **`as68 → unice68 → file68 → libsc68`**. `as68` (sc68's own 68000
assembler) must be built first and be on `PATH` — libsc68 assembles its TOS
trap emulator (`trapfunc.s → trap68.h`) with it.
- **`hexdump` is required** by the bootstrap → install `bsdmainutils`.
- **EOL Debian suites** (buster) → point apt at `archive.debian.org`.
## Why this is its own project
The sc68 build was hard-won, and the resulting `libsc68` is useful **well beyond
any single app** — anything that wants to play SNDH / `.sc68` on modern Linux or
ARM needs it. Rather than bury the fixes and the prebuilt libs inside one
consumer, this kit keeps them **reusable**: grab-and-go binaries plus a recipe to
rebuild for other targets. That way the next person doesn't repeat the fight.
**Used by:**
- [**retropie-game-music-player**](https://github.com/nsputnik/retropie-game-music-player)
— a RetroPie / EmulationStation chiptune jukebox. Its `stjuke` engine links
these libraries to play the Atari ST SNDH archive. It's the first real consumer,
and the reason this kit exists — see its
[`docs/BUILD-stjuke.md`](https://github.com/nsputnik/retropie-game-music-player/blob/main/docs/BUILD-stjuke.md).
## Credit & license
`libsc68` and everything under `prebuilt/` are part of **sc68**, © **Benjamin
Gerard**, licensed **GPLv3** — full text in [`COPYING-sc68`](COPYING-sc68).
Please keep that attribution; sc68 is his work, this kit just makes it buildable
again.
The build tooling and docs in this repo (`build/`, `example/`, this README) are
dedicated to the public domain (CC0). Note that anything you **distribute** that
includes the prebuilt libraries is a derivative of sc68 and therefore **GPLv3**.