# Retro Remote Debug Controller — HTTP Control Contract

**Contract version: 0.4.0** (semver; clients assert on the MAJOR). 0.4 adds

pointer injection (`POST /pointer`, `GET /pointer`); 0.3 added memory write

(`POST /mem`) and an audio drain (`GET /audio`); 0.2 added input injection

(`POST /key`, `POST /reset`). Every minor is purely additive, so older clients

keep working and servers advertise the highest level whose callbacks are all

present via `/status.contract`.

A minimal, portable HTTP API that a retro-platform emulator exposes so an

external harness can screenshot the screen, read memory and registers, step the

machine deterministically, and inject input. The same contract is implemented

by the forked FAB Agon Emulator, the Neo6502 emulator, the Commander X16

emulator, and the NEC PC-FX (Mednafen) emulator, so **one** pytest harness

drives all four ports.

## Principles

- **Opt-in.** The server is OFF by default and starts only when the emulator is

  launched with a control-port flag. Zero cost to normal use.

- **Localhost only.** The server MUST bind `127.0.0.1` (never `0.0.0.0`).

  `/mem` and input injection are a memory-read / remote-control surface; they do

  not leave the machine.

- **The contract is the HTTP surface, not the flag.** Each emulator names its

  launch flag idiomatically (x16emu: `-controlport N`; FAB: `--control-port N`).

  Only the endpoints below are normative.

- **Determinism is a first-class requirement.** These are frame-exact ports.

  Every state read (`/mem`, `/regs`, `/screenshot`) MUST observe a consistent

  machine state — captured at an instruction/frame boundary on the emulator

  thread, never a torn mid-instruction read from the HTTP thread. See

  *Consistency* below.

## Conventions

- JSON responses are `application/json; charset=utf-8`.

- Binary responses use the stated content-type; no chunked encoding required.

- Errors: HTTP 4xx/5xx with body `{"error":"<message>"}`.

- Numbers in JSON are decimal unless a field is documented as a hex string.

- Methods are exactly as listed (`GET`/`POST`). Unknown path → 404. Unknown

  method on a known path → 405.

## Endpoints

### `GET /status`

Liveness + contract negotiation. Always available.

```json

{

  "contract": "0.4.0",

  "emulator": "x16emu",

  "platform": "x16",

  "frame": 12345,

  "paused": true,

  "running": true

}

```

- `contract` — this document's version. Clients MUST reject a mismatched MAJOR.

- `platform` — one of `x16`, `neo6502`, `agon`, `pcfx` (extensible). Tells the

  client the memory/register model (see *Per-platform* appendix).

- `frame` — monotonic completed-frame counter since boot. The determinism

  anchor: a screenshot taken at `frame == N` shows the state after N complete

  frames.

- `paused` — true if the machine is halted (only advances via `/step`).

### `GET /screenshot`

The live screen as a Portable Pixmap.

- Response: `image/x-portable-pixmap`, binary **PPM P6**, 8-bit RGB, no alpha.

- Pixels are the most recent COMPLETE frame (never a half-scanned frame). The

  emulator keeps a snapshot the render thread fills at frame end; the HTTP

  thread serves that snapshot.

- Dimensions are the platform's native framebuffer (appendix). Clients read

  `width`/`height` from the PPM header — do not hardcode.

- Reserved: `?frame=N` (block until frame N) — still reserved, not yet required.

### `GET /mem?addr=<a>&len=<n>[&bank=<b>]`

Raw memory bytes.

- `addr` — start address, decimal or `0x`-hex. Interpreted in the platform's

  address space (appendix).

- `len` — byte count, decimal. Servers MAY cap `len` (recommend ≥ 65536); a

  capped request returns what it can with `Content-Length` telling the truth.

- `bank` — OPTIONAL bank selector for banked platforms (X16). Omitted → the

  machine's currently-selected bank. Ignored by flat-memory platforms.

