PadMint

Make your own copy of a game from your own game file.
Choose a game, see where it builds, and follow the steps to build and install it.

What PadMint can do on your computer

You can build games from Windows today, and we're actively expanding local Windows support. Some builds run on your computer; others use GitHub's Mac runners. You don't need to own a Mac for those routes.

Your computer	What PadMint can make
Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)	All 29 games it offers to build for iPhone and iPad; 12 also have Mac builds. Check each game's setup and experimental status.
Windows, Linux or an Intel Mac	Locally: KartPad's Android game data or its experimental iPhone/iPad app. On GitHub's Mac: 15 more iPhone/iPad games, plus HaloPad's Xbox edition through its own workflow.
An Android phone, no computer	Experimental: Mario Kart Wii's game data, through Termux.

PadMint also lists 8 ready-made iPad apps to install with Sideloadly on Windows or Mac; each page explains any game files you need to add. Building an iPhone/iPad app from Windows does not create a Windows desktop version of the game. To play on a Windows PC, BlueWake has a separate ready-made download.

More local Windows builds are in active development. PadMint 0.5.15 shipped shared Windows build tools, cache/retry handling and cancellation fixes. Additional local game builds stay unavailable until each game's matching app, recipe and device checks are ready. Follow the progress by game and roadmap. An experimental recipe or completed build alone does not establish that a game plays correctly on every device.

Quick start

1. Download PadMint for the computer you're using. It's free and has no games in it.

Your computer	Download	Open it
Mac	⬇ PadMint for Mac	Double-click the ZIP, open the new folder and double-click PadMint.command. The first time, macOS says Apple could not verify it: choose Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. If macOS offers to install command line developer tools, click Install, wait, then double-click PadMint.command again.
Windows 10 or 11	⬇ PadMint for Windows	Right-click the ZIP, choose Extract All, open the new folder and double-click PadMint. If Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway. Python is included.
Linux	⬇ PadMint for Linux	Unzip it and run sh padmint.sh in the folder. Needs Python 3.9+ and Git.

Use these links, not GitHub's green Code button: that one downloads PadMint's source code, which is for developers.

Where it lives: PadMint has no installer. It is the folder you unzipped, plus a hidden .padmint folder in your home folder where it keeps the game sources, tools and builds it downloads. Storage in PadMint's sidebar shows that folder and frees space; Removing PadMint deletes both.

Updating PadMint? On a Mac or Linux, click the version button at the bottom of PadMint's sidebar when it says an update is out; PadMint installs it and restarts. On Windows, close PadMint's window, download the ZIP again, extract it and open the launcher in the new folder: the game list comes with that folder, so refreshing the browser or opening the old folder keeps the old list. Your disc images, builds and saves stay where they are.

2. Keep the small window open. It is PadMint working. Your web browser opens the PadMint page; if it doesn't, open the http://127.0.0.1… address the window shows. The page comes from your own computer, not a website.

3. Choose your game and follow the page. It tells you exactly what to install for a local build, with a Check again button, or links to the steps for a GitHub build. You fork the repository and run its workflow in your browser; GitHub's Mac compiles the app. The page also shows how to put the result on your phone or tablet. It speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese (Settings, at the bottom of the sidebar). Close the small window when you are done.

4. Your games, on every device. On a Mac with Xcode, PadMint looks at the iPhones and iPads you've connected to this Mac once and lists the Pad games on each, with their versions. My games and Updates show what's behind. Without Xcode, or on Windows and Linux, it lists the copies it built here.

Your first game

On a Mac, each game says how much setup it needs. Start with an easy one:

Tag on the page	Games	What you need
Easiest	KartPad for Android (Mario Kart Wii)	Any Windows, Mac or Linux computer, an Android phone, and the European Mario Kart Wii disc. Install the ready-to-play app; PadMint makes its game data.
Needs Xcode	BlueWake (Wind Waker, US disc), SunPad (Super Mario Sunshine, US disc), KartPad for Mac, and KartPad for iPhone when you build on a Mac (European disc), AgePad (Age of Empires II from Steam)	A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and Xcode, free from the App Store. PadMint downloads everything else.
Needs Xcode + Homebrew	Most other games	The same, plus one Homebrew line that the page shows you, with a Copy button.

