drhelius/Gearboy

Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Super Game Boy emulator and debugger with embedded MCP server for macOS, Windows, Linux, BSD and RetroArch.

What it solves

Gearboy lets you play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy games on modern computers and consoles, while also giving developers the tools they need to debug and reverse-engineer those games. It goes beyond basic emulation by including a full debugger and a way for AI assistants to help with the debugging process.

How it works

Gearboy is written in C++ and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, and as a RetroArch core. It faithfully emulates the original hardware, supporting many cartridge types (MBC1–MBC7, HuC-1, and more), save states, rewind, cheat codes, and visual effects like LCD ghosting and dot matrix. For developers, it includes a debugger with a just-in-time disassembler, breakpoints, memory editing, and VRAM viewing. The embedded MCP server exposes tools for execution control, memory inspection, and hardware status, so AI agents like GitHub Copilot, Claude, or Codex can interact with the emulator to assist with debugging tasks.

Who it’s for

Game Boy enthusiasts who want a reliable emulator, and developers working on homebrew games, game mods (ROMhacking), or reverse engineering. It’s also useful for anyone who wants AI-assisted debugging through tools like GitHub Copilot or Claude, thanks to the built-in MCP server and provided Agent Skills.

Highlights

  • Accurate emulation for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy with support for many cartridge types.
  • Available on desktop systems and as a RetroArch core across numerous platforms.
  • Full debugger with disassembler, breakpoints, memory editor, trace logger, and VRAM viewer.
  • Embedded MCP server enables AI debugging with STDIO or HTTP transports.
  • Includes rewind, run-ahead, cheat support, save states, and ZIP ROM loading.
  • Offers Agent Skills for game debugging and ROMhacking, installable via npx skills add drhelius/gearboy.

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