DolphinTool Overview

Command-line utilities for working with GameCube and Wii disc images

DolphinTool is a command-line utility suite for managing GameCube and Wii disc images. It provides tools for format conversion, verification, inspection, and extraction without requiring the full Dolphin emulator GUI.

Usage

dolphin-tool COMMAND [options]

For help with any command:

dolphin-tool COMMAND --help

Available Commands

convert

Convert disc images between different formats (ISO, GCZ, WIA, RVZ)

verify

Verify disc image integrity and compute hashes

header

Inspect disc image headers and metadata

extract

Extract files and partitions from disc images

Supported Formats

DolphinTool works with the following disc image formats:

ISO (Plain)

Uncompressed disc image format. Large file size but fastest to read.

• Extension: .iso, .gcm
• Platforms: GameCube, Wii
• Compression: None
• Use case: Maximum compatibility, external compression

GCZ (GameCube Compressed)

Dolphin’s legacy compressed format, primarily for GameCube games.

• Extension: .gcz
• Platforms: GameCube, Wii (with limitations)
• Compression: Deflate
• Use case: Legacy compatibility, smaller than ISO

WIA (Wii Image Archive)

Compressed format with good compression ratios.

• Extension: .wia
• Platforms: GameCube, Wii
• Compression: None, Purge, Bzip2, LZMA, LZMA2
• Use case: Good balance of size and compatibility

RVZ (Revolutionary)

Modern compressed format with the best compression ratios.

• Extension: .rvz
• Platforms: GameCube, Wii
• Compression: None, Bzip2, LZMA, LZMA2, Zstandard
• Use case: Recommended - Best compression, modern codec support

Common Options

Most DolphinTool commands support:

User Directory

--user=PATH

Specifies the Dolphin user directory for temporary processing files. Will be automatically created if not set.

Input File

--input=FILE

or shorthand:

-i FILE

Path to the source disc image.

Help

--help

or shorthand:

-h

Display command-specific help information.

Quick Start Examples

Convert to RVZ (Recommended)

dolphin-tool convert \
  -i game.iso \
  -o game.rvz \
  -f rvz \
  -b 131072 \
  -c zstd \
  -l 5

Verify Image Integrity

dolphin-tool verify -i game.rvz

View Game Information

dolphin-tool header -i game.iso

Extract Game Files

dolphin-tool extract -i game.iso -o ./output

Installation

DolphinTool is typically included with Dolphin installations:

Windows

Dolphin-x64\dolphin-tool.exe

Linux

# If installed system-wide
dolphin-tool

# Or in build directory
./build/Binaries/dolphin-tool

macOS

/Applications/Dolphin.app/Contents/MacOS/dolphin-tool

Exit Codes

• 0 - Success
• 1 - Failure (error message printed to stderr)

Performance Tips

Conversion Speed

• Use SSD storage for source and destination
• Lower compression levels convert faster
• Larger block sizes can improve throughput

Recommended RVZ Settings

For best balance of size and speed:

dolphin-tool convert \
  -i input.iso \
  -o output.rvz \
  -f rvz \
  -b 131072 \
  -c zstd \
  -l 5

For maximum compression (slower):

dolphin-tool convert \
  -i input.iso \
  -o output.rvz \
  -f rvz \
  -b 131072 \
  -c zstd \
  -l 22

Batch Processing

Example script to convert all ISOs to RVZ:

#!/bin/bash

for iso in *.iso; do
  echo "Converting $iso..."
  dolphin-tool convert \
    -i "$iso" \
    -o "${iso%.iso}.rvz" \
    -f rvz \
    -b 131072 \
    -c zstd \
    -l 5
  
  if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "✓ Successfully converted $iso"
  else
    echo "✗ Failed to convert $iso"
  fi
done

Use Cases

Archive Management

• Convert large ISO collections to RVZ for space savings
• Verify integrity after network transfers
• Extract specific files without mounting images

Development

• Inspect game headers for metadata
• Extract game assets for modding
• Create test images with specific formats

Quality Assurance

• Verify dumps with multiple hash algorithms
• Check compression settings on existing images
• Validate image compatibility

Troubleshooting

Command not found

Ensure DolphinTool is in your PATH or use the full path:

# Linux/macOS
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/dolphin"

# Or use full path
/path/to/dolphin-tool command

Permission errors

Ensure read access to input files and write access to output directories:

chmod +r input.iso
chmod +w output_directory

Out of disk space

Conversion requires temporary space. Ensure sufficient free space:

• ISO → RVZ: Needs space for output (~30-40% of original)
• GCZ/WIA → ISO: Needs space for full uncompressed size

See Also

• Convert Command - Detailed conversion options
• Verify Command - Hash verification
• Header Command - Metadata inspection
• Extract Command - File extraction