Installing Dolphin

Windows and Mac

Installing or upgrading process for Dolphin on Windows PC or Mac is pretty simple. Download the latest revision or version from the Download page and extract it into a new folder (preferably named after the revision) or to replace an existing Dolphin setup, and you're good.

• Dolphin for Windows now use Global User Directory. By default, it is under %userprofile%\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\. You do not need to migrate anything if the previous Dolphin build was 3.5-2381 or higher. Otherwise, you may want to migrate every folders beside \Languages\ and \Sys\ to there. And if one migrated folder happens to be \User\ then move all subfolders one level up from that folder.
• The older save states may not work between versions.

If you're running Dolphin for the first time, it will create new user folder: %userprofile%\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\.

• If you want to use old GameCube Memory Card files, place them under \GC\.
• Wii NAND dumps should be placed under \Wii\. This is optional. You may want to check how to dump your own NAND backup here: NAND Usage Guide.

Problems? try the FAQ before asking questions in the forums.

Linux

Ubuntu

Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid" users can just download and install a Debian binary (.deb) from the download site. The PPA below has packages to 15.04 too.

Users of other versions must add a PPA by executing the following commands to receive updates for Dolphin (Universe repository is needed to be enabled first).

This applies to all Ubuntu-based distributions.

Install the stable version:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dolphin-emu/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dolphin-emu-master

Or to install development versions:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dolphin-emu/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dolphin-emu

NOTICE: 12.04 and 14.04 users will need an updated libstdc++6 (>=4.9) to run dolphin-emu or dolphin-emu-master, so install this PPA first:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:dolphin-emu/gcc-for-dolphin
sudo apt-get update

This PPA uses the same packages of Ubuntu Toolchains PPA, so you can install that instead. You don't need to update all GCC packages, just upgrade libstdc++6, gcc-4.9-base and eventual dependencies in Synaptic, and disable the PPA.

Arch Linux

Install: # pacman -S dolphin-emu

See also the AUR and read more on the ArchWiki.

Other Distros

Other GNU/Linux users have to build and install from source code.

Post-Installation Tips

In most cases, the default settings works fine, but you will likely need to configure controllers. If you want to tweak emulation performance and/or quality setting, the Performance Guide can help you.

If you would like to learn how to rip games and saves to your new Dolphin set up, see Ripping Games. For Wii NAND dump, see NAND Usage Guide. The homebrew apps are freely available over the internet and can be added to the game list at any time.

Customizing User Interface

Go to Options > Configure... > "Interface" tab to customize UI the way you want for your Dolphin set up. Custom themes can be imported to %userprofile%\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\Themes\. Items shown can be toggled on/off on the "View" menu.

Browsing Files

You can simply launch a compatible file by hitting File > Open... then open a file. To add a game to the game list, select Files > Browse for ISOs... then select a folder to be added to the game list.

Banners for Wii games will not load at first. Making a save file for that game fixes it. This is a limitation with the format of Wii games rather than a bug.

Managing Game List

You can also batch add/remove directories in the game list by creating folders that group each games by platform (this is to keep game directories well organized), then go to Options > Configure... > "Paths" tab > then hit Add... then enable Search SubFolders within the "Paths" config, then add these folders to the ISO Directories list.

Compatible files by file extension

File extension	Platform	Notes
.ISO	GameCube and Wii	Generic file extension for disc image files.
.GCM	GameCube	This file extension is interchangeable with .ISO.
.GCZ	GameCube and Wii	Compressed GameCube/Wii disc image file.
.WBFS	Wii	"Wii Backup File System", compressed Wii disc image file.
.WAD	Virtual Console and WiiWare
.DOL, .ELF	Homebrew app