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Original: Geoffrey Huntley · 02/03/2025

Summary

✨ Daniel Joyce used the techniques described in this post to portlstorustvia anobjdump. You can see the code here:https://github.com/DanielJoyce/ls-rs. Keen, to see more examples - get in contact if you ship something!

Key Insights

“Daniel Joyce used the techniques described in this post to portlstorustvia anobjdump.” — Highlighting a practical application of converting code using LLM techniques.
“five months later and https://t.co/kMXyRYraBA has been productionised into a MCP server and a paper published.” — Discussing the timeline and outcome of a project that utilized LLM for software rewriting.
“/z80 = Running the LLM like a Bitcoin mixer for intellectual property and cloning software.” — Metaphorically describing the process of using LLM for software cloning as innovative and somewhat controversial.

Topics


Full Article

# Can a LLM convert C, to ASM to specs and then to a working Z/80 Speccy tape? Yes.
Author: Geoffrey Huntley
Published: 2025-03-02
Source: https://ghuntley.com/z80/

✨ Daniel Joyce used the techniques described in this post to portlstorustvia anobjdump. You can see the code here:https://github.com/DanielJoyce/ls-rs. Keen, to see more examples - get in contact if you ship something!
[Damien Guard](https://bsky.app/profile/damieng.bsky.social/post/3ljdkwup7sc2d?ref=ghuntley.com) nerd sniped me and other folks wanted more proof that it is now cheap, easy and possible to [cheaply rewrite software or clone existing "source available" businesses](https://ghuntley.com/tradecraft/) (see bottom of the post).
five months later and https://t.co/kMXyRYraBA has been productionised into a MCP server and a paper published. that took longer than expected but it was only matter of time. /z80 = Running the LLM like a Bitcoin mixer for intellectual property and cloning software. pic.twitter.com/dxGSP2WiFX — geoff (@GeoffreyHuntley) August 25, 2025
So, let’s get cracking by creating a toy application by sending this prompt to the LLM.

Key Takeaways

Notable Quotes

Daniel Joyce used the techniques described in this post to portlstorustvia anobjdump.
Context: Highlighting a practical application of converting code using LLM techniques.
five months later and https://t.co/kMXyRYraBA has been productionised into a MCP server and a paper published.
Context: Discussing the timeline and outcome of a project that utilized LLM for software rewriting.
/z80 = Running the LLM like a Bitcoin mixer for intellectual property and cloning software.
Context: Metaphorically describing the process of using LLM for software cloning as innovative and somewhat controversial.
  • [[topics/openai-api]]
  • [[topics/prompt-engineering]]
  • [[topics/software-rewriting]]

Yes, Claude Code can decompile itself. Here's the source code.

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Originally published at https://ghuntley.com/z80/.