Dolphin Command-Line Options

Complete reference for all Dolphin emulator command-line options

Dolphin can be launched from the command line with various options to control its behavior, load games, configure settings, and more.

Usage

Dolphin.exe [options]... [FILE]...

Options Reference

--version · flag

Display the program’s version number and exit.

dolphin-emu --version

-h, --help · flag

Show the help message with all available options and exit.

dolphin-emu --help

-u USER, --user=USER · string

Specify a custom user folder path for configuration and save data.

dolphin-emu --user=/path/to/user/folder

This is useful for:

• Using multiple Dolphin configurations
• Portable installations
• Testing different settings

-e FILE, --exec=FILE · string

Load and execute the specified game file.

dolphin-emu --exec=/path/to/game.iso

Supported file formats:

• ISO, GCM (GameCube/Wii disc images)
• GCZ (compressed GameCube)
• WIA, RVZ (compressed disc formats)
• WBFS (Wii backup file system)
• WAD (WiiWare/Virtual Console)
• ELF, DOL (GameCube executables)

-m MOVIE, --movie=MOVIE · string

Play a movie (input recording) file.

dolphin-emu --movie=/path/to/recording.dtm

Used for:

• Tool-assisted speedruns (TAS)
• Input playback
• Demo recordings

-n TITLE_ID, --nand_title=TITLE_ID · string

Launch a NAND title using its 16-character ASCII title ID.

dolphin-emu --nand_title=0001000248414C45

This launches installed Wii channels, WiiWare, and Virtual Console titles directly from the NAND.

-s FILE, --save_state=FILE · string

Load the specified save state file on startup.

dolphin-emu --exec=game.iso --save_state=game.sav

Must be used with --exec or --nand_title.

-C CONFIG, --config=CONFIG · string

Set a configuration option using the format System.Section.Key=Value.

dolphin-emu --config=Dolphin.General.ISOPath0=/games

See the Configuration Guide for details on available options.

Multiple config options can be specified:

dolphin-emu \
  --config=Core.CPUCore=1 \
  --config=Core.Overclock=1.5

-d, --debugger · flag

Show the debugger pane and additional View menu options on startup.

dolphin-emu --debugger --exec=game.iso

Enables:

• Code view
• Registers
• Breakpoints
• Memory view
• Network debugging

-l, --logger · flag

Open the logger window on startup.

dolphin-emu --logger

Useful for:

• Development
• Troubleshooting
• Viewing emulation warnings

-b, --batch · flag

Run Dolphin in batch (headless) mode without the user interface.

dolphin-emu --batch --exec=game.iso

Requires --exec or --nand-title. See Batch Mode for more details.

-c, --confirm · flag

Enable the “Confirm on Stop” dialog.

dolphin-emu --confirm --exec=game.iso

Prevents accidental game termination by requiring confirmation.

-v VIDEO_BACKEND, --video_backend=VIDEO_BACKEND · string

Specify which video backend to use for rendering.

dolphin-emu --video_backend=Vulkan --exec=game.iso

Available backends:

• Vulkan - Modern, cross-platform, recommended
• OGL - OpenGL backend, widely compatible
• D3D - Direct3D 11 (Windows only)
• D3D12 - Direct3D 12 (Windows only)
• Software Renderer - CPU rendering, for debugging only
• Null - No rendering, for testing

-a AUDIO_EMULATION, --audio_emulation=AUDIO_EMULATION · string

Choose the audio DSP emulation engine.

dolphin-emu --audio_emulation=LLE --exec=game.iso

Available options:

• HLE - High Level Emulation (default)
  • Faster performance
  • Less accurate
  • Suitable for most games
• LLE - Low Level Emulation
  • Slower performance
  • Near-perfect accuracy
  • Required for some games
  • Has two submodes (Interpreter and Recompiler) that cannot be selected from CLI

Examples

Launch a game with specific settings

dolphin-emu \
  --exec=/games/SuperSmashBros.iso \
  --video_backend=Vulkan \
  --config=Core.CPUCore=1

Run in batch mode for automation

dolphin-emu \
  --batch \
  --exec=game.iso \
  --save_state=speedrun.sav

Launch with debugging enabled

dolphin-emu \
  --exec=game.iso \
  --debugger \
  --logger

Use custom user directory

dolphin-emu \
  --user=/path/to/portable/dolphin \
  --exec=game.iso

Play a TAS movie

dolphin-emu \
  --exec=game.iso \
  --movie=worldrecord.dtm

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows

The executable is typically Dolphin.exe:

Dolphin.exe --exec="C:\Games\game.iso"

Linux

The executable is usually dolphin-emu:

dolphin-emu --exec=/home/user/games/game.iso

macOS

Access the binary inside the app bundle:

/Applications/Dolphin.app/Contents/MacOS/Dolphin --exec=/path/to/game.iso

Exit Codes

• 0 - Successful execution
• Non-zero - Error occurred

See Also

• Batch Mode - Running Dolphin headless
• Configuration - Using —config flag
• DolphinTool Overview - Command-line utilities