KartPad for iPhone and iPad doesn't need a Mac. On Windows or Linux, PadMint builds it with its own compiler, so there's no Xcode to install. That route is experimental: it's checked less often than building on a Mac.

Your game file must be the version the page names, for example Only the US (North American) version works. PadMint checks it as soon as you pick it.

Other ready-to-play downloads: KartPad for Android from the latest KartPad (the app has the game code; you add your own game data, which PadMint can make from your disc), and BlueWake for Windows from BlueWake's releases. KartPad for iPhone and iPad uses PadMint to build a personal copy from your own game file.

Why PadMint exists

PadMint helps you make a personal copy from your own game files. Games that translate your disc or ROM during a build keep that work on your computer. The supported GitHub routes build the app first; you add your files on your device afterward. The library shows what each game needs and where it stands, even games it can't build yet.

Your game file never leaves your computer and PadMint uploads nothing. The page it opens is served by your own computer, and before anything starts it lists every download, where it comes from, its size and the free space needed.

What's in the folder you unzipped:

PadMint-v…/
├── PadMint          double-click this (PadMint.command on Mac, padmint.sh on Linux)
├── Start here.txt   these steps, in English, Spanish and Portuguese
└── app/             PadMint itself: you don't need to open it

The app folder holds PadMint's code, the game list and these guides, and on Windows a copy of Python. It is plain, readable source, so anyone can check what PadMint does.

Why a ZIP, and not an installer or a .dmg?

An installer only helps if it is signed: Windows and macOS warn about unsigned installers exactly as they warn about these launchers, and signing needs a paid certificate for each system. One ZIP with a double-click launcher works the same way on Windows, Mac and Linux, and every release is rebuilt from this repository on separate computers and compared byte for byte before it is published. Signed apps are a later step if players need them.

What you can make, and where

What PadMint can do depends on the computer it runs on. The top of the game library says it in one line, and every game is listed either way, so you can see what exists.

Your computer	What PadMint does there
Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and Xcode	Builds the catalog's 29 buildable games for iPhone and iPad. Mac targets are Animal Crossing, Crash Team Racing, F-Zero X, Halo, Jak and Daxter, Mario Kart Wii, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Stadium, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Bros., Melee and Tribes 2. Shows which games are on the iPhones and iPads you've connected to the Mac once, and which need an update.
Windows, Linux or an Intel Mac	Builds KartPad's Android game data or experimental iPhone/iPad app locally. 15 more games use GitHub's Mac, and HaloPad's Xbox edition has a separate GitHub workflow. Other games explain their Mac requirement or paused status. Ready-made apps can be installed from Windows or Mac; Linux installation is not validated.

The library sorts games into groups. Use All games to see them all, or the tabs to narrow the list:

Group	What it means
Build your copy	PadMint builds the game on this computer, then tells you how to install it. The page says when it needs your game file.
Ready-made apps	Download and install the app with your own Apple ID; its page explains any game files you need to add.
Build on GitHub	Follow the linked steps to build one of the 15 supported iPhone/iPad apps on GitHub's Mac, then download and install it.
Needs a Mac	Games without a local build on this computer. Open the page for its requirements or separate route, such as HaloPad's Xbox workflow.
Not on your devices	Once you have games: the ones that aren't on any of your devices yet.

Each game says where it is: On iPad · iPhone, an update such as v0.2.0 → v0.2.2, or Not installed. For each game's exact versions, hosts and known problems, see build compatibility.

Using PadMint

The sidebar. My games lists every game PadMint found on your devices and the copies it built, with the version on each device. Updates shows the ones behind the latest release. All games is the full library. Under Devices, each iPhone, iPad, this Mac and Android has its own list. Storage shows the space PadMint uses and frees what it no longer needs. The version button at the bottom says when PadMint itself has an update, and Settings next to it holds the language, your devices, where copies are saved and help. Click a section heading in My games, such as Updates available, to fold it. To find a game, just start typing: PadMint jumps to the library's search, which matches game, port and system names.

