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Antirez describes a clean-room experiment using Claude Code to build a Z80 emulator, ZX Spectrum emulator, and CP/M environment. The process involved pre-gathering documentation into markdown files, prohibiting internet access during implementation, and providing detailed design specs. Claude Code autonomously produced a 1200-line C Z80 emulator passing ZEXDOC/ZEXALL tests in 20-30 minutes with zero prompting. The Spectrum emulator ran Jetpac with working sound at 8% CPU. Key lessons: always provide agents with design documentation they can gather themselves, give explicit rules in a markdown file, and have the agent maintain a work-in-progress log. Antirez also argues against the idea that LLMs simply memorize and decompress training data, noting the generated code was verified as distinct from existing implementations.

Implementing a clear room Z80 / ZX Spectrum emulator with Claude Code