Introduction

Welcome to ToolShed! 🛠️

ToolShed is a free, open-source collection of powerful utilities designed to supercharge your development for the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo) and Dragon microcomputers. Whether you're working with BASIC or exploring the depths of NitrOS-9, ToolShed has the tools you need.

What Does It Do?

ToolShed brings the convenience and speed of modern development environments to your retro computing projects. It allows you to create, manage, and compile programs directly on your modern PC (Windows, macOS, or Linux) and then easily transfer them to your CoCo or Dragon.

Think of it as your digital workbench, equipped with:

• File Managers: Seamlessly move files between your computer and OS-9 or Disk BASIC disk images.
• Assemblers: Powerful cross-assemblers to write code in 6809/6309 assembly language.
• Archivers: Utilities to keep your projects organized.
• And more!

📜 A Bit of History

ToolShed's journey began in the mid-to-late 1990s. It started as a humble 6809 cross-assembler for Linux, crafted by Alan DeKok and Boisy Pitre. Their goal was to build a tool capable of assembling the massive source code base of NitrOS-9.

Over time, it grew. Support for the Hitachi 6309 was added, and soon, a whole suite of tools for handling OS-9 and Disk BASIC disk images joined the family. Today, it stands as a comprehensive toolkit for CoCo and Dragon enthusiasts.

🧰 The Main Components

Here's a quick look at the key tools in your shed:

• os9: Your Swiss Army knife for manipulating OS-9 formatted disk images.
• decb: The go-to tool for handling RSDOS (Disk BASIC) disk images.
• cecb: Perfect for managing Color BASIC and Micro Color BASIC cassette files.
• mamou: The classic relocatable macro assembler for 6809/6309 development.
• ar2: An efficient archiver utility originally by Carl Kreider.
• cocofuse: A FUSE-based file system that lets you mount CoCo disk images directly on your computer!