# The Goat Emoji Is 100% Valid Machine Code, and It Doesn't Stop There

DevFeed: [The Goat Emoji Is 100% Valid Machine Code, and It Doesn't Stop There](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-goat-emoji-is-100-valid-machine-code-and-it-doesn-t-stop-there-121180.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://hackaday.com/2026/11/06/the-goat-emoji-is-100-valid-machine-code-and-it-doesnt-stop-there/>)

Author: Donald Papp

Published: 2026-11-06T12:00:33Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Hackaday](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/hackaday.md>)

Topics: [Emoji](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/emoji.md>), [code analysis](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code-analysis.md>), [Process](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/process.md>)

Tags: [8086](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/8086.md>), [8088](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/8088.md>), [ascii](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ascii.md>), [basic](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/basic.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cpu.md>), [dosbox](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dosbox.md>), [emoji](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/emoji.md>), [intel-8086](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/intel-8086.md>), [machine](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/machine.md>), [retrocomputing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/retrocomputing.md>), [software-hacks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software-hacks.md>), [x86](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/x86.md>), [x86-machine-code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/x86-machine-code.md>)

## AI overview

Because emoji characters encode bytes, some can also form valid Intel 8088/8086 instructions. The goat emoji encodes F0 9F 90 90: the text says these bytes effectively do nothing on those processors. GloriousCow used other emoji byte combinations to build a Hello World .com program. Saving the emoji string as a .com file and running it in DOSBox with the CPU set to 8086 prints HELLO at the screen's bottom-right by writing directly to video memory. The excerpt also notes that ASCII can encode machine code more flexibly, since ASCII characters are not four-byte emoji sequences.

## Source excerpt

Did you know emojis can be executables? Well, they are if you treat them like Intel 8088 or 8086 machine code, anyway. [GloriousCow] shared this clever revelation, demonstrating that executable ...read more