YAZE is a ROM editor for "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" (US and JP versions). It provides a full-featured GUI editor, integrated SNES emulator, AI-powered command-line tools, and a web preview build.

Quick Start

Download the latest release for your platform from the GitHub Releases page
Launch the application and load your ROM via File > Open ROM / Project
Choose an Editor from the toolbar (Overworld, Dungeon, Graphics, etc.)
Edit your ROM and save your changes

‍Using .yazeproj bundles? See the .yazeproj Bundle Guide for how to open bundles on each platform.

‍Building from source? See the Build and Test Quick Reference.

‍Helping beta-test? See the Beta Testing Guide for what to try first, ROM compatibility expectations, and useful bug report details.

Web App (Preview)

Want a quick browser-based preview? Use the web build with a limited feature set and no emulator support. See the Web App Guide for supported features and AI configuration.

Tips

Backups: Automatic backups are enabled by default. Each save creates a timestamped backup. Use File > ROM Backups... > Restore to stage a backup in the current session, inspect it, then use Save ROM to commit it. Keep Backup Before Save enabled so that commit also preserves the ROM version it replaces. Autosave remains paused until you either commit with Save ROM or choose Discard Restored Backup in the ROM Backups popup to abandon the staged ROM-buffer edits and reload the unchanged backing ROM. Resolve pending dungeon-room or palette edits before discarding.
Overworld vs. World Map: the Overworld Editor edits playable areas; Screen Editor > Overworld Map edits the pause-menu map art.
Experiment Flags: Try new features via File > Options > Experiment Flags.
Extensions: Load custom tools from the Extensions menu (plugin system under development).
AI Providers: Configure providers in Settings > Agent or set GEMINI_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY.

Editor Status

Editor	Status	Notes
Overworld	Stable	Full support for vanilla and ZSCustomOverworld v2/v3
Dungeon	Stable	Room editing, objects, sprites, palettes
Palette	Stable	Reference implementation for palette utilities
Message	Stable	Text and dialogue editing
Hex	Beta	Direct ROM byte editing; search/UX incomplete
Asar Patching	Beta	Integrated Asar assembler; project editor incomplete
Graphics	Beta	Tile and sprite graphics editing; screen tooling WIP
Sprite	Stable	Vanilla and custom sprite editing
Emulator	Beta	Runtime emulator; save-state UI incomplete
Music	Experimental	Tracker and instrument editing

Command-Line Interface (z3ed)

The z3ed CLI provides scriptable access to ROM editing capabilities.

AI Chat

z3ed agent simple-chat --rom=zelda3.sfc --ai_provider=auto

Example prompt: "What sprites are in room 1?"

ROM Inspection

# List sprites in a dungeon room (room 1 = Eastern Palace)
z3ed dungeon-list-sprites --room=1 --rom=zelda3.sfc
 
# Describe overworld map
z3ed overworld-describe-map --map=80 --rom=zelda3.sfc
 
# Search messages
z3ed message-search --query="Master Sword" --rom=zelda3.sfc

For more details, see the z3ed CLI Guide.

Next Steps

Dungeon Editor Guide - Learn dungeon room editing
z3ed CLI Guide - Master the command-line interface
Architecture Overview - Understand the codebase