Where Does DOSBox Store Config and Saves?
DOSBox auto creates its conf in ~/.dosbox with printconf revealing it. Captures and game saves explained.
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DOSBox loads dosbox.conf from the current directory when present, else from ~/.dosbox, creating one there on first run. It never asks where; the man page documents the order plainly. Run dosbox -printconf to print the live path instead of guessing.
Game saves are not DOSBox files at all. They live inside whatever host folder you mounted as a drive, since DOSBox only emulates the machine. Captures (screenshots, audio, video) go to ./capture beside the working directory and the folder must exist first. CONFIG -writeconf dumps the running settings to a file you name.
Where DOSBox stores this, by platform
~/.dosbox
Auto created conf dir; -userconf forces it. -printconf prints the path, -editconf opens it in your editor. Captures in ./capture relative to launch dir.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\DOSBox
Versioned conf like dosbox-0.74-3.conf inside. Same -printconf trick applies. Game saves sit in your mounted host folders, not in any DOSBox dir.
~/Library/Preferences/DOSBox
Same conf scheme as other platforms. The man page FILES section governs all three; -conf with an explicit file beats every default.
Frequently asked questions
how do i find my dosbox config file
Run dosbox -printconf. It prints the exact path DOSBox would load. Use dosbox -editconf <editor> to open it, or CONFIG -writeconf <file> from inside the emulator.
where are my dosbox game saves
In the host folder you mounted with MOUNT, since games write to the emulated C: which is your real directory. Back up that folder; DOSBox keeps no saves of its own besides captures.
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