hercules ☆

« Back to VersTracker

Description:
System/370, ESA/390 and z/Architecture Emulator

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: emulator mainframe z-architecture ibm system-370

Install: brew install hercules

About:
Hercules is an open-source software emulator that allows mainframe applications to run on standard PC hardware. It emulates the instruction sets and hardware environments of System/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture mainframes. This enables developers and enthusiasts to test and run legacy or enterprise IBM operating systems like z/OS without access to physical mainframe hardware.

Key Features:

Full emulation of S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture instruction sets
Supports running real IBM operating systems (e.g., z/OS, z/VM, Linux on Z)
Provides virtual hardware devices (channels, DASD, card readers, printers)
Cross-platform support (Linux, Windows, macOS)

Use Cases:

Learning and training on mainframe operating systems and JCL
Developing and testing mainframe applications offline
Preserving and running legacy mainframe software

Alternatives:

PCP390 – A commercial alternative that also provides a mainframe emulator environment.
IBM ZD&T (Z Development and Test Environment) – Official IBM solution, generally more feature-complete but requires a paid license.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 12, 2025 11:33pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	8136d7da
Sep 13, 2024 5:18pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	c3992873