restoHack: Bringing 1984 Hack Back from the Dead

restoHack is a full-blooded resurrection of Hack, the 1984 roguelike that spawned NetHack. Not a remake. Not a reboot. This is software preservation with a blowtorch and a scalpel.

The goal: make the original code compile, run, and dungeon-crawl exactly as it did when floppies were king.

Think resto-mod: the soul stays vintage, the internals get a precision rebuild.

Philosophy: "Fix what breaks, preserve what works" - authentic 1984 gameplay with modern build system and safety improvements.

Read the Complete History of Hack
From Rogue (1980) to NetHack's rise, through decades of digital decay, to restoHack's 2025 resurrection

Screenshots

Luck and death, in that order.

Features

Modern Build System – CMake replaces Makefiles. Clean builds on Linux, FreeBSD, and other Unix systems.
Authentic Systems – Over a dozen original systems restored from source, untouched in design.
Complete K&R Modernization – Entire codebase converted to ANSI C (~250 functions updated).
Unix/Linux Fixes – No more hardcoded BSD paths or FS quirks.
Cross-Platform Verified – Works on Linux (glibc/musl) & FreeBSD; CI-tested.

Tested on: Arch, Alpine, FreeBSD 14.3, WSL, and aarch64. macOS support verified via runner. Arch users can install via the AUR.

Recognition:
RestoHack was recognized by GitHub as a For the Love of Code category winner (2025).
Featured in the official GitHub Blog:
From Karaoke Terminals to AI Resumes — The Winners of GitHub’s For the Love of Code Challenge

Play Online (Hardfought)

restoHack is now available on Hardfought — no installation required.

ssh nethack@us.hardfought.org

Login or register (l / r)
Select 5) Miscellaneous games
Select $) Hack 1.0.3

Hardfought also lets you watch games in progress (w from the main menu).

Installation

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S restohack

Download Pre-built Binary (Linux)

Download the static binary from Releases:

mkdir -p ~/Games/restohack
cd ~/Games/restohack
tar -xzf restoHack-*-linux-x86_64-static.tar.gz
./run-hack.sh

Note: As of v1.1.1, we provide separate binary and source tarballs instead of hybrid packages.

(static binary, no dependencies required)

Also available on itch.io — no compiling required.

Build from Source

Requirements: git, cmake, a C compiler, ncurses

git clone https://github.com/Critlist/restoHack.git
cd restoHack
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build
cd build && ./hack

Alternative (if your system supports CMake presets):

cmake --preset=release && cmake --build build

For BSD systems, development builds, IDE integration, and troubleshooting: see Build Instructions

Windows (Work in Progress)

A windows-port branch exists targeting MSVC and MinGW64 using PDCurses.

The MinGW build currently compiles but is not yet playable. Build system details and testing are still in progress.

The long-term goal is a simple Windows build so people curious about early roguelike and Hack history can experience the game without needing a Unix terminal. A free Steam release is planned once the Windows build is stable.

Current Status

v1.1.6 — Stable Release Fixes a critical crash on aarch64 after character selection. Reported and verified by @Filipsys.

Recent Fixes

aarch64 Crash – Fixed segfault after character selection on aarch64 Ubuntu (reported by @Filipsys)
Save System Safety – Version 2 save format with pointer serialization
Ubuntu Fix – Resolved PATH resolution bug preventing game launch on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04
Security Audit – Fixed 150+ vulnerabilities: buffer overflows, null pointers, format strings
Terminal Resize – Added SIGWINCH handler to prevent display corruption on window resize
40-Year Bug – Fixed strength overflow that could instantly kill players (spinach/potions)

Preservation Philosophy

Fix what breaks, preserve what works.

Source Code

Built from Andries Brouwer's Hack 1.0.3 (1985) preserved in FreeBSD's games collection. Original source in docs/historical/original-source/

See CODING_STANDARDS.md for how changes are documented.

Full history: HISTORY_OF_HACK.md

Historical Research

protoHack recovers and restores Jay Fenlason's original 1981-82 source code and conducts primary-source research into Hack's origins. restoHack is the stabilized restoration of Brouwer's Hack 1.0.3 with curated history. The docs/research/ directory is the shared evidence base maintained across both projects.

Gameplay

You’re the @, diving into the Mazes of Menace to steal the Amulet of Yendor. Expect monsters, magic, cursed loot, and permadeath. Controls are Vi-style (hjkl). Survival is… unlikely.

Contributing

Bug fixes, portability patches, packaging help—welcome. Want to port to Plan 9? Go for it. Just document changes and respect the code.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to K2 for hosting restoHack on Hardfought and keeping the roguelike public server tradition alive.

License

3-Clause BSD. Do what you want, just don’t sue me. See LICENSE.

restoHack