atrcopy 10.1

Utility to manage file systems on Atari 8-bit (DOS 2) and Apple ][ (DOS 3.3) disk images.

atrcopy

Python command line utility to manage file systems on Atari 8-bit and Apple ][ disk images.

Contents

• atrcopy

• Prerequisites

  • Python

  • Dependencies

• Installation

• Features

• Supported Formats

  • Supported Disk Image Types

  • Supported File System Formats

  • Other Supported Formats

  • Supported Compression/Container Formats

• Usage

• Examples

  • Creating Disk Images

  • Creating a Custom Boot Disk

  • Creating Programs on the Disk Image

    • Creating Atari 8-bit Executables

    • Creating DOS 3.3 Binaries

  • Example on macOS

• References

  • Related Atari Projects

  • Related Apple Projects

Prerequisites

Python

Starting with atrcopy 7.0, Python 3.6 is required. Python 2 support has been dropped. Python 3.7 and beyond will be supported when they are released, but 3.6 will probably remain the minimum version. From what I know now of future Python versions, I don’t plan on requiring any language features beyond 3.6.

Supported Python versions:

• Python 3.6 (and later)

If you need Python 2 support, atrcopy 6.5 and earlier supports Python 2.7, which you can install with pip install "atrcopy<7.0"

Dependencies

• numpy

It will be automatically installed when installing atrcopy with pip as described below.

For development, pytest is used to run the test suite, but this is not required for normal installation of atrcopy.

Installation

atrcopy is available in the PyPI and installable using pip:

pip install atrcopy

Linux and macOS note: if numpy needs to be installed on your system, it may be compiled from source which can take several minutes.

Features

• list contents of disk images

• copy files to and from disk images

• delete files from disk images

• create new disk images

• concatenate binary data together into a file on the disk image

• compile assembly source into binary files if pyatasm is installed

Note: The command line argument structure was changed starting with atrcopy 4.0 – it is now based on subcommands, much like git uses git pull, git clone, git branch, etc. Upgrading from a version prior to 4.0 will require modification of scripts that use atrcopy 3.x-style command line arguments.

Supported Formats

Supported Disk Image Types

• XFD: XFormer images, basically raw disk dumps

• ATR: Nick Kennedy’s disk image format; includes 16 byte header

• DSK: Apple ][ DOS 3.3 disk image; raw sector dump

Supported File System Formats

File System	Platform	Read	Write	Status
DOS 2 (90K)	Atari 8-bit	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
DOS 2 (180K)	Atari 8-bit	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
DOS 2.5 (130K)	Atari 8-bit	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
DOS 3 (130K)	Atari 8-bit	No	No	Unimplemented
SpartaDOS	Atari 8-bit	No	No	Under development
MyDOS	Atari 8-bit	Partial	No	Under development
DOS 3.3	Apple ][	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
ProDOS 8	Apple ][	No	No	Unimplemented

Other Supported Formats

Format	Platform/description	Read	Write	Status
.xex	Atari 8-bit executable files	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
KBoot	Atari 8-bit xex in boot disk	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
.car	Atari 8-bit cartridge images	Yes	No	Read only
BSAVE	Apple ][ BSAVE data	Yes	Yes	Fully supported
.zip	MAME ROM zipfiles	Partial	No	Experimental

Note: Atari ROM cartridges are supported in both both plain binary and atari800 .car format

Supported Compression/Container Formats

Starting with atrcopy 8.0, compressed disk images are supported transparently, so any type of disk image compressed with one of the supported container formats can be used directly, without first decompressing it before running atrcopy.

