RiptOPL

An opinionated Open PS2 Loader fork — aiming to be the "definitive build."
Based on Open PS2 Loader · Copyright 2013, Ifcaro & jimmikaelkael
Licensed under Academic Free License version 3.0
Review the LICENSE file for further details.

What is RiptOPL? A downstream fork of Open PS2 Loader with a built-in cover-art Coverflow theme (default), a Favorites tab, per-game Neutrino external-core launching, a reorganized category settings layout, DualSense support, and ready-to-use opinionated defaults. Its settings live in their own settings_riptopl.cfg to keep its master settings separate from official OPL and wOPL. Other files, including network and per-game settings, can still be shared. Favorites import from uOPL/wOPL is one-way: the next save writes RiptOPL’s own format to favourites.bin. See Where your files live. See This Fork's Additions. For the canonical project, use ps2homebrew/Open-PS2-Loader.

📖 Full documentation & guides: https://nathanneurotic.github.io/Open-PS2-Loader/ — searchable setup and reference guides covering storage backends, the Neutrino core, PS1/VCD, the Theme Engine (with worked examples and an annotated sample theme), a full settings reference, and troubleshooting.

Contents

Releases · Quick Start · Sources and cores · Features · Fork additions · PS1 · HTTP · RetroAchievements · Files and folders · USB/MMCE/MX4SIO/iLink · SMB · HDD · APPS · Cheats · NBD · ZSO · PS3 BC · Troubleshooting · Companion tools · Credits

Releases

RiptOPL ships one full-feature build — GSM video-mode handling (including 1080p), DS3/DS4 pad emulation (PADEMU), VMC, PS2RD cheats and parental controls are all included in the standard ELF (no upstream-style per-feature variants). The two upstream EXTRA_FEATURES extras — in-game screenshots (IGS) and right-to-left (RTL) language support — are not compiled into any published main ELF (EXTRA_FEATURES ?= 0); they ship in the EXTRA_FEATURES=1 builds inside the VARIANTS zip. DualSense / DualShock 5 (USB) support is available prebuilt in the RIPTOPL-VARIANTS-*.zip bundle, or build your own with make DUALSENSE=1.

RetroAchievements ships as its own complete package, RIPTOPL-RA-*.zip (or build it with make RETROACHIEVEMENTS=1). It is laid out like the main archive — same POPS/, EMBER/, neutrino/ and shortcuts — with the RA loader in place of the standard one, plus a shortcut to xeRAbora, the PC client the feature talks to. It is a development build, not a finished feature — both halves are now written, the menu side included, but none of it has run on a real console yet — and the standard ELF is completely unaffected by it. See docs/RETROACHIEVEMENTS.md for what it does, which launch paths can ever support it, and why.

Choose the current development build or a preserved snapshot:

Channel	What it is
Rolling (Latest)	Updated from rebuild/main by successful publishing runs. A full, non-pre-release GitHub release that remains a development build, with compatibility depending on the game and hardware.
Current Fan Favorite Build	A preserved development snapshot selected after positive user feedback. Use it as a fixed comparison point; it is not a universal compatibility guarantee.

Download the normal installable package, RIPTOPL-<rel>-<sha>.zip. Separate archives serve different purposes: RA for the experimental RetroAchievements loader, VARIANTS for alternate configurations including DualSense, DEBUG for diagnostics, LANGS for translations, and src for the exact source snapshot. Optional archives or SDK flavours can be omitted; read the release notes. GitHub does not publish bare loader ELFs or separate checksum/SDK manifests in the normalized asset set. The workflow can also publish v* tags, but no such stable release is currently offered here.

See ROLLING_RELEASE.md for exactly what the rolling release contains and how to pull it.

Which rolling build? The rolling zip ships four loader ELFs that differ only by build toolchain — the RiptOPL code in each is identical. Start with a pinned SDK for reproducible comparisons:

1. APP_RIPTOPL-PS2DEVPINNED/ (-PS2DEVPINNED) — recommended primary download. Built on the ps2dev/ps2dev SDK pinned by image digest for reproducible toolchain selection; pinning alone does not prove hardware compatibility.
2. APP_RIPTOPL-OFFICIALPINNED/ (-OFFICIALPINNED) — recommended official pin. Built on the ps2homebrew/ps2homebrew official SDK, pinned by image digest.
3. APP_RIPTOPL-PS2DEVROLLING/ (-PS2DEVROLLING) — bleeding-edge canary. Tracks ps2dev/ps2dev:latest.
4. APP_RIPTOPL-OFFICIALROLLING/ (-OFFICIALROLLING) — bleeding-edge official canary. Tracks ps2homebrew:main. See Which build should I use?.

Older published builds may be available in the MEGA archive.

Quick Start

What you need

• A PS2 with a homebrew ELF launcher, or a supported backward-compatible PS3.
• One prepared storage source from the table below. Ethernet and a reachable server are required for network sources.
• The normal installable RIPTOPL-<rel>-<sha>.zip from Releases.

Minimal startup path

1. Extract the normal installable archive. Start with APP_RIPTOPL-PS2DEVPINNED/RIPTOPL.ELF when present; see build choices for alternatives.
2. Copy that ELF to a location your homebrew launcher can boot. For Neutrino, also copy the complete neutrino/ folder to mc0:/neutrino/ or mc1:/neutrino/. PS1 needs the companion files described in PS1 games; copying the loader ELF alone does not install those cores.
3. Prepare your game's source: CD/ or DVD/ for folder-based PS2 libraries, HDLoader partitions for APA, or games.csv for HTTP. See How to use.
4. In Settings → Game Sources, enable the device and its start mode. For a network source, set Network Start Mode to Manual or Auto, then choose the protocol in Network and enter your server's settings.
5. Use the server's Test action where available, then choose Save Changes before launching a game. A successful menu test is not proof that gameplay works.
6. Launch one test game. If it fails, record the exact build, SDK flavour, source and core before changing settings; see Frequent Issues.

