Skip to content
Toolradar
Standboy logo

Standboy

Claim this toolEditor reviewed

Play Game Boy games in your IDE while your AI coding agent works.

Developer ToolsProductivityIDE & Code Editors
Visit Website
Tracked since2026
0 reviews tracked

The 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?

Editorial review
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

how we evaluateSourcegithub.com ↗

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 Trial

Pricing checked Aug 31, 2026

Free

$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

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
Calculate your costView full pricing

Is Standboy worth the price?

85/100

The pricing for Standboy, based on the provided GitHub pricing data, appears to be fair and well-structured.

The Free tier is generous, offering substantial features for individual developers or small open-source projects. The Team tier at $4 per user/month provides excellent value for growing teams needing enhanced collaboration and CI/CD minutes, while Enterprise at $21 per user/month caters to large organizations with advanced security and compliance needs.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

Packages storage beyond included limits

How Standboy's pricing compares

At $4/mo, Standboy is the most affordable of its 2 direct competitors.

Standboy
$4
WebStorm
$19.9
IntelliJ IDEA
$49.92

Entry paid plan, monthly. Pricing checked Aug 31, 2026.

Reviews

Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT cover
$99Free with your review

Review Standboy, get a free AI guide

Share your experience and we will send you Improve Your Thinking Patterns Using ChatGPT, free.

Write a review

Best Standboy Alternatives

Top alternatives based on features, pricing, and user needs.

Visual Studio Code logo
Visual Studio CodeFree

Fast, lightweight, and customizable code editor for all languages

4.7
IntelliJ IDEA logo
IntelliJ IDEAFreemium

The capable & ergonomic Java IDE

4.6
WebStorm logo
WebStormPaid

Professional JavaScript IDE with deep intelligence

4.1
Raycast logo
RaycastFreemium

Your Mac's command center for lightning-fast search and actions

4.7
See all developer tools →

Still deciding?

Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.

Standboy vs Visual Studio CodeHead-to-head: features, pricing, who winsStandboy vs IntelliJ IDEAHead-to-head: features, pricing, who winsStandboy vs WebStormHead-to-head: features, pricing, who wins

Explore More

Best Developer ToolsBest Productivity ToolsBest IDE & Code Editors ToolsBest Free Developer ToolsBest Free ProductivityBest Free IDE & Code Editors

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

Guides & Articles

Best Prompt Management & PromptOps Tools 2026

Expert guide

Best Headless CMS Platforms in 2026

Expert guide

Best LLM Observability Tools in 2026

Expert guide