Container	File Ext	Read	Write	Status
gzip	.gz	Yes	No	Read only
bzip2	.bz2	Yes	No	Read only
lzma	.xz	Yes	No	Read only
Disk Communicator	.dcm	No	No	Recognized but unimplemented

Usage

atrcopy DISK_IMAGE <global options> COMMAND <command options>

where the available commands include:

• list: list files on the disk image. This is the default if no command is specified

• create: create a new disk image

• add: add files to a disk image

• extract: copy files from the disk image to the local file system

• assemble: create a binary file from ATasm source, optionally including segments containing raw binary data

• boot: create a boot disk using various binary data as input

• delete: delete files from the disk image

• vtoc: show and manipulate the VTOC for images that support it

Except when using the --help option, the DISK_IMAGE is always required which points to the path on your local file system of the disk image. COMMAND is one of the commands listed above, and the commands may be abbreviated as shown here:

$ atrcopy --help
usage: atrcopy DISK_IMAGE [-h] [-v] [--dry-run] COMMAND ...

Manipulate files on several types of 8-bit computer disk images. Type 'atrcopy
DISK_IMAGE COMMAND --help' for list of options available for each command.

positional arguments:
  COMMAND
    list (t,ls,dir,catalog)
                        List files on the disk image. This is the default if
                        no command is specified
    crc                 List files on the disk image and the CRC32 value in
                        format suitable for parsing
    extract (x)         Copy files from the disk image to the local filesystem
    add (a)             Add files to the disk image
    create (c)          Create a new disk image
    assemble (s,asm)    Create a new binary file in the disk image
    boot (b)            Create a bootable disk image
    delete (rm,del)     Delete files from the disk image
    vtoc (v)            Show a formatted display of sectors free in the disk
                        image
    segments            Show the list of parsed segments in the disk image

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -v, --verbose
  --dry-run             don't perform operation, just show what would have
                        happened

Help for available options for each command is available without specifying a disk image, using a command line like:

atrcopy COMMAND --help

so for example, the help for assembling a binary file is:

$ atrcopy asm --help
usage: atrcopy DISK_IMAGE assemble [-h] [-f] [-s [ASM [ASM ...]]]
                                   [-d [DATA [DATA ...]]] [-r RUN_ADDR] -o
                                   OUTPUT

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -f, --force           allow file overwrites in the disk image
  -s [ASM [ASM ...]], --asm [ASM [ASM ...]]
                        source file(s) to assemble using pyatasm
  -d [DATA [DATA ...]], -b [DATA [DATA ...]], --data [DATA [DATA ...]]
                        binary data file(s) to add to assembly, specify as
                        file@addr. Only a portion of the file may be included;
                        specify the subset using standard python slice
                        notation: file[subset]@addr
  -r RUN_ADDR, --run-addr RUN_ADDR, --brun RUN_ADDR
                        run address of binary file if not the first byte of
                        the first segment
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        output file name in disk image

Examples

List all files on a disk image:

$ atrcopy DOS_25.ATR
DOS_25.ATR: ATR Disk Image (size=133120 (1040x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 1010 usable sectors (739 free), 6 files
File #0  (.2.u.*) 004 DOS     SYS  037
File #1  (.2.u.*) 041 DUP     SYS  042
File #2  (.2.u.*) 083 RAMDISK COM  009
File #3  (.2.u.*) 092 SETUP   COM  070
File #4  (.2.u.*) 162 COPY32  COM  056
File #5  (.2.u.*) 218 DISKFIX COM  057

Extract a file:

$ atrcopy DOS_25.ATR extract SETUP.COM
DOS_25.ATR: ATR Disk Image (size=133120 (1040x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 1010 usable sectors (739 free), 6 files
extracting SETUP.COM -> SETUP.COM

Extract all files:

$ atrcopy DOS_25.ATR extract --all
DOS_25.ATR: ATR Disk Image (size=133120 (1040x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 1010 usable sectors (739 free), 6 files
extracting File #0  (.2.u.*) 004 DOS     SYS  037 -> DOS.SYS
extracting File #1  (.2.u.*) 041 DUP     SYS  042 -> DUP.SYS
extracting File #2  (.2.u.*) 083 RAMDISK COM  009 -> RAMDISK.COM
extracting File #3  (.2.u.*) 092 SETUP   COM  070 -> SETUP.COM
extracting File #4  (.2.u.*) 162 COPY32  COM  056 -> COPY32.COM
extracting File #5  (.2.u.*) 218 DISKFIX COM  057 -> DISKFIX.COM