- Response: `application/octet-stream`, exactly the requested bytes.

- Reads go through the emulator's debug-read path (no side effects, no I/O

  triggers, no access-flag mutation).

### `POST /mem?addr=<a>[&bank=<b>]`  *(0.3)*

Write (poke) memory. The write-sibling of `GET /mem`; same address/bank model.

- `addr`, `bank` — as for the read form. `len` is NOT a query param: the byte

  count is the request **body** length.

- Body — `application/octet-stream`, the raw bytes to write starting at `addr`.

  Servers MAY cap the body (recommend ≥ 65536).

- Response: `{ "written": <n> }` — bytes actually written. A server MAY write

  fewer than requested (e.g. it stops at a ROM/unwritable boundary); the count

  tells the truth.

- Writes go through the emulator's CPU write path. Intended for RAM/state

  fixup (force lives, seed a level, restore a snapshot). Writing an I/O register

  MAY trigger device side effects — that is the caller's responsibility.

- Determinism: poke while `paused` so the machine can't overwrite between the

  write and a subsequent read.

### `GET /regs`

CPU registers as JSON. Keys are platform-specific (appendix); values are decimal

unless suffixed `_hex`. Example (x16 / 65C02):

```json

{ "a":0, "x":16, "y":2, "sp":505, "pc":49152, "status":32,

  "ram_bank":1, "rom_bank":0 }

```

### `POST /step?frames=<n>`  *(recommended; required for frame-exact tests)*

Advance the machine by exactly `n` complete frames (default 1), then halt.

- Only meaningful when the machine is paused (see `/pause`). On a free-running

  machine, servers SHOULD pause, run `n` frames, and stay paused.

- Response: `{ "frame": <new frame counter> }`.

- `POST /step?cycles=<n>` MAY be offered for sub-frame stepping.

### `POST /pause` / `POST /resume`  *(recommended)*

Halt / free-run. `{ "paused": true|false }`. A machine launched with a

`--control-pause`-style option SHOULD boot paused so tests are deterministic

from frame 0.

### `POST /key?text=<char> | ?code=<n>  [&down=0|1]`  *(0.2)*

Inject a key. Query params (like `/mem` and `/step`), no body:

- `text` — a single character, mapped to the platform's keyboard.

- `code` — a raw platform key code (e.g. fabgl virtual key on Agon, an SDL/PS2

  code on others). `text` and `code` are alternatives; provide one.

- `down` — `1` presses (holds), `0` releases; **omitted taps** (press then

  release). Holding across `/step` frames is how a program that samples input

  each frame (e.g. a game) actually sees the key.

- Response: `{ "injected": true }`. Missing/unmapped key → 400.

Injection plus `/step` retires scripted-autoexec input: press → step → assert →

release, deterministically.

### `POST /pointer?x=<n>&y=<n> | ?dx=<n>&dy=<n>  [&buttons=<mask>]`  *(0.4)*

Inject a pointer (mouse) move and/or click through the platform's native pointer

path — the mouse analogue of `/key`. Query params (no body):

- `x`, `y` — **absolute** pointer position, in the platform's pointer coordinate

  space (framebuffer pixels; appendix). Provide both.

- `dx`, `dy` — **relative** motion applied to the current position; either may be

  omitted (treated as 0). `x`/`y` and `dx`/`dy` are alternatives; provide one

  pair. Absolute is preferred for tests ("put the cursor on the button" beats

  dead-reckoning).

- `buttons` — OPTIONAL bitmask, **bit0 = primary, bit1 = secondary**. Omitted →

  the button state is left unchanged (a pure move). Provide `buttons=0` to

  release. Hold a button across `/step` frames (re-assert it each move) so a

  program that samples the pointer per frame sees the press.

- Response: `{ "injected": true }`. No pointer on the platform → 400.

Device-level, not driver-state: the injection MUST exercise the same path a real

mouse takes (e.g. the KERNAL/VERA mouse on the X16, the firmware mouse on the

Neo6502), so what the program reads is what a physical mouse would produce.