Known limitations

• HTTP: implemented and host-tested, but not yet tested on PS2 hardware. ISO only; no VMC, Neutrino or PS1. DVD9 probing is implemented but unproven. HTTP guide.
• RetroAchievements: a separate development package; the console integration has not been hardware-tested. It requires xeRAbora on a PC and OPL-core launching. RA guide.
• iLink: revision 2692 passed Ember on the tested SCPH-39001 but failed native OPL, Neutrino and POPSTARTER handoffs. The Neutrino -qb correction is implemented; a passing retest is still needed.
• Core switching is source-dependent: SMB and HTTP use OPL; UDPFS/UDPBD use Neutrino. See the source table.

Introduction

Open PS2 Loader (OPL) is a 100% Open source game and application loader for the PS2 and supported backward-compatible PS3 units (see PS3 BC). RiptOPL source is AFL-3.0; bundled third-party components retain their own licences. Major capabilities include GSM video mode fixes, Virtual Memory Cards (VMC), PS2RD cheats, DS3/DS4 pad emulation, themes, and homebrew app launching.

RiptOPL supports local USB, MMCE, MX4SIO, iLink and internal ATA storage, plus SMB, UDPFS, UDPBD and HTTP over Ethernet. Capabilities depend on both the source and loader core:

PS2 game source	Loader core	Image/layout	VMC notes
USB / MX4SIO / MMCE / ATA exFAT	OPL or Neutrino for ISO	ISO; OPL also handles ZSO and UL split images	Supported; Neutrino cards must be on the game's device
iLink	OPL or Neutrino paths implemented	Local files	Launch remains pending hardware retest; see iLink status
Internal HDD, APA	OPL or Neutrino	HDLoader partitions	OPL supports VMC; Neutrino drops APA/PFS VMC with a warning
SMB	OPL	ISO, ZSO, UL	Server must permit writes for VMC saves
UDPFS Files / IMG and UDPBD	Neutrino	Files under CD/ / DVD/, or a served FAT/exFAT disk image	Depends on backend and write access; see Neutrino
HTTP	OPL	ISO listed in games.csv; compressed images refuse to launch	No VMC; use physical memory cards

Neutrino does not read local ZSO or UL split images. A compatible UDPFS server can instead decompress an image on the PC and expose it to the console as an ISO; that is server-side support. ELF apps and PS1 games have their own launch paths, described below.

Note

OPL is developed continuously - anyone can contribute improvements to the project due to its open-source nature.

You can visit the Open PS2 Loader forum at:
https://www.psx-place.com/forums/open-ps2-loader-opl.77/

You can report compatibility game problems at:
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/open-ps2-loader-game-bug-reports.19401/

For historical upstream OPL compatibility reports (not a current RiptOPL compatibility guarantee), visit:
http://sx.sytes.net/oplcl/games.aspx

Major Features Overview

This section is a fast feature map to improve discoverability of core OPL capabilities and reduce setup friction for first-time and returning users.

• MMCE support: OPL supports MMCE devices using the Memory Card Mass Storage protocol for SD-based loading through the Memory Card slot.
• MX4SIO support: OPL supports MX4SIO adapters for SD-based loading through the Memory Card slot. See the USB/MMCE/MX4SIO/iLink section for filesystem and layout guidance.
• Internal HDD exFAT support: the internal ATA HDD can be loaded as exFAT — mounted through the Block Device Manager (BDMAssault / "BDMA") into the same massN: namespace as USB/MX4SIO — in addition to APA/PFS, including GPT partitioning for large disks, for PS2 and PS1 (POPSTARTER) games. See the HDD section for formatting, the BDMA equip, and fragmentation guidance.
• Themes: Place theme assets in the THM folder, then select and apply themes from OPL settings. This fork ships a built-in <Coverflow> cover-carousel theme (the default) — see the Theme Engine reference to author your own themes.
• Cheats / PS2RD: OPL supports PS2RD .cht cheat files from the CHT folder, with both auto-apply and launch-time selection modes.
• Pad emulation (DS3/DS4): On any build with PADEMU (the default), a DualShock 3 or DualShock 4 plugged into the console's USB port can navigate the OPL menu right away, with nothing to enable first. To play games with it, turn on Pad Emulator under Settings, then Controller Settings (globally, or per game via Game Settings). One caveat: pad emulation shares the SIO2 bus with MX4SIO SD-card loading, so running both can cause a game to hang on a black screen; leave Pad Emulator off if you boot from an MX4SIO card.
• GSM (video mode handling): Builds that include GSM allow game video mode handling/overrides for display compatibility.
• VMC (Virtual Memory Cards): Create and use VMC images (8MB to 64MB) via the VMC folder and per-game options.
• Per-game settings workflow: Highlight a game, open Game Settings, adjust options (such as compatibility modes, cheats, GSM, PADEMU, and VMC), then save so settings persist per title.
• App launching (APPS + config methods): OPL can launch homebrew ELFs using either conf_apps.cfg entries or per-app title.cfg metadata in APPS subfolders.

This Fork's Additions

This build layers several features on top of upstream OPL:

