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Letalys edited this page Sep 20, 2026 · 2 revisions

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External tools

RSRebase can convert files during the rebase by driving an external tool, for example a Dreamcast game shipped as GDI to a single, smaller CHD file.

RSRebase does not ship any of these programs: it is up to the user to point at the executable of each tool. The emulators installed by RomStation already contain chdman (in MAME) and DolphinTool (in Dolphin): RSRebase can use them and suggests their location.

The default tools

Tool Converts Program Minimum version
chdman: CD to CHD .gdi, .cue, .toc, .nrg to .chd (Dreamcast, Playstation, Saturn, Mega-CD…) chdman.exe MAME 0.230
chdman: DVD to CHD DVD .iso to .chd (Playstation 2) chdman.exe MAME 0.255
chdman: PSP to CHD PSP .iso to .chd, with the block size PPSSPP requires chdman.exe MAME 0.255
maxcso: PSP to CSO PSP .iso to .cso maxcso.exe
DolphinTool: GameCube and Wii to RVZ .iso, .gcm, .gcz, .wbfs to .rvz DolphinTool.exe

All these conversions are lossless.

Where to find these programs

Pointing at an executable

External tools

The window opens with Manage external tools…, from the rebase window, the architecture editor or the Settings.

  1. Select a tool in the left list
  2. If RSRebase found the program, click Use this location. Otherwise, Browse… and pick the .exe file
  3. Test shows the version of the tool, or reports a version that is too old
  4. Save

Each tool has its own location: the three chdman tools are set one by one.

Choosing what gets converted

  • Per system: the Conversion column of the architecture editor gives a tool to every game of a system. No default architecture enables a conversion
  • Per game: the Conversion column of the rebase window is pre-filled by the architecture and can be changed row by row. It only offers the tools whose executable is set and that can read the content of the game
  • For the whole rebase: the Convert files with external tools switch of the Files card turns every conversion on or off

When a tool set by the architecture has no executable, a red message says so and the games concerned are copied without conversion.

How a conversion goes

The archive of the game is extracted to %LOCALAPPDATA%\RomStationRebase\work, the tool runs there, then only the converted file is copied to the destination. The work folder is then emptied.

  • The local disk needs room for the largest game to convert, extracted
  • Cancel stops the tool and deletes its partial file
  • A failed conversion is not retried
  • The M3U, the metadata, the cover and the duplicate detection point to the converted file
  • A CUE naming a renamed BIN is fixed before the conversion
  • The .sbi of a Playstation game is copied next to the converted file, under the same name
  • The rebase log keeps the command line and what the tool printed

What is never converted, the .cdi case and pause: see Limitations.

Advanced settings

Show advanced settings, under the Executable card, unfolds the full description of the tool. For a default tool, there is nothing to change there. This is where you describe your own tool, after Add or Duplicate.

Advanced settings of a tool

General

Field Role
Label The name shown in the list and in the Conversion columns
Description One line that tells what the tool converts
Executable name The file name alone, for example chdman.exe. The full path is set in Location

Conversion

Field Role
Input extensions The files the tool can read, separated by spaces: .gdi .cue .toc .nrg. For a game shipped as an archive, the main file of the archive is the one that counts
Output extension The extension of the converted file: .chd
Arguments (one per line) The command line, one argument per line. Each line is passed as is to the program, with no quotes

Monitoring

Field Role
Progress read on The stream where the tool writes its progress: stdout, stderr, or both. chdman writes to stderr
Progress pattern Regular expression whose first group captures a percentage. For chdman: (\d+(?:\.\d+)?)% complete. With no pattern, the bar only moves at the end of the conversion
Success exit codes The exit codes of a successful conversion, separated by spaces. 0 most of the time
Version arguments (one per line) What the Test button runs: -help, --version…
Version pattern Regular expression whose first group captures the version number
Minimum version The test fails below this version, with the RSR-4008 code. Empty: no requirement

During a rebase, a tool that stops writing anything for too long is stopped (RSR-4006), an unexpected exit code gives RSR-4004, and a tool that ends without producing its file gives RSR-4005. See the error codes.

Argument markers

Marker Replaced by
{input} The file to convert
{output} The file to produce
{inputDir}, {outputDir} Their folders
{base} The file name without extension
{threads} The number of processor cores

Example, the command line of chdman: CD to CHD:

createcd
-i
{input}
-o
{output}
-f

The tools are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RomStationRebase\tools\. Restore default tools puts the five original tools back to their initial state, without touching yours.

RomStation Rebase

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