Super Mario Sunshine on iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, and experimental Apple TV through ahead-of-time recompilation. SunPad brings together Metal rendering, touch controls, controller support, and local game-image import. Supply your own supported copy of the game.
Built with ModernGekko, by Hyperway, ExpansionPak and contributors, and DolRecomp, on the RecompCore / Dolphin runtime. SunPad provides the Apple app and Sunshine-specific integration. See full credits, including Apple TV contributions and AI/artwork provenance.
Maintained forks: ModernGekko, RecompCore, and DolRecomp. Runtime and compiler dependencies use pinned submodules. The source graph records the separate Apple and tvOS versions.
Note
AI disclosure: SunPad uses substantial AI assistance for code, tests, documentation, debugging and maintenance. Some support replies and maintenance tasks are automated. There is no audited percentage of AI-generated code. Build, test and device records describe what was checked. This disclosure concerns SunPad's workflow, not the authorship of its upstream projects.
No Mac? Building SunPad for iPhone or iPad needs an Apple Silicon Mac today. SunPad reads your own disc image while it builds, so it can't use GitHub's Mac the way some other ports do: that would mean uploading your game file. A Windows build is in progress; PadMint's Windows list shows where it stands.
iOS/iPadOS 27: v0.2.1 includes the scene-startup correction missing from v0.2.0. The published package declares the new startup configuration; physical iOS/iPadOS 27 and the affected reporter's result still need confirmation. See startup evidence and remaining checks.
The app on the releases page contains no
game code. On an Apple silicon Mac with Xcode, download
PadMint, unzip it, double-click
PadMint.command, then in the PadMint page that opens in your browser choose SunPad and your own GMSE01
disc image and click Make my copy. PadMint translates the
game from your disc, adds it to the published app and saves your SunPad IPA in your Downloads
folder; install it with AltStore Classic, SideStore or Sideloadly. The IPA it makes contains code
translated from your disc: keep it for yourself. With PadMint 0.5.5 or newer you can also choose
This Mac: PadMint builds SunPad.app from your disc and saves it as a zip; move it to Applications.
To build it by hand, see build and run locally.
Apple TV requires Mac-side game-data staging and an Extended Gamepad. Its storage is purgeable, so back up your saves before replacing the app. Preview 13 rebuilds both platforms from the maintained forks; see the release record for provenance and testing limits.
Development gameplay, Files import, touch input, and in-place updates have been exercised on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (6th generation). iPhone 14 performance is below the iPad experience. Mac gameplay coverage and exact-artifact Apple TV gameplay, audio, controller, and save acceptance remain open.
Original 30 FPS is the supported default. The OS badges describe build targets, not verified minimum-device compatibility. See known issues and dated testing evidence for the remaining limits.
Next up are save durability and speed on older iPhones. The improvement plan describes that work. It draws on research into sms-pc-port, a decompilation-based PC port of the game (research review).
Is this native recompilation or emulation? Does it use JIT?
Both techniques are involved. Covered PowerPC game code is recompiled ahead of time into native ARM64. The Dolphin-derived runtime supplies GameCube graphics, audio, memory, timing, and input behavior, with Metal rendering.
iPhone and iPad use interpreter fallback for unrecompiled code, with no runtime PowerPC JIT. Mac uses JitArm64 for uncovered code before returning to the AOT module. SunPad is a game-specific integration, not a general GameCube loader or a from-scratch rewrite. See the architecture and upstream review, including the existing ARM64 fallback fix.
How is SunPad different from the Super Mario Sunshine PC port?
sms-pc-port compiles the game's decompilation as native PC code for Windows, Linux and x86 Macs (Apple silicon through Rosetta 2). SunPad translates the original game code ahead of time and runs it on a Dolphin-derived runtime, which is what lets it run on iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon.
The projects share no code. SunPad uses the PC port's published findings as research for its improvement plan; the research review explains what carries over and what does not.
Which game image do I need, and how do I import it?
Use your own supported Super Mario Sunshine USA, revision 0 (GMSE01) raw
ISO/GCM image. Other regions, revisions, modified images, and compressed formats
are not supported by the current import path. The exact development image hash
is recorded in game-data provenance.
