I wrote a BASIC interpreter that boots on UEFI machines
I started writing Thoreau BASIC because I wanted a small, old-fashioned BASIC interpreter: line numbers, immediate mode, simple graphics, strings, arrays, the sort of environment where the computer starts with a "Ready" prompt and you can immediately make it do something. Then I wondered: why should it need an operating system? So I made it boot directly on x64 machines using UEFI. The UEFI version uses the Graphics Output Protocol for its framebuffer and gets its keyboard input directly from the firmware. There is no Windows or Linux underneath it. The machine boots into BASIC. It supports…
In plain words
Thoreau BASIC is a modern BASIC interpreter that runs on x64 Windows or boots directly on bare-metal UEFI systems without an operating system. It provides a classic BASIC environment with a "Ready" prompt and immediate-mode programming, while supporting modern features like 64-bit addressing, high-resolution graphics, networking, and mouse input. Programs are largely portable between the Windows and UEFI versions, making it useful for both retro computing enthusiasts and those wanting to explore bare-metal development.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
The BASIC you started with - now with 27 GB to play in
A modern, mostly GW-BASIC-compatible BASIC interpreter for x64 Windows and bare-metal UEFI systems . The UEFI edition runs directly on the machine without an operating system. The Windows edition uses the same interpreter and language, making BASIC programs largely portable between both environments. Thoreau BASIC keeps the immediate-mode feel of classic BASIC while removing many of its old architectural limits: 64-bit addressing, huge arrays, native 24-bit graphics, software sprites, modern numeric types, mouse and simultaneous-key input, high-resolution timers, TCP/IP networking, structured machine inspection and standalone executable creation. The generated program starts directly…from tarjan.itch.io
In the maker’s words, at launch
I started writing Thoreau BASIC because I wanted a small, old-fashioned BASIC interpreter: line numbers, immediate mode, simple graphics, strings, arrays, the sort of environment where the computer starts with a "Ready" prompt and you can immediately make it do something. Then I wondered: why should it need an operating system? So I made it boot directly on x64 machines using UEFI. The UEFI version uses the Graphics Output Protocol for its framebuffer and gets its keyboard input directly from the firmware. There is no Windows or Linux underneath it. The machine boots into BASIC. It supports the usual BASIC machinery plus graphics primitives, 32-bit colour, floating point, file operations and other features I've been adding as I encounter programs that need them. There is now also a Windows version, which makes it considerably easier to try. One of my goals is compatibility with the style and behaviour of old Microsoft BASICs rather than creating a modern language that merely happens to use BASIC syntax. I'm currently porting my text adventure Pixel Prose to Thoreau BASIC. That's becoming a much better test suite than artificial tests because every missing feature or subtly wrong behaviour eventually gets exposed by an actual program. The project is deliberately small. The UEFI version greets you with: "I make myself rich by making my wants few." — Henry David Thoreau followed, somewhat ironically on a modern PC, by something like: 27,340,685,312 bytes free I'd be interested in hearing from people who wrote BASIC in the 80s/90s, interpreter/compiler people, and anyone sufficiently strange to still find a Ready prompt inviting.
Pricing, as stated on its site
Free — Name your own price model on itch.io, allowing free download with optional payment
checked September 2026 · prices change
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