Gearboy MCP — Casos de uso, Instalar & Demo en vivo

Por qué usarlo

Características clave

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

Demo en vivo

Cómo se ve en la práctica

gearboy-2.replay ▶ listo

0/0

Instalar

Elige tu cliente

~/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"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Abre Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Reinicia después de guardar.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

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

Cursor usa el mismo esquema mcpServers que Claude Desktop. La configuración del proyecto prevalece sobre la global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

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

Haz clic en el icono MCP Servers de la barra lateral de Cline y luego en "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

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

Mismo formato que Claude Desktop. Reinicia Windsurf para aplicar.

~/.continue/config.json

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

Continue usa un array de objetos de servidor en lugar de un mapa.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

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

Añádelo a context_servers. Zed recarga en caliente al guardar.

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

Un solo comando. Verifica con claude mcp list. Quita con claude mcp remove.

Casos de uso

Usos del mundo real: Gearboy

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

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

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

Requisitos previos

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

Flujo

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.✓ Copiado

→ 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.✓ Copiado

→ 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?✓ Copiado

→ Memory dump with analysis of data patterns

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

Errores comunes

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

Combinar con: filesystem

Learn Game Boy architecture interactively with AI and Gearboy

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

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

Requisitos previos

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

Flujo

Explore the memory map

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

→ 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.✓ Copiado

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

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

Errores comunes

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

Combinaciones

Combínalo con otros MCPs para multiplicar por 10

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.✓ Copiado

Herramientas

Lo que expone este MCP

Herramienta	Entradas	Cuándo llamar
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

Coste y límites

Lo que cuesta ejecutarlo

Cuota de API: N/A — fully local
Tokens por llamada: 100–500 tokens per debug command
Monetario: Free and open source (MIT license)
Consejo: Use targeted memory reads instead of full dumps to keep token usage low.

Seguridad

Permisos, secretos, alcance

Almacenamiento de credenciales: N/A

Salida de datos: Fully local — no network calls

Resolución de problemas

Errores comunes y soluciones

MCP server not responding

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

Verificar: 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.

Verificar: 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.

Verificar: Disassemble around the target address

Alternativas

Gearboy vs otros

Alternativa	Cuándo usarla	Contrapartida
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

Más

Recursos

📖 Lee el README oficial en GitHub

🐙 Ver issues abiertas

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