emulator: "DSperate" type: standalone core_classification: other source: "https://github.com/beebono/DSperate" profiled_date: "2026-11-09" source_commit: "ddf2910e6d80220c6b22b4df61f0786ac9879cda" pin_frozen: "ROCKNIX 20261101 ships the v3.0.5 release binaries, built by CI from the v3.0.5 tag at this commit." pin_build: - platform: rocknix repo: "https://github.com/ROCKNIX/distribution" revision: "20261101" path: "projects/ROCKNIX/packages/emulators/standalone/dsperate-sa/package.mk" variable: PKG_VERSION value: "3.0.5" core_version: "v3.0.5" version_basis: kind: tag tag: "v3.0.5" distance: 0 display_name: "Nintendo - DS / DSi (DSperate)" cores: - "dsperate" - "dsperate-sa" found_by: content systems: - nintendo-ds - nintendo-dsi data_root: linux: path: "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/dsperate" source_ref: "src/frontend/sdl/config.cpp:39-49" note: "~/.config/dsperate when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset. System files are read wherever the [paths] keys of the ini point." notes: | Nintendo DS emulator for ARM handhelds with a DSi mode. ROCKNIX installs the release tarball for its architecture and runs it with --config pointing at /storage/.config/dsperate/dsperate.ini. No file name is built in: every system file is a [paths] key of the ini (or the matching command-line flag), and a key that is unset or names no file counts as absent. The names below are labels for the dumps. ROCKNIX's dsperate.ini gives the same ones, all in /storage/roms/bios/. ref: src/frontend/sdl/config.cpp:177-217, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1175-1181 DS BIOS: both halves or neither, the ARM9 image 4 KB and the ARM7 image 16 KB exactly. Without them the built-in FreeBIOS runs games by direct boot. The firmware may be any non-empty file. Without one a firmware is generated from the [user] settings. Booting the DS menu needs both BIOS dumps and a real firmware. No hash is checked: an FNV-1a of the loaded regions only tags save states. ref: src/core/nds.cpp:114-145, src/core/mem/bus.h:137-138, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1268-1274, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1291-1299 DSi: DSiWare and --dsi-mode need the DSi BIOS pair, 64 KB each, and the DS BIOS dumps as well. FreeBIOS cannot run a DSi session. dsi_firmware replaces firmware for a DSi session when no --firmware is given. The NAND is needed by --dsi-mode and by NAND title shortcuts only, and it must carry the nocash footer (at the end, or at 0x000FF800). DSiWare without a NAND runs on a generated console whose system font is DSperate's own unless dsi_font names a TWLFontTable.dat. ref: src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1153-1186, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1301-1303, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:88-104, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:112-118, src/core/io/dsi_sd.cpp:105-138, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:310-327, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1774-1778 Cheats come from usrcheat.dat: the [paths] cheats entry, else beside the ROM, else the config directory. ref: src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:635-657 files: - name: "bios9.bin" system: nintendo-ds required: false hle_fallback: true size: 4096 validation: [size] config_key: "paths.bios9" description: "DS ARM9 BIOS" note: "Loaded only together with bios7.bin. Absent, FreeBIOS runs games by direct boot. Needed to boot the DS menu and for any DSi session." source_ref: "src/core/nds.cpp:119-121, src/core/mem/bus.h:137, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1268-1274, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1291-1303" - name: "bios7.bin" system: nintendo-ds required: false hle_fallback: true size: 16384 validation: [size] config_key: "paths.bios7" description: "DS ARM7 BIOS" note: "Loaded only together with bios9.bin. Absent, FreeBIOS runs games by direct boot. Needed to boot the DS menu and for any DSi session." source_ref: "src/core/nds.cpp:119-120, src/core/nds.cpp:122, src/core/mem/bus.h:138, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1268-1274, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1291-1303" - name: "firmware.bin" system: nintendo-ds required: false hle_fallback: true config_key: "paths.firmware" description: "DS firmware" note: "Any non-empty