chip8-py 0.2.0

A CHIP-8 emulator ecosystem.

chip8-py

A modular, extensible CHIP-8 emulator ecosystem written in modern Python, with support for SUPER-CHIP (and soon XO-CHIP).

Note: This is a remake of an old project of mine, chip-8-python, which aimed to do the same thing but was honestly pretty poorly made. It was monolithic and clunky, and this one is built to be an actual Python package.

Installation

Requires Python 3.11+.

pip install chip8-py

# or in a local directory
git clone https://github.com/las-r/pychip8
cd pychip8
pip install -e .

Usage

pychip8 path/to/rom.ch8

Config

File

On first run, a default config is created at:

• Windows: C:/Users/YOUR_USER_PROFILE/AppData/Local/pychip8/
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/pychip8/
• Linux: ~/.config/pychip8/

Edit this file to set your preferred defaults.

Flags

Flags override the config file.

Flag	Description
--cpf <int>	Cycles per frame (default: 10)
--scale <int>	Display scale (default: 12)
--volume <float>	Audio volume 0.0–1.0 (default: 0.2)
--cosmac-shift / --no-cosmac-shift	COSMAC VIP shift quirk
--cosmac-jump / --no-cosmac-jump	COSMAC VIP jump quirk
--cosmac-i-add / --no-cosmac-i-add	COSMAC VIP index add quirk
--cosmac-font / --no-cosmac-font	COSMAC VIP font quirk
--cosmac-ls / --no-cosmac-ls	COSMAC VIP load/store quirk
--vf-reset / --no-vf-reset	Reset VF after logic instructions
--spr-clip / --no-spr-clip	Clip sprites at screen edges instead of wrapping
--schip-scroll / --no-schip-scroll	Halve scroll distance in low-res mode
--schip-hires-spr / --no-schip-hires-spr	Restrict 16×16 sprites to high-res mode only
--schip-vblank / --no-schip-vblank	Wait for vblank before drawing
--bg <hex>	Background color
--fg <hex>	Foreground color

Keypad

The CHIP-8 hex keypad maps to the left side of a QWERTY keyboard:

CHIP-8    Keyboard
1 2 3 C   1 2 3 4
4 5 6 D   Q W E R
7 8 9 E   A S D F
A 0 B F   Z X C V

Credits

• raylib (Python)
• Guide to making a CHIP-8 emulator
• Timendus' CHIP-8 Test Suite
• SUPER-CHIP v1.1 Documentation
• Mastering SuperChip