CheeseCutter — the repo, the man pages, and the release paper trail (2011–2026)
cheesecutter carries almost no documentation of its own — the repo's AUTHORS and NEWS are empty, ChangeLog and doc/README just point to theyamo.kapsi.fi/ccutter ("for instructions on program use"), and that site has been down since at least mid-2025 (scarzix on CSDb, 2025-07-22: "Site is offline? ;-("; HTTP 401 on 2026-08-30). What survives: the README credits, two man pages, and a complete dated release trail on CSDb — now including a 2026 continuation by a new maintainer.
Key claims#
The program (README, Version, INSTALL)#
- "CheeseCutter 2 … Programmed by abaddon 2009-2017. Mac OSX and D2 port by Ruk 2013. reSID engine by Dag Lem & A. Lankila. Parts of reSID interface (sid.cpp) by Cadaver / CovertBitops. Includes Acme Assembler 0.91 by Marco Baye. libSDL by the SDL team." GPL. Special thanks: Vent/Triad, Blackspawn, Mr Ammo, Scarzix/Offence, SuperNoise, Wisdom/Crescent "and the forgotten ones..." — identical wording in the repo and the v2.9 release zip (resid, dag-lem, lasse-oorni).
- Written in D (
makebuilds "using ldc2"); Mr. SID tried to build 2.3.0 in 2012 and gave up over "the lack of maturity of the D tool set" (CSDb comment, 2012-03-22). Git master says version 2.10; an SDL2 port was merged 2026-03 (repo front page, fetched during the scout).
ccutter CLI (man page, November 2018)#
ccutter [OPTION]... [FILE] — -b playback buffer (default 2048) · -f fullscreen · -nofp disable resid-fp emulation (so reSID-fp is the default) · -fpr x filter preset, "x = 0..16 for 6581 and 0..1 for 8580" · -i disable interpolation (fast mode) · -m 0|1 SID model 6581/8580 (default 0 = 6581) · -n NTSC mode · -r playback frequency (default
ct2util — the export/import companion (man page, Nov 12 2018)#
Commands: prg (export .ct → PRG), sid (export .ct → SID, sid-format), dump ("Dump song data to assembler source (BETA)"), import ("Copy data from another song without overwriting the player" — i.e. move a tune between player versions), init ("Create a fresh .ct from player binary" — the door for custom players). Export options: -r relocate to address, -zp relocate zero page, -d/-s default/single subtune 1–32 (so a .ct holds up to 32 subtunes). The SEE ALSO line names klystrack(1) and goattracker(1).
The release trail (CSDb search + release pages, Triad, Demozoo)#
| version | date | released by | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4.0 | 2011-03-15 | Abaddon | |
| 0.5.1 | 2011-10-15 | Abaddon | companion download depack-jch20g4.zip — a depacker for JCH NewPlayer 20.G4 tunes (jch-editor); Rayne (2013): "even works with Dane's 25.FX Player!" |
| 2.3.0/2.3.1 | 2012-03-20/26 | Abaddon | four of Abaddon's own SIDs bundled (F.F.F., Kalmankone, Swingcat, Trouble Every Day); 2.3.1 fixes ct2util's Windows console output |
| 2.4.0 | 2012-09-24 | Triad | Abaddon joined triad in 2012 |
| 2.5.0 | 2013-05-13 | Triad | credits: code Abaddon, help Ruk/Vent/Scarzix, music Dr.Vector; announced with the CSDb SID music competition "Release The Cheese" (triad.se, 2013-05-09) |
| 2.6.1 | 2014-06-13 | Triad | |
| 2.7.1 | 2015-01-11 | Triad | Demozoo dates it 2015-01 |
| 2.8.0 | 2015-11-28 | Triad | |
| 2.9.0 | 2017-04-13 | Triad | two win32 builds: ccutter and ccstereo (the stereo/2SID build as an official parallel download; same pair still on the 2024-archived homepage) + a third file CheatCutter_Rev001.zip (unidentified — check on a later pass) |
| 2.11R "Hypercut" | 2026-07-25 | arch0N | see below |
- The Abaddon arc (triad.se member page): Finnish coder-musician; "started out in Damage in the late 90s", joined Fairlight in 2003 (with Hollowman and Pantaloon), contributed to Boogie Factor and We Are New; "Eventually Abaddon chose to go solo, focusing on his tracker project CheeseCutter"; joined Triad 2012, "decided to leave the mummyship in January 2017" — matching the repo's "2009-2017" span.
- CheeseCutter 2.11R Hypercut (CSDb 263220, 10/10 from 8 votes): credits "Code: Abaddon of Artline Designs / arch0N"; Windows x64, macOS and source zips. From arch0N's comments: a "Hypercut interface" with a Track Overview/timeline strip across the top,
CTRL+F9toggles the upper-right display between oscilloscope and SID register view,ALT+Hhides the quick-help; a multispeed buffer overrun was fixed (Isildur); next-update plans: font selector (a browser-based PSF font editor ships atsrc/font/psf_font_editor_v2.html), pattern numbers in the tracks, raster-time meter, a "Waterfall display while composing/playing live"; USBSID-Pico support discussed but "not a quick afternoon hack" (multispeed, hardsid). - The v2.9 zip (Wayback; contents dated 2017-02/04) bundles 14 example
.cttunes: abaddon (starfish, swingcat), drvector ×2, guyshavitt, mch, scarzix ×3 (cheese-around-the-clock, KnightsAndDames, visualbrothers), spider_jerusalem (KaeseKacker), tempest (soyoudied), vent (arkijuusto), wisdom (Adrift) — the community roster in file names.
Practical takeaways#
- To date any CheeseCutter fact, use the CSDb table above — the wiki's page previously knew only "2SID beta by early 2015" and one 2.x remark.
ct2util init+importare the mechanism behind the JCH-lineage workflow: a.ctfile contains its player, and tunes can be moved between player binaries — the same file-carries-the-driver philosophy as the JCH editor (jch-editor, sid-player-routine).- The project is alive again in 2026 under arch0N (Hypercut), after the original site died — point newcomers at CSDb 263220 or the GitHub repo, not theyamo.kapsi.fi.
Notable quotes#
- "Eventually Abaddon chose to go solo, focusing on his tracker project CheeseCutter." (triad.se member page)
- "Release The Cheese" (Triad's 2013 competition name)
Relevance to the wiki#
Turns cheesecutter's single-source page into a dated tool history with CLI/export reference material, names the 2026 Hypercut continuation, and documents the JCH-lineage plumbing (depack-jch20g4, ct2util init) that connects it to jch-editor.
Pages touched#
cheesecutter · jch-editor · scarzix · triad · resid · dag-lem · lasse-oorni · sid-format · sid-player-routine · multispeed · hardsid