Gearboy MCP — Anwendungsfälle, Installieren & Live-Demo

Warum nutzen

Hauptfunktionen

Embedded MCP server with stdio and HTTP transport for AI-assisted debugging
Advanced debugger: JIT disassembler, CPU/memory breakpoints, trace logging
VRAM viewer with tile, sprite, and palette inspection
Supports MBC1-7, HuC-1/3, MMM01, Pocket Camera, TAMA5 cartridge types
LCD ghosting and dot matrix visual effects mimicking original hardware

Live-Demo

In der Praxis

gearboy-2.replay ▶ bereit

0/0

Installieren

Wählen Sie Ihren Client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gearboy-2": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Öffne Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Nach dem Speichern neu starten.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gearboy-2": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor nutzt das gleiche mcpServers-Schema wie Claude Desktop. Projektkonfiguration schlägt die globale.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gearboy-2": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Klicken Sie auf das MCP-Servers-Symbol in der Cline-Seitenleiste, dann "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gearboy-2": {
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Gleiche Struktur wie Claude Desktop. Windsurf neu starten zum Übernehmen.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "gearboy-2",
      "command": "TODO",
      "args": [
        "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue nutzt ein Array von Serverobjekten statt einer Map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "gearboy-2": {
      "command": {
        "path": "TODO",
        "args": [
          "See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

In context_servers hinzufügen. Zed lädt beim Speichern neu.

claude mcp add gearboy-2 -- TODO 'See README: https://github.com/drhelius/Gearboy'

Einzeiler. Prüfen mit claude mcp list. Entfernen mit claude mcp remove.

Anwendungsfälle

Praxisnahe Nutzung: Gearboy

How to debug a Game Boy ROM with AI assistance using Gearboy

👤 Homebrew Game Boy developers and ROM hackers ⏱ ~30 min intermediate

Wann einsetzen: You're developing a Game Boy homebrew ROM and need to debug runtime issues.

Voraussetzungen

Gearboy built with MCP support — Build from source following the GitHub README
A Game Boy ROM file (.gb or .gbc) — Your own homebrew ROM or a ROM you legally own

Ablauf

Load ROM and connect

Connect to the Gearboy MCP server and load my ROM. Show me the current CPU state and disassembly at the program counter.✓ Kopiert

→ CPU registers, flags, and disassembled instructions at PC
Set a breakpoint and investigate

Set a breakpoint at address 0x0150 (after the header). Step through execution and explain what each instruction does.✓ Kopiert

→ Step-by-step execution with instruction explanations
Inspect memory

Show me the contents of WRAM from 0xC000 to 0xC0FF. Are there any recognizable data structures?✓ Kopiert

→ Memory dump with analysis of data patterns

Ergebnis: A clear understanding of how the ROM executes, with bugs identified and explained.

Fallstricke

Breakpoints on frequently-hit addresses slow execution dramatically — Use conditional breakpoints or set them only when you're close to the bug

Kombinieren mit: filesystem

Learn Game Boy architecture interactively with AI and Gearboy

👤 Students learning retro console hardware and assembly ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

Wann einsetzen: You want to understand how the Game Boy CPU, memory, and graphics work hands-on.

Voraussetzungen

Gearboy with MCP server — Build from source
A simple test ROM — Use a homebrew test ROM or Blargg's test ROMs

Ablauf

Explore the memory map

Show me the Game Boy memory map. Read the ROM header at 0x0100-0x014F and explain each field.✓ Kopiert

→ Annotated header with title, cartridge type, ROM/RAM sizes
Watch VRAM in action

Step through the VBlank interrupt handler and explain how tiles are loaded into VRAM.✓ Kopiert

→ Step-by-step explanation of tile loading with VRAM state

Ergebnis: Hands-on understanding of Game Boy hardware through interactive exploration.

Fallstricke

Assembly can be overwhelming for beginners — Start with simple test ROMs that exercise one hardware feature at a time

Kombinationen

Mit anderen MCPs für 10-fache Wirkung

gearboy-2 + filesystem

Export memory dumps and debug logs for offline analysis

Dump the entire VRAM contents to a file and annotate the tile data layout.✓ Kopiert

Werkzeuge

Was dieses MCP bereitstellt

Werkzeug	Eingaben	Wann aufrufen
pause/resume/step	none / step_count?	Control emulator execution
read_memory	address: int, size: int	Read emulator memory at any address
write_memory	address: int, data: bytes	Write to emulator memory
set_breakpoint	address: int, type?: str	Set a CPU or memory breakpoint
disassemble	address: int, count: int	Disassemble instructions at an address
get_cpu_state	none	Get current CPU registers and flags

Kosten & Limits

Was der Betrieb kostet

API-Kontingent: N/A — fully local
Tokens pro Aufruf: 100–500 tokens per debug command
Kosten in €: Free and open source (MIT license)
Tipp: Use targeted memory reads instead of full dumps to keep token usage low.

Sicherheit

Rechte, Secrets, Reichweite

Credential-Speicherung: N/A

Datenabfluss: Fully local — no network calls

Fehlerbehebung

Häufige Fehler und Lösungen

MCP server not responding

Ensure Gearboy was built with MCP support enabled. Check that the server port (default 7777) is not in use.

Prüfen: curl http://localhost:7777/health

ROM fails to load

Verify the ROM file is a valid .gb or .gbc file. Check the file isn't corrupted.

Prüfen: Check the ROM header with a hex editor

Breakpoint never hits

Verify the address is in the execution path. Use the disassembler to check if code actually runs at that address.

Prüfen: Disassemble around the target address

Alternativen

Gearboy vs. andere

Alternative	Wann stattdessen	Kompromiss
Geargrafx	You want to debug PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 ROMs instead of Game Boy	Different console, same MCP-enabled emulator approach by the same developer

Mehr

Ressourcen

📖 Offizielle README auf GitHub lesen

🐙 Offene Issues ansehen

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