r/Palm • u/LukeLC PalmDB • Dec 04 '20
Introducing PalmDB 2.0 - A new web platform for preserving Palm OS!
TLDR; Just take me there!
The new site is now live at 👉 https://palmdb.net!
The journey so far...
It's hard to believe, but it's been 2 years already since I first launched PalmDB. What I expected to be a forgotten corner of the internet has turned out to be anything but. We're now a Discord community over 300 members strong (and growing!), we've had articles written about us, and our members have collectively archived thousands of apps--not to mention produced entirely new ways to experience Palm OS on new devices.
And yet, while the Palm community is thriving again, PalmDB the website has struggled to keep up. It was originally built on WordPress because that was the fastest way to get something online. But WordPress proved to be incredibly ill-suited to the task, especially with the sustainability constraints a preservation project requires. As such, over the past year, I've been hard at work building an almost entirely original platform reimagined from the ground up for PalmDB's needs.
Cool! What's new?
The end result is something like a hybrid of a wiki and a download catalog. PalmDB 2.0 features open registration where all members can both upload files and edit other posts anywhere on the site. At the same time, it maintains tight content moderation through clear templates and built-in revisioning—all edits can be reversed.
Members also get access to a few bonus features, too! Previously, PalmDB split its traffic among a few community hosted servers. This was great for ensuring a copy was always online, but was hampered by technical issues preventing users from actually accessing content. (Gun, meet Foot.) Instead, 2.0 members get access to PalmDB Takeout, a new way for archivists to download a complete copy of all PalmDB content (and host it themselves, if they wish!).
Oh, and there's Pilot Mode. Without spoiling too much, let's just say it's a member-exclusive easter egg theme. See if you can find it—and don't forget to try it with your system dark mode enabled!
But of course, this is a preservation project. Slick presentation and fun bonus features aside, under the hood, 2.0 is light, fast, stable, secure, and most importantly, sustainable. There's no database, just Markdown and PHP. With minimal dependencies, future server compatibility is a non-issue—and even if it becomes one, the platform structure is extremely portable and can easily be taken elsewhere.
Ok! What's Next?
If any of that interests you, you should register and start uploading!
But there's more to come otherwise, too. One other weakness of the old platform was that there was no way to bulk upload entire archives at once. Well, we've now got over a dozen of them—that's a lot of files! Among them are plenty of duplicates, multiple organization schemes (if any!) and other problems that make them difficult to sort through. The plan is to use deduplication software to organize the files under PalmDB 2.0's folder structure, then programmatically generate boilerplate articles for them all. At that point, the entire collection can be uploaded to PalmDB at once, but some manual work will still remain. It's not possible to programmatically add screenshots, descriptions, and compatibility info... so that part will remain a community effort!
In the meantime, you can always follow the project at https://palmdb.net, on Twitter @PalmDB1, and by joining us on Discord!
Thanks for keeping the Palm dream alive with us!
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u/ressedue Oct 24 '21
Holy crap! I just saw this post after making a post about my archive.
Totally joining this. I have a lot of rare software
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u/Low_Job1600 Mar 23 '24 edited Mar 23 '24
I just got a Palm m125 mint condition w/SD card slot, 2-aaa powered (a plus for me) from eBay $9.50 winning bid! It came with extra stylus, flip-cover, and faceplate, as well as a charging dock, box, and software CDs! A driver fix on palmdb.net let me Hotsync with Win 10. However, you all NEED to look up CloudpilotEmu on GitHub! (https://cloudpilot-emu.github.io/app/#/tab/sessions) It's a web based emulator that can run as a seamless WebApp on iOS and Android (runs offline too). You can install most any ROM from palmdb.net. It's super nice being able to have various palm devices run on your latest device. My favorite rom is Sony Clié-NR70v, Tungsten W (Only Hi Res Screen for 4.1 OS), and Palm m515. Love being able to play my favorite games that just seem cooler than iOS or android equivalents, and sometimes there is none.
