Install PyBoy on Windows¶
Install a current 64-bit release of
Python 3. The Python installer
includes the py launcher used below.
Recommended: install from PyPI¶
In PowerShell, create and activate a virtual environment, then install PyBoy from PyPI:
py -3 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install pyboy
If PowerShell does not allow activation scripts, install using the virtual environment’s Python directly:
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install pyboy
To launch PyBoy without activating the environment, run
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pyboy path\to\rom.gb.
Build from source¶
Install the Visual Studio Build Tools and select Desktop development with C++ in the installer. From the root of a PyBoy source checkout, use the virtual environment created above. If you skipped the PyPI installation, create and activate one with:
py -3 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
Install the project requirements and build the Cython extension in place:
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python setup.py build_ext --inplace
Building the custom ROMs also requires RGBDS
and a make-compatible environment. To install the source checkout as a
package, run python -m pip install . from the repository root. When testing
an installed package, work from outside the source tree so Python does not
import the uncompiled local package.
Windows Subsystem for Linux¶
From PowerShell, install an Ubuntu distribution with wsl --install. Then
follow the Linux installation instructions. For GUI and
audio support under WSL, install the required system libraries if they are
missing:
sudo apt install libgl1 libpulse0
WSL 1 requires a separately configured X server for graphical output. The
DISPLAY value and OpenGL settings depend on the X server and WSL network
configuration; consult the X server’s setup instructions. To build from source
inside WSL, follow the source-build section of the
Linux guide.
To launch PyBoy and learn the keyboard controls, see Running PyBoy.