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DuckStation - PlayStation 1, aka. PSX Emulator

FORK: On September 2024, DuckStation switched its license from the free software GNU GPLv3 license to a source available, but not free software, CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This repository is the last version that is still GPLv3 licensed, i.e., the last commit before the license change. Currently, other than this README.md note, there are no other changes, and I have no plans on developing it myself. If you just need a great PS1 emulator for your own personal use, use the official version by stenzek. If you wish to maintain a GPL fork yourself, you can use this as a baseline. Do not PR any post license change commits from uptree unless you are the sole copyright owner and wish to publish your changes under the GPLv3 license.

Features | Downloading and Running | Building | Disclaimers

Latest Builds for Windows 10/11 (x64/ARM64), Linux (AppImage/Flatpak), and macOS (11.0+ Universal): https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/releases/tag/latest

Game Compatibility List: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRE0jjiK_aldpICoy5kVQlpk2f81Vo6P4p9vfg4d7YoTOoDlH4PQHoXjTD2F7SdN8SSBLoEAItaIqQo/pubhtml

Discord Server: https://www.duckstation.org/discord.html

DuckStation is an simulator/emulator of the Sony PlayStation(TM) console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability. The goal is to be as accurate as possible while maintaining performance suitable for low-end devices. "Hack" options are discouraged, the default configuration should support all playable games with only some of the enhancements having compatibility issues.

A PS1 or PS2 "BIOS" ROM image is required to to start the emulator and to play games. You can use an image from any hardware version or region, although mismatching game regions and BIOS regions may have compatibility issues. A ROM image is not provided with the emulator for legal reasons, you should dump this from your own console using Caetla or other means.

Features

DuckStation features a fully-featured frontend built using Qt, as well as a fullscreen/TV UI based on Dear ImGui.

Main Window Screenshot Fullscreen UI Screenshot

Other features include:

  • CPU Recompiler/JIT (x86-64, armv7/AArch32, AArch64, RISC-V/RV64).
  • Hardware (D3D11, D3D12, OpenGL, Vulkan, Metal) and software rendering.
  • Upscaling, texture filtering, and true colour (24-bit) in hardware renderers.
  • Accurate blending via Rasterizer Order Views/Fragment Shader Interlock.
  • PGXP for geometry precision, texture correction, and depth buffer emulation.
  • Motion adaptive deinterlacing.
  • Adaptive downsampling filter.
  • Screen rotation for vertical or "TATE" shmup games.
  • Post processing shader chains (GLSL and Reshade FX).
  • "Fast boot" for skipping BIOS splash/intro.
  • Save state support, with runahead and rewind.
  • Windows, Linux, macOS support.
  • Supports reading directly from CD, bin/cue images, raw bin/img files, MAME CHD, single-track ECM, MDS/MDF, and unencrypted PBP formats.
  • Preloading of disc images to RAM to avoid disk sleeping hitches.
  • Automatic loading/applying of PPF patches.
  • Direct booting of homebrew executables.
  • Direct loading of Portable Sound Format (psf) files.
  • Time stretched audio when running outside of 100% speed, and surround sound expansion.
  • Digital and analog controllers for input (rumble is forwarded to host).
  • GunCon and Justifier lightgun support (simulated with mouse).
  • NeGcon support.
  • Qt and "Big Picture" UI.
  • Automatic updates with preview and latest channels.
  • Automatic content scanning - game titles/hashes are provided by redump.org.
  • Optional automatic switching of memory cards for each game.
  • Supports loading cheats from existing lists.
  • Memory card editor and save importer.
  • Emulated CPU overclocking.
  • Integrated and remote debugging.
  • Multitap controllers (up to 8 devices).
  • RetroAchievements.
  • Discord Rich Presence.
  • Video capture with Media Foundation (Windows) and FFmpeg (All Platforms) backends.

System Requirements

  • A CPU faster than a potato. But it needs to be x86_64 (SSE4.1), AArch32/armv7, AArch64/ARMv8, or RISC-V/RV64.
  • For the hardware renderers, a GPU capable of OpenGL 3.1/OpenGL ES 3.1/Direct3D 11 Feature Level 10.0 (or Vulkan 1.0) and above. So, basically anything made in the last 10 years or so.
  • SDL, XInput or DInput compatible game controller (e.g. XB360/XBOne/XBSeries). DualShock 3 users on Windows will need to install the official DualShock 3 drivers included as part of PlayStation Now.

Downloading and running

Binaries of DuckStation for Windows x64/ARM64, Linux x86_64 (in AppImage/Flatpak formats), and macOS Universal Binaries are available via GitHub Releases and are automatically built with every commit/push. Binaries or packages distributed through other sources may be out of date and are not supported by the developer, please speak to them for support, not us.

For x86 machines (most systems), you will need a CPU that supports the SSE4.1 instruction set. This includes all CPUs manufactured after 2007. If you want to use DuckStation with a CPU that is older, v0.1-6995 is the last version that does not require SSE4.1.

Windows

DuckStation requires Windows 10/11, specifically version 1809 or newer. If you are still using Windows 7/8/8.1, DuckStation will not run on your operating system. Running these operating systems in 2023 should be considered a security risk, and I would recommend updating to something which receives vendor support. If you must use an older operating system, v0.1-5624 is the last version which will run. But do not expect to recieve any assistance, these builds are no longer supported.

To download:

Once downloaded and extracted, you can launch the emulator with duckstation-qt-x64-ReleaseLTCG.exe. Follow the Setup Wizard to get started.

If you get an error about vcruntime140_1.dll being missing, you will need to update your Visual C++ runtime. You can do that from this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads. Specifically, you want the x64 runtime, which can be downloaded from https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe.

Linux

The only supported version of DuckStation for Linux are the AppImage and Flatpak in the releases page. If you installed DuckStation from another source or distribution (e.g. EmuDeck), you should contact the packager for support, we have no control over it.

The release on Flathub is official, and synchronized with the latest rolling/stable release on GitHub.

You should not install DuckStation from unofficial repositories such as the AUR, they are known to be broken.

AppImage

The AppImages require a distribution equivalent to Ubuntu 22.04 or newer to run.

Flatpak

or, if you have FlatHub set up:

  • Run flatpak install org.duckstation.DuckStation.

Use flatpak run org.duckstation.DuckStation to start, or select DuckStation in the launcher of your desktop environment. Follow the Setup Wizard to get started.

macOS

Universal MacOS builds are provided for both x64 and ARM64 (Apple Silicon).

MacOS Big Sir (11.0) is required, as this is also the minimum requirement for Qt.

To download:

  • Go to https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation/releases/tag/latest, and download duckstation-mac-release.zip.
  • Extract the zip by double-clicking it.
  • Open DuckStation.app, optionally moving it to your desired location first.
  • Depending on GateKeeper configuration, you may need to right click -> Open the first time you run it, as code signing certificates are out of the question for a project which brings in zero revenue.

Android

You will need a device with armv7 (32-bit ARM), AArch64 (64-bit ARM), or x86_64 (64-bit x86). 64-bit is preferred, the requirements are higher for 32-bit, you'll probably want at least a 1.5GHz CPU.

Download from Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.stenzek.duckstation APK and Beta Downloads: https://www.duckstation.org/android/

No support is provided for the Android app, it is free and your expectations should be in line with that. Please do not email me about issues about it, or ask for help, you will be ignored.

To use:

  1. Install and run the app for the first time.
  2. Follow the setup wizard.

If you have an external controller, you will need to map the buttons and sticks in settings.

LibCrypt protection and SBI files

A number of PAL region games use LibCrypt protection, requiring additional CD subchannel information to run properly. libcrypt not functioning usually manifests as hanging or crashing, but can sometimes affect gameplay too, depending on how the game implemented it.

For these games, make sure that the CD image and its corresponding SBI (.sbi) file have the same name and are placed in the same directory. DuckStation will automatically load the SBI file when it is found next to the CD image.

For example, if your disc image was named Spyro3.cue, you would place the SBI file in the same directory, and name it Spyro3.sbi.

CHD images with built-in subchannel information are also supported.

Building

Windows

Requirements:

  • Visual Studio 2022
  1. Clone the respository: git clone https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation.git.
  2. Download the dependencies pack from https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation-ext-qt-minimal/releases/download/latest/deps-x64.7z, and extract it to dep\msvc.
  3. Open the Visual Studio solution duckstation.sln in the root, or "Open Folder" for cmake build.
  4. Build solution.
  5. Binaries are located in bin/x64.
  6. Run duckstation-qt-x64-Release.exe or whichever config you used.

Linux

Required Dependencies

Ubuntu/Debian package names:

build-essential clang cmake curl extra-cmake-modules git libasound2-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libdbus-1-dev libdecor-0-dev libegl-dev libevdev-dev libfontconfig-dev libfreetype-dev libgtk-3-dev libgudev-1.0-dev libharfbuzz-dev libinput-dev libopengl-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev libpulse-dev libssl-dev libudev-dev libwayland-dev libx11-dev libx11-xcb-dev libxcb1-dev libxcb-composite0-dev libxcb-cursor-dev libxcb-damage0-dev libxcb-glx0-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev libxcb-image0-dev libxcb-keysyms1-dev libxcb-present-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxcb-render0-dev libxcb-render-util0-dev libxcb-shape0-dev libxcb-shm0-dev libxcb-sync-dev libxcb-util-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev libxcb-xinput-dev libxcb-xkb-dev libxext-dev libxkbcommon-x11-dev libxrandr-dev lld llvm nasm ninja-build pkg-config zlib1g-dev

