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RetroBIOS

Dolphin

Dolphin emulates Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii and Sega Triforce. It reads 35 files, 1 of them required: without a required file it does not start games. A required file is needed only by the machines that use it. Each file below cites the line of source code that reads it.

Run on its own, the app reads its files from this folder:

%APPDATA%/Dolphin Emulator/

Documents/Dolphin Emulator when that folder already exists. portable.txt or the LocalUserConfig registry value makes User beside Dolphin.exe the root, the UserConfigPath registry value overrides.

Source: Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.cpp:330-333 (upstream emulator), Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.cpp:359-400 (upstream emulator), Source/Core/UICommon/UICommon.cpp:481 (upstream emulator), Source/Core/Common/CommonPaths.h:14-15 (upstream emulator)
About this profile
Detail Value
Type standalone + libretro
Classification Community fork
Source https://github.com/libretro/dolphin
Upstream https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin
Version 2609-437-g3aac3f0, 437 commits after tag 2609
Revision libretro/dolphin@3aac3f052f73, dolphin-emu/dolphin@0d93fc035539
Profiled 2026-03-23
Profile YAML, JSON
Cores dolphin, dolphin-gui, dolphin-sa
Systems Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Sega Triforce
Data folder (Windows) %APPDATA%/Dolphin Emulator/
Data folder (macOS) ~/Library/Application Support/Dolphin/
Data folder (Linux) $XDG_DATA_HOME/dolphin-emu/, else ~/.local/share/dolphin-emu/
Data folder (Android) Android/data/org.dolphinemu.dolphinemu/files/
Install this emulator's files

For Dolphin inside RetroArch, Batocera or another setup. The installer finds your setup and its BIOS folder, then downloads only the files this emulator reads there and checks each one.

Open the Start menu. Type PowerShell and open it. Paste the line. Press Enter.

PowerShell
&([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://abdess.github.io/retrobios/i.ps1))) --emulator dolphin

Files

Section titled “Files”

35 files: 1 required, 34 optional. 19 have an HLE fallback.

In this collection: 34 in repo and 1 missing.

Required

Section titled “Required”
FileStatus

segaboot.gcm

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/Triforce/segaboot.gcm
  • Standalone path: Triforce/segaboot.gcm, in the data folder
  • System: Sega Triforce
  • SegaBoot, the Triforce system disc image. Read on every Triforce boot, min(size, 2 MiB) copied into the firmware buffer, nothing validated
Source
required for Sega Triforce in repo

Optional

Section titled “Optional”
34 rows
FileStatusHash

IPL.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/USA/IPL.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/USA/IPL.bin, in the data folder
  • System: Nintendo GameCube
  • GameCube NTSC-U boot ROM. HLE available but real IPL needed for GC menu boot and accurate fonts. Discs with the Brazilian country code B and SYSCONF countries of the Americas map to NTSC-U, so Latin America reads this directory too (Source/Core/DiscIO/Enums.cpp:198-199, 249-251).
Source
in repo HLE fallback Region: North America and Latin America-

IPL.bin

Source
in repo HLE fallback Region: Europe and Oceania-

IPL.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/JAP/IPL.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/JAP/IPL.bin, in the data folder
  • System: Nintendo GameCube
  • GameCube NTSC-J boot ROM. JAP is the legacy directory name
Source
in repo HLE fallback Region: Japan and South Korea-

dsp_rom.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/dsp_rom.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/dsp_rom.bin, in the data folder
  • DSP instruction ROM for LLE audio. Free replacement (v0.4) included
Hashes, validation and source
in repo HLE fallback-

dsp_coef.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/dsp_coef.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/dsp_coef.bin, in the data folder
  • DSP coefficient ROM for LLE audio and HLE polyphase resampling. Free replacement included
Hashes, validation and source
in repo HLE fallback-

font_western.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/font_western.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/font_western.bin, in the data folder
  • Windows-1252 font for GC/Wii text rendering. Free alternative bundled, real one from IPL dump preferred
  • Size: 9.4 KB
  • Collection copy: GC/font_western.bin in the dolphin-sys data directory
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

font_japanese.bin

  • Path: dolphin-emu/Sys/GC/font_japanese.bin
  • Standalone path: GC/font_japanese.bin, in the data folder
  • Shift-JIS font for Japanese text. Free alternative bundled, real one from IPL dump preferred
  • Size: 296.6 KB
  • Collection copy: GC/font_japanese.bin in the dolphin-sys data directory
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

gba_bios.bin

  • Path: User/GBA/gba_bios.bin
  • Standalone path: GBA/gba_bios.bin, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • GBA BIOS for GC-GBA link feature (uses integrated mGBA). Path configurable in settings
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

SYSCONF

  • Path: User/Wii/shared2/sys/SYSCONF
  • Standalone path: Wii/shared2/sys/SYSCONF, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • Wii system configuration. Auto-generated by Dolphin, can be imported from NAND backup
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

setting.txt

  • Path: User/Wii/title/00000001/00000002/data/setting.txt
  • Standalone path: Wii/title/00000001/00000002/data/setting.txt, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • Wii region/language settings. Auto-generated by Dolphin during Wii boot emulation
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

nand.bin

  • BootMii NAND backup. Can be imported to populate Wii NAND with channels, saves, system menu
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

keys.bin

  • OTP/SEEPROM dump (Wii encryption keys). Needed if not appended to nand.bin for NAND import
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

WiiSD.raw

  • Path: User/Load/WiiSD.raw
  • Standalone path: Load/WiiSD.raw, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • Virtual SD card image for Wii homebrew. Auto-created by Dolphin, supports SD/SDHC up to 4GB
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

codehandler.bin

  • Gecko/Ocarina cheat code handler. Shipped in Sys/ of the standalone release (dolphin-2512-x64.7z)
Hashes and source
in repo HLE fallback standalone installed with the standalone emulatorMD5 1f118b8735fc

codehandler.bin

  • Gecko/Ocarina cheat code handler, read from the Sys data directory the core zip does not contain. The Batocera and Lakka packages copy Data/Sys beside the core, and RetroBat installs it as bios/dolphin-emu/Sys
  • Collection copy: codehandler.bin in the dolphin-sys data directory
Packages and source
in repo HLE fallback libretro-

Wii System Menu

  • Wii System Menu WAD. Installed to NAND via Tools > Install WAD, needed for Wii Menu boot
Source
missing HLE fallback standalone-

clientca.pem

  • Path: User/Wii/clientca.pem
  • Standalone path: Wii/clientca.pem, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • SSL client certificate. Auto-extracted from IOS13 content during NAND import
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

clientcakey.pem

  • Path: User/Wii/clientcakey.pem
  • Standalone path: Wii/clientcakey.pem, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • SSL client private key. Auto-extracted from IOS13 content during NAND import
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

rootca.pem

  • Path: User/Wii/rootca.pem
  • Standalone path: Wii/rootca.pem, in the data folder
  • Read from: the save directory, not the BIOS directory (libretro build)
  • SSL root CA certificate. Auto-extracted from IOS13 content during NAND import
Source
in repo HLE fallback-

rtl8723a_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8723a_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8723A BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8723b_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8723b_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8723B BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8723d_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8723d_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8723D BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8761a_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8761a_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8761A BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8761bu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8761bu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8761BU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough (most common USB dongle)
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8821a_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8821a_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8821A BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8821c_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8821c_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8821C BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8822b_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8822b_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8822B BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8822cu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8822cu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8822CU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8851bu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8851bu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8851BU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8852au_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8852au_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8852AU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8852bu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8852bu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8852BU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8852cu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8852cu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8852CU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8852btu_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8852btu_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8852BT/8852BE-VT BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

rtl8922au_fw.bin

  • Path: Load/Firmware/rtl_bt/rtl8922au_fw.bin, in the data folder
  • Realtek 8922AU BT firmware for Wiimote passthrough
Source
in repo standalone-

Profile data

Section titled “Profile data”
Pack structure
  • libretro: dolphin-emu
  • standalone:

Data directories

Section titled “Data directories”

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
.

Maintained by Abdess on GitHub. Report a problem.

Packs from release v2026.10.10, .

MIT for the tooling and metadata. BIOS and firmware files are third-party system software, preserved for personal backup, archival and interoperability.