NES Native Setup

Install tools directly on your system

Install the cc65 toolchain natively, if you want the reference tools the curriculum's NES output is checked against. Asm198x builds the same bytes and installs in one command.

1. Install Homebrew (if needed)

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install cc65 Toolchain

brew install cc65

This includes ca65 (assembler), ld65 (linker), and cc65 (C compiler).

3. Install FCEUX Emulator

brew install --cask fceux

4. Verify Installation

ca65 --version && ld65 --version

1. Download cc65

Download the Windows snapshot from cc65.github.io.

Extract to a folder like C:\cc65 and add C:\cc65\bin to your PATH.

2. Download FCEUX

Download FCEUX from fceux.com.

3. Verify Installation

ca65 --version

1. Install cc65 (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt install cc65

Or build from source for the latest version: github.com/cc65/cc65

2. Install FCEUX

sudo apt install fceux

3. Verify Installation

ca65 --version && ld65 --version

Building Your Code

NES builds typically use a two-step process - assemble then link:

ca65 game.asm -o game.o

ld65 -C nes.cfg game.o -o game.nes

Then run in FCEUX:

fceux game.nes

You'll need a linker config file (nes.cfg) - this is covered in the curriculum.

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