file is accepted. Absent, a firmware is generated from [user]. Needed to boot the DS menu." source_ref: "src/core/nds.cpp:123, src/core/nds.cpp:133-134, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1178, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1292-1299" - name: "dsi_bios9.bin" system: nintendo-dsi required: false size: 65536 validation: [size] config_key: "paths.bios9i" description: "DSi ARM9 BIOS" note: "Loaded only together with dsi_bios7.bin. Without the pair DSiWare and --dsi-mode are refused, while DS games do not use it." source_ref: "src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:88-104, src/core/mem/bus.h:128, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1179-1186" - name: "dsi_bios7.bin" system: nintendo-dsi required: false size: 65536 validation: [size] config_key: "paths.bios7i" description: "DSi ARM7 BIOS" note: "Loaded only together with dsi_bios9.bin. Without the pair DSiWare and --dsi-mode are refused, while DS games do not use it." source_ref: "src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:88-104, src/core/mem/bus.h:129, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1179-1186" - name: "dsi_firmware.bin" system: nintendo-dsi required: false config_key: "paths.dsi_firmware" description: "DSi firmware" note: "Used instead of firmware.bin for a DSi session when no --firmware is given." source_ref: "src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1176-1178" - name: "dsi_nand.bin" system: nintendo-dsi required: false config_key: "paths.dsi_nand" description: "DSi NAND image with nocash footer" note: "Read only by --dsi-mode and NAND title shortcuts. DSiWare run from the game list does without it. Opened read-only, rejected without the \"DSi eMMC CID/CPU\" footer." source_ref: "src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1153-1166, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1331-1337, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:112-118, src/core/io/dsi_sd.cpp:105-138" - name: "dsi_boot.bin" system: nintendo-dsi required: false size: 340 validation: [size] found_by: content description: "DSi console data blob" note: "Read only by dsperate-headless, through --dsi-boot, which has no default, so the name is a label. A file of any size other than 0x154 bytes stops the run. The blob is TWLCFG bytes 0x88-0x1AF, HWINFO_N bytes 0x88-0x9B and HWINFO_S bytes 0x88-0x9F, copied to 0x02000400, 0x02000600 and 0x02FFFD68 when a DSi title starts. Without it the same bytes are read from shared1/TWLCFG0.dat or TWLCFG1.dat (the higher save count at byte 0x81) and sys/HWINFO_N.dat and sys/HWINFO_S.dat of an attached NAND, generated for DSiWare run without a NAND, and left zero in card mode. Cut from a retail NAND's TWLCFG and HWINFO files, the blob differs per console." source_ref: "src/frontend/headless/main.cpp:304, src/frontend/headless/main.cpp:386, src/frontend/headless/main.cpp:508, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:107-111, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:294, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:340-343, src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:454-464, src/core/io/dsi_nand_launch.cpp:147-167, src/core/io/dsi_nand_synth.cpp:114-120" - name: "TWLFontTable.dat" system: nintendo-dsi required: false hle_fallback: true min_size: 256 validation: [size] config_key: "paths.dsi_font" description: "DSi system font" note: "Used for DSiWare run without a NAND. A path that names no file falls back to DSperate's own tables, linked into the binary. ROCKNIX's ini leaves the key unset. A file under 256 bytes stops the session. No hash is checked. The layout is read from bytes 0x84 and 0x86: 3 and 0 for the normal table (Japan, Americas, Europe, Australia), 9 and 4 for the Chinese one, 9 and 5 for the Korean one. Chinese and Korean titles need their own layout and every other title the normal one. Another layout only draws a warning, and the title does not find its fonts." source_ref: "src/core/nds_dsi.cpp:311-323, src/core/io/dsi_font.cpp:38-43, src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:1774-1778" - name: "usrcheat.dat" system: nintendo-ds required: false category: game_data config_key: "paths.cheats" description: "Action Replay cheat database" note: "Looked up by game code and header checksum. Nothing is enabled by its presence." source_ref: "src/frontend/sdl/main.cpp:635-657"