Undocumented CPU Opcodes

Discussions center on undocumented, illegal, and quirky opcodes in vintage processors like the 6502 and x86/8086, including their encoding, history, microcode, and artifacts from early designs.

📉 Falling 0.4x Hardware
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#9892
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Keywords

RAM CPU MOS MIPS ARM B00 www.camp ASM X1 AtariAge instructions register instruction undocumented 6502 x86 indirect mos acc bits

Sample Comments

kken Mar 8, 2020 View on HN

Think more! One would guess that the search for undocumented opcodes yields results...?

epx Aug 24, 2016 View on HN

Certainly the BCD instructions are not used?

kens Aug 23, 2020 View on HN

No, but see kiwidrew's comments that discuss undocumented opcodes.

dajtxx Sep 18, 2025 View on HN

6502 zero page instruction vibes.

ok123456 Jan 26, 2023 View on HN

Probably an artifact of the Datapoint's instruction decoder unit.

anticensor Jul 26, 2023 View on HN

They could have wired those instructions as a NOP, rather than aliasing another opcode...

wmf Dec 13, 2020 View on HN

You mean like the AMX instructions?

faragon Nov 27, 2016 View on HN

Interesting, explaining the encoding of x86 opcodes (opcodes encoded in octal, addressing modes, etc.).

a_t48 Aug 18, 2022 View on HN

Source on the intel opcode thing?

basementcat Jan 25, 2025 View on HN

Do the '040/060 also support this "undocumented instruction"?