FreeBASIC is a free 32-bit compiler for the BASIC language. It is open source and licensed under the GPL. It is designed to be syntax compatible with QuickBASIC, while expanding on the language and capabilities. It can create programs for MS-Windows, DOS and Linux, and is being ported to other platforms. See About FreeBASIC and Main Features.

FreeBASIC is a beta release compiler and development is ongoing. With each full update, many features are added, and bugs from previous releases are fixed. To see the latest version available, visit http://sourceforge.net/projects/fbc on SourceForge, or http://www.freebasic.net/index.php/download on FreeBASIC's official website.

Minimum hardware is listed on the Requirements page. Visit our Installation page for setting up FreeBASIC on your computer.

FreeBASIC is a compiler and as such is not packaged with an IDE (Integrated Development Editor), although there are a few IDE's available. For information on using FreeBASIC without an IDE, see Running.

FreeBASIC is designed to be syntax compatible with QuickBASIC. For best code-compatibility with QuickBASIC, the QB dialect can be used when compiling source code. See FreeBASIC Dialects and Differences from QB.

All official documentation can be found online in the wiki at http://www.freebasic.net/wiki. The online documentation is the most up-to-date resource available. In all cases it can be regarded as the correct version. The downloadable versions of the manual are snapshots of the documentation available at a particular time and should be mostly correct for a specific released version of the compiler. However, we do not maintain multiple versions of the documentation so there may be some discrepancies.