• <Coverflow> theme (built-in, and the default): a centered cover-art carousel for the game/app list, with an alpha-faded reflection, animated scrolling, a configurable cover count, and aspect-correct covers in both 4:3 and widescreen. Tune it live under Coverflow Settings (shown while the Coverflow theme is active). Authoring details and every theme value live in the Theme Engine reference.
• Per-device theme placement (devices=): themes can position the device icon, the games list and the button hints differently per device page (e.g. pin the MMCE icon top-right while every other page keeps the shared spot). Add devices=usb,hdd,… to a MenuIcon, ItemsList or HintText block; the unfiltered element automatically stands down on the pages a filtered one covers. Existing themes are untouched. See Theme Engine reference §5.
• Cover-art .tar archive (opt-in): keep all of a device's covers in a single uncompressed ART/art.tar (entries named <GAMEID>_<suffix>.png; VCD entries first use the filename without .VCD, or the displayed PP.<name> / __.<name> install name, then fall back to a parsed PS1 ID) instead of thousands of loose files. Enable Cover Art .tar Archive under Interface → Artwork Settings (default off); when on, each cover is read from the archive and falls back to the loose .png when it isn't there, so the two coexist. A small art_cache.bin index written beside the archive lets later boots skip the re-scan. The format matches wOPL/sOPL art packs, so existing .tar packs work unchanged.
• Favorites tab: press R3 on any game to star it; a virtual Favorites page (alongside the device tabs, switched on in Game Sources) gathers your starred games from every device into one list, and a star marks favorited titles everywhere. Favorites are stored in a shared favourites.bin, and RiptOPL will import an existing uOPL / wOPL favourites.bin file if it finds one. This is a one-way import: the next favorites write replaces that file with RiptOPL’s OFAV format, which those loaders cannot read back. Keep a copy of the original if you also use them. Favorites always has its own independent L3 ring: All in One → PS2 → PS1 → ELF. The selected row's real type controls its actions and launcher even in All in One; the global device-game display setting does not pin or disable this page.
• Optional APPS / PS1ELF split: APPS Display defaults to Mixed, with every configured ELF in one list and L3 inert. Choose Apps / PS1ELF (L3) to move entries whose displayed title contains [PS1] (case-insensitive) onto a second L3 view. This only organizes the list; both views still launch ordinary configured ELFs.
• Folder browsing (opt-in): turn on Browse Folders in Game List in Settings to have subdirectories inside your CD / DVD folders appear as browsable entries (grouped at the top of the list, shown with a trailing /). Select a folder to open it, and press the cancel button to go back up — a breadcrumb in the page title shows where you are. Each folder view is just the normal game list, so covers, favorites, coverflow and per-game settings all work inside folders. Works on USB / MX4SIO / iLink / internal-BDM, MMCE and UDPFS-Files. Left off, a flat library looks and behaves exactly as before.
• Controller vibration in the menus (on by default): toggle Controller Vibration in Menus in Settings for a little haptic tap as you move around — a light tick when the cursor moves, a slightly firmer bump on confirm / cancel / notifications, and one when OPL finishes booting and the menu is ready. Needs a DualShock in analog mode (a digital-only or clone pad simply won't buzz); DS3/DS4/DS5 pads are supported on builds with pad emulation. Left off, nothing changes.

Credit and licence — Neutrino is created by rickgaiser, and its official home is https://github.com/rickgaiser/neutrino. Neutrino is an independent PS2 device emulator, not part of RiptOPL and not our work. Release packaging normally bundles the official latest build, re-fetched at publish time (download/extraction failures can omit it; check the release notes), under its AFL-3.0 licence. We add exactly one file to that folder — config/bsd-udpfsbd.toml, because Neutrino ships udpfs_bd.irx without a matching -bsd token and RiptOPL launches UDPFS as -bsd=udpfsbd. Nothing of rickgaiser's is altered or removed. RiptOPL is one of several front-ends built on Neutrino, alongside NHDDL, XEB+ Plugin, RETROLauncher, OSD-XMB and PSBBN/BBNL. Please report launching problems to us — the argument building and hand-off are ours — and genuine Neutrino bugs upstream.

• Neutrino external core (per-game): hand a game off to an external neutrino.elf instead of OPL's built-in core, chosen per title, with custom launch flags you can set globally and per-game. See docs/NEUTRINO.md.

• UDPBD network boot (Neutrino): stream games from a PC over the LAN as a network block device — they show up as a UDPBD Games list with full covers and per-game settings, just like a local drive. UDPBD launches via Neutrino, is mutually exclusive with SMB (they share the one network adapter), and needs a static PS2 IP (the default is 192.168.1.10); the fork's network protocol defaults to Off — pick UDPFS or UDPBD in Network and it loads live (a restart is only needed to switch away from a protocol already loaded). Confirming Network Settings applies the current values and reconnects immediately; if the first connection fails, press Select / Refresh on the failed network page to retry it. Run it from the PS2 Servers all-in-one PC launcher. See the network-boot section of docs/NEUTRINO.md.

• HTTP library (new): point RiptOPL at a server meeting the HTTP client response profile, and it reads a games.csv catalog and streams the ISOs straight off it through OPL’s own core. The PC side is Docmine17’s HTTP server, adopted with permission and used unmodified — existing catalogs and folder layouts need no conversion. Pick HTTP under Network → Protocol, set the address, port (default 1100) and base path, then use Test HTTP server. No VMC, no Neutrino and no PS1 over HTTP, and it has not been hardware-tested yet. See docs/HTTP.md.

• UDPFS network boot (Neutrino): a newer network transport (Neutrino's UDPRDMA) offered alongside UDPBD. The network controls are split across two pages: Game Sources holds the Network Start Mode row (Off / Manual / Auto), and Network holds Protocol (SMB / UDPFS / UDPBD / HTTP), SMB Version (SMBv1 / SMB2, live only while Protocol is SMB), and Access (Files / IMG — locked to Files for SMB/HTTP and to IMG for UDPBD, free only for UDPFS). UDPFS launches via -bsd=udpfsbd with a bundled bsd-udpfsbd.toml. Use the PS2 Servers all-in-one PC launcher for UDPFS, SMB and UDPBD; advanced users can run pcm720/udpfsd directly. Same static-IP and SMB-exclusivity rules as UDPBD.

• PS1 games — two cores, one list: RiptOPL plays PS1 titles through two cores, and both appear together in a single PS1 library. PS2/PS1 Game Display decides whether a device presents separate PS2/PS1 views, one combined list with L3 filters, or one locked library.

  • POPSTARTER runs *.VCD files from <device>:/POPS/.
  • Ember runs *.cue / *.bin / *.exe from <device>:/EMBER/games/<Game Name>/.

  The two are interleaved and sorted as one library, so a game you hold for both cores simply shows twice. Which core runs a title is a property of that row, decided when you launch it — there is nothing to configure and no third toggle.

  Setting Ember up. The release package contains a ready-made EMBER/ folder; copy it to the root of a device, beside POPS/. Then add your own PS1 BIOS as EMBER/bios.bin (exactly 512 KB) — a BIOS is copyrighted, so it is never distributed with RiptOPL, and the folder ships with a placeholder file whose name says so. Finally give each game its own folder:

  <device>:/EMBER/
      ember.elf
      bios.bin                       <- yours, 512 KB
      games/
          Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage)/
              whatever.cue
              whatever.bin
  

  The folder name is what you see in the list, and it is also the key for cover art and per-game settings — so ART/Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage)_COV.png on that device just works, exactly as it does for a .VCD. Files inside can be named anything; .cue is preferred over .exe over .bin. Ember writes its per-game memory cards (MC1.vmc, MC2.vmc) into that same folder, so it must be on writable media. Available on USB, MX4SIO, iLink, exFAT-ATA, MMCE, SMB, the internal APA/PFS hard drive, UDPFS and UDPBD. The two UDP network pages list Ember only; ordinary device pages merge Ember and POPSTARTER rows.

  On an internal APA/PFS drive, where there is no filesystem root to copy a folder to, the EMBER/ folder goes on a partition of its own: __.EMBER, or __.EMBER0 … __.EMBER9 if you want more than one. That is deliberately the same naming shape as the __.POPS containers that hold your .VCD files, so there is only one convention to remember.

  The partition is self-contained — the layout inside it is exactly the one above, starting at the partition root:

  hdd0:__.EMBER
      EMBER/
          ember.elf
          bios.bin                   <- yours, 512 KB
          games/
              Spyro 2 (Ripto's Rage)/
                  whatever.cue
                  whatever.bin
  

  Cover art is unchanged and does not go here — ART/<Game Name>_COV.png on your OPL data partition, the same place and the same key a .VCD uses.

  One difference is worth knowing about, because it is the reason this works at all: an APA Ember title is launched with its partition still mounted. Ember inherits that live mount instead of re-opening the drive for itself, which is also why the partition is mounted read/write — Ember's memory cards and settings.txt are written straight through it.

  Credit and licence — Ember is created by Gageformer, and its official release page is https://github.com/Gageformer/Ember/releases. Ember is an independent PS1 emulator written from scratch for the PS2; it is not part of RiptOPL and is not our work. We bundle it unmodified and with the author's blessing, under the Ember Public Beta Testing Licence, which ships in the release package as EMBER/LICENSE-BETA.txt and governs the build it accompanies. That licence permits non-commercial bundling but prohibits selling, modifying or repackaging the build. Ember contains no PlayStation BIOS and no game data — you supply your own, from hardware and media you lawfully own. Please report Ember problems to us first rather than to Gageformer: the launching is ours.

  Ember display mode. The PS Emulation Settings page carries an Ember Display Mode setting (Default / 240p / 480p). Ember's settings.txt is an optional file, and this keeps it that way. Choose 240p or 480p and RiptOPL writes that key into <device>:/EMBER/settings.txt when you launch an Ember title — creating the file if it is not there, updating it in place if it is, and on the launching device only. Choose Default and it goes back to having no setting: the key is removed, and so is the file if that key was all it held. Any other lines you or a future Ember put in there are preserved throughout, and Default never creates a file that was not already there.

• Alternate POPSTARTER builds: the release package ships POPS/POPSTARTER VERSIONS/ containing five builds of POPSTARTER — MAIN, DEBUG, USBDELAY, USBDELAY_DEBUG and USBDELAY_LONGER_DEBUG. To switch, copy the POPSTARTER.ELF you want over POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF on your device; nothing in RiptOPL selects them for you. The USBDELAY* builds give USB devices longer to settle before POPSTARTER reads them, and the *DEBUG* builds print diagnostics on screen — use one of those when reporting a POPSTARTER problem.

  The shipped POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF is the DEBUG build, and that is deliberate — it is the build with SMB support, so it is the right default for the package. On-screen POPSTARTER diagnostics during a VCD launch are expected and are not a fault. Do not overwrite it with MAIN unless you are certain you do not need SMB; the alternate builds are here for the USBDELAY cases.

• Where POPSTARTER's VCDs come from: the PS1 library belongs to a device page, not a separate device tab. The shared PS2/PS1 Game Display setting is shown on both Interface and PS Emulation Settings. Both (L3) (the default) switches between separate PS2 and PS1 views; Mixed starts with both in one list and L3 cycles Mixed → PS2 → PS1; PS2 and PS1 lock every applicable device page to one library and make L3 fully inert (no hint, sound, notification, or pause). APPS and Favorites remain independent. A *.VCD row boots through POPSTARTER — never OPL's own core and never Neutrino, so the Loader Core selector is inert for it. POPSTARTER VCDs work on USB / MMCE / MX4SIO / SMB and the internal HDD — both APA (exact __.POPS[0-9]? containers plus PP.<name> / __.<name> one-game partitions containing IMAGE0.VCD) and exFAT (BDMA; PS1 games in massN:/POPS/). Ember's half of the list has its own device coverage, noted above. The iLink POPSTARTER path is wired but still awaiting a passing hardware test: RiptOPL reads POPS/usbd.irx.ilink and POPS/usbhdfsd.irx.ilink, copies them to the memory card without the .ilink suffix, and hands POPSTARTER the normal local-device XX. selector, but revision 2692 returned to wLaunchELF in all four SDK flavours. Every BDMA pair ships as loose files in POPS/; none is embedded in RIPTOPL.ELF. UDPFS and UDPBD also expose a PS1 view, but those network pages list Ember titles only: Ember inherits the live connection, while POPSTARTER's IOP reset cannot restore either network transport. See docs/VCD.md.

• Core-aware per-game settings: the per-game screen adapts to the selected Loader Core — under Neutrino it greys the panels Neutrino ignores (GSM, Cheats, PADEMU, OSD Language and the OPL-only compat modes) and offers a structured Neutrino Video picker (Off / 240p / 480p / 1080i) plus a Neutrino-only Mode 7 (-gc=7). Its global Default Device picker can also target a complete neutrino/ folder on iLink explicitly. iLink is a FAT-model Neutrino backend; post-2692 builds automatically pair -bsd=ilink with -qb so Neutrino keeps the mounted iLink environment RiptOPL hands it. See docs/NEUTRINO.md.

• Category settings layout: the start menu's settings are organised into eight category pages instead of one flat list — Game Sources (device selection + start modes), General & System, Network, Interface (theme, artwork, Coverflow, PS2/PS1 Game Display), Game Launching (incl. the global Neutrino/OSD defaults), PS Emulation Settings (both PS1 cores: POPSTARTER and Ember, plus the same PS2/PS1 Game Display picker shown on Interface), Controller Settings and Audio Settings — each with chained sub-pages, plus a Save Changes entry at the foot of the index. Leaving the start/settings menu returns to the page you paused on when it is still visible; it no longer falls back to the first USB page.

