Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to 8-bit CPU simulator in C

A digital logic simulation written in C. Contribute to rzscheck/logic development by creating an account on GitHub.

This is an 8-bit CPU simulator written in C. It's designed for people interested in learning how processors work at a fundamental level. The simulator allows users to write and run machine code or assembly language… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. 8-bit CPU simulator in C launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   I built an 8-bit CPU simulator in Python from scratch▲72

   I built a tiny 8-bit CPU simulator in Python to better understand how computers work at a low level. It visualizes registers, memory, and instructions in real-time, so you can actually see each operation as it happens. You can write simple assembly code and watch how the CPU executes it step by step. The project is mainly for learning and experimentation, but I’d love feedback or ideas for improvement.

   Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   CPU simulator in 60 lines of code▲60

   Simple CPU model written in 60 lines of C with 8 registers and basic instructions - wkoszek/cpu60

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Bit Serial CPU▲99

   A bit-serial CPU written in VHDL, with a simulator written in C. - howerj/bit-serial

   2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4H1
   Homebrew 16bit CPU from 74HC logic with C compiler and Unix-like OS▲192

   This is a 16bit CPU+Minicomputer from pure 74 series logic. It has user/kernel modes, virtual memory, prioritized IRQ's and DMA. It has a full C compiler and a unix-like OS. It's still in development.

   2023 · sol-1.org · its alternatives →

5. 5
   We built an 8-bit CPU as 2nd year EE students▲108

   Hi! me and my friends together built an 8 bit CPU implemented in Logisim purely from scratch. The control unit of this system does not implement the generic microcode ROM or any kind of RAM. This was made purely from discrete logic gates and coded the system to run different programs. key features: Custom 16-instruction Harvard ISA, 8-bit fixed format, 4 general purpose registers Hardwired control unit built entirely from AND/OR gate logic matrix Dual-phase clocking to eliminate race conditions Bootstrap Control Unit that cold-boots via ROM-to-RAM transfer Early-exit conditional…

   Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   I made a little digital circuit simulator that operates on PNGs▲259

   This is a little toy project of mine that lets you simulate digital logic graphs. It was inspired by Minecraft's Redstone and the Piet esolang. It's got some serious drawbacks-- you write circuits as PNGs and simulate them with a Python interface. It's slow to run and slow to experiment with. And it is certainly difficult to use for people with any kind of color blindness. But despite that, I hope this can still be a fun toy!

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   I wrote my own RTS game engine in C▲1,102

   An OpenGL RTS game engine written in C. Contribute to eduard-permyakov/permafrost-engine development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8LC
   Learn C and its lower levels interactively, in the browser▲356

   I made a simple virtual machine that runs C in the browser.This project is made as an experiment to see if C can be learned easier if the lower level is covered in paralel. Sandbox: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting Tutorial part 1: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting/?0 More info: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/README.md Please support this project: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/support.md

   2019 · its alternatives →

9. 9BA
   BOOLR, a digital logic simulator▲78

   I am a Dutch high school student and last year I had to do a large project of my own choice. Together with two other guys I decided to do a project about digital logic. We had an ambitious plan: building an 8-bits computer. At that time I started learning programming and I already knew some HTML and CSS. So we decided to not build a physical computer, but one running in a self-built simulator. I was going to build the simulator, the other guys took care of the computer. I was hard, our school hadn't taught us anything about computers and programming so we had to learn everything ourselves.…

   2017 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator▲119

    The core question: how did HP's scientific calculators actually work at the gate level? That rabbit hole led to building one from scratch. The architectural decision everything else follows from: a decimal calculator should store numbers as BCD — one decimal digit per 4-bit nibble. A standard byte-oriented CPU (Z80, 6502) fights that layout constantly. So I designed a small custom CPU in Verilog where 4 bits is the natural data width and memory is nibble addressable. What the project covers: - Custom CPU: Harvard architecture, 12-bit ISA, 8-state execution FSM, hardware stack guard with a…

    May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Homemade 32-bit CPU and OS (2015) [video]▲253

    2016 · youtube.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    E80: an 8-bit CPU in structural VHDL▲34

    I built a new 8-bit CPU in VHDL from scratch (starting from the ISA). I felt that most educational soft-cores hide too much behind abstraction, eg. if I can do a+b with a single assignment that calls an optimized arithmetic library, then why did I learn the ripple carry adder in the first place ? And why did I learn flip flops if I can do all my control logic with a simple PROCESS statement like I would with a programming language ? Of course abstraction is the main selling point of HDLs, but would it work if I tried to keep strictly structural and rely on ieee.std_logic_1164 only ? Well, it…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    A small virtual machine written in C▲212

    "interesting" VM in C. Let's see how this goes. Contribute to tekknolagi/carp development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14GI
    Going into freshman year, figured I should build an interpreter▲138

    Hi all! I'm going into my freshman year, and figured that the best way to prepare for the intro to programming Racket course would be to implement my own garbage-collected, dynamically typed, functional programming language in C ;) Anyways... here's the repo: https://github.com/liam-ilan/crumb I started learning C over the summer, so I still have a whole lot to learn... Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! :D

    2023 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Wired Logic – a pixel-based logic simulator▲176

    Wired Logic - a pixel based logic simulator. Contribute to martinkirsche/wired-logic development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Lambda-8cc – An x86 C compiler written in untyped lambda calculus▲249

    x86 C compiler written in untyped lambda calculus. Contribute to woodrush/lambda-8cc development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    RISC-V core written in 600 lines of C89▲190

    32-bit RISC-V CPU in ~800 lines of C89. Contribute to mnurzia/rv development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    I made a digital circuit drawing and simulation game▲139

    Inspired by games like Turing Complete/Virtual Circuit Board/Logic World, I tried to make a mix of aseprite and wiredworld/wired-logic, the idea being the user can build a digital circuit using a "fullstack" pixelart creation workflow. The circuit is just an image. The primitives are (i) connected wires which have undefined, 0 or 1 state during simulation (displayed brighter or darker in function of the state) and (ii) NANDs, which are little pixel triangles. During simulation the user can interact with any wire by clicking on it, toggling its state, which is cool for messing…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    A work-in-progress C compiler from scratch▲159

    Programming language that compiles into a x86 ELF executable. - riicchhaarrd/ocean

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20AR
    A RISC-V core in Racket▲122

    2021 · guillaume.baierouge.fr · its alternatives →

21. 21BA
    BOOLR – A digital logic simulator▲136

    2017 · boolr.me · its alternatives →

22. 22CO
    CircuitVerse – Online Digital Circuit Simulator▲145

    Explore Digital circuits online with CircuitVerse. With our easy to use simulator interface, you will be building circuits in no time.

    2018 · circuitverse.org · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Online challenge: Build a CPU from scratch▲143

    An educational puzzle game. Solve a series of tasks where you build increasingly powerful components. Starts with the simplest logical components and ends up with a programmable computer.

    2018 · nandgame.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    My summer project - simulated CPU built from NAND gates▲17

    A simulated CPU built using only NAND gates. Contribute to IsaacLewis/NAND-CPU development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2011 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →