Gearboy
Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Super Game Boy emulator, debugger and embedded MCP server for macOS, Windows, Linux, BSD and RetroArch.
What is Gearboy?
Gearboy is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to game boy / game boy color / super game boy emulator, debugger and embedded mcp server for macos, windows, linux, bsd and retroarch.
Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Super Game Boy emulator, debugger and embedded MCP server for macOS, Windows, Linux, BSD and RetroArch.
This server falls under the Developer Tools category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Super Game Boy emulator, debugge
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx gearboyConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Gearboy
Gearboy is an accurate, cross-platform Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy emulator with a built-in MCP server that enables AI-assisted game debugging, ROM hacking, and reverse engineering through GitHub Copilot, Claude, and other compatible AI tools. The embedded MCP server exposes tools for execution control, CPU register inspection, memory reading and writing across all hardware regions (ROM banks, VRAM, WRAM, OAM, I/O registers), disassembly, breakpoints, sprite viewing, call stack inspection, trace logging, and time-travel debugging via rewind snapshots. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, and RetroArch, and can operate in headless mode for CI or scripted workflows.
Prerequisites
- Gearboy binary for your platform downloaded from the GitHub releases page (version 3.8.6 or later)
- A Game Boy or Game Boy Color ROM file to load
- An MCP-capable client such as Claude Desktop, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, or another MCP-compatible tool
- Optionally: GEARBOY_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable set if using HTTP transport mode
Download the Gearboy binary or MCPB package for your platform
Go to the Gearboy releases page on GitHub and download the binary for your OS and architecture. For Claude Desktop, the easiest path is the MCPB (Desktop Extension) package. For macOS, you can also use Homebrew.
# macOS via Homebrew
brew install --cask drhelius/geardome/gearboy
# Ubuntu PPA
# See https://github.com/drhelius/ppa-geardome for setup instructionsInstall via MCPB Desktop Extension in Claude Desktop (recommended)
Download the .mcpb package for your platform from the releases page. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Extensions → Advanced settings → Install Extension and select the downloaded file. The emulator will auto-launch when MCP tools are invoked.
Configure Claude Desktop manually (alternative to MCPB)
If you prefer manual configuration, edit your claude_desktop_config.json to launch Gearboy with the --mcp-stdio flag. Replace the command path with the actual location of your Gearboy binary.
{
"mcpServers": {
"gearboy": {
"command": "/path/to/gearboy",
"args": ["--mcp-stdio"]
}
}
}Load a ROM and start debugging
Once the MCP server is active, ask your AI assistant to load a ROM file. The emulator will start and the AI can inspect CPU state, memory, and VRAM, set breakpoints, and control execution.
Use headless mode for automated or scripted workflows
Add --headless to run Gearboy without a GUI window. Combine with --mcp-stdio or --mcp-http for server environments. HTTP mode binds to 127.0.0.1:7777/mcp and optionally requires a Bearer token.
# Headless STDIO mode
/path/to/gearboy --headless --mcp-stdio
# Headless HTTP mode with auth token
GEARBOY_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN=my-secret-token /path/to/gearboy --headless --mcp-httpGearboy Examples
Client configuration
Claude Desktop manual config entry for Gearboy using STDIO transport.
{
"mcpServers": {
"gearboy": {
"command": "/Applications/Gearboy.app/Contents/MacOS/gearboy",
"args": ["--mcp-stdio"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts for AI-assisted Game Boy debugging and ROM analysis using the Gearboy MCP tools.
- "Read the CPU registers and tell me the current state of the Game Boy"
- "Disassemble the code at the current program counter"
- "Read memory at address 0xFF40 and explain what the LCD controller register contains"
- "List all 40 OAM sprites and show me which ones are currently visible on screen"
- "Set a breakpoint at address 0x0150 and run until it is hit"
- "Take a screenshot of the current frame"
- "Show the current call stack"Troubleshooting Gearboy
Claude Desktop shows the Gearboy MCP server as disconnected
Verify that the command path in claude_desktop_config.json points to the actual Gearboy binary (not the .app bundle directory on macOS). Use the full path such as /Applications/Gearboy.app/Contents/MacOS/gearboy and ensure the binary has execute permissions.
HTTP transport returns 401 or rejects connections from localhost
The HTTP server at 127.0.0.1:7777/mcp rejects requests with mismatched Host or Origin headers and requires a Bearer token if GEARBOY_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN is set. Ensure your MCP client sends the correct Authorization header and the Host matches the configured endpoint.
Gearboy does not start in headless mode on a server without a display
Combine --headless with --mcp-stdio or --mcp-http. Headless mode suppresses the SDL/OpenGL window. On Linux servers, you do not need Xvfb or a virtual display when using headless mode.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gearboy
What is Gearboy?
Gearboy is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that game boy / game boy color / super game boy emulator, debugger and embedded mcp server for macos, windows, linux, bsd and retroarch. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Gearboy?
Follow the installation instructions on the Gearboy GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Gearboy?
Gearboy works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Gearboy free to use?
Yes, Gearboy is open source and available under the GPL-3.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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