Extract all, using the abbreviated command and converting to lower case on the host file system:

$ atrcopy DOS_25.ATR x --all -l
DOS_25.ATR: ATR Disk Image (size=133120 (1040x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 1010 usable sectors (739 free), 6 files
extracting File #0  (.2.u.*) 004 DOS     SYS  037 -> dos.sys
extracting File #1  (.2.u.*) 041 DUP     SYS  042 -> dup.sys
extracting File #2  (.2.u.*) 083 RAMDISK COM  009 -> ramdisk.com
extracting File #3  (.2.u.*) 092 SETUP   COM  070 -> setup.com
extracting File #4  (.2.u.*) 162 COPY32  COM  056 -> copy32.com
extracting File #5  (.2.u.*) 218 DISKFIX COM  057 -> diskfix.com

Creating Disk Images

Several template disk images are included in the distribution, and these can be used to create blank disk images that subsequent uses of atrcopy can reference.

The available disk images can be viewed using atrcopy create --help:

$ atrcopy create --help
usage: atrcopy DISK_IMAGE create [-h] [-f] TEMPLATE

positional arguments:
  TEMPLATE     template to use to create new disk image; see below for list of
               available built-in templates

optional arguments:
  -h, --help   show this help message and exit
  -f, --force  replace disk image file if it exists

available templates:
  dos2dd          Atari 8-bit DOS 2 double density (180K), empty VTOC
  dos2ed          Atari 8-bit DOS 2 enhanced density (130K), empty VTOC
  dos2ed+2.5      Atari 8-bit DOS 2 enhanced density (130K) DOS 2.5 system disk
  dos2sd          Atari 8-bit DOS 2 single density (90K), empty VTOC
  dos2sd+2.0s     Atari 8-bit DOS 2 single density (90K) DOS 2.0S system disk
  dos33           Apple ][ DOS 3.3 (140K) standard RWTS, empty VTOC
  dos33autobrun   Apple ][ DOS 3.3 (140K) disk image for binary program
                  development: HELLO sets fullscreen HGR and calls BRUN on
                  user-supplied AUTOBRUN binary file

To create a new image, use:

$ atrcopy game.dsk create dos33autobrun

which will create a new file called game.dsk based on the dos33autobrun image.

dos33autobrun is a special image that can be used to create autoloading binary programs. It contains an Applesoft Basic file called HELLO which will autoload on boot. It sets the graphics mode to fullscreen hi-res graphics (the first screen at $2000) and executes a BRUN command to start a binary file named AUTOBRUN. AUTOBRUN doesn’t exist in the image, it’s for you to supply.

Creating a Custom Boot Disk

Blocks of binary data can be combined into a boot disk in either ATR format for Atari or DSK format for Apple:

$ atrcopy boot --help
usage: atrcopy DISK_IMAGE boot [-h] [-f] [-s [ASM [ASM ...]]]
                               [-d [DATA [DATA ...]]] [-b [OBJ [OBJ ...]]]
                               [-r RUN_ADDR]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -f, --force           allow file overwrites in the disk image
  -s [ASM [ASM ...]], --asm [ASM [ASM ...]]
                        source file(s) to assemble using pyatasm
  -d [DATA [DATA ...]], --data [DATA [DATA ...]]
                        binary data file(s) to add to assembly, specify as
                        file@addr. Only a portion of the file may be included;
                        specify the subset using standard python slice
                        notation: file[subset]@addr
  -b [OBJ [OBJ ...]], --obj [OBJ [OBJ ...]], --bload [OBJ [OBJ ...]]
                        binary file(s) to add to assembly, either executables
                        or labeled memory dumps (e.g. BSAVE on Apple ][),
                        parsing each file's binary segments to add to the
                        resulting disk image at the load address for each
                        segment
  -r RUN_ADDR, --run-addr RUN_ADDR, --brun RUN_ADDR
                        run address of binary file if not the first byte of
                        the first segment

