nowfound

Dev tools · March 7, 2023

NP

NESFab – Programming language for making NES games

This is a long-running personal project I've had to write an optimizing compiler from scratch. Everything was done by me, including the lexer/parser, SSA-based IR, high-performance data structures, and code generator. Originally I wasn't targeting the NES. It started as a scripting language, then it morphed into a C++ replacement, and then finally I turned it into what it is today. The large scope of the project and colorful history means it's still a little rough around the edges, but it's now working well enough to post.

In plain words

NESFab is a programming language and compiler for creating games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It features a custom-built optimizing compiler with lexer, parser, SSA-based intermediate representation, and code generator, all developed by a single creator. The language evolved from a scripting project into a specialized NES development tool. While still refining some rough edges from its complex development history, it is now functional enough for practical use in NES game creation.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

More dev tools this month

the category →
  • Dograh592

    The open source VAPI alternative

    Dev tools · 25d ago · dograh.com

  • Meridian530

    Don't let your work go unnoticed. Get promoted!

    Dev tools · 20d ago · meridiona.com

  • x1516

    Lovable for iPhone apps go from idea to App Store

    Dev tools · 11d ago · x1.new

  • Open-source GTM skills for technical founders

    Dev tools · 29d ago · gtmcofounder.com

  • OpenTrailPaper is open-source bike computer firmware for the LilyGO T5S3 4.7" E-Paper PRO. It supports offline maps, GPX routes, FIT recording and Bluetooth sensors.

    Dev tools · 1d ago · opentrailpaper.com

  • Nuphos380

    The AI-Native DevOps Workspace.

    Dev tools · 24d ago · nuphos.ai

Launched alongside, March 2023

the whole month →
  • GPT-41,161

    LLM that exhibits human-level performance

    AI · 2023 · openai.com

  • Collato972

    One AI search to find anything instantly, across all apps

    AI · 2023

  • A better UI for ChatGPT

    AI · 2023 · typingmind.com

  • Meet the internet again

    Work · 2023 · apps.apple.com

  • Sequoia726

    Anonymous sexual health app for men

    Life & fun · 2023 · sequoia.health

  • BI

    I'm a big fan of the BBC podcast In Our Time -- and (like most people) I've been playing with the OpenAI APIs. In Our Time has almost 1,000 episodes on everything from Cleopatra to the evolution of teeth to plasma physics, all still available, so it's my starting point to learn about most topics. But it's not well organised. So here are the episodes sorted by library code. It's fun to explore. Web scraping is usually pretty tedious, but I found that I could send the minimised HTML to GPT-3 and get (almost) perfect JSON back: the prompt includes the Typescript definition. At the same time I…

    AI · 2023 · genmon.github.io