nxnative-easy/docs/personal-ios.md

Desktop interface

For daily use, open nxnative.app, choose a game folder and press Preparar para iPhone. The native macOS interface uses generic SF Symbols instead of game artwork and shows progress and provides buttons for the lightweight IPA, RomFS folder and Sideloadly. First-time setup still needs full Xcode, Homebrew and the user's game/key files. It never signs, installs or enters an Apple account.

To create it on another Mac, double-click scripts/Abrir-interfaz.command from the checkout. Build outputs stay beside the repository, under nxnative-easy/; the local app points back to this checkout, so recreate it if the checkout is moved. The existing CLI remains available below. Cancellation signals the entire build process group.

Personal iOS builds

This branch retains nxnative's MIT license and attribution. It starts from upstream ecbeae164c0b419d1ba1031248fe1402050a3eb0, includes the shared iOS touch editor and the tested #277 extraction-space fix, and keeps the working Dread shader chain. Upstream changes are reviewed in the PR review.

One command, including lightweight export

Double-click scripts/Build-iPhone.command in Finder, choose the folder containing one game's base NSP/XCI and updates, and select the external folder containing your own prod.keys when asked. Alternatively, from this checkout:

bash scripts/prepare_ios.sh "/Volumes/Games/MyGame"

Full Xcode and Homebrew must be installed first. The script checks iOS SDK 26+, installs missing command-line dependencies, and keeps its Python environment next to the game. It builds using THIS checkout, including the editor and any local changes. It never clones an older revision over it, resets it, or pulls upstream. For subsequent games, run the same command with a different external game folder. It supports the upstream builder's known games; unsupported titles may require bring-up even when a provisional IPA can be generated.

The default result is an unsigned full IPA plus a separate output folder with a lightweight unsigned IPA, romfs/, and installation instructions. Each run uses new names; previous IPAs, game packages, extraction and shader caches are retained. Lightweight ZIP validation rejects traversal, duplicate/colliding paths, symlinks, keys and unsupported compression. All exported data are streamed with CRC checks. Large uncompressed app resources may still exceed the non-ZIP64 format limit; the script stops rather than silently emit a Sideloadly-incompatible archive.

Per-game nxnative-ios.json records the source revision, app identity, language, version and outputs; it contains no key values. Later runs retain its bundle ID. The default language is es-419; the upstream builder handles supported-language selection. The default pipeline archive target is none, as in the working Dread build; choose a known compatible target explicitly with --gpu when desired. Game versions are selected by upstream (newest present unless --package is set). An update may change RomFS, so only reuse phone data when that data are identical.

Rebuild the app using existing caches

For editor/app-only changes on an already prepared game:

bash scripts/prepare_ios.sh "/Volumes/Games/MyGame" --app-only

This does not need keys or re-extraction. It requires exactly one existing <title>_build folder in the game folder, valid rewritten modules, extracted RomFS and iOS shaders in the builder's standard locations. It selects the newest cached patched_v* unless --package is supplied. On the first app-only run, identity is read from the newest root-level unsigned IPA, then persisted. Keep only the intended app's IPAs in that game's folder. Shader stamp verification in build_ipa.sh remains enabled; stale caches fail explicitly rather than being used. Changes to a profile/compiler/shader chain require a normal full pipeline run. App-only and normal runs both re-export RomFS into a new output folder; they do not delete or synchronize the existing phone's Documents.

Options and diagnostics

bash scripts/prepare_ios.sh --setup-only "/Volumes/Games/MyGame"
python3 scripts/build_ios.py "/Volumes/Games/MyGame" --dry-run
python3 scripts/split_ipa.py "/Volumes/Games/MyGame/full-unsigned.ipa"
python3 scripts/review_upstream.py --output /Volumes/Games/new-pr-review

The direct Python build invocation needs the prepared venv. For example use <game>/nxnative-tools/venv/bin/python instead of python3. Dry-run reads the folder/configuration and source revision without opening keys or running a build; the setup shell still checks/installs dependencies before invoking Python. --full-only omits RomFS export. --keys-folder (or an explicit --keys file path), --bundle-id, --app-name, --language, --package and --gpu provide explicit overrides. The wrapper rejects simultaneous builds from this checkout because generated files and caches are shared. Avoid launching the original upstream builder alongside it.

Install and preserve saves

The scripts do not sign or install, use Apple accounts, or choose developer teams. The placeholder 0000000000 is only for unsigned packaging. Sign with Sideloadly using your personal account. Updating the installed app requires the same personal Apple account and the same effective bundle ID Sideloadly previously used. Keep any Sideloadly custom bundle-ID settings. The source IPA identifier alone cannot prove the identifier installed on the phone. Do not uninstall: this deletes saves and Documents/romfs. First installation needs the exported romfs folder copied whole to app Documents through Finder. Later app-only updates can reuse identical RomFS already there. Updates to game data require the matching new export.

Touch editor

Tap Edit controls above the game. Select a control from the menu or touch near its center; drag outside the tools to move it. Show / hide tools exposes areas behind the panel. Adjust Size (50–200%) and Opacity (0–100%). At 0% its hit area remains active; editing keeps an invisible control findable. Save commits, Cancel reloads saved preferences, Reset control and Reset all restore original geometry and need Save to confirm. Each app stores independent 2D and 3D layouts. The game keeps running during editing. Controller connection changes cancel unsaved edits. Actual iPhone multitouch and controller behavior still need user validation after signing/installing.

Verify changes before committing

python3 -m unittest discover -s scripts/tests
python3 -m unittest dm.tools.tests.test_nsp_space
python3 -m unittest discover -s dm/ios/tests
GAME=010093801237C000 python3 dm/ios/tools/compile_check.py

Keep game packages, keys, saves, IPAs, signing material and extracted resources outside this source repository. .gitignore guards common output types; it is not a substitute for reviewing staged files. Original downloaded scripts were preserved on the Mac. These maintained scripts generalize that preparation and splitting workflow without the Metroid-only profile/bundle assumptions.

Accounts and keys

The desktop build runs swiftc and explicitly ad-hoc signs with codesign --sign -. No Apple identity, certificate or development team is selected. The iPhone package continues to use CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO; Sideloadly signing is a separate user step. The GUI remembers only a user-selected keys-folder path in local UserDefaults. It passes that explicit folder to the builder; keys are not copied, bundled, downloaded or stored in repository configuration. The CLI always prompts for a folder when no explicit key option is supplied, even if prod.keys is beside a game. The game app's key file is never packed into an IPA. Tests use disposable synthetic bytes, not Nintendo key material.