One of -s, -d, or -b must be speficied to provide the source for the boot disk. The -b argument can take an Atari binary in XEX format, and will properly handle multiple segments within that file. If no starting address is supplied (or, if using an XEX, to override the start address normally contained within the XEX), use the -r option. Otherwise, the run address will point to the first byte of the first binary segment.

Creating Programs on the Disk Image

The simple assembler included in atrcopy can create binary programs by connecting binary data together in a single file and specifying a start address so it can be executed by the system’s binary run command.

It is also possible to assemble text files that use the MAC/65 syntax, because support for pyatasm is built-in (but optional). MAC/65 is a macro assembler originally designed for the Atari 8-bit machines but since it produces 6502 code it can be used to compile for any machine that uses the 6502: Apple, Commodore, etc.

Creating Atari 8-bit Executables

Atari 8-bit object files include a small header and an arbitrary number of segments. Each segment defines a contiguous block of data with a start and end address. If the file has multiple segments, they will be processed in the order they appear in the file, not by segment start address.

This example creates a new xex on a disk that combines the segments of an already existing executable with some new assembly code.

After creating the test image with:

$ atrcopy test.atr create dos2sd
using dos2sd template:
  Atari 8-bit DOS 2 single density (90K), empty VTOC
created test.atr: ATR Disk Image (size=92160 (720x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 707 usable sectors (707 free), 0 files

this command compiles the file test_header.s and prefixes it to the existing executable:

$ atrcopy test.atr asm -s test_header.s -b air_defense_v18.xex -o test.xex -f
test.atr: ATR Disk Image (size=92160 (720x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 707 usable sectors (707 free), 0 files
fname: test_header.s
Pass 1: Success. (0 warnings)
Pass 2:
adding 0600 - 0653, size=0053 ($53 bytes @ 0600) from test_header.s assembly
adding 02e2 - 02e4, size=0002 ($2 bytes @ 02e2) from test_header.s assembly
adding  $02e0-$02e2 ($0002 @ $0006) from air_defense_v18.xex
adding  $6000-$6bd4 ($0bd4 @ $000c) from air_defense_v18.xex
total file size: $c3d (3133) bytes
copying test.xex to test.atr

Creating DOS 3.3 Binaries

For this example, the goal is to produce a single binary file that combines a hi-res image title.bin loaded at 2000 hex (the first hi-res screen) and code at 6000 hex from the binary file game, with a start address of 6000 hex.

The binary file game was assembled using the assembler from the cc65 project, using the command:

cl65 -t apple2 --cpu 6502 --start-addr 0x6000 -o game game.s

Because the Apple ][ binary format is limited to a single contiguous block of data with a start address of the first byte of data loaded, atrcopy will fill the gaps between any segments that aren’t contiguous with zeros. If the start address is not the first byte of the first specified segment, a small segment will be included at the beginning that jumps to the specified brun address (shown here as the segment from 1ffd - 2000). Note the gap between 4000 and 6000 hex will be filled with zeros:

$ atrcopy game.dsk create dos33autobrun
using dos33autobrun template:
  Apple ][ DOS 3.3 (140K) disk image for binary program development: HELLO sets
  fullscreen HGR and calls BRUN on user-supplied AUTOBRUN binary file
created game.dsk: DOS 3.3 Disk Image (size=143360 (560x256b)
File #0  ( A) 002 HELLO                          003 001

$ atrcopy game.dsk asm -d title.bin@2000 -b game --brun 6000 -f -o AUTOBRUN
game.dsk: DOS 3.3 Disk Image (size=143360 (560x256b)
adding BSAVE data $6000-$6ef3 ($0ef3 @ $0004) from game
setting data for $1ffd - $2000 at index $0004
setting data for $2000 - $4000 at index $0007
setting data for $6000 - $6ef3 at index $4007
total file size: $4efa (20218) bytes
copying AUTOBRUN to game.dsk

Example on macOS

macOS supplies python with the operating system so you shouldn’t need to install a framework version from python.org.

