Learn 6502 Assembly is a modern, native Adwaita application for the GNOME desktop environment that provides a complete learning environment for 6502 assembly language programming. Built with GJS and TypeScript, this application brings the classic easy6502 tutorial by Nick Morgan to your desktop as a beautiful, integrated experience.
- Interactive Tutorial: A comprehensive step-by-step guide to learning 6502 assembly language, with explanations of all core concepts
- Code Editor: Write and edit your 6502 assembly code with syntax highlighting
- Assembler & Debugger: Assemble your code and debug it with a built-in debugger showing registers, flags, and memory in real-time
- Visual Game Console: See your code in action on a virtual display, perfect for creating vintage games and graphics
- Built with Modern Technologies: Developed in GJS and TypeScript with Adwaita styling for a native GNOME experience
This project is a fork of the original web-based easy6502 tutorial, transformed into a native GNOME application while preserving the core functionality that made the original so effective for learning 6502 assembly.
- app-gnome: Main GNOME desktop application with Adwaita styling
- app-android: Android application with NativeScript
- app-web: Web application version
- core: Core 6502 assembler, simulator, and disassembler (published as
@learn6502/core) - common-ui: Shared UI components and controllers
- learn: Tutorial content and learning materials
- translations: Localization files and build system
The repository works with gjsify (recommended), npm, yarn or pnpm — use whichever you're comfortable with.
# Recommended — gjsify (the canonical toolchain)
gjsify install
gjsify run build
gjsify run start:gnomePrefer npm / yarn / pnpm? They all work too — each installs the workspaces and resolves the internal dependencies; the build itself still runs through gjsify (it's a dev dependency, so its bin is available after any install):
npm install # or: yarn install | pnpm install
npm run build && npm run start:gnome # or the yarn / pnpm equivalentNotes:
- gjsify is the canonical path — the committed
gjsify-lock.jsonand the offline Flatpak build use it. npm/yarn/pnpm generate their own lockfiles (gitignored); they're fine for local dev, please don't commit them. - pnpm relies on the committed
pnpm-workspace.yaml(pnpm reads its workspace members + settings there, not theworkspacesfield or a project.npmrc):linkWorkspacePackages: true(plain^ranges link the local workspaces),nodeLinker: hoisted(flat layout the gjsify bundler needs),minimumReleaseAge: 0+dangerouslyAllowAllBuilds: true(match npm/yarn's defaults — no new-version quarantine, run dep build scripts — so non-interactive installs don't error). - The internal packages use plain
^x.y.zranges (not theworkspace:protocol), which is why every manager — including npm and classic yarn — can resolve them. - A manual Package Managers CI workflow verifies all four managers install + resolve the workspaces; trigger it from the Actions tab if you touch the dependency wiring.
To build the packages, run gjsify run build in the root of the repository.
To run the packages, run gjsify run start:gnome for the GNOME app or gjsify run start:web for the web app.
Versioning, changelogs and npm publishing are managed with Changesets (see .changeset/README.md). Add a changeset with your change (gjsify run changeset, or npm/yarn/pnpm run changeset). All @learn6502/* packages are version-locked and bump together; only @learn6502/core is published to npm (the rest are private). Maintainer release: … run changeset:version then … run changeset:publish.
Contributions are welcome :)
- The application code is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3
- The tutorial content and all translations are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
- The metadata is licensed under the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal License