dolphin-emu/dolphin

Analysis updated 2026-06-24 · repo last pushed 2026-05-21

★ 15,022C++Audience · generalComplexity · 4/5MaintainedLicenseSetup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((dolphin))
    Inputs
      Game disc images
      Save files
      Movie replays
    Outputs
      Game video
      Game audio
      Converted ISOs
    Use Cases
      Play GameCube games
      Play Wii games
      Record speedruns
    Tech Stack
      C++
      CMake
      Vulkan
      OpenGL
      Direct3D

mindmap root((dolphin)) Inputs Game disc images Save files Movie replays Outputs Game video Game audio Converted ISOs Use Cases Play GameCube games Play Wii games Record speedruns Tech Stack C++ CMake Vulkan OpenGL Direct3D

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Play Nintendo GameCube and Wii games on a PC at higher resolutions

USE CASE 2

Replay or record TAS-style game movies for speedrunning

USE CASE 3

Use the dolphin-tool CLI to convert and verify Wii or GameCube disc images

USE CASE 4

Build a custom Dolphin from source on Apple Silicon for native macOS performance

What is it built with?

C++CMakeVulkanOpenGLDirect3D

How does it compare?

	dolphin-emu/dolphin	tencent/rapidjson	ardupilot/ardupilot
Stars	15,022	15,056	15,071
Language	C++	C++	C++
Last pushed	2026-05-21	2025-02-05	2026-05-21
Maintenance	Maintained	Stale	Maintained
Setup difficulty	hard	easy	hard
Complexity	4/5	3/5	5/5
Audience	general	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

Building from source needs a C++20 toolchain on each platform, running games well requires a modern CPU and a GPU that supports Direct3D 11.1, OpenGL 3.3, or Vulkan.

GPL version 2 or later: you can use, modify, and redistribute the code, but any distributed changes must also be released under the same GPL terms.

In plain English

Dolphin is an emulator for Nintendo's GameCube and Wii consoles. An emulator is a program that mimics the hardware of a game system on a different computer, so that the original software thinks it is running on the real machine. With Dolphin, you can run GameCube and Wii games on a PC instead of the original console. The program runs on Windows 10 (build 1903 or higher), Linux, macOS 11 Big Sur or higher, and recent Android devices (7.0 Nougat or higher). The README is explicit about hardware needs: a CPU with SSE2 support, with a modern dual-core processor at 3 GHz or higher recommended, plus a graphics card supporting Direct3D 11.1 or OpenGL 3.3 at minimum. On Android the device needs a 64-bit processor and OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher. The code is licensed under GPL version 2 or later. Most of the README is build instructions. On Windows you open a Visual Studio solution file and build with MSVC. On Linux and macOS you use CMake with a recent GCC or Clang that supports C++20. On macOS you can build either a single-architecture binary or a universal binary that works on both Intel and Apple Silicon. On Linux there are global, local, and portable build flavors, where portable means the install can live on external storage. Dolphin can also be driven from the command line, with options to load a file, replay a movie, set configuration values, pick a video backend (Direct3D, OpenGL, Vulkan, or a software renderer), and choose between high-level or low-level audio emulation. A separate dolphin-tool program handles tasks like converting and verifying disc images. The full README is longer than what was shown.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Build Dolphin from source on Ubuntu using CMake and a C++20 capable GCC, listing the apt packages needed

Prompt 2

Walk me through producing a universal macOS binary of Dolphin that works on both Intel and Apple Silicon

Prompt 3

Show me the command-line flags for Dolphin to load a game with the Vulkan backend and a specific config file

Prompt 4

Use dolphin-tool to convert a GameCube ISO to RVZ format and verify the integrity afterwards

Prompt 5

Compare Direct3D, OpenGL, and Vulkan backends in Dolphin and explain when to pick each one

Frequently asked questions

What is dolphin?

Dolphin is a Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulator that runs original console games on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, with command-line tools for disc image handling.

What language is dolphin written in?

Mainly C++. The stack also includes C++, CMake, Vulkan.

Is dolphin actively maintained?

Maintained — commit in last 6 months (last push 2026-05-21).

What license does dolphin use?

GPL version 2 or later: you can use, modify, and redistribute the code, but any distributed changes must also be released under the same GPL terms.

How hard is dolphin to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.

Who is dolphin for?

Mainly general.

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