yaze/docs/z3ed

z3ed: AI-Powered CLI for YAZE

Status: Active Development | AI Integration Phase
Latest Update: October 3, 2025

Overview

z3ed is a command-line interface for YAZE that enables AI-driven ROM modifications through a proposal-based workflow. It provides both human-accessible commands for developers and machine-readable APIs for LLM integration.

Core Capabilities:

1. AI-Driven Editing: Natural language prompts → ROM modifications (overworld tile16, dungeon objects, sprites, palettes)
2. GUI Test Automation: Widget discovery, test recording/replay, introspection for debugging
3. Proposal System: Safe sandbox editing with accept/reject workflow
4. Multiple AI Backends: Ollama (local), Gemini (cloud), Claude (planned)

Quick Start

Build Options

# Basic z3ed (CLI only, no AI/testing features)
cmake --build build --target z3ed

# Full build with AI agent and testing suite
cmake -B build-grpc-test -DYAZE_WITH_GRPC=ON -DYAZE_WITH_JSON=ON
cmake --build build-grpc-test --target z3ed

Dependencies for Full Build:

• gRPC (GUI automation)
• nlohmann/json (AI service communication)
• OpenSSL (optional, for Gemini HTTPS - auto-detected on macOS/Linux)

AI Agent Commands

# Generate commands from natural language prompt
z3ed agent plan --prompt "Place a tree at position 10, 10 on map 0"

# Execute in sandbox with auto-approval
z3ed agent run --prompt "Create a 3x3 water pond at 15, 20" --rom zelda3.sfc --sandbox

# List all proposals
z3ed agent list

# View proposal details
z3ed agent diff --proposal <id>

GUI Testing Commands

# Run automated test
z3ed agent test --prompt "Open Overworld editor and verify it loads"

# Query test status
z3ed agent test status --test-id <id> --follow

# Record manual workflow
z3ed agent test record start --output tests/my_test.json
# ... perform actions in GUI ...
z3ed agent test record stop

# Replay recorded test
z3ed agent test replay tests/my_test.json

AI Service Setup

Ollama (Local LLM - Recommended for Development)

# Install Ollama
brew install ollama  # macOS
# or download from https://ollama.com

# Pull recommended model
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b

# Start server
ollama serve

# z3ed will auto-detect Ollama at localhost:11434
z3ed agent plan --prompt "test"

Gemini (Google Cloud API)

# Get API key from https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

# z3ed will auto-select Gemini when key is set
z3ed agent plan --prompt "test"

Note: Gemini requires OpenSSL (HTTPS). Build with -DYAZE_WITH_GRPC=ON -DYAZE_WITH_JSON=ON to enable SSL support. OpenSSL is auto-detected on macOS/Linux. Windows users can use Ollama instead.

Core Documentation

Essential Reads

1. E6-z3ed-cli-design.md - Architecture, design philosophy, agentic workflow framework
2. E6-z3ed-reference.md - Complete command reference and API documentation
3. AGENTIC-PLAN-STATUS.md - Current implementation status and roadmap

Quick References

• QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Condensed command cheatsheet
• QUICK-START-GEMINI.md - Gemini API setup and testing guide
• OVERWORLD-DUNGEON-AI-PLAN.md - Tile16 editing strategy and ResourceLabels integration

Implementation Guides

• LLM-INTEGRATION-PLAN.md - LLM integration roadmap (Ollama, Gemini, Claude)
• LLM-IMPLEMENTATION-CHECKLIST.md - Step-by-step implementation tasks
• IT-05-IMPLEMENTATION-GUIDE.md - Test introspection API (complete ✅)
• IT-08-IMPLEMENTATION-GUIDE.md - Enhanced error reporting (complete ✅)

Current Status (October 2025)

✅ Complete

• CLI Infrastructure: Command parsing, handlers, TUI components
• Proposal System: Sandbox creation, diff generation, accept/reject workflow
• AI Services: Ollama integration, Gemini integration, PromptBuilder
• GUI Automation: Widget discovery, test recording/replay, gRPC harness
• Test Introspection: Status polling, results query, execution history
• Error Reporting: Screenshots, failure context, widget state dumps

🔄 In Progress

• Tile16 Editing Workflow: Accept/reject for overworld canvas edits
• ResourceLabels Integration: User-defined names for AI context
• Dungeon Editing Support: Object/sprite placement via AI

📋 Planned

• Visual Diff Generation: Before/after screenshots for proposals
• Batch Operations: Multiple tile16 changes in single proposal
• Pattern Library: Pre-defined tile patterns (rivers, forests, etc.)
• Claude Integration: Anthropic API support

