Console Anywhere skill

console-anywhere

A PS2Recomp port is a normal native program (ps2EntryRunner) built from the recompiled game code plus the runtime, drawn with raylib. The same CMake project builds it on Windows, macOS (Apple silicon through sse2neon), Linux and the Steam Deck; android/ makes an APK and vita/ makes a vpk. This skill checks the toolchain, prints the right steps for each device, and packages the result so the player brings the game from their own disc.

Honest limits: PS2Recomp says it is tested mainly with MSVC, so Mac, Linux, Android and Vita builds get less testing; the Vita is far slower than a PC; Android has no on-screen controls yet. And the runner is compiled from your game's recompiled code, so a package is for your own devices: it never contains the disc, but it is still derived from the game, so it is not something to upload.

${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR} below is this skill's folder (where this SKILL.md lives).

python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" doctor                       # this machine's own OS
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" doctor --target android --target vita   # or --target all
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" plan --target steamdeck --elf-name SLUS_203.12
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" package --runner out/release/ps2xRuntime/ps2EntryRunner \
        --target linux --elf-name SLUS_203.12 --game "My Game" --serial SLUS-20312 \
        --out console/dist/mygame-linux
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" guard console/dist/mygame-linux   # before you zip or push anything
python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/targets.py" recomp-json --game "My Game" --serial SLUS-20312 --status playable

Targets: windows, macos, linux, steamdeck, android, vita, and web (plan and doctor only: a separate toolchain). plan takes --repo (your PS2Recomp checkout) and --build-dir. package takes --lib FILE (extra libraries), --allow FILE, --replace, --status, --json. Exit codes: 0 ok, 1 something missing or refused, 2 bad input.

What it reads and writes

file	what
your build output	ps2EntryRunner (+ .dll / .so / .dylib next to it), app-release.apk, or ps2EntryRunner.vpk
console/dist/<name>/	the player folder: runner, libraries, game/ (empty), PLAYERS.md, play.bat / play.command / play.sh / install-android.sh, .recomp.json, .console-dist.json
templates/PLAYERS.md	the player instructions template
.recomp.json	optional project description read by recomp lists (PS2Recomp itself ignores it)
console/STATE.md	read the build folder and checkout path from it; log what was built

Method

1. Ask where they want to play and on what: a PC, a Mac, a Steam Deck, an Android phone, tablet or TV box, a homebrew Vita. "On the TV" means an Android TV box with a Bluetooth pad, or a PC or Deck plugged into the TV with a controller.
2. The port must already run here. Build it and check it with /console-tester on the machine you develop on first. A crash on the desktop will not get better on a phone.
3. Doctor. targets.py doctor --target <t>. Install what is MISSING with the printed command, then run doctor again.
4. Plan. targets.py plan --target <t> --elf-name <the disc's ELF>. Follow the steps in the user's checkout (the one holding their recompiled code). Per-target details and the source of each fact: reference/targets.md.
5. Build with the plan's commands. Incremental only; never clean a build folder, never CLEAN=1 for the Vita. A separate release folder (out/release) keeps the day-to-day build intact.
6. Package. targets.py package --runner <built file> --target <t> --out console/dist/<name>. Add --elf-name (else the launch script reads BOOT2 from the player's SYSTEM.CNF) and --game/--serial for .recomp.json.
7. Read the guard's verdict. A refusal lists each file and why. Fix the cause (wrong --lib, a disc file next to the runner). Never add an allow line for a disc image, a PS2 ELF, an IRX, SYSTEM.CNF or runner sources: the allow file is only for a false positive that is truly the user's own file, with the reason written next to it. Details: reference/guard.md.
8. Install on the device following PLAYERS.md, then the player dumps their own disc into game/. Test it there, and log the result in console/STATE.md.

Per target in one line

target	runner	how the ELF is found	notes
Windows	ps2EntryRunner.exe + FFmpeg DLLs	play.bat passes game\<ELF>	MSVC, the most tested path
macOS	ps2EntryRunner	play.command passes game/<ELF>	arm64 builds through sse2neon; needs Homebrew FFmpeg unless built without it
Linux	ps2EntryRunner	play.sh	raylib needs X11 and GL headers to build
Steam Deck	the Linux build	play.sh, added to Steam as a non-Steam game	or the Windows build under Proton (untested here)
Android	app-release.apk	baked in with -Pps2xBootElf=...	files go to /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.ps2x.runner/files/ with adb push; pair a controller
PS Vita	ps2EntryRunner.vpk	baked in by ./vita/build.sh <ux0:data/... path>	./vita/setup.sh once; install with VitaShell; slow
web	(not a PS2Recomp target)		snuri00/ps2-web-recomp is a different recompiler: a second port of the same disc, experimental

Guard rails

• Bring your own game. Every player supplies the game from a disc they own, dumped themselves. Never download ISOs, ELFs or BIOS files, never help find them, never ask for them. No BIOS needed.
• Nothing from the game gets published. package refuses disc images (ISO, BIN, IMG, MDF, NRG, CHD, CSO and ISO 9660 content under any name), PS2 ELFs and IRX modules (by magic and machine), disc-style names like SLUS_203.12, SYSTEM.CNF, recompiled runner/ sources, anything in game/, and any file over 512 MB. The runner itself is built from the recompiled game code: the package is for the user's own devices, not for upload. Share patches, overrides and original assets.
• Not affiliated with Sony. PlayStation is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment. PS Vita homebrew, Steam, Android and the other platforms belong to their owners.
• Never destroy the user's files. --replace only replaces a folder this tool made, and refuses while game/ holds anything (the player's disc, saves in mc0/).

Hands off to

• /console-tester to run the build on this machine before packaging, and after.
• /console-controller for the device's controls (xbox layout on the Steam Deck, touch zones or a Bluetooth pad on Android).
• /console-saves to move saves between devices (mc0/ sits next to the game's ELF).