# Install mgba with Homebrew

Game Boy Advance emulator. Version 0.10.5 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-18.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:mgba
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install mgba
```

  Evidence: provider-native install command

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:mgba
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.10.5
- **Source summary:** Game Boy Advance emulator
- **Homepage:** <https://mgba.io/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-18T02:28:59-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T00:40:33+00:00

## Executables

- mGBA (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.10.5
## Project history and usage

mGBA is an open-source Game Boy Advance emulator created by Vicki Pfau, also known as endrift. The official FAQ says the project started in April 2013 with the goal of running on lower-end hardware without giving up accuracy or portability, and the ten-year retrospective ties that history to the first commit in the mGBA repository. The project site identifies it as copyright 2013-2026 Vicki Pfau.

### Project history

Technically, mGBA set out to be faster and more accurate than many older GBA emulators while adding features they lacked. Its README and FAQ describe support not only for Game Boy Advance games but also Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles, with an emphasis on accuracy, portability, and practical extras. That combination made it useful both for players and for development/debugging workflows around Nintendo handheld software.

### How it is used

Its adoption reaches beyond package managers. The project is distributed through its own site and GitHub, packaged by Homebrew and Linux distributions, and published for Windows through winget. It also appears inside other retro-gaming products and workflows: Wired's review of the Epilogue GB Operator notes that Epilogue Playback defaults to the mGBA emulator core while allowing users to select other cores. In package-manager terms, Homebrew's `mgba` formula gives macOS and Linux users a maintained route to the desktop emulator, while distro packages such as `libmgba-dev` expose the emulator library for software that embeds or integrates mGBA.

### Sources

- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mgba>
- <https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba>
- <https://mgba.io/>
- <https://mgba.io/2023/04/03/mgba-turns-ten/>
- <https://mgba.io/faq.html>
- <https://www.wired.com/review/epilogue-gb-operator>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mgba.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/mgba.yml)


## Sources

- Nucleus package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation