64Box

A cross-platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) modern frontend for the GameBase64 Commodore 64 game database.

This project is a frontend for the GB64 Collection, the long-running Commodore 64 database project maintained by the GB64 Team. To learn more about the original project, visit gb64.com.
gb64.com ©1997-2022 The GB64 Team

Download the latest build from the platform links below, or browse the full GitHub Releases page.

Windows

Linux

macOS

Features

• Modern Frontend: Window or Big Screen/FullScreen mode, Fluid, gallery-style layouts mimicking modern gaming libraries. Fully responsive and supports Gamepad/Keyboard navigation.
• Enhanced Search: Integrated search by year, publisher, musician, 0-Z and smart genres.
• WASM Emulation: Play games directly inside the app using an offline-bundled EmulatorJS core without any external configuration.
• Native Emulator Bridge: Connect to an external x64sc (VICE) or RetroArch installation for high-accuracy native desktop emulation.
• Smart Multi-Disk Handling: Automatically unzips games on-the-fly and generates .vfl (VICE) or .m3u (RetroArch) playlists for multi-disk games to ensure seamless booting.
• Categorized Extras Gallery: Integrated support for the GameBase64 Extras collection. Automatically groups Adverts, Books, Maps, and Manuals into a premium gallery view, while allowing alternate game versions (Disks/Tapes/Carts) to be launched directly.
• SID Support: Native .sid chiptune playback directly within the game galleries.
• Initial Import wizard: To help import the GambeBase Database for use.

Screenshots

BigBox Search

BigBox Rails

BigBox Letter Jump

Detail View: Gallery

Detail View: Extras Gallery

Window Mode: Grid View

Window Mode: List View

Controls and Shortcuts

Controller

• Library / Grid / List: D-pad or Left Stick moves focus, A opens the focused game, B goes back or closes the current panel, X toggles Grid/List view, Y toggles favorite on the focused game, LB / RB jump by letter, and Start opens Settings.
• BigBox: D-pad or Left Stick moves through header rows, rails, and tiles, A activates the focused item, B goes back or exits the search field, Y toggles favorite on the focused game, LB / RB move between sections, and Start opens Settings.
• Single Game Detail View: D-pad or Left Stick moves between play buttons, gallery items, tabs, SID player, and favorite button, A activates the focused item, B goes back, Y toggles favorite, and LB / RB switch tabs or media sections.
• Settings: D-pad or Left Stick navigates, A selects, LB / RB switch settings tabs, and B or Start saves and closes.

Keyboard

• Library / Grid / List: Arrow keys move focus, Enter opens the focused game, F toggles favorite, Shift+F opens Filters, V toggles Grid/List view, S opens Settings, PageUp / PageDown jump by letter, and Alt+Enter toggles fullscreen.
• BigBox: Arrow keys navigate header rows, rails, and tiles, Enter activates the focused item, F toggles favorite, and Esc exits the search box or, when pressed twice quickly, exits the app.
• Single Game Detail View: Arrow keys navigate, Enter or Space activates the focused item, F toggles favorite, Tab / Shift+Tab or PageUp / PageDown or [ / ] switch tabs, and Esc or Backspace goes back.
• Settings: Arrow keys navigate, Enter selects, and Esc saves and closes.

Notes

• In the single game view, if fullscreen media is open, B, Esc, or Backspace closes the fullscreen viewer before returning to the previous screen.
• In the library view, bumper and page-based letter jumps clear the active text search and switch back to alphabet browsing.

1. Prerequisites

You'll need the following installed to build and run this project:

• Node.js (v20+)
• Rust (for Tauri backend)
• Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) System Dependencies:

  sudo apt update
  sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev build-essential curl wget libssl-dev libgtk-3-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev mdbtools

• Tauri CLI Requirements

2. Setting up the Database and Assets

Because of copyright and sheer size, the GameBase64 database (.mdb) and its media files (.zips containing screenshots, box art, game files) are not included with this repository.

1. Download GameBase 64: Go to the GameBase64 website and download the core GBC_v19.mdb file. Place it in the root of this project.
2. Download Media and Games: You will need to obtain the GameBase64 collections (Games, Screenshots, BoxArt, Sid, Video) which are easily searchable online.
3. Extract the collections to your preferred location on your PC (you configure their paths later inside the app).

3. Building the SQLite Database

This application utilizes a highly optimized SQLite database (gb64.sqlite) generated from the original Access (.mdb) file. The conversion scripts are included.

For Windows:

Ensure you have the Microsoft Access Database Engine / Access ODBC components installed. Microsoft provides the official download here:

• Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable

Microsoft notes on that page that support ended on October 14, 2025, but it remains the official download source for the MDB export tooling used here.

# This prompts before proceeding, exports the MDB to CSV, rebuilds SQLite,
# reruns ANALYZE / PRAGMA optimize, and audits the expected support indexes.
.\scripts\import_gb64.bat

For Linux/Mac:

Ensure you have the system prerequisites installed (section 1).

You also need to install the required Node.js dependencies for the conversion script:

npm install csv-parse better-sqlite3

Then run the audited wrapper:

./scripts/import_gb64.sh

This will produce gb64.sqlite in the project root.

If you want the old manual flow, these still work:

./scripts/mdb-export-all.sh ./GBC_v19.mdb
node ./scripts/convert_csv_to_sqlite.js
node ./scripts/check_sqlite_support.js

The conversion step creates the SQLite performance indexes, the persisted GameCoverIndex lookup table, and the GameSearchIndex FTS5 full-text search table used by the app for faster browsing and metadata search. It now also runs ANALYZE and PRAGMA optimize, then audits the expected post-review indexes and support objects so missing items fail fast. If you open an older database with a newer build of the app, the Tauri backend will still create any missing support objects automatically on startup.

4. Running the Application in Development

# Install NPM dependencies
npm install

# Run the Tauri application (which also automatically launches the Next dev server)
# For Windows:
.\tauri-dev.bat

# For Linux/Mac:
npm run tauri dev

.\tauri-dev.bat

5. Building for Production

To build a standalone executable/installer for your operating system:

# For Windows:
.\tauri-build.bat

# For Linux/Mac:
npm run tauri build

You can find the compiled installers and executables in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Post-Setup Configuration

Once the app boots successfully, open the Settings menu via the top header bar:

1. Ensure the paths to your extracted GameBase64 Screenshots, Games, BoxArt, Video and Sid folders are set correctly.
2. Under Local Paths, select your preferred emulator (VICE or RetroArch).
3. If using VICE, point to your x64sc.exe executable.
4. If using RetroArch, point to your retroarch.exe and select a C64 core (e.g., vice_x64sc_libretro.dll) from your cores directory.
5. Extras Collection: Point this to your unzipped GameBase64 Extras folder. The app will automatically scan and categorize items like "Adverts", "Maps", "Tips", and "Carts" (alternate game versions).

Note: The application handles temporary extraction of zipped games and creates the necessary playlist files (.vfl or .m3u) automatically before launching. Images in the Extras folder are displayed in a high-resolution lightbox, while PDFs and docs are opened via your system's default viewer.

6. Skills used to build this

npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill web-design-guidelines
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-react-native-skills
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-react-best-practices
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill vercel-composition-patterns
npx skills add https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills --skill deploy-to-vercel
npx skills add https://github.com/bitxeno/sqlite-data-skill --skill 'SQLiteData Usage Guide'
npx skills add https://github.com/apollographql/skills --skill rust-best-practices

Skills I created

.agents/skills/gb64-metadata-parser
.agents/skills/rom-scanner-hashing
.agents/skills/wasm-c64-bridge
.agents/skills/tauri-architecture