AnyPS5/docs/dev/BUILD.md

Build

Relinker only

The relinker can be built without initializing submodules or configuring SDL, Vulkan, FFmpeg, FreeType or the shader recompiler. It requires CMake, a C++20 compiler and a build tool. Python 3 enables the Python regression tests.

cmake -S . -B build-relinker -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DANYPS5_RELINKER_ONLY=ON -DBUILD_TESTING=ON
cmake --build build-relinker --parallel
ctest --test-dir build-relinker --output-on-failure

This mode builds the conversion tool and its tests on Linux, Windows and macOS, including Apple Silicon. macOS uses AppleClang from the Xcode command-line tools; Windows uses the MinGW-w64 toolchain below. The executable is build-relinker/core/relinker/relinker (relinker.exe on Windows with Ninja).

The output remains x86-64 Linux ELF or Windows PE. Converted games need system libraries built for the target OS and a compatible x86-64 host. This mode does not build those libraries or provide macOS game execution. Tests inspect both output formats; execution checks run only on their compatible hosts.

Use a separate build directory for the full build.

Full build

git submodule update --init --recursive

Requirements

• x86-64, Git, CMake 3.22.1 or newer, Ninja, C++20.
• Linux: GCC, G++, binutils. SDL's X11 backend requires X11 and Xext development headers (libx11-dev and libxext-dev on Debian/Ubuntu).
• Windows: only MinGW-w64 GCC 15.2.0 (WinLibs x86_64-ucrt-posix-seh, release 15.2.0posix-14.0.0-ucrt-r7) is currently supported. Add its mingw64/bin directory to PATH before configuring.
• FFmpeg binaries are downloaded during configuration unless FFMPEG_PREBUILT_DIR is set. With the WinLibs CMake, the download fails with status 60 (SSL peer certificate or SSH remote key was not OK) unless SSL_CERT_FILE names a CA bundle, for example C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\etc\ssl\certs\ca-bundle.crt from Git for Windows, as in CI.

Commands

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=gcc -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++
cmake --build build --parallel
cmake --build build --target libs --parallel

libs is a custom target: every library under core/libs/prx is built with EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL, so the first command alone does not produce them. Titles load the patched .prx files from build/core/libs/libs, which only that second step refreshes. Running a title after a library change without it therefore tests the previous binaries and can show no effect at all.

Relinker usage and runtime layout.

CMake flags

Project switches accept ON or OFF:

Flag	Default	Effect
-DBUILD_TESTING=ON	OFF	Build and register tests.
-DANYPS5_RELINKER_ONLY=ON	OFF	Build only the relinker and its tests, without third-party dependencies.
-DANYPS5_ENABLE_SPIRV_TOOLS=ON	OFF	Enable SPIR-V validation and optimization.
-DAPS5_ENABLE_TIMING_LOG=ON	OFF	Compile frame timing logging.
-DAPS5_AGC_CREATE_LOG=OFF	ON	Disable successful sceAgcCreateShader logging.
-DAGC_BUILD_VISUAL_TEST=ON	OFF	Build the standalone AGC SPIR-V visual test.

Build configuration parameters:

Flag	Value
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release	Debug, Release, RelWithDebInfo, or MinSizeRel.
-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=gcc	C compiler name or absolute path.
-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++	C++ compiler name or absolute path.
-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache	Optional C compiler cache; requires ccache.
-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache	Optional C++ compiler cache; requires ccache.
-DFFMPEG_PREBUILT_DIR=<path>	Unpacked FFmpeg package for the target platform; empty by default.

SDL and FreeType settings forced by the root CMakeLists.txt cannot be overridden with -D.

Pipeline statistics

Set APS5_PIPELINE_STATS=1 to capture and print driver statistics for each newly created graphics or compute pipeline. This requires VK_KHR_pipeline_executable_properties and pipelineExecutableInfo; an unsupported device fails with an error. Statistic names and units are driver-specific. Capturing statistics can increase pipeline compilation cost. The setting is disabled by default.

Shader recompiler

The shader recompilation logic in core/shader/recompiler is isolated from the rest of the project and is a pure function of its input data, designed for integration into any other project. The current CMake target also includes cache support and links a supplied runtime target, glslang, and optionally SPIRV-Tools.