"Waiting for the AI to finish your code? Play a classic game in your IDE.
The only extension you need while the other extensions write your code."
vibeBoy is a lightweight, fully functional Game Boy emulator that lives directly in your VS Code sidebar.
Perfect for catching a quick break while your code compiles, tests run, or while your AI coding assistant finishes generating the next big feature.
✨ Features
- Sidebar Integration: Plays quietly in a dedicated VS Code view without opening external windows.
- Auto-Save & Resume: Automatically saves your game state when you close the tab or switch files. Pick up exactly where you left off.
- Smart Audio: The audio mutes automatically when the sidebar view loses focus, so it won't interrupt your workflow.
- Customizable Keybindings: Play the way you want, with fully configurable controls right from the VS Code Settings.
- Local Emulation: Powered by WasmBoy, everything runs quickly and locally using WebAssembly.
🚀 How to Play
Installation Methods
Option 1: VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)
- Open Visual Studio Code.
- Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of VS Code or pressing
Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+X (macOS).
- Search for
vibeBoy and click Install.
Option 2: Manual Installation (.vsix)
- Download the latest
.vsix file from the Releases section of this repository.
- Open Visual Studio Code.
- Go to the Extensions view (
Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X).
- Click on the Views and More Actions icon (
... at the top right of the Extensions view).
- Select Install from VSIX...
- Locate and select the downloaded
.vsix file to install it.
Playing
- Click the new Game Boy icon in your Activity Bar (the left sidebar).
- Click "Load ROM" to load your favorite
.gb or .gbc ROM file.
- Enjoy!
⌨️ Controls & Settings
You can customize the controls in VS Code's global settings by searching for vibeBoy.keybindings.
Default Controls:
- D-Pad:
Arrow Keys
- A / B:
X / Z
- Start / Select:
Enter / ShiftLeft
You can also adjust other settings via the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) and typing vibeBoy: Emulator Settings.
📝 Requirements
You will need to provide your own legal backup copies of Game Boy or Game Boy Color ROMs. This extension does not include any games out of the box.
🤝 Contributing & Feedback
Got a feature request or found a bug? Feel free to open an issue or contribute to the repository!
Note: vibeBoy utilizes WasmBoy for the emulation core. Check out their repository for more details on the tech stack.