A game's page goes from top to bottom:

1. Your copies: where you have it, and which device is behind.
2. Your own game file: click Choose file… and pick your disc image or ROM (the file window may open behind your browser). The page says which version works, for example Only the European (PAL) version works, lists matching files already in your Downloads folder and checks the file straight away. Some games ask for the file inside the app instead; the page says so.
3. Where will you play? The device you'll play on, whichever computer you're using. This Mac appears for games with a Mac version, on an Apple Silicon Mac.
4. What PadMint will do on this computer lists everything before it starts. Before you start (one time only) marks each program found or not found and says how to get it: Xcode from the App Store, and one Homebrew line with a Copy button for everything else. Install what's missing, click Check again, then Make my copy (or Update to v… when you have an older one). If the button is gray, the line under it says why. After the build: how to install and play shows the device steps in advance.

The page then shows a checklist: finding the latest release, downloading the source, each tool with its progress, the build with its current step, and saving your copy. Keep the computer plugged in; PadMint keeps it awake while it builds. The first build of a game can take from a few minutes to a few hours. Finished work is kept, so Cancel and later builds are safe and quicker.

When it finishes, the page shows Your copy is ready, the file it saved in your Downloads folder and What to do next. If it stops, it says why: open Technical log and use Copy log for a bug report when asking for help.

No Mac? Build on GitHub's Mac

Use this route from Windows, Linux or an Intel Mac. You run the workflow in your browser; compilation happens on GitHub's Mac. The result is an iPhone/iPad app, not a Windows desktop game. Your own game files are not uploaded.

These games take your own game file inside the app, after installing, so the build itself needs nothing of yours: BallPad, BarrelPad, BellPad, BrawlerPad, CTRPad, F0X, GalaxyPad, HarkinianPad, MaskPad, OpenRCT2 Touch, PaperPad, SpaghettiPad, StarshipPad, TribesPad and UTP. GitHub lends a Mac for free to public repositories, and it can make your iPhone and iPad copy from Windows, Linux or any computer with a web browser:

1. Sign in to GitHub (a free account is enough) and open PadMint's page. Press Fork, then Create fork.
2. In your fork, open Actions. If GitHub asks, press I understand my workflows, go ahead and enable them.
3. Choose Build a game for iPhone and iPad, press Run workflow, pick the game and press the green Run workflow. It takes a few minutes for small games and about 40 minutes for the largest.
4. Open the finished run and download the file under Artifacts. Unzip it to get the .ipa. GitHub keeps it for one day.
5. Install the .ipa with Sideloadly (Installing what you made), then open the game and add your own game file as its page explains.

To update a game later, press Sync fork in your fork, run the workflow again and install the new .ipa over the old app with the same Apple ID, so your saves stay. The copy holds game code made for you: keep it to yourself.

HaloPad's Xbox edition uses its own workflow: fork or sync HaloPad, then choose Actions → Build HaloPad (Xbox edition) → Run workflow there. HaloPad is not one of the 15 choices in PadMint's workflow. It also provides a Mac app for playing on a supported Mac; PC Custom Edition builds still need your own Apple Silicon Mac.

Installing what you made

iPhone or iPad: PadMint saves <Game>-v…-ios-personal.ipa, the complete app with your game inside. To put it on your device with Sideloadly (free, Mac or Windows) and your own Apple ID:

1. Install Sideloadly and open it.
2. Connect your iPhone or iPad with a cable. Unlock it and tap Trust if it asks.
3. Drag the .ipa into Sideloadly, type your Apple ID email and click Start. Sideloadly asks for your Apple ID password to sign the app with Apple.
4. On the device: Settings → General → VPN & Device Management, tap your Apple ID, then Trust.
5. If it says Developer Mode is required: Settings → Privacy & Security → Developer Mode → On, then restart when asked.

With a free Apple ID the app opens for 7 days; drag the same file into Sideloadly again to keep playing. To update, build the new version with PadMint and install it the same way with the same Apple ID; your saves stay. AltStore and SideStore work too. HaloPad needs a paid Apple developer account; its guide explains why.

