Installation

Requirements

	Minimum
CPU	x86-64 with AVX2, FMA and BMI2; or, on Linux, AArch64 ARMv8.2 (LSE, FP16, RCpc, DotProd, CRC32). A build without AVX2 is planned, with no date.
GPU	Vulkan 1.3. VK_EXT_mesh_shader is recommended; without it the game's mesh shaders run as compute passes.
RAM	16 GB recommended
Disk	About 30 GB free (the RomFS copy alone is about 23 GB; see Use it where it is below to skip it)
Windows	Windows 10 or 11, x64
Linux	glibc 2.31 or newer (Debian 11, Ubuntu 20.04, SteamOS and later), x86-64 or AArch64

In a Docker or Podman container, allow userfaultfd in the seccomp profile, or the game runs several times slower.

What you need from your console

A dump of your own Mario Kart World, version 1.0.0 or 1.8.0, in one of these forms:

• two folders, exefs/ (decrypted) and romfs/. The setup also finds them up to two folders below the one you pick;
• one .nup or .nx package of the same dump (from v0.1.9).

For 1.8.0, the update must be merged into the RomFS. exefs and romfs must come from the same version: a 1.0.0 exefs/main with a 1.8.0 romfs crashes while warming up, and from v0.1.12 the setup refuses it. Other versions (1.1.0 … 1.7.0) are not supported: each version is a different program that has to be recompiled and patched on its own.

We cannot help you obtain the game, its files or its keys, and issues asking for them are closed. Please do not share game files.

First setup

1. Download the latest release.
   • Windows: unpack the .zip into a folder of its own and run mkw.exe.
   • Linux: chmod +x mkw-recomp-*-x86_64.AppImage (or -aarch64) and run it.
2. On the start screen open Game files.
   • Game folder is where the game is built and where its settings, saves and logs go. Choose game folder (v0.1.11) moves it, or picks an existing installation.
   • Under Your copy, press Choose folder or Choose .nup or .nx file.
   • RomFS: Copy into the game folder, or Use it where it is to read it from your dump (saves 23 GB; keep the dump where it is). An internal SSD is much faster than a USB, HDD or network drive.
3. Press Set up. The steps: check the copy, copy exefs, RomFS, generate the game code, compile it, translate the shaders, warm up the graphics (about a minute), clean up. It downloads NVIDIA's shader tools once (84 MB on Linux, 126 MB on Windows, checked by sha256). The first setup takes a while; if it is interrupted it resumes after the last finished step.
4. Press Play. Desktop shortcut on the start screen makes a shortcut.

Starting the game without the start screen

Run mkw.exe --play (Linux: ./mkw-recomp-x86_64.AppImage --play), or set MKW_NO_LAUNCHER=1. Settings in mkw.ini and the F1 menu still apply. Useful for Steam (add it as a non-Steam game and put --play in its launch options), Playnite, LaunchBox or a TV. Run the start screen once without --play after each update so it can set the game up again for the new version.

Updating

From v0.1.5 the start screen offers Update to vX when a newer release is out: it downloads, checks the sha256, replaces the program and sets up again only what changed. Settings → Menu → Check for updates turns the check off.

Updating by hand (new zip unpacked over the old folder, or a new AppImage): open the start screen and press Set up again; finished steps are skipped. Without it the game keeps the old version's shaders (black screen, very slow). From v0.1.9 a game set up by another version is set up again by itself.

Where things live

The game folder holds everything: the compiled game, settings, saves, caches and logs.

	Windows	Linux
Default game folder	beside mkw.exe	~/.local/share/mkw-recomp (or $XDG_DATA_HOME/mkw-recomp)
Settings	mkw.ini	mkw.ini
Logs	logs\mkw.log (game and start screen), logs\setup.log (setup); earlier runs in mkw.1.log … mkw.4.log	same, under logs/
Saves	profile\ (other players in profile\players\<n>\)	profile/
Mods	mods\	mods/
Pipeline cache	pipeline-keys.bin	pipeline-keys.bin

Settings → Advanced → Open log folder opens the logs, and Copy system info copies what a bug report needs.

Each profile (start screen → Profile) has its own name (shown in game instead of "Local", up to 10 characters) and its own save. Saves of 1.0.0 and 1.8.0 are not the same format.