CHIP‐8 Instruction Set

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The following table contains all thirty-five instructions in the CHIP-8 instruction set. NNN refers to a hexadecimal memory address. NN refers to a hexadecimal byte. N refers to a hexadecimal nibble. X and Y refer to registers.

Instruction	Description
0NNN	Execute machine language subroutine at address NNN
00E0	Clear the screen
00EE	Return from a subroutine
1NNN	Jump to address NNN
2NNN	Execute subroutine starting at address NNN
3XNN	Skip the following instruction if the value of register VX equals NN
4XNN	Skip the following instruction if the value of register VX is not equal to NN
5XY0	Skip the following instruction if the value of register VX is equal to the value of register VY
6XNN	Store number NN in register VX
7XNN	Add the value NN to register VX
8XY0	Store the value of register VY in register VX
8XY1	Set VX to VX OR VY
8XY2	Set VX to VX AND VY
8XY3	Set VX to VX XOR VY
8XY4	Add the value of register VY to register VX Set VF to 01 if a carry occurs Set VF to 00 if a carry does not occur
8XY5	Subtract the value of register VY from register VX Set VF to 00 if a borrow occurs Set VF to 01 if a borrow does not occur
8XY6	Store the value of register VY shifted right one bit in register VX¹ Set register VF to the least significant bit prior to the shift VY is unchanged
8XY7	Set register VX to the value of VY minus VX Set VF to 00 if a borrow occurs Set VF to 01 if a borrow does not occur
8XYE	Store the value of register VY shifted left one bit in register VX¹ Set register VF to the most significant bit prior to the shift VY is unchanged
9XY0	Skip the following instruction if the value of register VX is not equal to the value of register VY
ANNN	Store memory address NNN in register I
BNNN	Jump to address NNN + V0
CXNN	Set VX to a random number with a mask of NN
DXYN	Draw a sprite at position VX, VY with N bytes of sprite data starting at the address stored in I Set VF to 01 if any set pixels are changed to unset, and 00 otherwise
EX9E	Skip the following instruction if the key corresponding to the hex value currently stored in register VX is pressed
EXA1	Skip the following instruction if the key corresponding to the hex value currently stored in register VX is not pressed
FX07	Store the current value of the delay timer in register VX
FX0A	Wait for a keypress and store the result in register VX
FX15	Set the delay timer to the value of register VX
FX18	Set the sound timer to the value of register VX
FX1E	Add the value stored in register VX to register I
FX29	Set I to the memory address of the sprite data corresponding to the hexadecimal digit stored in register VX
FX33	Store the binary-coded decimal equivalent of the value stored in register VX at addresses I, I + 1, and I + 2
FX55	Store the values of registers V0 to VX inclusive in memory starting at address I I is set to I + X + 1 after operation²
FX65	Fill registers V0 to VX inclusive with the values stored in memory starting at address I I is set to I + X + 1 after operation²

Notes

¹ Erik Bryntse’s S-CHIP documentation incorrectly describes this shift instruction as shifting VX rather than VY. Certain S-CHIP-compatible emulators may implement this instruction in this manner.

² Erik Bryntse’s S-CHIP documentation incorrectly implies this instruction does not modify the I register. Certain S-CHIP-compatible emulators may implement this instruction in this manner.

Sources

Peter K. Morrison. Untitled. In: VIPER 1.2 (Aug. 1978), pp. 2–6.

RCA COSMAC VIP CDP18S711 Instruction Manual. RCA Corporation, 1978.