• DualSense / DualShock 5 (USB): optional controller support — available in the prebuilt RIPTOPL-VARIANTS-*.zip release bundle (one ELF per SDK flavour), or build with make DUALSENSE=1.

• 1080p GSM video mode: forced progressive 1080p (1920×1080) GSM mode is built directly into all standard builds (make GSM1080P=1). Selecting 1080p in the per-game GSM picker is guarded by a three-step confirmation; if a game loses the picture, disable/change its GSM override before relaunching. Triangle + Cross at boot affects only the OPL menu and requires a 480p-capable display/connection.

• Ready-to-use defaults: a fresh install boots with sensible options already enabled — widescreen, cover art, notifications, sound effects + boot sound, delete/rename, and the PS2 logo. Video mode stays Auto. Every storage device ships off, so the first boot lands on the start menu with no tabs — enable exactly the devices your console has under Game Sources. Change any of it under Settings.

• Private master settings, shared support files: settings_riptopl.cfg is separate from stock OPL's master file. Other configuration and data can still be shared; favorites migration from uOPL/wOPL is one-way. See Where your files live.

How to use

Folder-based PS2 libraries use the following support folders under their configured library prefix. APA uses its selected PFS data partition. HTTP uses local support folders beside the active settings home; it does not open these folders on the server. Availability also depends on the core:

Folder	Description	Modes
CD	for games on CD media - i.e. blue-bottom discs	All folder devices¹
DVD	for DVD5 and DVD9 images (if filesystem supports +4gb files)	All folder devices¹
VMC	Virtual Memory Card images (headline save feature): stored in VMC/, typically 8MB to 64MB, then assigned per game via Game Settings	See source/core table
CFG	for saving per-game configuration files	See source/core table
ART	for game art images	See source/core table
THM	for themes support	See source/core table
LNG	for translation support	See source/core table
CHT	for cheats files	See source/core table
APPS	for ELF files	See source/core table

¹ Folder-based devices — USB, MMCE, MX4SIO, iLink, SMB, and the exFAT (BDM) HDD — keep games as files in the CD/DVD folders. The APA/PFS HDD instead stores games as HDLoader partitions (no CD/DVD folders), while still using CFG/ART/VMC/THM/CHT/LNG/APPS on the configured OPL data partition (+OPL root by default, or __common/OPL/ for the legacy layout).

Per-game settings are stored per title in the CFG context. Typical use cases include compatibility toggles, video options (GSM), cheat toggles, and assigning a VMC file from the VMC folder to that game.

RiptOPL attempts to create support folders when you enable a writable source. Read-only sources need preparation on the server or PC; enabling a device does not format a disk or create APA partitions.

For APA, RiptOPL uses existing partitions only: a usable hdd_partition selection in hdd0:__common/OPL/conf_hdd.cfg, then an existing +OPL, then __common/OPL/. If no suitable data partition exists it fails without creating one. See HDD.

HDDs are also able to be formatted as exFAT to avoid the 2TB limitation. Please see below in the HDD section for more details on this configuration.

Where your files live

settings_riptopl.cfg holds RiptOPL's master settings; an older conf_riptopl.cfg is imported on read and migrated on save. The normal settings home starts with the loader's boot directory and uses discovery/fallbacks when that location cannot be used. Custom Settings Path can select a different home. Check the active location instead of assuming all settings are on mc0:/OPL/.

Network configuration (conf_network.cfg), app lists, per-game settings, artwork, themes and VMCs can still be shared with other OPL installations. Separate master filenames do not isolate these files. Favorites import from uOPL/wOPL is one-way: saving writes RiptOPL's own OFAV format.

PS2 folders follow the source's configured library prefix. Local PS1 POPS/ and EMBER/ live at the device root, even if PS2 games use a subfolder. APA has its own partition layouts, covered in PS1/VCD. HTTP's CFG/, ART/ and CHT/ are local folders under the active settings home; placing them on the HTTP server does not make the console load them from there.

USB/MMCE/MX4SIO/iLink

Supported file systems: FAT32 and exFAT are the usual folder-based layouts. MBR is the conventional setup for USB and SD media; partition-table support also depends on the device/driver. For large internal disks, see HDD for GPT/exFAT. This section applies to MMCE and MX4SIO SD setups, USB storage, and iLink SBP2 storage.

Warning

Revision 2692 iLink status is not a blanket pass. On an SCPH-39001, Ember passed from the same IEEE 1394 disk in all four SDK flavours, while the native OPL core, Neutrino, and POPSTARTER failed at their reset/handoff boundaries. The current code corrects a confirmed RiptOPL-side Neutrino handoff mismatch (-qb was not auto-emitted for iLink); only hardware retesting can establish whether that was the complete cause. POPSTARTER's external .ilink BDMA equip and mass:/POPS/XX.<name>.ELF handoff are present, but remain unconfirmed, and the native OPL iLink reset path is still under investigation. See Neutrino and PS1/VCD for the exact status and isolation checks.

Note

MX4SIO game launch requires the matching PS2SDK freesio2 module to load before mx4sio_bd after OPL resets the game IOP. See MX4SIO game-launch notes for the dependency, regression history, and hardware test checklist.

Game files should be ideally defragmented either file by file or by whole drive.

Fragmentation has a bounded budget. OPL’s BDM reader shares a 64-entry fragment table across the game image parts; Neutrino’s block-device budget includes the ISO and VMCs together. Contiguous copies leave the most headroom.

If you choose to use the FAT32 file system, games larger than 4gb must use USBExtreme format (see OPLUtil or USBUtil programs).

If a fragment-limit error is reported, first try a fresh sequential copy with enough free space. Back up all data before considering a reformat; a screen colour alone does not diagnose fragmentation.

SMB

For loading games by SMB protocol, you need to share a folder (ex: PS2SMB) on the host machine or NAS device and grant read access for game loading. Write access is also needed for VMC saves and changes to files stored on the share. USB Advance/Extreme format is optional - *.ISO images are supported using the folder structure above.

