FreeCOM is a commandline interface for the DOS platform. Released under GPL, it's developed together with the FreeDOS project.

FreeCOM is usually loaded in the config.sys configuration file with the following line: SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /P

which tells the kernel to load command.com (FreeCOM) as the command interpreter ('shell') from drive C:, and make it permanent (cannot be quitted).

FreeCOM has been maintained by a various number of people, with latest official maintainer Steffen Kaiser. The FreeDOS community has adapted FreeCOM a little more to suit their needs, especially in taking out the few remaining bugs, adding features and improving compatibility with Microsoft COMMAND.COM and JPsoft's 4DOS (now open source).

www.fdos.org/kernel contains the community 0.84+ builds, www.freedos.org contains the 0.82 series builds.

The 0.82patchlevel 3 version is available in several flavours:

• 8086+ compatible, support swapping itself partially out to disk
• 8086+ compatible, support swapping itself partially out to XMS

The 0.84 series is available in more flavours, due to size constraints:

• 8086+ compatible, support swapping itself partially out to XMS. 8086 compatibility required some addition size for the binary, and in return the LOADFIX and LOADHIGH internal programs had to be dropped, together with ALIAS and critical error handling
• 80186+ compatible, support swapping itself partially out to XMS. This release is not limited in any way except for 8086 compatibility
• diskswapping (CALL /S) versions. Currently unreleased

Other limitations are that FreeCOM cannot be compiled with OpenWatcom, and that no optimal binaries exist:

• 8086+
• support all commands
• support critical error handling
• support both XMSswap and CALL /S