To prevent overwriting important system files, it’s best to create a working folder: a new empty folder somewhere and do all your testing in that folder. For this example, create a folder called atrtest in your Documents folder. Put a few disk images in this directory to use for testing.

Since this is a command line program, you must get to a command line prompt. Start a Terminal by double clicking on Terminal.app in the Applications/Utilities folder in the Finder. When Terminal opens, it will put you in your home folder automatically. Go to the atrtest folder by typing:

cd Documents/atrtest

You can see the ATR images you placed in this directory by using the command:

ls -l

For example, you might see:

mac:~/Documents/atrtest $ ls -l
-rw-r--r-- 1 rob  staff  92176 May 18 21:57 GAMES1.ATR

Now, run the program by typing atrcopy GAMES1.ATR and you should see the contents of the ATR image in the familiar Atari DOS format:

mac:~/Documents/atrtest $ atrcopy GAMES1.ATR
GAMES1.ATR: ATR Disk Image (size=92160 (720x128B), crc=0 flags=0 unused=0) Atari DOS Format: 707 usable sectors (17 free), 9 files
File #0  (.2.u.*) 004 DOS     SYS  039
File #1  (.2.u.*) 043 MINER2       138
File #2  (.2.u.*) 085 DEFENDER     132
File #3  (.2.u.*) 217 CENTIPEDE    045
File #4  (.2.u.*) 262 GALAXIAN     066
File #5  (.2.u.*) 328 AUTORUN SYS  005
File #6  (.2.u.*) 439 DIGDUG       133
File #7  (.2.u.*) 531 ANTEATER     066
File #8  (.2.u.*) 647 ASTEROIDS    066

See other examples as above.

References

• http://www.atariarchives.org/dere/chapt09.php

• http://atari.kensclassics.org/dos.htm

• http://www.crowcastle.net/preston/atari/

• http://www.atarimax.com/jindroush.atari.org/afmtatr.html

• https://archive.org/details/Beneath_Apple_DOS_OCR

Related Atari Projects

• franny: (C, macOS/linux) Command line program to manage Atari DOS 2 and SpartaDOS II image and file systems

• dir2atr: (Win) Suite of command line programs to manage Atari disk images and DOS 2/MyDOS file systems

• atadim: (Win) Graphical program to manage Atari disk images and DOS 2/MyDOS file systems

Related Apple Projects

Turns out there are a ton of Apple ][ disk image viewers and editors! I was pointed to the list from the diskii project, so I’ve included most of that list here.

• a2disk (Python 3) DOS 3.3 reader and Applesoft BASIC detokenizer

• cppo (Python) a script from the a2server project to read DOS 3.3 and ProDOS disk images

• Driv3rs (Python) Apple III SOS DSK image utility

• c2d: (C, Win/macOS/linux) Command line program to create bootable Apple disk images (no file system)

• Apple Commander: (Java) Command line program to manage Apple disk images and file systems

• Cider Press: (Win) Graphical program to manage Apple disk images and file systems

• diskii: (Go) Command line tool, under development

• Cadius (Win) Brutal Deluxe’s commandline tools

• dsktool (Ruby)

• Apple II Disk Tools (C)

• libA2 (Perl)

• AppleSAWS (Qt, Win/macOS/linux) very cool looking GUI

• DiskBrowser (Java) GUI tool that even displays Wizardry levels and VisiCalc files!

• dos33fsprogs (C)

• apple2-disk-util (Ruby)

• dsk2nib (C)

• standard-delivery (6502 assembly) Apple II single-sector fast boot-loader