SMB version: the Network page has an SMB Version row (SMBv1 / SMB2) directly under Protocol, live only while Protocol is SMB (greyed out otherwise). It defaults to SMBv1; setting it to SMB2 switches both sides — browsing loads the SMB2 driver instead of the SMBv1 one, and so does the in-game reader — so the server must speak SMB2 for the whole session.

RiptOPL network defaults: the network protocol selector defaults to Off — under Game Sources set Network Start Mode to Manual or Auto, then in Network set Protocol to SMB, before the NET Games tab appears. Network Config ships static defaults (PS2 192.168.1.10, PC 192.168.1.100, share games, user guest); adjust them to your LAN. The default SMB Port is 1111 — a non-privileged port (>1024), so a server binds it without admin/root. Network Config now opens with advanced options on, so the Port field (and ETH link mode) are editable immediately. If Windows 10/11 has disabled SMB1/NTLMv1, set SMB Version to SMB2; the PS2 Servers all-in-one launcher remains the fallback for SMBv1-only setups. Choose its SMBv1 server, then set RiptOPL's IP, port, share and credentials to the values the launcher displays. Its documented custom SMBv1 port is 1111, matching RiptOPL’s default. Windows’ built-in server or a NAS may use a different port; enter the value that server actually listens on. Release packages include PS2-Servers.url as a direct shortcut to the repository.

HDD

Both PS2 HDD types are off by default in RiptOPL — enable the one you use under Game Sources. For PS2, 48-bit LBA internal HDDs are supported. The HDD can be formatted as:

• APA partitioning with PFS filesystem (up to 2TB)
  • RiptOPL mounts an existing data partition. A usable hdd_partition selection in __common/OPL/conf_hdd.cfg takes priority, followed by existing +OPL, then __common/OPL/. No partition is created, resized or formatted. +OPL uses its root for support folders; __common uses OPL/.
• MBR partitioning (up to 2TB) or GPT partitioning (capacities above the MBR limit, subject to the driver and tested hardware) with the exFAT filesystem
  • Enable BDM HDD in Game Sources. The exFAT HDD then mounts through the Block Device Manager (BDMAssault / "BDMA") into the shared massN: namespace — the same path as USB/MX4SIO — and appears as an HDD (exFAT) games list with the HDD icon.
  • Files should be added contiguously or synchronously to avoid fragmentation. For example, drag and drop files one at a time, or ensure that files are added sequentially.
  • When formatting drives for the exFAT filesystem, please make sure the Allocation unit size is set to Default.
  • PS1 games: PS1 *.VCD titles in the HDD's POPS/ folder list under the L3 PS1 view like any other device. To boot them, open PS Emulation Settings → BDMA Settings from the main menu. VCD BDMA Apply on Launch is on by default and equips the matching exFAT driver automatically; turn it off to reveal the manual BDMA Source / BDMA Mode pickers and set BDMA Mode → HDD (exFAT) by hand so POPSTARTER can read the exFAT volume. See docs/VCD.md.

APPS

There are two supported methods for adding apps to OPL. Keep both available and choose the one that fits your setup:

• Use legacy conf_apps.cfg when you want one central list and/or apps stored anywhere on supported devices.
• Prefer folder-based title.cfg when you want each app self-contained inside APPS/<APP_FOLDER>/.

conf_apps.cfg method (Legacy)

Each entry uses Display Name=DevicePathToELF:

• Left side: the name shown in the OPL app list.
• Right side: full device/path to the ELF.

To begin:

1. Create a text file called conf_apps.cfg.
2. In this file, put the name you want to appear in the list of apps, followed by the "=" sign.
3. Add the device prefix and ELF path (for example mass: for USB/MX4SIO/iLink/exFAT-HDD, mmce0: for MMCE, mc0: for the Memory Card, or hdd0:/pfs0: for the APA HDD), then the file path to the ELF.

NOTE: Enter the exact path and exact letter case. OPL is case-sensitive.

The structure should look like this:

My App Name=mass:APPS/MYAPP.ELF

let's use OPL itself as an example:

OPL=mass:APPS/RIPTOPL.ELF

With this method, ELFs do not need to be in APPS, but keeping them there can make your setup easier to manage.

RiptOPL checks mc?:OPL/conf_apps.cfg first, then conf_apps.cfg under each enabled source’s configured prefix; the first file found wins. With a default mass-device prefix, use mass0:/conf_apps.cfg. mass0:/OPL/conf_apps.cfg is only found through this route when OPL/ is that source’s configured prefix. Files are not merged into one legacy list.

title.cfg method

This method uses one title.cfg per app folder, with two required lines:

• title= for the app name shown in OPL.
• boot= for the ELF filename to launch.

To begin:

1. In APPS, create a folder for the app.
2. Put the ELF in that folder, and create a text file named title.cfg in the same folder.
3. In that file, add the following instructions:

title=My App Name
boot=MYAPP.ELF

Using OPL again as an example:

title=Open PS2 Loader
boot=RIPTOPL.ELF

In this method, both the ELF and title.cfg must be in the same folder under APPS.

NOTE: In both methods, pay close attention to file names because, as already mentioned, OPL is case-sensitive.

Cheats

OPL accepts .cht files in PS2RD format. Name them after the game’s startup ID, for example CHT/SLUS_123.45.cht. An uncompressed CHT/cht.tar containing <startup>.cht members is also supported, with loose files used as a fallback. Each cheat file corresponds to a specific game and must be stored in the CHT directory on your device. Cheats are structured as hexadecimal codes, with proper headers as descriptions to identify their function. You can activate cheats via OPL's graphical interface. Navigate to a games settings, enable cheats and select the desired mode.

Cheat Modes

• Auto Select Cheats:
  This mode will enable and apply all cheat codes in your .cht file to your game automatically.

• Select Game Cheats:
  When enabled a cheat selection menu will appear when you launch a game. You can navigate the menu and disable undesired cheats for this launch session. Master Codes cannot be disabled as they are required for any other cheats to be applied.

NBD Server

The built-in NBD server exports the PS2's internal drive to a PC for tools such as hdl-dump or pfs-shell. This is different from UDPBD/UDPFS, which serve game data from a PC to the PS2. Configure the console's IP (static or DHCP), choose Start NBD server, and connect only after the console reports that it is running. Disconnect the PC client before leaving the server screen.

See the NBD client setup guide for Linux, WSL and Windows examples. The implementation uses lwNBD and the NBD protocol.

ZSO Format

As of version 1.2.0, compressed ISO files in ZSO format is supported by OPL.

To handle ZSO files, a python script (ziso.py) is included in the pc folder of this repository. It requires Python 3 and the LZ4 library:

pip install lz4

To compress an ISO file to ZSO:

python pc/ziso.py -c 2 "input.iso" "output.zso"

To decompress a ZSO back to the original ISO:

python pc/ziso.py -c 0 "input.zso" "output.iso"

For OPL-core folder-based sources, copy ZSO files beside your ISOs. Local ZSO is not a Neutrino format, and HTTP refuses compressed-image launches; see the source table. To install onto internal HDD, you can use the latest version of HDL-Dump.

PS3 BC

Currently, supported only PS3 Backward Compatible (BC) versions. So only COK-001 and COK-002/COK-002W boards are supported. USB, SMB, HDD modes are supported.

To run OPL, you need an entry point for running PS2 titles. You can use everything (Swapmagic PS2, for example), but custom firmware with the latest Cobra is preferred. Note: only CFW supports HDD mode.

Some notes for DEVS

Repository scripts live in tools/; run them from the repository root. Existing Makefile targets retain their names and output locations.

Use one of the toolchain images in the CI matrix. Both pinned and rolling SDK images are supported; the latest SDK is not required. For a reproducible baseline, use the PS2DEVPINNED image digest from that matrix. From the repository root with Docker available:

docker run --rm -v "${PWD}:/src" -w /src ps2dev/ps2dev@sha256:8fba50ecc2229acd7f8da63d34302f12939b7d4fa6848dda1e6a0ce083321a11 make -j4

Use a clean checkout/build directory when changing SDK images. See the Makefile for flags such as DUALSENSE=1 and EXTRA_FEATURES=1; build success does not establish console compatibility.

OPL Archive

Successful archive uploads preserve rolling builds on MEGA under run-specific folders (RiptOPL/Rolling/<version>/run_<number>/). Uploads depend on publishing success and configured credentials; superseded or failed runs may have no archive. The archive includes installable packages, source and build metadata; VARIANTS and DEBUG bundles are excluded. You can access it by clicking the MEGA badge at the top of this readme or visiting the MEGA Rolling Archive.

Frequent Issues

OPL freezes on logo or grey screen

Hold START while RiptOPL initializes to skip saved configuration. If that restores the menu, review the active settings location, configure the required source, save, and retry a normal boot. This isolates configuration as a possibility; it does not diagnose every startup freeze.

Game freezes on white screen

A white or black launch screen alone does not identify the cause. Record the exact build/SDK, console, game ID, source and core. Check the image against a known-good dump and test with game overrides disabled. If the loader reports a fragment-limit error, try a fresh sequential copy. Back up the device before any reformat; do not reformat solely because of the screen colour.

OPL does not display anything on boot

Hold Triangle + Cross while RiptOPL initializes to force 480p for the OPL menu. Your display and connection must accept 480p. Once visible, choose a suitable menu mode under Interface and save. START skips saved configuration and uses defaults if you need to undo a saved menu setup.

The menu works, but launching a game loses the picture

Menu recovery does not clear game video settings. Open that game’s settings and disable/change its GSM override, or its Neutrino video options if that is the selected core. Check inherited global video defaults too. Retry with the game's normal video mode before adding overrides again.

Report RiptOPL regressions in this repository’s issue tracker. Include the version/SHA, SDK flavour, console model, game ID, storage/protocol, loader core, reproduction steps, relevant settings and any known-good build comparison. For upstream/community discussion, the OPL forum remains available.

External Tools & Services

RiptOPL is intended to work with these maintained companion tools:

• PS2-Servers by Ripto — all-in-one PC server launcher for SMB, UDPFS, UDPBD and HTTP.
• udpfs-server by YouKnow-sys — the same idea from a phone: an Android app that shares folders and disk images to the PS2 over UDPFS, found by broadcast so there is no server address to type in on the console. Works over a router or a direct cable. Built on udpfsd by pcm720; MIT licensed. A udpfs-server.url shortcut ships in installable packages.
• OrbitPS2 Manager by Luden — cross-platform PC library manager for importing discs, artwork/screenshots, ZSO compression, per-game settings and VMC management.
• OPL PS1 AIO Converter GUI by shaan — Windows all-in-one PS1/POPStarter preparation tool for converting BIN/CUE backups to VCDs and installing them to USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, iLink, exFAT HDD, SMB and APA internal HDD.
• xeRAbora by hacan359 — the PC client for RetroAchievements on real PS2 hardware. RiptOPL's RA build streams the running game's memory to it; xeRAbora runs rcheevos, talks to the RetroAchievements servers and unlocks the achievements. It also builds the per-game watch list the console needs. Shipped as a shortcut inside RIPTOPL-RA-*.zip; MIT licensed. RiptOPL’s RA integration is not yet hardware-tested.
• OPL HTTP PC server by Docmine17 — the PC side of RiptOPL’s HTTP protocol: a small static HTTP server with byte-range support that serves your games.csv catalog and streams the ISOs themselves. RiptOPL works with it unmodified — no new API, no catalog conversion, no changed folder layout — with host conformance checks against his server. PS2 hardware validation is still pending. The HTTP design and the byte-range reader RiptOPL follows are his, adopted with permission.
• PS2RD CHT Manager by TheRealNextria — PC manager for the PS2RD .cht cheat files RiptOPL reads from your device's CHT folder. A PS2RD-CHT-Manager.url shortcut ships in installable packages.
• Ember by Gageformer — a PS1 emulator that runs natively on the PS2, used as RiptOPL's second PS1 core alongside POPSTARTER. Unlike the others this one is not just a shortcut: an EMBER/ folder ships inside the release package, ready to drop onto a device. It is bundled unmodified with the author's permission under the Ember Public Beta Testing Licence (EMBER/LICENSE-BETA.txt in the package); releases: https://github.com/Gageformer/Ember/releases.
• POPStarter by krHACKen — a PS1 launcher built around Sony's native POPS emulator for the PS2, used as RiptOPL's primary PS1 core alongside Ember. POPStarter provides the compatibility and launch layer for running PS1 VCDs from USB, MX4SIO, MMCE, iLink, internal HDD, and SMB; RiptOPL's iLink handoff is wired but still awaiting a passing hardware retest. The official POPStarter r13 package contains no Sony emulator binaries, libraries, or BIOS files; those components must be supplied separately by the user. Official download, documentation, compatibility information, and releases are maintained on PSX-Place.
• Neutrino by rickgaiser — a "Small, Fast and Modular PS2 Device Emulator", and RiptOPL's second PS2 loader core alongside OPL's own. Like Ember it is not a shortcut: a ready-to-use neutrino/ folder normally ships inside the installable package (check release notes for download/extraction omissions), drag-and-drop to mc?:/neutrino/. Neutrino is deliberately UI-agnostic — it has no interface of its own, which is exactly what lets a front-end like RiptOPL drive it per game. Licensed AFL-3.0; releases: https://github.com/rickgaiser/neutrino/releases.