Mac (CTRPad): PadMint saves <Game>-v…-macos-personal.zip. Open it, move the app to Applications and open it; the game asks for your own game file. To update, build the new version and replace the old app; your saves stay.

The …-ios-unsigned.ipa on a game's release page is PadMint's starting point: it has no game code, so it can't play by itself.

Android (KartPad): PadMint makes a KartPad game data folder. Install KartPad's APK from the latest KartPad, copy the folder to the phone, then in KartPad tap Import Game → Import from Extracted Game Data Folder…. KartPad's guide has every step.

Everything PadMint makes is made from your copy of the game: keep it to yourself and don't share it.

Android phone only (experimental)

This route makes KartPad's KartPad game data folder on a 64-bit Android phone, without a computer. Most players should install KartPad's ready-to-play APK and use a computer for the folder instead. It needs about 8 GB of memory, 25 GB free, Wi-Fi for about 6 GB of downloads, and an hour or more, and has only been tried on an emulator.

1. Install Termux from F-Droid or its GitHub releases (the arm64-v8a APK), not Google Play. Open it once. If Android blocks the installation, don't bypass the warning: use a computer instead.

2. Copy your disc image into the phone's Download folder.

3. In Termux, paste this line and press Enter:

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chrissotraidis/padmint/main/launchers/padmint-android.sh | sh
   

   It checks the phone first and says, before downloading anything, if it isn't 64-bit or lacks memory or space. If setup stops, run the same line again; finished steps are kept.

4. Tap Allow if Android asks about your files. PadMint opens in the phone's browser: choose KartPad, tap your disc image and tap Make my copy. Keep Termux open, with the screen on, until the page says your copy is ready.

Next time, type padmint in Termux. If Android stops the build ("Process completed (signal 9)"), turn on Settings → System → Developer options → Disable child process restrictions and run padmint again. To free the space afterwards, see Removing PadMint.

Removing PadMint

PadMint doesn't install itself anywhere. It is the folder you unzipped, plus one folder of its own, .padmint in your home folder, which keeps the game sources, tools and builds it downloaded. That folder can take tens of GB. Each game version gets its own folder there. After a newer version builds, PadMint deletes the build files the older versions left behind and says how much space it freed.

1. If a build is running, press Cancel on the PadMint page or wait for it to finish. Then close PadMint's small window (on a Mac, the Terminal window).
2. Move the PadMint folder you unzipped to the Trash (Recycle Bin on Windows).
3. Delete the .padmint folder:

   • Mac: open Terminal (Applications → Utilities), paste this line and press Return:

     rm -rf ~/.padmint ~/.padforge
     

     Paste it exactly as shown: it deletes those two folders straight away, without the Trash, and shows nothing when it has worked. .padforge is PadMint's old folder name; it's fine if you don't have one. To use Finder instead, choose Go → Home, press Command-Shift-. (period) to show hidden folders, and move .padmint (and .padforge, if it's there) to the Trash.

   • Windows: type %USERPROFILE% in File Explorer's address bar, press Enter and delete .padmint.

   • Linux: run the same line as on a Mac.

   • Android phone: in Termux, run proot-distro remove padmint; rm -f $PREFIX/bin/padmint $PREFIX/etc/proot-distro/padmint.sh. If you installed Termux only for PadMint, uninstalling Termux removes all of it.

4. If you moved anything to the Trash or Recycle Bin, empty it to get the space back.

Removing PadMint leaves what it made alone. Your copies in Downloads and the games installed on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone keep working, and so do their saves. Your own game file also stays where you keep it. Don't delete a game's app unless you mean to: that deletes its saves too. If you use PadMint again later, it downloads its tools and game sources again.

On a Mac, you may also have installed these for PadMint. They are separate programs that other apps use too, so removing PadMint leaves them in place. If you're not sure whether something else needs them, keep them.

