# Install zboy with Homebrew

GameBoy emulator. Version 0.71 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-18.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:zboy
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install zboy
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:zboy
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.71
- **Source summary:** GameBoy emulator
- **Homepage:** <https://zboy.sourceforge.net/>
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-18T02:29:03-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- zboy (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.71
## Project history and usage

zBoy is Mateusz Viste's open-source emulator for the original monochrome Game Boy Classic, focused on portability and extra play conveniences rather than Game Boy Color or Advance emulation.

### Project history

The project site carries copyright years 2010-2020 and SourceForge lists the project as registered in July 2013. Its public identity is deliberately old-school: a small emulator distributed from SourceForge, available for Linux, DOS, and Windows, and written for the classic DMG Game Boy.

### Adoption history

zBoy appears to have remained a niche emulator rather than a flagship retro-gaming platform. Its durable adoption signal is portability across older desktop and DOS-like environments, plus packaging by Unix-style distributions for users who collect lightweight emulators.

### How it is used

Users run zBoy with their own Game Boy ROMs and play with keyboard or joypad input. The emulator provides load/save support, PCX screenshots, battery-backed save emulation, graphics scaling filters, high-score preservation for some games, and LAN-based two-player link emulation.

### Why package nerds care

zBoy is interesting as a compact retro-emulation package: narrow target hardware, simple local execution, uncommon DOS support, and a feature set that preserves link-cable and battery-save behaviors usually hidden behind larger emulator front ends.

### Timeline

- 2010: Project site copyright range begins.
- 2013-07: SourceForge project registration date.
- 2023-11: SourceForge project page records a later activity update.

### Related projects

- VisualBoyAdvance: broader Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulator listed by SourceForge as a related project.
- gnuboy: another portable Game Boy emulator in the same retro-emulation niche.

### Sources

- <https://sourceforge.net/projects/zboy/ - SourceForge project page lists project registration, activity, categories, implementation language, and feature summary.>
- <https://zboy.sourceforge.net/ - official project site describes the emulator, platforms, features, copyright years, and ROM policy.>


## 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/zboy.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/zboy.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph