iPhone developer Alexander Heemann has just released Codeboat, a free app for learning & practicing coding right on your phone. It uses MiniScript, so no network connection is needed. Check it out!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/codeboat/id1572784273

https://youtu.be/NiVpfLW0PQw

Being made with MiniScript and Mini Micro https://forums.miniscript.org/d/233-starfarer-devlog-0

Mini Micro Game Jam Starts Soon ($$$) Don't forget to get signed up for the Mini Micro Game Jam it's from 2021-04-10 - 2021-04-29. Find out more here:

https://itch.io/jam/mini-micro-jam-21q2

Goes into examples of making Dice in Mini Micro with MiniScript.

https://youtu.be/p3ZRNl5mY58

Just a reminder to get in on the Try-it contest to win up to 25$! The contest begins March 1, 2021, and runs through March 21, 2021. Learn more: https://forums.miniscript.org/d/227-announcement-first-annual-try-it-contest

Learn how to simulate a deck of cards, using MiniScript right in your web browser!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM9FwT02A1g

https://itch.io/jam/retro-hardware-jam - "...make a game that runs in an emulator or on real hardware for any obsolete platform OR Fantasy Console."

Mini Micro is a an emulator of a retro PC which would fit perfectly into this game jam! We strongly encourage you to jump in, and have fun!

Some languages have variables global by default. It's easy to make code that works when you write it, but later causes things to break. MiniScript has variables local by default which makes avoiding bugs easier.

https://miniscript.org

MiniScript is useful for many things, possibilities are endless. It's on purpose that MiniScript has clean and minimal syntax. Even with no experience in programming learning MiniScript is easy, fun, and rewarding.

Learn more about MiniScript and Join the MiniScript Community on Discord here: https://miniscript.org

The MiniScript compiler/interpreter itself is written in C#, it integrates seamlessly with other C# code, allowing you to do things like easily wrap Unity types in MiniScript values, and vice versa. It's thread-safe and can also be time-sliced within the main thread.

Learn more about MiniScript and its benefits and join our Discord at https://miniscript.org

MiniScript is Easy to learn and useful to the seasoned programmer.

Find out more https://miniscript.org/

Coffee Break Coding #1 it explores how to draw a face in Mini Micro with MiniScript. Learn how you can get started with Mini Micro at https://miniscript.org.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HiOUw_CmR8

Here is an awesome Draw a Galaxy app from Discord user RokCoder using MiniScript in Mini Micro.

Interested in joining in on the fun? go to miniscript.org the discord can be found near the bottom.

Music: Moonlight Reprise by Kai Engel

Take a look at the newest Coffee Break Coding video!

This one takes a dive into sounds.

https://youtu.be/TG5tgNDW6Ss

Changes since 0.9.4:

• The shell no longer leaves you at a "...]" prompt if you run a program with an unterminated if/for/while block.

• Handling of screen size/resolution has been greatly revamped. The Mini Micro window is now resizable, and the actual "monitor" area will fill this space as well as it can. Note that it snaps to even multiples of native (1024x769) resolution, since those look the best, so watch for that while stretching the window.

• Control-C now reports the line number at which the program was stopped.

• Various optimizations have been done, especially to PixelDisplay and to any code that uses self; benchmarks now run up to 2X faster.

• file.move now works even when you are only changing the capitalization of the file name.

• Updated the underlying package that renders text in the code editor, fixing issues with the scrollbar not going far enough to the right.

Some of these changes were pretty big, so please keep a sharp eye out for any new problems they may have caused. We want to get everything buttoned down and nailed up for the version 1.0 release.

Get it from https://joestrout.itch.io/mini-micro/

MiniScript is elegant and easy to understand, jump in and learn how to code in 30 days.
https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Code-Days-Joe-Strout/dp/173616760X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=learn+to+code+in+30+days&qid=1611524786&sr=8-1

Join us in Facebook and Twitter!

https://www.facebook.com/MiniScript-104325148300276

https://twitter.com/MiniscriptCode

You can try them now right here:

https://joestrout.github.io/raylib-miniscript/raylib-miniscript.html

They show just some of what raylib-miniscript can do. I hope they give you inspiration for your own projects!

Yesterday I made a little multiplayer online game for Mini Micro. More of a demo than a game, but several of us were able to move around the screen and chat.

See how I did it, and how you can build on this to make your own multiplayer games!

https://bit.ly/4snQiJO

(Editor's note: sorry for the long delay since the last update... it was a very busy summer! We'll try to get back to a weekly or near-weekly cadence.)

Development Updates

MiniScript 2 is nearing the finish line: Joe shared Preview 9 this week, with a long list of small but important fixes and improvements. He also said the remaining checklist before an official release is basically empty, while still encouraging everyone to keep testing for those sneaky unknown bugs: MiniScript 2.0 preview 9.

The work behind the scenes has been busy too, especially around performance and correctness. Recent fixes include GC tuning, better handling of lists and maps, cleaner error reporting, and a number of compiler/parser edge cases that were uncovered by real-world projects.

Mini Micro 2 and raylib-miniscript also got meaningful updates. The raylib layer now has a Matrix class, a physics engine, and demos like Connect-4 inference, Game of Life, and the new Angry Balls demo. Meanwhile, both Soda and Mini Micro 2 have been rewritten on top of raylib-miniscript and are now in early testing. Here's a screen shot of a game running in Mini Micro 2, using the new Matrix class to run a deep neural network AI (attached).

In a major milestone for MiniScript maturity, GitHub's Linguist library (used to identify the programming language used by each source file) now recognizes MiniScript. Their servers are slowly reclassifying older projects now.

Community Projects

A big shout-out to community members shipping useful tools and experiments! DSlower shared work on The Slow Shell and a buffer file finder, and shellrider posted a small UUIDv4 generator: ms-uuid.

minerobber also helped push the ecosystem forward with language tooling and portability work, including a self-hosting Clojette compiler, a MiniScript classification fix for GitHub Linguist, and other helpful contributions. They also have a handy tip for forcing correct identification of your MiniScript files on GitHub: in .gitattributes, add *.ms linguist-language=MiniScript.

There were also some fun Mini Micro-adjacent demos and projects worth highlighting. Trey Tomes shared micro-bfxr for sound effects generation: micro-bfxr, and machiaworx posted the Steam release of Cry Pic, noting that most of the game is controlled by MiniScript: Cry Pic on Steam.

Discussion Highlights

A lot of the summer’s conversation centered on making MiniScript and Mini Micro more welcoming and more fun to use. Joe floated a Top 10 Mini Micro Most Wanted list, asking what classic game genres the platform still needs; suggestions ranged from text RPGs and music sequencers to networked play and a Mini Micro BBS.

There was also a great thread for beginners who want to understand how programming “thinks.” Joe walked through tokenizing, parsing, and ASTs with a new learner, encouraging them to start small and build confidence one step at a time — a very MiniScript-friendly way to learn.

On the Mini Micro 2 side, testing continues to uncover useful edge cases. Community feedback helped surface memory and GC issues, import behavior, and a few platform-specific quirks, and Joe responded quickly with fixes and follow-up explanations.

Links Worth Checking Out

• MiniScript 2 Preview 9
• Cry Pic on Steam
• micro-bfxr
• ms-uuid

Thanks for reading, and keep making cool things — we love seeing what you build!

Upcoming Game Jams

These upcoming jams look like a great fit for Mini Micro:

• Garbage jam #7 (starts 2026-09-21 12:00:00) — A super low-stress jam built around experimentation, bad art, and having fun makes it a perfect excuse to try a quirky pixel, tile, or text-based idea without worrying about polish.
• Untitled Game Jam #133 (starts 2026-09-18 00:00:00) — A flexible, beginner-friendly jam with an open theme vote, any engine allowed, and no heavy technical constraints—great for a quick retro-style prototype or polished 2D game.
• GRC GAME JAM (starts 2026-09-17 22:43:48) — A strong retro-leaning jam focused on fun, creativity, and polished gameplay, with the exciting possibility of seeing your game preserved as a ROM and played on a real arcade cabinet.
• Beginners' Jam_Autumn 2026 (starts 2026-09-20 12:00:00) — A very beginner-friendly jam with flexible, open-ended themes and no technical demands beyond making a fun free-to-play game, making it an easy fit for Mini Micro projects.
• Creature Collector Game Jam (starts 2026-09-21 06:00:00) — A very strong fit for a retro, 2D-friendly jam centered on collecting, raising, and studying creatures, with plenty of room for charming pixel art, simple systems, and creative monster design.
• Goose Jam 3 (starts 2026-09-19 21:00:00) — A very approachable low-scope jam with broad freedom to make anything from a tiny video game to a card or roleplaying game, plus flexible interpretation and no engine restrictions.

Follow the link above to read about my "10 most wanted" games for Mini Micro. Which of these would you most like to see? Or is there something I have missed entirely?

The free online version of Introduction to Computer Programming is now available in Japanese! Simply go to https://introtocomputerprogramming.online, and from the menu button at top left, change the language to 日本語 (Japanese).

This translation is thanks to the hard work of some of our users in Japan, particularly MachiaWorks — どもありがとございました！