KREBF.

KREBF

a z-machine, reimagined for the browser

Krebf is a WordPress plugin that embeds a complete Z-Machine interpreter on any page of your site. Visitors play Zork, Hitchhiker's Guide, and four decades of interactive fiction without installing anything — right inside your theme, amber glow and all.

Built on Fredrik Ramsberg's Ruby Z-machine interpreter, ported to JavaScript and packaged as a WordPress plugin by Bill Martens.

Read the Manual ▸ Technical Reference
for storytellers, archivists, and the nostalgically inclined
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Versions 1 through 8

Every Infocom-era Z-machine format except v6 graphics — so Zork I/II/III, Enchanter, Hitchhiker's, Trinity, Spellbreaker, A Mind Forever Voyaging, and the countless modern Inform releases all run.

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One shortcode

Drop [krebf] into any post or page and the player materialises with a tactile amber-CRT aesthetic. A pull-down menu lists every story file you've uploaded.

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Deep-link to any game

Append ?game=zork1 to your player URL and the chosen story loads automatically. Share a link, open a chapter — the server path stays hidden from the browser.

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Saves that travel

Save slots live in the visitor's browser storage — no database write, no account, no server bloat. Transcripts download as plain text for archival.

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Secure by default

Path-traversal rejection, realpath() boundary checks, SSRF defence on external URLs, a nonce-gated fetch proxy, capability gating on admin operations — all the standard WordPress pieties, done correctly.

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Free forever

MIT licence on the interpreter, GPL-compatible for the plugin packaging. No telemetry, no analytics, no paid tier. Just the code and the stories.

Get started in three steps

  1. Install. Upload the plugin zip through the WordPress Plugins screen, or drop the krebf/ folder into wp-content/plugins/ via SFTP. Activate it.
  2. Add stories. Place your .z3, .z5, or .z8 files into wp-content/uploads/krebf-games/ — the plugin creates and secures this folder on activation. Filenames become URL slugs.
  3. Embed. Paste [krebf] into any page. Visit it. Play.

Don't have stories yet?

The Interactive Fiction Archive hosts thousands of free Z-code games. A classic starting point is Cloak of Darkness (tiny, tests quickly) or any of the freely-distributed Infocom samplers.

Where to next?

User Manual →

Everything a site owner needs to install, configure, and troubleshoot. Covers the shortcode, URL parameters, admin settings, save files, transcripts, and common questions.

Technical Reference →

For developers. Plugin architecture, REST endpoints, hook catalogue, security model, theming hooks, and an annotated file map. Also: how the Z-machine interpreter is structured.