AI Editing Focus Areas

z3ed is optimized for practical ROM editing workflows:

Overworld Tile16 Editing ⭐ PRIMARY FOCUS

Why: Simple data model (uint16 IDs), visual feedback, reversible, safe

• Single tile placement (trees, rocks, bushes)
• Area creation (water ponds, dirt patches)
• Path creation (connecting points with tiles)
• Pattern generation (tree rows, forests, boundaries)

Dungeon Editing

• Sprite placement with label awareness ("eastern palace entrance")
• Object placement (chests, doors, switches)
• Entrance configuration
• Room property editing

Palette Editing

• Color modification by index
• Sprite palette adjustments
• Export/import workflows

Additional Capabilities

• Sprite data editing
• Compression/decompression
• ROM validation
• Patch application

Example Workflows

Basic Tile16 Edit

# AI generates command
z3ed agent plan --prompt "Place a tree at 10, 10"
# Output: overworld set-tile --map 0 --x 10 --y 10 --tile 0x02E

# Execute manually
z3ed overworld set-tile --map 0 --x 10 --y 10 --tile 0x02E

# Or auto-execute with sandbox
z3ed agent run --prompt "Place a tree at 10, 10" --rom zelda3.sfc --sandbox

Complex Multi-Step Edit

# AI generates multiple commands
z3ed agent plan --prompt "Create a 3x3 water pond at 15, 20"

# Review proposal
z3ed agent diff --latest

# Accept and apply
z3ed agent accept --latest

Label-Aware Dungeon Edit

# AI uses ResourceLabels from your project
z3ed agent plan --prompt "Add 3 soldiers to my custom fortress entrance"
# AI explains: "Using label 'custom_fortress' for dungeon 0x04"

Dependencies Guard

AI agent features require:

• YAZE_WITH_GRPC=ON - GUI automation and test harness
• YAZE_WITH_JSON=ON - AI service communication
• OpenSSL (optional) - Gemini HTTPS support (auto-detected)

Windows Compatibility: Build without gRPC/JSON for basic z3ed functionality. Use Ollama (localhost) instead of Gemini for AI features without SSL dependency.

Recent Changes (Oct 3, 2025)

SSL/HTTPS Support

• ✅ OpenSSL now optional (guarded by YAZE_WITH_GRPC + YAZE_WITH_JSON)
• ✅ Graceful degradation when OpenSSL not found (Ollama still works)
• ✅ Windows builds work without SSL dependencies

Prompt Engineering

• ✅ Refocused examples on tile16 editing workflows
• ✅ Added dungeon editing with label awareness
• ✅ Inline tile16 reference for AI knowledge
• ✅ Practical multi-step examples (water ponds, paths, patterns)

Documentation Consolidation

• ✅ Removed 10 outdated/redundant documents
• ✅ Consolidated status into AGENTIC-PLAN-STATUS.md
• ✅ Updated README with clear dependency requirements
• ✅ Added Windows compatibility notes

Troubleshooting

"OpenSSL not found" warning

Impact: Gemini API won't work (HTTPS required)
Solutions:

• Use Ollama instead (no SSL needed, runs locally)
• Install OpenSSL: brew install openssl (macOS) or apt-get install libssl-dev (Linux)
• Windows: Build without gRPC/JSON, use Ollama

"gRPC not available" error

Impact: GUI testing and automation disabled
Solution: Rebuild with -DYAZE_WITH_GRPC=ON

AI generates invalid commands

Causes: Vague prompt, unfamiliar tile IDs, missing context
Solutions:

• Use specific coordinates and tile types
• Reference tile16 IDs from documentation
• Provide map context ("Light World", "map 0")
• Check ResourceLabels are loaded for your project

Contributing

Adding AI Prompt Examples

Edit src/cli/service/prompt_builder.cc → LoadDefaultExamples()

• Add practical, multi-step examples
• Include explanation of tile IDs and reasoning
• Test with both Ollama and Gemini

Adding CLI Commands

1. Create handler in src/cli/handlers/<category>.cc
2. Register in command dispatcher
3. Add to E6-z3ed-reference.md documentation
4. Add example prompt to prompt_builder.cc

Testing

# Run unit tests
cd build-grpc-test && ctest --output-on-failure

# Test AI integration
./bin/z3ed agent plan --prompt "test prompt" --verbose

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Getting Help:

• Read E6-z3ed-cli-design.md for architecture
• Check AGENTIC-PLAN-STATUS.md for current status
• Review QUICK-START-GEMINI.md for AI setup

Quick Test (verifies AI is working):

export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key"  # or start ollama serve
./build-grpc-test/bin/z3ed agent plan --prompt "Place a tree at 10, 10"