Determinism: inject under `/pause`, then `/step` — the move lands at the frame

boundary, so screenshot-diffing a hovered/clicked UI is reproducible.

### `GET /pointer`  *(0.4)*

Read back the current pointer state. Response:

```json

{ "x": 42, "y": 24, "buttons": 1 }

```

- `x`, `y` — current position in the same coordinate space as `POST /pointer`.

- `buttons` — the current button bitmask (same bit assignment).

- Lets a test distinguish "the input never reached the platform" from "it

  arrived but the program drew the wrong thing". No pointer on the platform → 400.

### `POST /pad?index=<n>  [&buttons=<mask>] [&connected=0|1]`  *(0.5)*

Inject a game controller — the pad analogue of `/key` and `/pointer`. Query

params (no body):

- `index` — which pad, 0-based. OPTIONAL, default 0.

- `buttons` — bitmask of what is HELD, in the canonical layout below. Omitted →

  the button state is left unchanged. `buttons=0` releases everything while

  leaving the pad connected.

- `connected` — OPTIONAL. `1` (the default whenever `buttons` is given) presents

  a **virtual pad** at `index`; `0` unplugs it. Unplugging matters: a program

  that asks "is a controller present" before offering two-player must be

  testable in both states, and on most platforms the count is what it asks.

- Response: `{ "injected": true }`. No controller support on the platform → 400.

Canonical button layout, low bit first:

| bit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| | LEFT | RIGHT | UP | DOWN | A | B | X | Y | START | SELECT | L | R |

This is the SNES/Neo6502 native order, chosen for the same reason `/pointer`

fixed bit0 = primary: **one layout, defined once, so a test written against one

platform reads the same on another.** A backend whose hardware disagrees — the

X16 KERNAL reports RIGHT/LEFT/DOWN/UP — converts in its own floor. A test never

learns which machine it is on, which is the entire point.

Device-level, not driver-state: the injection MUST exercise the same path a real

pad takes, so what the program reads is what physical hardware would produce. On

an emulator that reads SDL joysticks, that means presenting a virtual pad the

existing read path picks up — **not** driving SDL, which would need a joystick

to exist and defeats the purpose. Headless CI has no joystick; that is the case

this endpoint is for.

Hold across frames: a pad is a LEVEL, not an event. `buttons` stays as set until

changed, so a press survives any number of `/step` frames without re-asserting —

unlike `/key`, whose TAP is deliberately momentary. Release explicitly.

### `GET /pad?index=<n>`  *(0.5)*

Read back a pad. Response:

```json

{ "index": 0, "connected": true, "buttons": 48 }

```

- `connected` — whether anything is present at that index, real or virtual.

- `buttons` — the current mask in the layout above.

- Same job as `GET /pointer`: distinguishes "the input never reached the

  platform" from "it arrived and the program ignored it". No controller support

  on the platform → 400.

### `POST /reset`  *(0.2)*

Soft/cold reset the machine. Response `{ "reset": true }`. The `frame` counter

MAY reset here (the one case `/status.frame` is allowed to go backwards).

### `GET /audio`  *(0.3)*

Drain the audio the emulator has synthesised since the last `/audio` call — the

audio analogue of `/screenshot`, but a *window* (everything since last drain)

rather than a snapshot.

- Response: `audio/wav`, a self-describing **PCM WAV** (RIFF, 16-bit signed,

  interleaved). The header carries the sample rate and channel count; clients

  read them from the WAV — do not hardcode (appendix lists native rates).

- The server keeps a bounded ring of mixed output samples, teed from the same

  buffer that feeds the sound device. Each call empties the ring and returns it;

  an empty ring returns a valid zero-frame WAV.

- Determinism: under `/pause` + `/step`, the drain covers exactly the audio of

  the stepped frames, so a test can `pause → step(n) → GET /audio` and get the

  sound of those `n` frames reproducibly.

