# aduros/wasm4

Build retro games using WebAssembly for a fantasy console.

Repository: https://github.com/aduros/wasm4
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wasm4
Homepage: https://wasm4.org
Language: TypeScript
License: ISC
License Family: permissive
Topics: webassembly, fantasy-console, fantasy-computer, retrogaming, 2d-game-engine, gamedev, game-development, wasm, assemblyscript, typescript, rust, go, golang, d, dlang, nim, zig, odin, emscripten, nelua
Last push: 2026-08-23T14:47:44+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1854, "days_push": 10, "days_rel": 628, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1524, forks 206 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:58.230746+00:00)

## What it is
WASM-4 is a low-level fantasy game console for building small retro games with WebAssembly. Games are self-contained .wasm cartridges built with any language that compiles to WebAssembly, runnable in browsers and on native runtimes including microcontrollers.

## Use cases
- build a retro 2d game with wasm
- make a fantasy console game like pico-8
- learn rust or assemblyscript by writing small games
- create tiny wasm game cartridges under 64kb
- add rollback netplay multiplayer to a retro game
- run a game on a microcontroller with webassembly
- experiment with new programming languages through game dev

## When to choose
- you want a minimalist, constrained environment to finish small games
- you want to write games in any wasm-compatible language without JS glue code
- you need portable games that run in browsers and on low-powered hardware
- you want instant online multiplayer with rollback netcode for free

## When to avoid
- you need 3D graphics, high resolution, or modern engine features
- you are building a large commercial game that needs a full engine like Unity or Godot
- you need more than 64KB of memory or cartridge space
- your target platform cannot execute WebAssembly

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, wasm, cli
- domain: gaming-tools, cross-platform, developer-tools
- platform: browser, cross-platform, cli, wasm, embedded
- tags: fantasy-console, retrogaming, 2d, retro-games, game-development, webassembly, netplay, multiplayer, typescript, rust, go, assemblyscript, zig, nim, odin, web-server

## Member repositories
- aduros/wasm4 (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:58.230746+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 2026-08-30T04:31:42.042107+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/aduros/wasm4 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:58.230746+00:00, sha 5588d0abe0ab)
  - homepage: https://wasm4.org (fetched 2026-08-29T11:34:46.084763+00:00, sha ac65753a5acc)
  - site_page: https://wasm4.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T11:34:46.093693+00:00, sha 92c92cfb3ddc)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/wasm4 (fetched 2026-08-29T11:34:46.095658+00:00, sha fa1dde2108f1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.