GBC.emu - RetroBIOS¶
Technical notes
Member of the EX Emulator series by Robert Broglia, which targets Android and Linux (README.md:3-4,12-13) and keeps iOS and Pandora build shortcuts in the tree (GBC.emu/ios.mk, GBC.emu/pandora.mk). Published as com.explusalpha.GbcEmu (GBC.emu/metadata/conf.mk:2,4,6,7) and reached by ES-DE through its GBC-EMU find rule. Gambatte components are vendored under GBC.emu/src/libgambatte (GBC.emu/metadata/conf.mk:8, GBC.emu/src/main/AppMeta.cc:26) and driven by the app's own video, audio, input and save layers, with the OSD compiled out (GBC.emu/CMakeLists.txt:14-19). Content is read from .gb, .gbc and .dmg files (GBC.emu/metadata/conf.mk:5, GBC.emu/src/main/AppMeta.cc:30); an archive is opened by the framework, which keeps the first entry passing that same filter (EmuFramework/src/EmuSystem.cc:392-419).
The content image is the only one the app loads. GB::load hands the buffer to Cartridge::loadROM and starts the machine from the register, memory and palette values setInitState writes, the path a reset takes as well (GBC.emu/src/libgambatte/src/gambatte.cpp:83-121, GBC.emu/src/libgambatte/src/mem/cartridge.cpp:557-669, GBC.emu/src/libgambatte/src/initstate.cpp:1151). The vendored API carries no boot ROM entry point (GBC.emu/src/libgambatte/include/gambatte.h:38-211) and no menu offers a path for one, the file path view adding a cheats directory to the stock save and screenshot entries (GBC.emu/src/main/EmuMenuViews.cc:187-212, EmuFramework/src/gui/FilePathOptionView.cc:159-163). Gambatte's own file layer is left out of the build (GBC.emu/src/CMakeLists.txt:13-39).
DMG content is colored from tables held in the binary: 13 palettes and a title-keyed list matched against the ROM header (GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:41-57,155-161, GBC.emu/src/main/Palette.cc:352,359, 466-474, GBC.emu/src/main/EmuMenuViews.cc:74-96). Report Hardware as GBA passes GBA_CGB to the load call (GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:150, GBC.emu/src/main/system.ccm:113).
Per content the app writes and reads back files named after the ROM: a .sav sized to the cartridge SRAM bank and created full of 0xFF (GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:86-94,105-112, EmuFramework/src/EmuApp.cc:842-849), a four byte .rtc base time for cartridges carrying a clock (GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:95-102,113-124), .gqs states (GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:66-69), a .gbcht cheat list under the cheats path (GBC.emu/src/main/Cheats.cc:70-113) and GbcEmu.config (GBC.emu/src/main/AppMeta.cc:27). Gambatte's own save file code sits inside an #if 0 block and its two entry points are defined as no-ops by the app (GBC.emu/src/libgambatte/src/mem/cartridge.cpp:671-715, GBC.emu/src/main/Main.cc:308-313).
ui.png, gpOverlay.png and the shader sources are drawn from the application bundle (EmuFramework/include/emuframework/AssetManager.hh:61-65, EmuFramework/src/AssetManager.cc:58-65, EmuFramework/src/VideoImageEffect.cc:163-173). The app declares no bundled content, the framework definition defaulting to an empty span (EmuFramework/src/AppMeta.cc:40, EmuFramework/include/emuframework/AppMeta.hh:66-68).
No BIOS or firmware files required. Generated on 2026-08-23T16:12:06Z