Fedora package names:

alsa-lib-devel brotli-devel clang cmake dbus-devel egl-wayland-devel extra-cmake-modules fontconfig-devel gcc-c++ gtk3-devel libavcodec-free-devel libavformat-free-devel libavutil-free-devel libcurl-devel libdecor-devel libevdev-devel libICE-devel libinput-devel libSM-devel libswresample-free-devel libswscale-free-devel libX11-devel libXau-devel libxcb-devel libXcomposite-devel libXcursor-devel libXext-devel libXfixes-devel libXft-devel libXi-devel libxkbcommon-devel libxkbcommon-x11-devel libXpresent-devel libXrandr-devel libXrender-devel lld llvm make mesa-libEGL-devel mesa-libGL-devel nasm ninja-build openssl-devel patch pcre2-devel perl-Digest-SHA pipewire-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel systemd-devel wayland-devel xcb-util-cursor-devel xcb-util-devel xcb-util-errors-devel xcb-util-image-devel xcb-util-keysyms-devel xcb-util-renderutil-devel xcb-util-wm-devel xcb-util-xrm-devel zlib-devel

Building

  1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation.git, cd duckstation.
  2. Build dependencies. You can save these outside of the tree if you like. This will take a while. scripts/deps/build-dependencies-linux.sh deps.
  3. Run CMake to configure the build system. Assuming a build subdirectory of build-release, run cmake -B build-release -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ -DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT="-fuse-ld=lld" -DCMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT="-fuse-ld=lld" -DCMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT="-fuse-ld=lld" -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$PWD/deps" -G Ninja. If you want a release (optimized) build, include -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION=ON.
  4. Compile the source code. For the example above, run ninja -C build-release
  5. Run the binary, located in the build directory under ./build-release/bin/duckstation-qt.

macOS

Requirements:

  • CMake
  • Xcode
  1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/stenzek/duckstation.git.
  2. Build the dependencies. This will take a while. scripts/deps/build-dependencies-mac.sh deps.
  3. Run CMake to configure the build system: cmake -Bbuild-release -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION=ON -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$PWD/deps".
  4. Compile the source code: cmake --build build-release --parallel.
  5. Run the binary, located in the build directory under bin/DuckStation.app.

User Directories

The "User Directory" is where you should place your BIOS images, where settings are saved to, and memory cards/save states are saved by default. An optional SDL game controller database file can be also placed here.

This is located in the following places depending on the platform you're using:

  • Windows: My Documents\DuckStation
  • Linux: $XDG_DATA_HOME/duckstation, or ~/.local/share/duckstation.
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/DuckStation.

So, if you were using Linux, you would place your BIOS images in ~/.local/share/duckstation/bios. This directory will be created upon running DuckStation for the first time.

If you wish to use a "portable" build, where the user directory is the same as where the executable is located, create an empty file named portable.txt in the same directory as the DuckStation executable.

Bindings for Qt frontend

Your keyboard or game controller can be used to simulate a variety of PlayStation controllers. Controller input is supported through DInput, XInput, and SDL backends and can be changed through Settings -> General Settings.

To bind your input device, go to Settings -> Controllers. Each of the buttons/axes for the simulated controller will be listed, alongside the corresponding key/button on your device that it is currently bound to. To rebind, click the box next to the button/axis name, and press the key or button on your input device that you wish to bind to. When binding rumble, simply press any button on the controller you wish to send rumble to.

SDL Game Controller Database

DuckStation releases ship with a database of game controller mappings for the SDL controller backend, courtesy of https://github.com/mdqinc/SDL_GameControllerDB. The included gamecontrollerdb.txt file can be found in the resources subdirectory of the DuckStation program directory.

If you are experiencing issues binding your controller with the SDL controller backend, you may need to add a custom mapping to the database file. Make a copy of gamecontrollerdb.txt and place it in your user directory (or directly in the program directory, if running in portable mode) and then follow the instructions in the SDL_GameControllerDB repository for creating a new mapping. Add this mapping to the new copy of gamecontrollerdb.txt and your controller should then be recognized properly.

Default bindings

Controller 1:

  • Left Stick: W/A/S/D
  • Right Stick: T/F/G/H
  • D-Pad: Up/Left/Down/Right
  • Triangle/Square/Circle/Cross: I/J/L/K
  • L1/R1: Q/E
  • L2/R2: 1/3
  • L3/R3: 2/4
  • Start: Enter
  • Select: Backspace

Hotkeys:

  • Escape: Open Pause Menu
  • F11: Toggle Fullscreen
  • Tab: Temporarily Disable Speed Limiter
  • Space: Pause/Resume Emulation

Disclaimers

Icon by icons8: https://icons8.com/icon/74847/platforms.undefined.short-title

"PlayStation" and "PSX" are registered trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited. This project is not affiliated in any way with Sony Interactive Entertainment.