Agent Skills for the Gearsystem Sega Master System / Game Gear / SG-1000 emulator MCP server. These skills teach AI agents how to effectively use Gearsystem's MCP tools for debugging and ROM hacking tasks.
All skills require the Gearsystem emulator running as an MCP server. The emulator must be configured in your AI client (VS Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.) so the agent can access the MCP tools.
See MCP_README.md for complete setup instructions (STDIO, HTTP, VS Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Code).
The recommended way to install the skills is using the skills CLI, which requires no prior installation:
npx skills add drhelius/gearsystemOr install a specific skill:
npx skills add drhelius/gearsystem --skill gearsystem-debugging
npx skills add drhelius/gearsystem --skill gearsystem-romhackingThis downloads and configures the skills for use with your AI agent. See the skills CLI reference for more details.
Purpose: Game development, debugging, and tracing of Sega Master System, Game Gear, and SG-1000 games.
What it covers:
- Loading ROMs and debug symbols (sjasmplus, SDCC/NoICE, wla-dx, vasm)
- Z80 CPU register and flag inspection (AF, BC, DE, HL, IX, IY, SP, PC, interrupt mode)
- Setting execution, read, write, and range breakpoints across memory areas (rom_ram, vram, cram, vdp_reg)
- IRQ breakpoints (RESET, NMI, INT)
- Stepping through code (into, over, out, frame, run-to)
- Execution tracing with interleaved hardware events (VDP, PSG, YM2413, I/O, bank switching)
- Hardware inspection: VDP (registers, status, modes), PSG (4 channels), YM2413 FM (9 channels)
- Sprite viewer (64 sprites with images)
- Screenshot capture
- Call stack analysis
- Organizing debug sessions with symbols, bookmarks, and watches
Key MCP tools used: debug_pause, debug_step_into, debug_step_over, debug_step_out, set_breakpoint, toggle_irq_breakpoints, get_z80_status, get_disassembly, get_call_stack, get_trace_log, get_vdp_registers, get_vdp_status, get_psg_status, get_ym2413_status, list_sprites, add_symbol, get_screenshot
Example prompts:
- "Find the VBlank interrupt handler and analyze what it does"
- "Set a breakpoint at $0066 and step through the NMI handler"
- "The game has corrupted graphics — diagnose the issue"
- "Trace the sprite update routine and explain the algorithm"
Purpose: Creating modifications, cheats, translations, and ROM hacks for Sega Master System, Game Gear, and SG-1000 games.
What it covers:
- Memory search workflows (capture → change → compare cycle)
- Finding game variables (lives, health, score, position)
- Creating cheats (infinite lives, score modification, etc.)
- Text and string discovery for translations
- Sprite and graphics data location via VRAM inspection
- Data table and structure reverse engineering
- Save state management for safe experimentation
- Fast forwarding to reach specific game states
Key MCP tools used: memory_search_capture, memory_search, memory_find_bytes, read_memory, write_memory, set_breakpoint (write type), add_memory_watch, add_memory_bookmark, save_state, load_state, toggle_fast_forward, get_screenshot, list_sprites, get_sprite_image, controller_button
Example prompts:
- "Find the lives counter and give me infinite lives"
- "Search for the score variable in memory"
- "Find all text strings in the ROM for translation"
- "Locate the sprite data for the player character"