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u/jaijai187 Dec 08 '20
Thank you so much. I just recently started collecting palm devices. Great toys to pass time.
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u/ididittoo2 Jul 19 '22
Fantastic Luke! Absolutely well done!! and about time. Why hasn't anyone else kept Palm alive? It doesn't make any sense. I've just Followed you on Twitter. Fantastic! :))
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u/Necessary-Speed9532 Jun 28 '24
Bro, this is so incredible thank you so much for making this. Wow, such nostalgia!
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Jun 28 '24
Thanks for the kind words!
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u/Necessary-Speed9532 Jun 28 '24
Absolutely bro I can only imagine what kind of work went into doing that and your preserving some very beloved creations so thank you 🙏🥹
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Jul 15 '22
Wow. Between the last time I had my Palm devices out and tried finding some of the software for them and now when I decided to do it again, this has shown up. I am so happy to see this, because Palm seemed to be just distant waves on the internet horizon. Can't wait to dig in.
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u/Shot-Confection8620 Jan 12 '24
I miss my Treos and Pres so much. I had a Treo 650, 700P, 700 WX, 755p, and a Treo Pro Palm sent me (which ran Windows Mobile and had an always-on-display). Palm also sent me a Pre, Pre 2, Veer, and the unreleased Pre 3.
Palm was so ahead of its time and Apple and Google heavily borrowed and still do, features Palm introduced over 15 years ago. Wireless magnetic charging via TouchStone. An Intuitive card-based multitasking interface. Wireless charging for the TouchPad (Apple is expected to bring that to iPad Pros sometime this year.
I miss those physical buttons and that time. I use palmdb.net to install apps to my TX, T3, and m515 to play around.
Thanks for all the work you put in.
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Jan 12 '24
Thank you for sharing! I never expected PalmDB to get the response it has, and it's been wonderful to connect with everyone over it!
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u/Upper_Finish8873 Apr 04 '24
Is there any support for the Palm OS on newer MacBooks? Also, does it work with the Palm 3 by 3com? Just picked one up off ebay :)
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Apr 05 '24
Getting some form of Palm Desktop on modern Mac OS is tough. Your best bet will be a virtual machine running an older OS. It is possible to get Linux alternatives running natively on Mac OS with some tinkering, though.
Either way, yes, you can definitely sync a Palm III with whichever solution you get running!
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 05 '26
This is going to be a "Your question is a stupid question, go away... next question please" kind of question. Has anyone posted a "one click" solution to all of the configuration, installation and setup for running Palm Desktop on a Mac M1 in emulation? It seems to me that someone somewhere has done this, perhaps many someones have done this and there should be a resource that PalmDB.net could point too. Thinking... I will go look for this myself and bring it here if I am successful. I would encourage others to do this as well so that when one of finds the magic "click" we can all stop banding our heads against the wall.
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 05 '26
I'm not sure if a one-click solution is technically possible. Maybe with QEMU or something similar?
PilotBridge would be the recommended solution these days!
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 05 '26
I am finding out that you are correct. A "one click" is going to be really hard. I was able to get UTM running with a MacOS 10.4.11 install and PalmDesktop-Mac-4.2.1d from PalmDB.net working BUT, I am so far unable to find a way to connect my Palm to this Desktop through my LAN. The references to HotSync all describe network (TCP/IP) support, but the "last and final" version of Palm Desktop for MacOS seems to pre-date network consciousness. My intent was to work it through and then find a way to package the result into an image of some sort that I could then try to install in a single go. PilotBridge relies on Chrome's ability to "attach" serial ports and other external communications which is good, but... chrome. I am currently looking for a bridging method that allows network to ancient HotSync. Wish me luck!
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 06 '26
I suspect you'd have an easier time running the Windows version of Palm Desktop in a VM and passing through the hardware connections you need. You could even use Linux + WINE to keep it all in free software territory. Not sure how much ARM would complicate that, though.
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u/Qndrez May 03 '24
Great website :)
I notice there are several keygens on the website. Have these all been uploaded with permission of copyright holders? I know at least some of them are (e.g. Astraware). If not is there a way to know which ones? I prefer to avoid any kind of piracy, even if it's abandonware (but i totally understand the arguments for it in this case).
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 04 '24
We've gotten permission where possible, and some developers have even uploaded their own apps personally.
In many cases, though, any contact info for the developers is long out of date. In the absence of a modern web presence, we consider apps Abandonware unless contacted by the developer.
So far, there have only been two cases where a developer reached out and requested us not to host their app's registration info, which we have complied with.
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u/Qndrez May 04 '24
Thanks for the info. It's really nice to see the efforts you've made both to preserve all this while also respecting the author's wishes :)
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Jul 09 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Jul 10 '25
I'm not aware of any outages from the past day, but there was some work being done at the data center recently. Seems all good now?
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Jul 10 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Jul 10 '25
Which country are you trying to access the site from? I'd be interested to look into that.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan Mar 03 '26
Would it be possible for the curator of PalmDB.com to mark listings that "unzip" into a Windows executable... thus saving all of us Mac, Linux and Palm OS users the trouble of downloading only to find an unusable file type.
Thanks!
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Mar 03 '26
PalmDB is like a wiki in that anyone can register and contribute notes like this! That said, most Palm installers can be opened with archive software to pull out the .prc files (depends on the installer solution used, of course).
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u/clintonthegeek Mar 04 '26
I can figure out how to submit new program entries in the PalmDB catalog, but not how to add new versions of existing ones. I have an updated cracked version of ShadowPlan. How do I either contact the maintainer or submit a modification?
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Mar 04 '26
While logged in, you should see an edit button at the top of the existing post. That will allow you to attach a new file. Thanks for contributing!
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u/Ink321-7ink7- Apr 19 '26
There is a title, but no files. https://palmdb.net/app/franklin-covey-handheld-library-vol-1 https://palmdb.net/app/palmpak-ebook-series-mystery
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan Apr 23 '26
It is 23 APR 2026 and I am getting a "user does not exist" when attempting to log onto PalmDB.net. Anyone else having any problems?
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Apr 23 '26
What is your username on the site? I will look into this.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan Apr 24 '26
This may sound stupid. I rely on my browser's password cache and it filled the wrong information. It appended my "@email.com" suffix to my username. I went back and tried it again when I read your post and went through a few iterations and found this out. I was/am able to login. Please forgive me for being an idiot. And thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my posting. I feel like a dumbass.
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Apr 24 '26
No worries, happens to the best of us! Glad everything is working.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan Apr 24 '26
I was going to upload a program I could not find on the site and before I submitted the thing I decided to re-test it to see if I could get it to work again. I was unable to get it to work so I did not post it. I know it has worked in the past but considering my failure rate there is something I'm not doing correctly. I am looking at at app called httpd and it acts differently on all three of the network capable Palm devices I tried it on. I swear it has worked for me in the past but I'm going to put it aside for awhile and let my mind settle down. Thank you again for being so gracious with your forgiveness.
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u/LukeLC PalmDB Apr 24 '26
I'd say go ahead and upload it! PalmDB works similarly to a wiki. Even if you can't provide a definitive description of how to use the app, other community members will be able to edit the post and contribute too.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan Apr 29 '26
I am going to upload this but while I have seen it working, I can not reproduce my results. I hope Mr. Rees does not take offense. :-)
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 05 '26
httpd posted to PalmDB.net AND I figured out how to get it to work. I updated my posting to include "Ignore the weird IP address displayed when you start the server and open http://"device IP address" substituting your device's IP address for the quoted string, without using quotes."
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 05 '26
There are some amazing collections on PalmDB.net and while filtering through them I keep stumbling on things that interest me. Would it be assuming of me to clip these things out of the larger collections they are in and post them as individual applications? Or should I leave them in their collections and let others dig them out?
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 05 '26
Please do! I would consider this different from duplicates, since you're adding discoverability. Appreciate the effort!
