# GValiente/butano

Modern C++ high level GBA engine

Repository: https://github.com/GValiente/butano
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/butano
Language: C++
License: Zlib
License Family: permissive
Topics: gba, modern-cpp, game-engine, game-boy-advance
Last push: 2026-08-06T20:35:00+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 96, release rhythm 96, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2434, "days_push": 27, "days_rel": 30, "gap_med": 21.5, "n_releases_24m": 37}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1752, forks 120 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:31.703802+00:00)

## What it is
Butano is a modern C++ high-level game engine for the Game Boy Advance, offering one-line APIs for sprites, backgrounds, text, and raster effects. It includes a custom allocation-free standard library, asset import tooling, debugging/profiling tools, and full example games.

## Use cases
- make a game for the game boy advance in c++
- gba homebrew game engine
- develop retro console games with modern c++
- learn gba programming with examples
- create sprites and backgrounds on gba hardware
- build a gba rom without writing assembly

## When to choose
- you want a high-level, modern C++ API for GBA development instead of raw hardware registers
- you need built-in asset importing, asserts, logging, and profiling for GBA projects
- you want reference game source code to learn from

## When to avoid
- you target platforms other than the Game Boy Advance
- you need heap allocation, exceptions, or RTTI
- you prefer C or assembly-level control over GBA hardware

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, graphics, audio-processing, developer-tools
- domain: embedded-systems, cross-platform
- platform: cpp, windows, embedded, game-engine
- tags: gba, game-boy-advance, retro-gaming, devkitarm, homebrew, modern-cpp, no-heap-allocation, game-development, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- GValiente/butano (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:31.703802+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:28:16.129365+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/GValiente/butano (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:31.703802+00:00, sha 59622221f831)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.