On iPhone/iPad, open ••• → Game Data & Saves → Import or Reimport Game Data, select the image in Files, and leave SunPad open while it validates and extracts. A failed reimport keeps the previous working data. Removing stored game data requires confirmation and keeps saves separately.
On Mac, choose the image in the launcher and select Extract and Play. Apple TV uses the Mac-side staging guide. SunPad does not download games. Never attach game images, extracted assets, generated modules, or saves to an issue or pull request.
How do controls and customization work?
Touch controls provide movement, camera, D-pad, face buttons, and analog FLUDD pressure. Slide along R for more pressure and into its final quarter for a full press. ••• → Controls opens touch-layout settings and controller mapping. A connected physical controller can hide the touch overlay automatically.
See the control guide for layout editing, spray controls, button mapping, and controller-handoff limits, or Mac keyboard defaults. Original 4:3 is the default display mode. Experimental 16:9 and Fill Screen settings apply on the next launch.
Can I use 60 FPS or the performance experiments?
They are diagnostic options, not recommended play modes. Physical-iPad testing found both the 60 FPS Patch and Reduced CPU Clock 90% unsuitable for normal play. They can affect timing, audio, physics, and rendering.
Use ••• → Unstable Experiments → Use Supported 30 FPS Mode to disable them for the next launch. Broader device performance, audio, lifecycle, and full-game validation remain work in progress. New levels, cheats, and extensive mods are not promised features. The improvement plan describes how a correct 60 FPS mode could be built later for Macs and newer iPads.
Will an update preserve my save?
Update in place with the same app/signing identity. Uninstalling or changing bundle/signing boundaries can remove or disconnect local data, so back up first. Apple TV stores game data and saves in purgeable cache storage and needs separate backups. Never assume an app reinstall restores a save.
Does LiveContainer work?
LiveContainer is not a supported or verified install path. Users have reported launch failures, but the cause remains unconfirmed. Use the normal signed IPA installation path in the installation guide. If reporting a LiveContainer failure, include its copied launch error or crash report.
Open ••• → Report a Problem…, describe what happened, and review the diagnostic
report and GitHub draft before sharing. Include the device, app version, scene,
and reproduction steps. For visual issues, add a screenshot and the reviewed
Latest-SunPad-Diagnostic.log from SunPad's Files-visible Diagnostics folder.
Never upload game data, saves, signing material, or a device container. If the app cannot reopen, find its crash report under Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements → Analytics Data. Open a bug report.
.recomp.json describes SunPad for project directories using
the recomp.board format. It contains public project
facts only, is maintained manually, and is not a build input. The optional
remote schema reference is omitted to avoid an editor lookup.
Development uses an Apple silicon Mac, Xcode 26.x, CMake, Ninja, ripgrep, Git, and Python 3. Start in a clean checkout:
./scripts/bootstrap-dependencies.sh
./scripts/prepare-game.sh /path/to/GMSE01.isoBootstrap verifies pinned fork sources without applying patches or downloading
game data. It preserves modified old dependency trees. For source checks without
game inputs, use --sources-only, then run ./scripts/check-repository.sh.
Build instructions · Contribution policy · Dependency pins · Engineering review · Improvement plan
Join the Discord for help and news. It is one community for SunPad and its sibling projects, such as KartPad, BlueWake and MeleePad: ask about setup, building with PadMint, and installing, share how it runs on your device, and hear about new releases first.
Found a bug? Open an issue with your device, its OS version, and the steps that led to it.
SunPad is an unofficial community project, unaffiliated with Nintendo. Nintendo's game, characters, artwork, and trademarks belong to their respective rights holders. SunPad's integration is GPL-3.0-or-later. Upstream components retain their own licenses and attribution. See third-party notices and legal and provenance details.
SunPad is an unofficial, fan-made project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Super Mario Sunshine and related names and marks are trademarks of Nintendo (and their respective owners). This repository contains no game data, disc images, or extracted assets. To use it, you need your own legally obtained copy of the game, and you build it yourself on your own machine. Please don't share game files or builds made from them.