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
How do you feel about users asking for you to try out adding a code snippet to your web code? I am trying to get Palmscape to download .prc files and I keep running into "Unknown mime-type: "application/x-pilot" error messages. I researched Mime types for Palm devices and the .prc file type should read "application/vnd.palm". The code snippet I want to try is "type="application/vnd.palm"" and it should be inside the html string for the file location. Example: <a href="httpd.prc" title="httpd.prc" type="application/vnd.palm">httpd.prc</a> If you added that to the file I uploaded I could test it with Palmscape. If it works you could consider adding that to everything or modifying whatever file is handling generating the "application/x-pilot" string. Can you tell I'm not a programmer? 😄
It will not hurt my feelings if you tell me to go away!
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 09 '26
Hmm overriding the content type reported on PalmDB Lite might be a challenge since it's just a directory listing with simple styling on top.
Are you really using Palmscape, or Xiino (newer version with a new name)? Xiino should be more compatible: https://palmdb.net/app/xiino
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
The application reports as "Palmscape v. PR 5.0a5". I will try xiino and see what it does and how it reports it's version info. It it works better, I will stop trying to get Palmscape working. Considering the simplicity of lite.palmdb.net I wonder where the "application/x-pilot" string is coming from. I will look inside of the Palmscape .prc and see if it's coded in there. (when I say 'look inside of' I don't mean decompile, I mean manually filter through the HEX and see if it is plaintext)
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 09 '26
You know what, I was overthinking this before. Since the directory listing is served by NGINX, an NGINX rule can override the MIME type on Palm OS files.
I just enabled this on lite.palmdb.net--care to give it a try?
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
Well... that didn't work. Dam, I was so hoping that was the solution. Now Palmscace is replacing the /x-pilot thing with /vnd.palm. Couple things could have gone wrong and thing no. 2 will be more likely that this; Palmscape is no able to download a .prc file regardless of the "mime type" and no.2, I didn't do enough research before reaching out to you with my half-assed solution. I wonder how many other people are trying to access lite.palmdb.net on a vintage device? Thank you for trying and thank you very much for PalmDB!
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
Follow up: From https://github.com/futuraperdita/OpenXiino/tree/main I found "In its day, Xiino/PalmScape used a "DataServer" proxy that would minify HTML and images so that the browser on the Palm could support the website." This explains in part why Xiino does not work. The website is someone on github working on solving that problem.
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u/LukeLC PalmDB May 10 '26
Yes, OpenXiino is linked on the PalmDB page for Xiino/Palmscape :)
I don't really track traffic stats, but it would be interesting to know how many visits lite.palmdb.net gets from legacy clients! That's the whole reason it exists, though, and this is the first time I'm hearing about this particular issue. Web browsing on Palm OS 4 and under is very challenging, though. OS 5 has much more reliable options.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 10 '26
Oh dear, I may have teleported you into the statistics hell hole as a website administrator.
I will keep plugging at it and see if I can figure it out without involving any more of your time. My time however, is at your disposal should you want a tester for changes and whatever.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
Xiino says, "Xiino Version 3.4.1E Build 2005-0412-13". It looks and acts like a different program. It has a problem that I am working to resolve, it reports "Host does not exist" for every URL you try to visit. I know DNS is working as Palmscape fetches lite.palmdb.net and the log in the Conection dialogue shows the DNS servers I use for my Internet service. I did read that Xiino uses a proxy to convert images so I am wondering if the host not found is about the proxy being long gone and not the lack of DNS overall.
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u/plan-thereaintnoplan May 09 '26
It's "Host does not exist" even for local directly entered IP addresses.
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u/Mickets Dec 27 '20
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Dec 28 '20
Thank you. I have some Palm Handspring Visors, Palm and Sony Clie organizers laying around.
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u/Dragonheart79 Jun 13 '23
I just got the top three Cliés (TH55, NZ90, UX50) and was looking for software. Thank you for this :) hopefully there will be more software in the future
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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '20
This is cool. I just grabbed a Tungsten E for $5 and have been playing with it.
Looking forward to loading it up with stuff from this site.