Gearboy MCP — Cas d'usage, Installer & Démo en direct

Pourquoi l'utiliser

Fonctionnalités clés

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

Démo en direct

Aperçu en pratique

gearboy-2.replay ▶ prêt

0/0

Installer

Choisissez votre 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"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Ouvrez Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Redémarrez après avoir enregistré.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

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

Cursor utilise le même schéma mcpServers que Claude Desktop. La config projet l'emporte sur la globale.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

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

Cliquez sur l'icône MCP Servers dans la barre latérale Cline, puis "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

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

Même format que Claude Desktop. Redémarrez Windsurf pour appliquer.

~/.continue/config.json

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

Continue utilise un tableau d'objets serveur plutôt qu'une map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

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

Ajoutez dans context_servers. Zed recharge à chaud à la sauvegarde.

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

Une seule ligne. Vérifiez avec claude mcp list. Supprimez avec claude mcp remove.

Cas d'usage

Usages concrets : Gearboy

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

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

Quand l'utiliser : You're developing a Game Boy homebrew ROM and need to debug runtime issues.

Prérequis

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

Déroulement

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.✓ Copié

→ 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.✓ Copié

→ 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?✓ Copié

→ Memory dump with analysis of data patterns

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

Pièges

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

Combiner avec : filesystem

Learn Game Boy architecture interactively with AI and Gearboy

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

Quand l'utiliser : You want to understand how the Game Boy CPU, memory, and graphics work hands-on.

Prérequis

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

Déroulement

Explore the memory map

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

→ 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.✓ Copié

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

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

Pièges

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

Combinaisons

Associez-le à d'autres MCPs pour un effet X10

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.✓ Copié

Outils

Ce que ce MCP expose

Outil	Entrées	Quand appeler
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

Coût et limites

Coût d'exécution

Quota d'API: N/A — fully local
Tokens par appel: 100–500 tokens per debug command
Monétaire: Free and open source (MIT license)
Astuce: Use targeted memory reads instead of full dumps to keep token usage low.

Sécurité

Permissions, secrets, portée

Stockage des identifiants : N/A

Sortie de données : Fully local — no network calls

Dépannage

Erreurs courantes et correctifs

MCP server not responding

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

Vérifier : 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.

Vérifier : 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.

Vérifier : Disassemble around the target address

Alternatives

Gearboy vs autres

Alternative	Quand l'utiliser	Compromis
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

Plus

Ressources

📖 Lire le README officiel sur GitHub

🐙 Voir les issues ouvertes

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