Native ports for macOS and Linux.
Apple Silicon + Metal · Linux x86-64 + Vulkan
Experimental builds. Your own Melee US 1.02 image required. No game disc included.
macOS setup · Linux setup · All releases
An experimental native port of Super Smash Bros. Melee for Apple Silicon macOS and x86-64 Linux, based on doldecomp/melee. The recovered game code runs natively, with Aurora translating GameCube graphics calls to Metal on macOS and Vulkan on Linux. No Dolphin installation or CPU emulation is required.
Both platforms share the main branch and game code. This fork preserves
the upstream history; original decompilation instructions are preserved in
the upstream README.
Source layout
src/ Shared recovered game code
native/ Shared native runtime and platform interface
platform/macos/ macOS launcher, app resources and bundle metadata
platform/linux/ Linux launcher, desktop entry and Arch packaging
tools/ Build, packaging and test scripts
tests/ Component and gameplay tests
.github/workflows/ macOS and Linux CI for main
Download the Linux x86-64 app,
extract it and run melee-native. Select your own Melee US 1.02 image, then
choose No at the save prompt. Requires Ubuntu 24.04 or compatible glibc 2.39+
Linux, hardware Vulkan drivers, and a desktop/audio session.
Linux build and packaging instructions include GPU selection, Arch/Omarchy packages, and the limits of the Ubuntu hardware validation. All release downloads include the Arch package and matching macOS app. No disc image or extracted game assets are included.
Requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 15.5 or newer and your own Melee US 1.02 disc image (GALE01, revision 2). ISO, GCM, CISO and RVZ work. Game assets and disc images are not included or downloaded by the project.
Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)
Experimental v0.1.0 · Release notes and ZIP download
Open the DMG, drag Melee Native to Applications, and open the app. Drop your disc image into the setup window or click Choose File. Once it is validated, click Play. Keep the image accessible while playing. The app remembers your image and opens the game automatically on later launches. If the image becomes unavailable, setup offers to locate it again.
The Melee Native app menu includes Controls, Change Disc Image and Restart, and Open Logs. Changing the image ends the current game session. The graphical app starts without saving and skips the unsupported initial save prompt. Command-line diagnostic launches retain the original memory-card flow.
Development packages are ad-hoc signed, not Apple-notarized. Developer ID signing and notarization remain outstanding. Homebrew is needed for the build instructions below, not to run a packaged app.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| WASD | Move |
| X | Attack / confirm |
| Z | Special / back |
| C / V | Jump |
| Q / E | Shield |
| R | Grab |
| IJKL | C-stick |
| Return | Start / pause |
The game window receives keyboard focus when you click Play. Logs are written to
~/Library/Logs/Melee Native/game.log when launched through the app picker.
Install Xcode 26.2 and Homebrew. Select Xcode's toolchain rather than an older standalone Command Line Tools installation, then build:
export DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
xcodebuild -version
brew install cmake ninja python ruby pkg-config fmt libpng freetype zstd
python3 native/tools/bootstrap.py
cmake -S native -B build/native-app -G Ninja \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=15.5
cmake --build build/native-app --target melee_mac all --parallel 4
ctest --test-dir build/native-app -L melee --output-on-failure
ruby native/tools/package_app.rb build/native-app dist/localRun these commands from the repository root. Bootstrap pins Aurora to
749d6ee7a22bdfab78c8ece9047bca5d79aa72ca; CMake downloads its dependencies,
including prebuilt Dawn and nod libraries. A network connection is required.
Building and the asset-free component tests require no game image. Font data
embedded in the original executable is loaded from the selected disc at runtime.
The package command creates dist/local/Melee Native.app, a DMG and a ZIP. Choose a
new destination for each package; the tool refuses to overwrite an existing app.
The app includes an SSBM logo icon; its source notice is in native/platform/macos/resources.
For a public release, set MELEE_SIGN_IDENTITY to a Developer ID Application
identity and MELEE_NOTARY_PROFILE to a configured notarytool Keychain profile
when running the package command. Packaging signs bundled libraries with the
hardened runtime, notarizes the app and DMG, and staples their tickets. Without
those settings, the default remains an ad-hoc-signed development package.
Disc-backed integration tests are registered separately when local extracted
test assets exist. Public CI does not have those assets and does not test gameplay.
The recorded VS smoke tests cover 29 selectable stages, 26 character entries and 35 common item kinds in short matches. The keyboard-to-match-to-Results flow also passed. These historical reports span multiple targeted builds and are not exhaustive acceptance.
- Saving does not work yet.
- Adventure, target stages and other modes are outside the current VS coverage.
- Not all moves, costumes, Kirby copy abilities, effects or combinations are verified.
- Rendering targets 60 FPS; a locked 60 FPS is not verified.
- Intel Macs and Windows are not supported by this build.
When reporting a bug, include the build revision, stage, characters, item or move, reproduction steps and relevant log excerpt. Do not attach game assets.
The decompilation work comes from the contributors to doldecomp/melee. Native graphics and platform support use Aurora and its dependencies. Packaging includes third-party notices; additional notices are preserved in native/licenses.
No disc image, extracted game assets or console firmware are distributed. Recovered game code is still present. Excluding external assets does not establish redistribution rights for that code. Existing notices are preserved; this fork does not apply a new blanket license to upstream material.