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Getting the game data — the WAD file

Every part of doomkit that runs real DOOM needs two separate things: the engine (the code, from upstream doomgeneric) and a WAD (the data — maps, textures, sprites, sounds, music). The engine is useless without a WAD, and this package ships neither. This page is the beginner's guide to the WAD half: what it is, where to get one legally, and how to point the engine at it.

The headless make run-null demo needs no WAD — it uses a fake engine and a generated test image. You only need a WAD once you link the real engine — for example the headless make run-null-engine WAD=... demo, or any real port (see PORTING.md and Running real DOOM).

What is a WAD?

WAD = "Where's All the Data". It's a single archive file (.wad) holding every asset the game uses, stored as named chunks called lumps. There are two kinds:

Kind Means Examples You need
IWAD Internal WAD — a complete, standalone game doom1.wad, DOOM.WAD, freedoom1.wad exactly one to play
PWAD Patch WAD — an add-on layered on top of an IWAD (custom maps/mods) community level packs optional, never on its own

For a first port you only care about getting one IWAD. You pass it to the engine with -iwad (see below).

Where to get a WAD (legally)

You have three legitimate options. Pick the first that fits.

1. Freedoom — free, legal to redistribute (recommended for ports & demos)

Freedoom is a completely free, open-content IWAD that runs on the DOOM engine. It is not id Software's data — it's an original replacement — so you may ship it with your port, put it in CI, and hand it to anyone. For doomkit's audience (new platforms, demos, automated builds) this is usually the right choice.

# Download the latest release (file names may differ by version):
#   freedoom1.wad  (Phase 1 — Doom-1-style, 1 episode usable in shareware-equivalent scope)
#   freedoom2.wad  (Phase 2 — Doom-2-style)
# from https://github.com/freedoom/freedoom/releases
./doom -iwad freedoom1.wad

2. The official DOOM shareware WAD — free to download, not to redistribute

The classic doom1.wad (≈4 MB, episode 1 only) was released as shareware and is free to download and use, but its license does not let you redistribute it (so don't commit it to a public repo). It's the file most DOOM-port tutorials assume. It ships inside the original shareware installer; many DOOM source-port projects also mirror it. A commonly-used direct download (mirrored for exactly this purpose, and referenced by many "DOOM on X" guides):

curl -L -o doom1.wad https://distro.ibiblio.org/slitaz/sources/packages/d/doom1.wad
./doom -iwad doom1.wad

Mirrors come and go — if that link is dead, search for "doom1.wad shareware" or grab it from any DOOM source port's downloads. Whatever you download, verify it with the checksum below before trusting it; the shareware doom1.wad is MD5 f0cefca49926d00903cf57551d901abe.

3. A retail WAD you already own

If you own DOOM, DOOM II, Final DOOM, or a store re-release (Steam, GOG, the 2019/2020 re-releases), the IWAD (DOOM.WAD, DOOM2.WAD, etc.) is in the game's install folder. You may use your own copy; you may not give it to others.

Rule of thumb: want to share your port with the WAD included → Freedoom. Just testing on your own machine → any of the three.

Pointing the engine at your WAD

The engine reads a command-line flag:

./doom -iwad /path/to/freedoom1.wad
  • The path can be absolute or relative to where you run the program.
  • If you omit -iwad, the engine searches its built-in default locations and a few environment variables (e.g. DOOMWADDIR) and will exit with an error if it finds nothing — that error means "no WAD", not "broken port".
  • Drag-and-drop / file-picker platforms (the browser/wasm example) load the WAD's bytes a different way — you select the file in the page and it's written into the in-memory filesystem before the engine boots. See examples/platforms/wasm/.

Verify what you downloaded

WADs from the open internet vary (different versions, repacks, corruption). If something looks wrong, check the file's MD5 against a known value:

md5sum freedoom1.wad     # Linux
md5 freedoom1.wad        # macOS

Then compare against the checksum on the project's release page (Freedoom publishes them; retail/shareware MD5s are catalogued by the source-port community). A mismatch explains "the engine refuses to start" or "weird textures" before you go hunting in your own code.

Common WAD problems

Symptom Likely cause
Error: IWAD not found / engine exits at startup No -iwad given and none in the default paths. Pass -iwad /path/to/file.wad.
PWAD ... is not an IWAD or similar You passed a patch/add-on WAD as the main game. Use an IWAD (table above).
Wrong/garbled maps or missing levels Version mismatch (e.g. a Doom-1 engine path with a Doom-2 WAD), or a corrupt download — verify the checksum.
Works on your machine, fails for others You used a non-redistributable WAD. Ship Freedoom instead.

See also: PORTING.md for the full build-and-run walkthrough and GLOSSARY.md for any unfamiliar terms.