Install wla-dx with Homebrew, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• wla-6502
• wla-65816
• wla-65c02
• wla-65ce02
• wla-6800
• wla-68000
• wla-6801
• wla-6809
• wla-8008
• wla-8080
• wla-gb
• wla-huc6280
• wla-spc700
• wla-superfx
• wla-z80
• wla-z80n
• wlab
• wlalink

Project history

Ville Helin's documentation explains that WLA began from his need for a macro assembler for GB-Z80 Game Boy code. The project expanded when Gaelan Griffin needed real Z80 support for Sega Master System work, then grew to support 6502 systems for NES developers, 65816 for SNES developers, and additional CPU families. The old homepage identifies the original authorship period as 1998-2008, after which the documentation notes that others could participate in development, more recently through GitHub.

The GitHub repository, created in January 2014, became the modern development home. By the 10.x documentation line, WLA DX covered GB-Z80, Z80, Z80N, eZ80, 6502, 65C02, 65CE02, 65816, 68000, 6800, 6801, 6809, 8008, 8080, HuC6280, SPC-700, SuperFX, Cx4, and SH-2-oriented use cases, with Read the Docs documentation and a current release line continuing into 2026.

How it is used

WLA DX is used by retrocomputing and homebrew developers who need a real assembler/linker flow for consoles rather than a single hard-coded target. Its documentation emphasizes explicit `.MEMORYMAP` and `.ROMBANKMAP` definitions, separate assembly and linking stages, library/object-file support, and ROM patching with `.BACKGROUND` and overwrite sections.

Why package nerds care

Its significance is that it is one of the durable cross-assembler packages that grew with console homebrew communities rather than from mainstream compiler infrastructure. For package nerds, the interesting bit is the breadth: one toolchain family covers Game Boy, NES, SNES, Master System/Game Gear, Mega Drive/Genesis-related CPUs, PC Engine, SPC-700, SuperFX, and other retro targets while preserving a linker model and symbol outputs useful to emulators and debugging tools.

Timeline

• 1998-2008: WLA DX was originally written by Ville Helin.
• 2014-01-16: the current GitHub repository was created.
• 2026-06-28: GitHub listed v10.7 as the latest release during this enrichment run.

Related projects

• WLA DX sits in the same retro-development space as other cross-assemblers such as ACME and ca65, but its own identity is tied to multi-console ROM development and a linked object-file workflow.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/vhelin/wla-dx
• https://api.github.com/repos/vhelin/wla-dx/releases/latest
• https://github.com/vhelin/wla-dx
• https://wla-dx.readthedocs.io/en/latest/introduction.html
• https://www.villehelin.com/wla-README.html
• https://www.villehelin.com/wla.html