Prophet 0.25: play in the browser, and the Oric
Seventeen days after going online, our Prophet server moves from 0.6 to 0.25. Programs start in the browser, the Oric joins the Neo6502, and each program page says what the program needs to work.
On 16 September we described the Go rewrite of the Prophet server and its launch on prophet.3617.fr. The protocol has not moved since: prophet.neo, bocianu's command-line client, receives the same answers, byte for byte. Everything else has grown. Here is what changed, version by version, and what is not verified yet.
The server on 3 October 2026
| prophet.3617.fr | |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.25.0 |
| Programs | 60 for the Neo6502, 4 for the Oric |
| Categories (Neo6502) | games 40, in development 10, tools 6, firmware 3, other 1 |
| Clients | prophet.neo (Neo6502), ProphetGui (Neo6502, beta), ProphetOric (Oric-1 and Atmos, beta) |
| In the browser | Phosphoneo (Neo6502) and Phosphoric (Oric) emulators, in WebAssembly |
1. Play without installing anything
Since 0.10, a Neo6502 program page offers Play in the browser. The page loads Phosphoneo, our Neo6502 emulator, compiled to WebAssembly, copies the package files into in-memory storage and starts the program. Nothing is written to the visitor's disk. The content security policy only allows the server's own scripts and WebAssembly execution.
The following versions filled that page: a virtual keyboard and a toolbar taken from Phosphoric (0.16), saving and restoring the machine state (0.17), a layout shared with Phosphoric (0.19). Two fixes came from use. A BASIC program now starts after NeoBASIC (0.16.1). A package holding several .neo files names the one to start with a launch: line in its description (0.20): before, the page took the first valid file, and it was not always the right one.
2. The Oric, a second platform
Each package now carries a platform (0.11): neo6502 by default, oric… The showcase lists them all, with a filter and a coloured badge. The text client only sees the Neo6502: prophet.neo and ProphetGui receive the same catalogue as before, with nothing to change on their side.
For the Oric, "Play" opens the Phosphoric page (0.18). Since 0.21 it also emulates the LOCI cartridge and the modem, without a relay: ProphetOric, our client for the Oric, can therefore talk to the server from the browser. One limit remains: the emulated modem cannot open a raw TCP connection, so OricTel has no "Play" button (0.21.1); it works in desktop Phosphoric.
On the machine, ProphetOric goes through the LOCI cartridge and the Oric Wi-Fi modem. It shows covers in the Oric's text mode: the server turns them into a 17 × 9 mosaic of the alternate character set (OLR1 format, 0.23).
3. Say what it takes to work
A Neo6502 program may need a minimum firmware version, or a modem. Since 0.14 its description declares it (requires:, for example trinity >= 0.16.54); the site shows a warning with a link to the component, and /requires/<id> gives it to the clients. It is information, not a check: the server does not know the machine asking. The answers read by prophet.neo stay identical.
Firmware has its own category (0.22.1): Trinity, in beta, the official Neo6502 firmware and the two Wi-Fi modems. The /list/beta list (0.22.2) gathers everything in development, across categories.
4. Check what you download
Each file has its SHA-256 (0.7) and its CRC-32. Since 0.13.1, /crc32/<id> returns the CRC-32 of every file of a package in one request: ProphetGui uses it to know what it has already downloaded and to check each file it receives.
On the security side, password-protected access now has an attempt limit (0.22). It also applies to the header used by the clients and counts attempts per real visitor address, behind the reverse proxy.
5. A site for visitors
The web interface is in English by default, with a button to switch to French; the choice is kept in the browser (0.15). The catalogue can be filtered by publication date. Three pages were added: About and Help, which explain the three clients step by step (0.24), and Contact, a form forwarded by email over an encrypted link (0.25). The header is shared by the whole site and folds up on mobile.
6. What we do not claim
"Play" runs an emulator, not the board: a program that works in the page may behave differently on a real Neo6502 or a real Oric. ProphetGui and ProphetOric are in beta; ProphetOric has only been tried in Phosphoric, for lack of hardware, and its encrypted link is not verified on a real modem. The code of the server and of both clients has no public repository yet. The catalogue changes every week: the figures in the table are those of 3 October 2026. Thanks to bocianu, author of the original client, server and repository.
Sources & links
- prophet.3617.fr — the server in production
- The community client prophet.neo (bocianu, GitLab)
- Building a Prophet server for the Neo6502 (16 September 2026)
- Phosphoric, the Oric emulator
- Get started with the Neo6502
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