Installing ShellDOS
ShellDOS is software currently under development, so many of its features are not yet ready. When testing, it’s recommended that you download and work a new version of the project, please ensure you meet the prerequisites to install it correctly.
Setup and updates
To install ShellDOS (or shDOS), you must first download the latest version of the project; we don’t distribute finished binaries by business model policies, only the source code. Download the latest version of our project by clicking this link and get the corresponding zip file to proceed with the compilation process.
To update to the latest version, you must download the zip file again; although the system will “in theory” respect the configuration file and preserve your preferences, bear in mind that ShellDOS is still under development. Consequently, the file structure might change, and previous versions might not be recognized correctly.
For this reason, it is recommended that you test the new version by unzipping it into a separate folder, allowing you to work with a clean copy of the command-line interface currently under development.
Building from source
Upon downloading and extracting the project, you will have two folders—pr16bits and pr32bits—corresponding to the 16-bit and 32-bit versions you can generate.
You will first need to install the
OpenWatcom compiler, install in a directory without spaces (for example, C:\OpenWatcom), and run BINNT\IDE.EXE; open the environment and select the shdos.wpj file from the folder for which you wish to generate an executable. Proceed to compile using the “Make Source” and “Make Target” buttons; the shdos.exe file will be placed in the project folder.
Running ShellDOS
For Windows platforms, you can run the executable from the command prompt. Simply open it, navigate to the folder containing the shdos.exe file and run the program.
Alternatively, you can simply double-click the shdos.exe file and wait for the command prompt window to open. If you are using DOSBox or FreeDOS/MS-DOS you must navigate to the folder containing the shdos.exe file and launch the program.
From the ShellDOS console, execute the implemented commands to begin managing your files, programs, etc., just like in the old days!
