StarPSX is a fast, cross-platform PlayStation 1 emulator written entirely in Rust with no external dependencies, making it exceptionally easy to build and highly portable. Available on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
I primarily develop on Linux, so other platform support may be rough at times; feel free to open an issue.
See the Compatibility Wiki for the current list of running games.
Download the latest binaries from the official releases or if you are using an Arch Linux based system, its available on the AUR as the starpsx-bin package (it may be outdated because I maintain the package in my free time.)
StarPSX is designed to be lightweight. On Windows and macOS, no additional dependencies are required.
cargo build --releaseOn Linux, ensure the following development packages are installed:
sudo apt install libudev-dev libasound2-devStarPSX requires a PlayStation BIOS image to run. On first launch, go to Settings > BIOS Settings and select your BIOS file.
The recommended BIOS is SCPH-1001 (NTSC-U), this is the version all games are tested against. Other BIOS versions may work but are untested.
StarPSX defaults to a GUI but also supports CLI-based startup:
Usage: starpsx [OPTIONS] [FILE]
Arguments:
[FILE] File to start the emulator with
Options:
-s, --show-vram Display full VRAM
-a, --auto-run Skip GUI and auto-start the emulator
-d, --debugger-view Show debugger_view on startup
-f, --full-speed Run emulator at full speed
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version
core: Frontend-agnostic library containing the main emulator logic.renderer: Software rasterizer written from scratch.frontend: The main user interface crate implemented usingeframe/egui.cue: Cue parsing library written from scratch.procmac: Helpful procedural macros.
| Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 🟢 | Passes most test ROMs |
| GPU | 🟡 | Works well with some minor visual bugs in some games |
| DMA | 🟡 | Issues with IRQ timings and infinite linked lists |
| Timers | 🟢 | Functional but may contain inaccuracies |
| CDROM | 🟡 | Some unimplemented commands and timing issues |
| GTE | 🟢 | Passes all test ROMs except timing |
| Gamepad | 🟢 | Full analog pad support |
| Memory Card | 🟢 | Per-title and shared cards implemented |
| MDEC | 🟢 | Passes most test ROMs |
| SPU | 🟡 | No sweep volume implementation |
- psx-spx for PlayStation documentation
- jsgroth's PSX emulator blog posts
- Duckstation for behavior comparison
- The folks over at the EmuDev Discord
- Rustation for GTE reference
