Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Home-made 8bit CPU from scratch

Schematics & code for my 74LS-based 8-bit MK1 CPU. Contribute to vascofazza/8bit-cpu development by creating an account on GitHub.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Home-made 8bit CPU from scratch launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1H1
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 →
2
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 →
3
8-bit CPU simulator in C▲67
A digital logic simulation written in C. Contribute to rzscheck/logic development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
Homemade 32-bit CPU and OS (2015) [video]▲253
2016 · youtube.com · its alternatives →
5
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 →
6
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 →
7
H2 Forth CPU▲120
A Forth CPU and System on a Chip, based on the J1, written in VHDL - howerj/forth-cpu
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
8
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 →
9
Chip-8 emulator written in JavaScript▲35
A Chip8 emulator written in JavaScript. Contribute to victorqribeiro/Chip8js development by creating an account on GitHub.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
10
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 →
11
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 →
12
Translating CHIP-8 binaries to Posix C▲8
Contribute to kiryk/chip8c development by creating an account on GitHub.
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
13SF
Simulator for a custom 8-bit discreet logic computer▲27
5 years ago, I made a derivative of SAP-1 (mainly inspired by Ben Eater) on breadboard with few improvement and called it MSAP-1 (https://github.com/mehrantsi/MSAP-1) I made my own very primitive Assembly language and a simple Arduino programmer (https://github.com/mehrantsi/8-bit_CPU_Programmer) where I could load my programs onto MSAP-1 and even Debug them (https://github.com/mehrantsi/8-bit_CPU_Debugger). After that I started worked on the second version of it (https://github.com/mehrantsi/MSAP-2) by adding…
Jul 2026 · msap2.mehran.dk · its alternatives →
14IA
I Am Making an 8-Bit CPU in Logisim▲5
Hey HN, I am making an 8-Bit CPU in Logisim and blogging about it.t's nothing fancy, really simple, unoptimized dumb CPU for sake of learning. I am no electrical engineer, I am just a self-taught dude who has programming as a hobby and wanted to dive deeper into abstractions. So here it is, so far I wrote 2 parts: [links redacted] I welcome any and all critique and feedback, as I can be wrong about everything for sure.
2017 · its alternatives →
15
Terminal based CHIP-8 Emulator without external libraries in C++▲8
A Terminal Based Chip-8 Emulator. Contribute to LakshyAAAgrawal/chip8emu development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
16
An AVR based 8-bit Microcomputer▲43
DAN64 is a open software and open hardware project to build an 8-bit microcomputer using an AVR microcontroller.
2015 · usebox.net · its alternatives →
17
A 3D Chip8 emulator▲5
A (classic) chip8 emulator. Contribute to Rydgel/chip8 development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
18FE
First ever FPGA CPU built using open source tools?▲13
2015 · excamera.com · its alternatives →
19
A single pass, self-hosting compiler for the Oberon-07 language (JVM)▲9
An Oberon-07 compiler for the JVM. Contribute to lboasso/oberonc development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
20
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 →
21
Write, simulate and synthesize VHDL/Verilog in the browser▲19
Learn digital hardware design in the browser: write VHDL and SystemVerilog, simulate, read waveforms, and synthesize to a netlist. No installation required.
Jul 2026 · risingedge.pro · its alternatives →
22
I made yet another Arduino clone▲6
Yet another Arduino (Uno) clone. Contribute to hishamk/yaduino development by creating an account on GitHub.
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Minimalistic “Fork Me on GitHub.”▲9
Minimalistic "Fork me on GitHub". Contribute to muhammadmuzzammil1998/OctoCSS development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
24
A J Cheat Sheet▲5
Contribute to dankilman/j-cheat-sheet development by creating an account on GitHub.
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

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