Acknowledgements

This fork stands entirely on the shoulders of the PS2 homebrew community. None of this would exist without the ps2homebrew team and their many years of open-source work on Open PS2 Loader and the PS2SDK — kept free, open, and readable so that people like us can study it, learn from it, and build on it. Every feature in this fork began as their code and their ideas. We are deeply grateful that this work was shared openly; it is the only reason a fork like this is even possible.

RiptOPL is a direct agglomeration of the wider OPL family, bringing together features, code, and ideas from rickgaiser's OPL, neutrino, sOPL, uOPL, wOPL, OPL DB, POPSLoader, OPL RetroGEM ID by CosmicScale, nhddl, hacan359's RetroAchievements OPL, Modulo-R1, PS2-Launcher, and official OPL.

With special and sincere thanks to:

• KrahJohlito — the legend, and the single biggest influence on this fork. Creator of uOPL (Unofficial Open PS2 Loader) and its continuation wOPL, where the modern OPL experience was invented. The Neutrino external-core loader, the Coverflow interface, and the Favorites tab — the features that define RiptOPL — were designed and pioneered by him, and everything this fork does with them is a reimplementation of his work. We learned more reading his code than anywhere else, and RiptOPL is, above all, a tribute to it. Thank you.
• Wolf3s — for contributions across the wOPL effort and the wider OPL scene, and for past work on an independent uOPL fork that kept unique features and unmerged work alive. Thank you.
• bbsan2k — for the MMCE (Memory Card Mass Storage) protocol that makes SD-via-memory-card loading through the PS2's memory-card slot possible. OPL's MMCE support builds directly on it.
• hacan359 (yoba) — for RetroAchievements on real PS2 hardware, and for offering it to this fork rather than keeping it to his own. The design is his: the console works out which game an image is and streams the handful of memory addresses that game's achievements watch, while everything else — rcheevos, the RetroAchievements servers, your login — happens on the PC. He writes and maintains that PC client, xeRAbora (MIT), and RiptOPL neither ships one nor intends to. RiptOPL's RA support is a reimplementation of his work against his published wire protocol, shipped as its own RIPTOPL-RA-*.zip build with a shortcut to his client inside. Please report RiptOPL problems to us, not to him.
• saildot4k — for BDMA-ATA (exFAT internal-HDD block-device support), and the fixes, feedback, and oversight that shaped this fork's block-device work. A big piece of getting it right.
• eliminator1403 — for dedicated testing, bug reports, and real-hardware feedback that has repeatedly caught issues and shaped fixes across this fork. Invaluable QA.
• Berion — for the artwork and theme design that has shaped how OPL looks for years. The visual language this fork builds on owes a great deal to that craft.
• AdityaKumar7209 — whose Modulo-R1 project inspired this fork's folder browsing in the game list. We didn't use their code, but the idea of navigating game subfolders came from seeing it there — thank you for the spark.
• Irfanlesnar — creator of PS2-Launcher, for UI, feature ideas, and contributions across the OPL fork ecosystem.
• Ifcaro and jimmikaelkael — the original Open PS2 Loader authors — and every contributor across OPL's long history.

The wider Open PS2 Loader team

RiptOPL inherits the work of everyone who built Open PS2 Loader over the years. They are credited in full in CREDITS, and named here so this fork never obscures whose work it is built on:

• Core developers — Ifcaro, volca, jimmikaelkael, polo35, izdubar, hominem.te.esse and SP193, with the original main code based on Polo's HD Project.
• Contributing developers — BatRastard, crazyc, dlanor, doctorxyz, reprep, belek666, Maximus32 and misfire.
• Module authors — Eugene Plotnikov (SMSUTILS / SMSMAP / SMSTCPIP), Marcus R. Brown (DEV9 / ATAD and the derived cdvdman code), bbsan2k (MMCE), icyson55 (OPL-CL / network update), Eric Young (the DES algorithm in the SMB code), and the ps2dev team (USB / Network / PS2HDD modules from the PS2SDK).
• CI/CD — fjtrujy (Docker + GitHub Actions).
• UI & artwork — Berion.
• Quality assurance — RandQalan, yoshi314, EP, LocalH, lee4, El_Patas, ShaolinAssassin, algol, gledson999, jolek and zero35.

Real-hardware testing (this fork)

Enormous thanks to the testers who run rolling builds on real consoles and file the reports that shape the fixes — eliminator1403, lucaslmgv, AndrewBento, AcidReach, bodvenomz, nuno6573, zackcage6 and Blade1984.

The name (this fork)

RiptOPL is named by Akilluminati47 — he came up with it before the project existed, and it stuck. Every release, every build, every thread carries a name he thought of first.

Financial support (this fork)

Heartfelt thanks to Akilluminati47 for generously funding this fork's development — a kindness that keeps the rolling builds coming and is deeply appreciated.

If you want the canonical, actively-maintained project, it lives at ps2homebrew/Open-PS2-Loader — please support it. This fork is a downstream labor of love, not a replacement, and it exists only because that upstream work is open for everyone to learn from.