Web VM Emulator v2.0

A high-performance, mobile-first virtual machine emulator running entirely in the browser. Built with libv86, WebAssembly, and a modern Event-Driven Architecture.

🚀 Key Improvements in v2.0

1. Zero-Polling Architecture

Unlike traditional browser emulators that use setInterval to check for status updates (killing CPU battery), this app uses the BroadcastChannel API for real-time, event-based communication between the Dashboard and the VM process.

• Benefit: Saves battery on mobile devices.
• Benefit: Smoother UI with no "jank".

2. "Nuclear" Memory Cleanup

Implements a strict EventManager class that acts as memory police. When a VM window is closed:

• WebGL contexts are forcibly detached.
• All DOM event listeners are tracked and removed.
• Large ArrayBuffers are dereferenced immediately to prevent memory leaks.

3. Crash-Safe WASM Handling

The VM manager specifically listens for WebAssembly OOM (Out of Memory) errors. Instead of the browser tab crashing white, the app catches the error and provides a user-friendly overlay suggesting to lower RAM allocation.

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✨ Features

• Mobile First Design:
  • Assistive Touch: A draggable, iOS-style floating menu for essential controls (Fullscreen, Keyboard, Ctrl+Alt+Del).
  • Virtual Keyboard: Full PC keyboard implementation for touch devices.
• Universal Storage:
  • Uses IndexedDB to store large ISOs and VM states locally.
  • Persists VM configurations across sessions.
• Flexible Media:
  • Boot from .iso (CD-ROM).
  • Load/Save states via .v86state snapshots.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Core: libv86 (x86 emulation via WASM)
• Frontend: Vanilla JS (ES6+), HTML5
• Styling: Tailwind CSS (via CDN)
• State: BroadcastChannel API, IndexedDB, LocalStorage
• Font: Inter (Google Fonts)

🚀 How to Run

1. Launch the Dashboard: Open text.html in your browser. (Note: index.html is the landing page, text.html is the app entry point).

2. Create a Machine:

   • Click Create New Machine.
   • Upload a bootable ISO (e.g., a lightweight Linux distro like Alpine or TinyCore).
   • Set RAM (Recommended: 128MB for browser stability).
   • Click Create.

3. Start Emulation:

   • Click the Play button on the machine card.
   • A new popup window will open with the VM.
   • Tip: If on mobile, use the floating button to toggle the keyboard.

⚠️ Browser Requirements

• WASM Support: Required.
• Popups: You must allow popups for this site (VMs open in separate windows for better resource isolation).
• Modern Browser: Chrome 80+, Firefox 90+, Safari 15+ (for BroadcastChannel support).

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repo.
2. Optimize vm-manager.js logic.
3. Submit a PR.

📜 License

MIT License. Based on the incredible work of the v86 project.