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Getting Started

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Nanook edited this page Oct 2, 2026 · 2 revisions

Install NKit and NKDS, run your first conversion, and set up a DataStore collection.

Download

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases.

Choose the archive for your platform:

Archive Contains
NKit_CLI_<platform>.zip nkit, nkds, default config, fix files
NKit_UI_<platform>.zip nkit-ui, nkds-ui, default config, fix files

All binaries are self-contained native AOT executables — CLI and UI. No .NET runtime required.

Platform Setup

Windows

Extract the zip. On first run Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC" — click More info → Run anyway. This is a common false positive for unsigned native AOT executables; the builds are automated and clean.

Linux

chmod +x nkit nkds
./nkit

If you see a glibc version error, download the legacy build instead (supports glibc 2.27+, Ubuntu 18.04+).

macOS

Remove the quarantine attribute before running:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine nkit nkds nkit-ui nkds-ui
chmod +x nkit nkds nkit-ui nkds-ui

First Run — Config Setup

Both nkit and nkds set up your config directory automatically on first run:

# Windows
nkit.exe

# Linux / macOS
./nkit

On first run NKit creates the standard folder tree in your config directory:

  • Portable mode (if nkit.yaml is next to the executable): everything stays in that folder
  • System mode (no local nkit.yaml): config goes to %APPDATA%\nkit (Windows) or ~/.config/nkit (Linux) or ~/Documents/nkit (macOS)

The folder structure created:

nkit.yaml          ← default config (edit this)
dats/              ← dat files for verification (redump, no-intro, tosec)
keys/              ← key files for WiiU/PS3
fix/               ← fix/recovery files
out/               ← default output
logs/
temp/
dedupe/

Interactive Mode

The easiest way to get started is the interactive builder. Just run the app with no arguments:

# Launch interactive mode
./nkit

# Or drop a file onto the executable — it pre-seeds as input
./nkit "Super Mario World (USA).iso"

The builder walks you through picking a task and options, then shows the equivalent command before running.

Quick Start — Common Tasks

Convert a disc image to RVZ

# Windows
nkit.exe convert "Super Mario World (USA).iso" --format rvz:zstd:19:128k:16 --output C:\output

# Linux / macOS
./nkit convert "Super Mario World (USA).iso" --format rvz:zstd:19:128k:16 --output ~/output

Convert a WiiU disc to WUA or Loadiine

WUA is a compressed ZArchive container. Loadiine is a decrypted folder layout. Both are useful for emulators (Cemu) without needing the original encrypted disc.

# WUX → WUA
nkit.exe convert "Game.wux" --format wua --keys WiiUKeys.zip --output C:\output

# WUX → Loadiine folder
nkit.exe convert "Game.wux" --format loadiine --keys WiiUKeys.zip --output C:\output

# WUA → AppTmd (installable NUS package)
nkit.exe convert "Game.wua" --format apptmd --output C:\output

# Loadiine folder → AppTmd
nkit.exe convert "GameFolder" --format apptmd --output C:\output

Scan a folder of images

# Windows — scan all ISOs recursively
nkit.exe scan D:\Roms --recursive --scan-out D:\Scans

# Linux
./nkit scan ~/roms --recursive --scan-out ~/scans

Verify images against a dat

# Windows
nkit.exe verify D:\Roms --recursive --dats-redump D:\Dats\redump

# Linux
./nkit verify ~/roms --recursive --dats-redump ~/dats/redump

Extract files from a disc image

# Extract all files from a Wii image
nkit.exe extract "Wii Sports (USA).iso" --output ./extracted

# Extract with a mask (e.g. only .dol files)
nkit.exe extract "Wii Sports (USA).iso" --output ./extracted --mask *.dol

Quick Start — NKDS DataStore

Create a set and add images

# Windows — create a 'wii' set and add images
nkds.exe create --datastore D:\NKitData wii
nkds.exe add --datastore D:\NKitData\wii.nkds D:\WiiISOs --recursive

# Linux
./nkds create --datastore /data/nkit wii
./nkds add --datastore /data/nkit/wii.nkds ~/wii-isos --recursive

Mount as a virtual drive

# Windows (requires Dokan)
nkds.exe mount --datastore D:\NKitData --mount N:\

# Linux (requires FUSE 3)
./nkds mount --datastore /data/nkit --mount /mnt/nkit

Your emulator now sees regular ISOs at the mount point. No extraction needed.

Check storage statistics

# Windows
nkds.exe stats --datastore D:\NKitData\wii.nkds

# Linux
./nkds stats --datastore /data/nkit/wii.nkds

Configuration

NKit uses a YAML config file (nkit.yaml) for defaults. Edit it to set your preferred output paths, dat locations, and per-system settings.

Key config variables:

  • $configPath$ — your config directory
  • $system$ — current system name (lowercase: wii, wiiu, ps3, …)
  • $task$ — current task (lowercase: convert, scan, …)
  • $date$ — current date as yyyymmdd

Example: point keys at your config directory:

wiiu:
  keys: $configPath$/keys/$system$/*.zip

See NKit CLI for the full parameter reference.

Next Steps

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