# AndreaOrru/LaiNES

Compact cycle-accurate NES emulator

Repository: https://github.com/AndreaOrru/LaiNES
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/laines
Language: C++
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: nintendo-nes, emulator, minimal, emulators, nintendo, nes
Last push: 2025-11-06T05:52:09+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 55/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 50, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4681, "days_push": 300, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1518, forks 115 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:57.488703+00:00)

## What it is
LaiNES is a compact, cycle-accurate Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator written in C++ with SDL2. It includes a built-in GUI, savestate support, fast-forward, and implements the most common NES mappers.

## Use cases
- play NES ROMs on Linux or macOS
- cycle-accurate NES emulation for accuracy testing
- save and load states while playing NES games
- run NES games with a joystick or custom controls
- study a minimal emulator codebase for the 6502 CPU and PPU

## When to choose
- you want a small, readable, cycle-accurate NES emulator on Unix-like systems
- you need savestates, fast-forward, and a simple built-in GUI
- your games use common mappers like NROM, MMC1, MMC3, or MMC5

## When to avoid
- you need a Windows-native build out of the box
- you require exotic NES mappers or extensive ROM compatibility
- you want a full-featured emulator with netplay, shaders, or recording

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: simulation, gui, graphics
- domain: gaming-tools, cross-platform
- platform: cross-platform, cpp
- tags: nes-emulator, cycle-accurate, sdl2, retro-gaming, 6502, savestates, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- AndreaOrru/LaiNES (main) score 55

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:57.488703+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 2026-08-30T04:31:59.375014+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/AndreaOrru/LaiNES (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:57.488703+00:00, sha ccf69408f694)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.