gameboy-rust/README.md
0xrsydn 7d396fea35 docs: split README into docs/ and add AGENTS.md
Move the README's hardware notes, demo controls, environment setup, test
notes, file map, and references into docs/ and docs/hardware/. The README
is now an overview with a docs index. AGENTS.md gives coding agents a short
map of crates, commands, and where to read and write documentation.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-05 16:20:18 +07:00

2.6 KiB
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gameboy-rust

Game Boy family emulation in Rust, written from scratch. The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is the first and currently only system.

This cannot run Pokémon Emerald or other games yet. It is an emulator foundation: an ARM7TDMI interpreter, memory bus, timers, DMA, Mode 0–5 video, and an original BIOS replacement. The included demos run original ARM test programs through the emulated hardware. ROM loading, audio, and saves are not implemented.

Layout

Crate Purpose
crates/gba-core Platform-independent GBA emulator. No external Rust dependencies.
crates/gba-demos Original test programs that drive the core.
crates/desktop Native window frontend on minifb. Builds the gameboy-rust executable.

Quick start

macOS on Apple Silicon is the verified platform. Install Nix (with flakes) and direnv, then:

direnv allow .
direnv exec . cargo run --locked --release -- --tile-demo
direnv exec . cargo test --locked

Arrows scroll, Q rotates, W zooms, Z flips, X changes priority, Enter resets, and Escape exits. Run direnv exec . cargo run --locked -- --help to list every demo and smoke test.

Documentation

Document Contents
docs/status.md What works today, deliberate limits, and next steps
docs/demos.md Every demo, its command, and its controls
docs/development.md Nix, direnv, and macOS build notes
docs/testing.md Validation commands and what the test suites cover
docs/architecture.md Crate boundaries and a file-by-file map
docs/hardware/cpu.md ARM/Thumb execution rules, modes, exceptions, and timing
docs/hardware/bios.md The original BIOS replacement and each supported service
docs/hardware/timers-irq.md Timers, interrupt registers, HALT, and power control
docs/hardware/dma.md DMA channels, triggers, and timing
docs/hardware/display-timing.md Display clock, status, IRQs, and scanline capture
docs/hardware/video.md Backgrounds, sprites, mosaic, windows, color effects, and input
docs/references.md External hardware references and emulator sources consulted

Coding agents should start with AGENTS.md.

All demo content and the BIOS replacement are original. No Nintendo code or assets are included. Only use game ROMs that you may lawfully use. Do not commit game ROMs, BIOS files, or game assets.