# Building melonDS * [Linux](#linux) * [Windows](#windows) * [macOS](#macos) ## Linux 1. Install dependencies: * Ubuntu: * All versions: `sudo apt install cmake extra-cmake-modules libcurl4-gnutls-dev libpcap0.8-dev libsdl2-dev libarchive-dev libenet-dev libzstd-dev` * 24.04: `sudo apt install qt6-{base,base-private,multimedia,svg}-dev` * 22.04: `sudo apt install qtbase6-dev qtbase6-private-dev qtmultimedia6-dev libqt6svg6-dev` * Older versions: `sudo apt install qtbase5-dev qtbase5-private-dev qtmultimedia5-dev libqt5svg5-dev` Also add `-DUSE_QT6=OFF` to the first CMake command below. * Fedora: `sudo dnf install gcc-c++ cmake extra-cmake-modules SDL2-devel libarchive-devel enet-devel libzstd-devel qt6-{qtbase,qtbase-private,qtmultimedia,qtsvg}-devel wayland-devel` * Arch Linux: `sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake extra-cmake-modules git libpcap sdl2 qt6-{base,multimedia,svg} libarchive enet zstd` 2. Download the melonDS repository and prepare: ```bash git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS ``` 3. Compile: ```bash cmake -B build cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all) ``` ## Windows 1. Install [MSYS2](https://www.msys2.org/) 2. Open the MSYS2 terminal from the Start menu: * For x64 systems (most common), use **MSYS2 UCRT64** * For ARM64 systems, use **MSYS2 CLANGARM64** 3. Update the packages using `pacman -Syu` and reopen the same terminal if it asks you to 4. Install git and clone the repository ```bash pacman -S git git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS ``` 5. Install dependencies: Replace `` below with `mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64` on x64 systems, or `mingw-w64-clang-aarch64` on ARM64 systems. ```bash pacman -S -{toolchain,cmake,SDL2,libarchive,enet,zstd} ``` 6. Install Qt and configure the build directory * Dynamic builds (with DLLs) 1. Install Qt: `pacman -S -{qt6-base,qt6-svg,qt6-multimedia,qt6-svg,qt6-tools}` 2. Set up the build directory with `cmake -B build` * Static builds (without DLLs, standalone executable) 1. Install Qt: `pacman -S -qt5-static` (Note: As of writing, the `qt6-static` package does not work.) 2. Set up the build directory with `cmake -B build -DBUILD_STATIC=ON -DUSE_QT6=OFF -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$MSYSTEM_PREFIX/qt5-static` 7. Compile: `cmake --build build` If everything went well, melonDS should now be in the `build` folder. For dynamic builds, you may need to run melonDS from the MSYS2 terminal in order for it to find the required DLLs. ## macOS 1. Install the [Homebrew Package Manager](https://brew.sh) 2. Install dependencies: `brew install git pkg-config cmake sdl2 qt@6 libarchive enet zstd` 3. Download the melonDS repository and prepare: ```zsh git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS ``` 4. Compile: ```zsh cmake -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6);$(brew --prefix libarchive)" cmake --build build -j$(sysctl -n hw.logicalcpu) ``` If everything went well, melonDS.app should now be in the `build` directory. ### Self-contained app bundle If you want an app bundle that can be distributed to other computers without needing to install dependencies through Homebrew, you can additionally run ` ../tools/mac-libs.rb .` after the build is completed, or add `-DMACOS_BUNDLE_LIBS=ON` to the first CMake command. ## Nix (macOS/Linux) melonDS provides a Nix flake with support for both macOS and Linux. The [Nix package manager](https://nixos.org) needs to be installed to use it. * To run melonDS, just type `nix run github:melonDS-emu/melonDS`. * To get a shell for development, clone the melonDS repository and type `nix develop` in its directory.