Play Game Boy games in your IDE while your AI coding agent works.
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Tracked since2026
0 reviews trackedThe Bottom Line
Entry price
Free plan available, paid tiers above
Biggest pro
Keeps developers engaged and in-IDE during AI agent wait times
Biggest con
Requires user-supplied ROMs, no bundled games or links to sources
TL;DR - Standboy
- Integrates a Game Boy emulator into VS Code.
- Automatically plays/pauses based on AI agent activity.
- Helps developers stay focused in the IDE during AI wait times.
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
What is Standboy?
Standboy is a VS Code extension that integrates a Game Boy emulator directly into your IDE. It automatically activates and expands a sidebar emulator when your AI coding agent (like Cursor's native agent or Claude Code) starts generating code, providing a micro-distraction to keep you engaged within the IDE during agent wait times. When the agent finishes, Standboy automatically hides and pauses the game, resuming exactly where you left off the next time the agent becomes active.
This tool is designed for developers who use AI coding assistants and want to avoid context switching to other applications during agent processing. It helps maintain focus within the development environment by offering a quick, contained entertainment option. Standboy supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance ROMs, features persistent game saves, and automatically identifies ROMs with cover art and canonical titles using a bundled No-Intro database. Users must provide their own legally obtained ROMs.
Available on: Web
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Keeps developers engaged and in-IDE during AI agent wait times
- Seamless integration with AI coding agent lifecycle
- Retains game state and progress across sessions and VS Code restarts
- Automatically organizes ROMs with cover art and titles
- Supports a wide range of Game Boy platforms
Cons
- Requires user-supplied ROMs, no bundled games or links to sources
- Primarily designed for users of specific AI coding agents (Cursor, Claude Code)
- Emulator panel takes up screen real estate when active
Key Features
Auto-show on AI agent activity, auto-hide when idleHooks into Cursor's native agent and Claude Code lifecycle APIsFalls back to an edit-burst heuristic for unsupported agentsResumes gameplay mid-frame when reactivatedPersistent ROM library and in-game saves (IndexedDB and disk)Auto-identified covers and titles for ROMs via No-Intro databaseSupports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance ROMs (.gb, .gbc, .gba)Five built-in palettes and custom 4-hex array for emulator chrome
Pricing Plans
Free TrialFree
$0 USD per month
- Unlimited public/private repositories
- Dependabot security and version updates
- 2,000 CI/CD minutes/month (Free for public repositories)
- 500MB of Packages storage (Free for public repositories)
- Issues & Projects
- Community support
Team
$4 USD per user/month
- Everything included in Free
- Access to GitHub Codespaces
- Repository rules
- Multiple reviewers in pull requests
- Draft pull requests
- Code owners
- Required reviewers
- Pages and Wikis
- Environment deployment branches and secrets
- 3,000 CI/CD minutes/month (Free for public repositories)
- 2GB of Packages storage (Free for public repositories)
- Web-based support
Enterprise
Starting at $21 USD per user/month
- Everything included in Team
- Data residency
- Enterprise Managed Users
- User provisioning through SCIM
- Enterprise Account to centrally manage multiple organizations
- Environment protection rules
- Repository rules
- Audit Log API
- SOC1, SOC2, type 2 reports annually
- FedRAMP Tailored Authority to Operate (ATO)
How Standboy's pricing compares
At $4/mo, Standboy is the most affordable of its 2 direct competitors.
Entry paid plan, monthly.
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Standboy FAQ
How does Standboy detect when my AI agent is active if it's not Cursor or Claude Code?
For AI agents not specifically supported by lifecycle APIs, Standboy uses an 'edit-burst heuristic'. This means it monitors your editing activity and assumes the agent is working if there's a period of intense coding followed by a pause, then activates the emulator. It has built-in logic to prevent 'strobing' on quick checks.
Where are my ROMs and save data stored, and how are they protected?
Loaded ROMs are copied into a managed library within your VS Code environment. In-game saves are mirrored to disk when the panel hides, the page unloads, and before export. Between these writes, the live state is stored in IndexedDB. Both the ROM library and save data persist across VS Code restarts, ensuring you don't lose progress.
Can I customize the visual appearance of the Game Boy emulator?
Yes, Standboy offers five built-in color palettes for the emulator's chrome (the surrounding interface), and you can also define a custom 4-hex array for a personalized look. However, these palette changes only apply to the emulator's chrome; the game itself renders at its native fidelity.
What happens if I uninstall Standboy? Do I lose my ROMs or saves?
VS Code does not have a reliable uninstall hook. Standboy provides a one-shot footnote reminder on first successful connection to disconnect 'Detection' before uninstalling. While your ROMs and saves are persistent, it's advisable to manage them manually or export saves if you plan to uninstall, as the extension's managed library might be removed.
Source: github.com