• Apple's command line tools, the download from xcode-select --install or the box macOS showed the first time you opened PadMint. To remove them, paste sudo rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools into Terminal exactly as shown and type your Mac password when asked; nothing appears while you type it (Apple's steps). Without Xcode, Git and python3 then stop working in Terminal until you run xcode-select --install again.
• Homebrew, if a game asked for its brew install line: Homebrew's uninstall steps remove every program installed with Homebrew, not only the ones PadMint's games needed.
• Xcode: move it from Applications to the Trash. You can also delete ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData, where Xcode keeps build files.
• ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.python holds a few MB that Apple's Python saved while running PadMint. It is only a cache: delete it or leave it.

Questions

Click a question to see the answer.

My game isn't in the list, or it's dimmed.

Choose it anyway: the page says why and what would work. Needs an M1+ Mac means the iPhone/iPad copy is built on a Mac with Apple Silicon. Not available yet means there is nothing to build or download through PadMint yet; the game's page has the latest.

Can I play KartPad on my Mac?

Yes, with the latest PadMint (0.5.15), on a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) and Xcode: choose Mario Kart Wii, then This Mac under Where will you play? PadMint builds KartPad from your disc and saves the app in your Downloads folder. The first build needs about 12 GB free. On an Intel Mac, PadMint builds KartPad for iPhone and iPad (experimental), but the Mac app itself needs Apple Silicon.

Only seeing iPhone/iPad and Android? Download the latest PadMint for Mac and open PadMint.command from the newly extracted folder. Check Apple menu → About This Mac: Chip: Apple M… is supported; an Intel processor isn't supported for playing KartPad on Mac.

PadMint 0.5.3 and newer automatically restarts natively on Apple Silicon when launched through Rosetta. This fixes the missing This Mac option that could occur in 0.5.2. On Intel Macs, PadMint explains why the Mac copy is unavailable and keeps the supported iPhone/iPad and Android choices. Keep your disc images, builds, caches and saves; none need deleting to restore the Mac option.

Can I build iPhone apps on Windows or Linux?

On your own computer, only KartPad today, and that is experimental. Fifteen games that take your game file inside the app can be made on GitHub's free Mac instead, and HaloPad's Xbox edition has its own GitHub route. The games that read your disc or ROM while building (BlueWake, SunPad, MeleePad, the N64 recompilations, Jak and Daxter) need a Mac with Apple Silicon and Xcode for now; PadMint will offer each one on Windows once that game's release supports it.

That work is active: PadMint 0.5.15 shipped the shared Windows build foundation. Each additional local route still needs its own matching release, recipe and device checks. See progress by game.

The window closed, or nothing seems to happen.

PadMint opens a page in your web browser. If no browser opened, the PadMint window shows a link starting with http://127.0.0.1: open it. The first time, it can take a minute before the page opens or a build gets past Starting….

It says my file is the wrong version, region or size.

Each game needs one exact version of the game, named on its card and in its README (for example KartPad needs the European disc, RMCP01). Use an untouched 1:1 dump: trimmed, patched or half-size files are refused on purpose.

It says my file is stored only in iCloud (Mac).

In Finder, right-click the file, choose Download Now, wait, then choose it again.

The app I made doesn't open on iOS or iPadOS 27.

Build it again with PadMint and install it over the old copy; your saves stay. Apps built with Xcode 27 have to use the newer app startup Apple requires, and every game's latest release has it since 4 October, so a copy built before then may not open on iOS 27. If a new copy still doesn't open, report it on the game's issue page. The compatibility page has the details.

Windows or macOS warns me about PadMint.

Expected for a free tool without a paid certificate. Windows: More info → Run anyway. Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. Only download PadMint from its releases page.

It says a download was blocked, or it stops early.

PadMint names the server it couldn't reach. Check your internet connection and the device's date and time, then run PadMint again; finished downloads are kept. Keep certificate checks and security software turned on.

Linux asks me to install something (libxml2, Git).

Run the command PadMint shows, for example sudo apt install libxml2, then start PadMint again.

Can someone send me their IPA or game data?

No. It's made from their copy of the game, so sharing it means sharing the game. Please don't ask for one or post yours.

What was PadForge?

PadMint's old name. PadMint moves your old PadForge folder over and keeps the tools you already downloaded.

