> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 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

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool COMMAND [options]
```

For help with any command:

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool COMMAND --help
```

## Available Commands

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="convert" icon="repeat" href="/cli/dolphin-tool/convert">
    Convert disc images between different formats (ISO, GCZ, WIA, RVZ)
  </Card>

  <Card title="verify" icon="shield-check" href="/cli/dolphin-tool/verify">
    Verify disc image integrity and compute hashes
  </Card>

  <Card title="header" icon="file-lines" href="/cli/dolphin-tool/header">
    Inspect disc image headers and metadata
  </Card>

  <Card title="extract" icon="box-open" href="/cli/dolphin-tool/extract">
    Extract files and partitions from disc images
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## 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

```bash theme={null}
--user=PATH
```

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

### Input File

```bash theme={null}
--input=FILE
```

or shorthand:

```bash theme={null}
-i FILE
```

Path to the source disc image.

### Help

```bash theme={null}
--help
```

or shorthand:

```bash theme={null}
-h
```

Display command-specific help information.

## Quick Start Examples

### Convert to RVZ (Recommended)

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool convert \
  -i game.iso \
  -o game.rvz \
  -f rvz \
  -b 131072 \
  -c zstd \
  -l 5
```

### Verify Image Integrity

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool verify -i game.rvz
```

### View Game Information

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool header -i game.iso
```

### Extract Game Files

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool extract -i game.iso -o ./output
```

## Installation

DolphinTool is typically included with Dolphin installations:

### Windows

```
Dolphin-x64\dolphin-tool.exe
```

### Linux

```bash theme={null}
# If installed system-wide
dolphin-tool

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

### macOS

```bash theme={null}
/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:

```bash theme={null}
dolphin-tool convert \
  -i input.iso \
  -o output.rvz \
  -f rvz \
  -b 131072 \
  -c zstd \
  -l 5
```

For maximum compression (slower):

```bash theme={null}
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:

```bash theme={null}
#!/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:

```bash theme={null}
# 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:

```bash theme={null}
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](/cli/dolphin-tool/convert) - Detailed conversion options
* [Verify Command](/cli/dolphin-tool/verify) - Hash verification
* [Header Command](/cli/dolphin-tool/header) - Metadata inspection
* [Extract Command](/cli/dolphin-tool/extract) - File extraction