Chip-8 Emulator (Rust)
A small Chip-8 emulator written in Rust. This project was created while learning Rust in October 2024 as a hands-on exercise to better understand systems programming, emulation basics, and Rust’s ownership model.
About
Chip-8 is a simple interpreted programming language used on some vintage computers and calculators. This emulator implements the Chip-8 instruction set and provides a basic environment to load and run Chip-8 ROMs.
Features
- Implements core Chip-8 instructions
- Pixel-based display rendering
- Keyboard input handling for Chip-8 key layout
- Load and run Chip-8 ROM files
(Implementation details and exact feature set may vary — see the source code for the current state.)
Status
Learning project / experimental. Functionality …
Chip-8 Emulator (Rust)
A small Chip-8 emulator written in Rust. This project was created while learning Rust in October 2024 as a hands-on exercise to better understand systems programming, emulation basics, and Rust’s ownership model.
About
Chip-8 is a simple interpreted programming language used on some vintage computers and calculators. This emulator implements the Chip-8 instruction set and provides a basic environment to load and run Chip-8 ROMs.
Features
- Implements core Chip-8 instructions
- Pixel-based display rendering
- Keyboard input handling for Chip-8 key layout
- Load and run Chip-8 ROM files
(Implementation details and exact feature set may vary — see the source code for the current state.)
Status
Learning project / experimental. Functionality implemented while learning Rust; expect rough edges and room for improvement. Created October 2025.
Requirements
- Rust toolchain (stable) — see rustup.rs to install
- Any additional native libraries required by dependencies (if the project uses SDL2 or other native libs, install them via your platform package manager)
Build & Run
From the repository root:
Build in debug:
cargo build 1.
Run with a ROM file (if the emulator accepts a ROM path as an argument):
cargo run –release – path/to/rom.ch8
If the repository uses a different runner or has additional flags, consult the source (main.rs or Cargo.toml) for exact usage.
Typical Controls
Chip-8 programs expect a 16-key hex keyboard. Typical PC mappings used by many emulators:
Original Chip-8 keypad 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
Adjust mappings if the emulator uses a different layout.
Contributing
This is primarily a personal learning project. Contributions welcome — open an issue or PR if you have improvements, bug fixes, or suggestions.
License
Include a license if you want others to reuse the code. For a personal project, consider MIT, Apache-2.0, or another license. Add a LICENSE file to the repository.
Notes
- This README is a starting point. If you want, tell me any specifics (dependencies like sdl2, exact run arguments, supported ROMs, or a preferred license) and I will update the README accordingly and push the change.
Made by jadwd — learning Rust (Oct 2025).