Still stuck?

Ask in the Discord or open a PadMint issue for setup, download or build problems. Include the game, your computer (Windows, Mac or Linux), the device you're building for and the copied log. Keep game files, keys and personal builds out of it. For a game that builds but has problems while playing, use that game's issue page.

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The rest of this page is for developers and game maintainers.

All commands

Python 3.9 or newer; no packages needed. On Windows PadMint downloads Git itself; on a Mac or Linux it uses the system's Git (xcode-select --install, or your package manager, for example sudo apt install git). From this repository:

python3 -m padmint list                      # supported games and platforms
python3 -m padmint make kartpad android --disc 'your disc.wbfs'   # the one-step path
python3 -m padmint                           # the PadMint page in your browser (start: terminal)
python3 -m padmint doctor kartpad            # check this computer (installs nothing)
python3 -m padmint tools kartpad --target android --repo /path/to/kartpad   # get pinned tools
python3 -m padmint get kartpad /path/to/kartpad   # download a game's source
python3 -m padmint doctor bluewake --repo /path/to/bluewake
python3 -m padmint audit path/to/file-or-folder   # release gate
python3 -m padmint history --repo /path/to/game-repo   # recorded builds
python3 -m padmint check-manifest /path/to/game-repo
python3 -m padmint plan bluewake --repo /path/to/bluewake \
  --revision FULL_REVIEWED_COMMIT --disc '/path/to/your disc.iso'

plan validates paths, checkout state and platform support and prints the exact backend command without building. Change plan to build to run it. Use --target to choose a platform the game declares (default ios), --source-only/--no-mods where the game supports them, and --jobs 1-8.

Builds run on the platforms each game marks verified or experimental; list shows the rest as planned. KartPad's Android game data builds on Windows, Linux and macOS (x64 and ARM64) and, experimentally, on an Android phone. Local iPhone/iPad builds need an Apple Silicon Mac, except KartPad, which also builds experimentally on Windows, Linux or an Intel Mac. The hosted routes use GitHub's Mac instead. See STATUS.md for what has been verified on each.

What PadMint builds on which computer, and what comes next, is tracked in the roadmap.

The catalog lists every public game: the ones PadMint builds, the apps with nothing to build (download) and the ones not available yet (later). COMPATIBILITY has each game's status and next step.

How games plug in

Each game repository declares a padmint.json manifest (schema in padmint/manifest.py): accepted inputs, platforms and their status, the backend command, stages, requirements and publication policy. PadMint's catalog pins each supported game and carries an interim manifest for repositories that do not have one yet. Game-specific translation, patches and packaging stay in the game repository. See Adding a game for a complete example.

What a build does and does not do

This describes plan/build on a checkout you provide (make and the guided start do the downloading for you).

• Keep the game checkout clean at a commit you have reviewed. plan and build do not download repositories or install tools; follow doctor's suggestions or use tools and get.
• Builds, logs and records stay under the game's ignored build/padmint/. One PadMint build runs per checkout; Ctrl-C cancels and keeps finished work.
• Every personal output is checked for structure and provenance, then run through the release gate. The record labels it personal build, not publishable regardless of the gate result.
• Nothing is installed on a device or uploaded. A personal IPA still needs your own signing (AltStore, SideStore, Sideloadly or Xcode).

The release gate

padmint audit scans files, folders and ZIP-based packages for console keys, address-named translated game functions, embedded original program sections and provenance declaring translated game code. It fails closed on archives it cannot inspect. Keys are identified by a short prefix and a SHA-256 hash; this repository contains no keys. A PASS is a heuristic result, not copyright or licensing clearance.

Game inputs, generated game code, saves, keys, personal builds and optimization profiles never belong in this repository.

Tests

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v

Legal

PadMint is an unofficial, fan-made tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo or any other game publisher. Game titles named here are trademarks of their respective owners, including Nintendo. This repository contains no game data, ROMs, disc images, or extracted assets. To use it, you need your own legally obtained copy of each game, and PadMint builds it on your own machine. Please don't share game files or builds made from them.