- `X-Rrdc-Audio-Dropped: <n>` — samples the ring dropped (oldest-first) to

  overflow since the last drain. Non-zero means drain more often. `0` when clean.

## Consistency (normative)

- `/mem`, `/regs`, and `/step` MUST be serviced on the emulator thread at an

  instruction boundary — e.g. the HTTP handler enqueues a command that the main

  loop drains between instructions/frames and signals back. The HTTP thread MUST

  NOT read CPU/RAM state directly while the CPU is executing.

- `/screenshot` MUST serve a complete-frame snapshot (double-buffer: render

  thread writes the back buffer, swaps under a lock at frame end; HTTP thread

  reads the front buffer).

- `frame` in `/status` MUST increment once per completed video frame and never

  go backwards (except across `/reset`).

## Versioning

- Semantic. MAJOR bump = breaking change to an existing endpoint's

  request/response. MINOR = additive (new endpoint / optional field). PATCH =

  clarification.

- Clients read `/status.contract` and fail fast on a MAJOR mismatch.

---

## Per-platform appendix

### Commander X16 — `x16emu`

- Flag: `-controlport <N>` (single-dash, matching x16emu's `-dump` style).

- Framebuffer: **640×480**, native order BGRA8888 (`framebuffer[i*4+2]=R`,

  `+1=G`, `+0=B`); the server swizzles to PPM RGB.

- Address space: 16-bit CPU (`0x0000–0xFFFF`). The banked window `0xA000–0xBFFF`

  is selected by `bank` → the emulator's `read6502(addr, bank)` / banked RAM

  (`BRAM`). `addr < 0xA000` or `≥ 0xC000` ignores `bank`.

- Registers: `a x y` (8), `sp pc` (16), `status` (8), plus `ram_bank`,

  `rom_bank`. Source: the `regs` struct + `memory_get_ram_bank/rom_bank()`.

- Frame source: `video.c` `frame_count`.

- Audio: stereo (2 ch), native rate `25000000/512` ≈ **48828 Hz**, teed from the

  mixed `audio_render()` output.

- Pointer: `/pointer` maps to the KERNAL/VERA mouse — absolute/relative position

  and buttons fed through the same path the host mouse uses, so `MOUSE_GET`

  (and VERA sprite 0) see it. Coordinates are screen pixels. (Backend

  callbacks not yet wired — until then the X16 fork advertises 0.3.0 and

  `/pointer` returns 501.)

### Neo6502 — neo6502 emulator

- Flag: `--control-port <N>`.

- Address space: flat 64 KB; `bank` ignored.

- Registers: 6502 `a x y sp pc status`.

- Framebuffer: native resolution per the emulator's video mode.

- Pointer: `/pointer` drives the firmware mouse — absolute → `MSESetPosition`,

  relative → `MSEOffsetPosition`, buttons → `MSEUpdateButtonState`; `GET /pointer`

  reads `MSEGetState`. Coordinates are firmware graphics pixels (the same space a

  program reads). Buttons: bit0 = left, bit1 = right (the firmware's native

  masks), matching the contract's primary/secondary. The emulator enables the

  mouse at reset, so injection works from boot.

### Agon (Console8 / Light 2) — FAB Agon Emulator

- **Adoption:** conform-only (Rust emulator — keeps its own HTTP server, matches

  this contract rather than vendoring the C core).

- Flag: `--control-port <N>`.

- Address space: eZ80 24-bit, flat 16 MB (`addr` up to `0xFFFFFF`); `bank`

  tolerated and ignored. Program load base `0x040000`.

- Registers (ADL) — `/regs` example (16-bit regs; `mbase` 8-bit; `adl` 0/1):

  ```json

  { "af":0, "bc":0, "de":0, "hl":0, "ix":0, "iy":0,

    "sp":0, "pc":262144, "mbase":0, "adl":1 }

  ```

- Framebuffer: from `vgabuf` (the VDP output); the offscreen path already keeps

  video alive (the FAB equivalent of x16's `SDL_VIDEODRIVER=dummy`).

- Audio: the VDP mixes 8-bit unsigned mono at 16384 Hz; `/audio` returns it as a

  16-bit signed PCM WAV. The SDL audio callback (the sole `getAudioSamples`

  consumer) tees each block into the ring; headless capture needs

  `SDL_AUDIODRIVER=dummy` so that callback runs.

- Input: `/key?text=c` maps the char to a fabgl virtual key (`ascii2vk`) and

  delivers it via `sendVKeyEventToFabgl`; `?code=<vk>` passes a raw fabgl vkey.

  The control thread queues events; the render thread delivers them (same

  thread as normal keyboard input). `/reset` triggers the soft-reset atomic.

### NEC PC-FX — `mednafen` (Doomsday One fork)

- **Adoption:** vendors the shared core as a git submodule

  (`src/extern/retro-remote-debug-controller`), built in with `./configure

  --enable-rrdc`. Dispatched per running console, so PC Engine and Saturn can

  reuse the same core once their backends land.

- Control port: the `MEDNAFEN_CONTROLPORT=<N>` environment variable (Mednafen

  exposes no free-form CLI flag for a driver add-on). Unset ⇒ server off.

- Address space: V810, flat **2 MB** main RAM (`0x000000–0x1FFFFF`); `addr`

  wraps in that space and `bank` is ignored.

- Registers: `pc` + `r0`–`r31` (33 × 32-bit), from the V810 core.

- Framebuffer: the active display, decoded to RGB888 by the fork with the

  surface's channel shifts (so it is correct regardless of Mednafen's

  display-dependent pixel order). The PC-FX varies horizontal resolution per

  scene (256 for the maze, up to 1024 for high-res text); the fork normalizes

  each scanline by Mednafen's per-line `LineWidths`, so the PPM is centred and

  complete at whatever width the scene uses. Height is the visible line count

  (~232). Clients read `width`/`height` from the PPM header.

- Audio: stereo, at Mednafen's configured output rate (`espec.SoundRate`),

  teed from the per-frame `SoundBuf`.

- Input: the PC-FX has a gamepad, not a keyboard, so `/key?text=<c>` and

  `/key?code=<n>` are both read as a character over a WASD-style pad map —

  `w/a/s/d` = up/left/down/right, space or Enter = RUN (start), `c` = SELECT,

  `1`–`6` = buttons I–VI. A held button is re-asserted each frame (the frontend

  rewrites the pad from physical input every frame), so holds persist across

  `/step`. `/reset` power-cycles the machine.

---

## Adoption paths

An emulator conforms by exposing exactly the HTTP surface above — nothing else

is required. Two ways to get there:

- **Vendor the shared core** (`core/retro_control.c` + `.h`) — for C/C++

  emulators. Implement the backend callbacks (four are enough for 0.1; add

  `inject_key`/`reset` for 0.2, `write_mem`/`capture_audio` for 0.3, and

  `set_pointer`/`get_pointer` for 0.4 — a NULL callback makes its endpoint return

  501 and lowers the advertised contract), wire three loop hooks, call

  `retro_control_start(port, &backend)`; the socket loop, HTTP parsing, PPM/JSON

  encoding and pause/step control come for free. The Commander X16 fork does

  this.

- **Conform directly** — for emulators in other languages (the FAB Agon emulator

  is Rust). Keep your own HTTP server; just match the contract and pass the

  conformance suite. Sharing the C core is an optimization, not a requirement —

  the contract is the asset.

Either way, `conformance/` is the arbiter: pass it and you conform.

## In this repo

- `core/retro_control.{c,h}` — portable server + backend vtable (vendor path).

- `client/emu_control.py` — the shared pytest client.

- `conformance/` — a platform-agnostic pytest that proves an emulator conforms.