shadPS4 iOS and iPadOS Port

This repository is an experimental iOS and iPadOS port branch of shadPS4, an early PlayStation 4 emulator written in C++.

The goal of this fork is to explore a mobile Apple Silicon path for shadPS4, starting with iPadOS devices powerful enough to make testing realistic.

Important

This is not a finished iOS app yet. The current work is port scaffolding: device policy, resolution limits, external JIT readiness hooks, and build configuration for future iOS/iPadOS targets.

Current Target

The first test device for this branch is:

• iPad Air M3
• iPad15,3 to iPad15,6
• iOS/iPadOS 18.0 or newer

Runtime policy currently requires:

• iOS/iPadOS 18.0 or newer
• iPhone/iOS device with at least 6 GB RAM
• 8 GB RAM recommended
• iPadOS device must be M1 or newer
• iPad Air M3 is explicitly accepted for testing
• Rendering presets are limited to 1280x720 and 1600x900

JIT Strategy

iOS and iPadOS do not provide a normal desktop-style JIT environment for apps. This fork therefore does not assume that the emulator itself owns a JIT entitlement.

Instead, the branch expects JIT to be enabled from outside the app, for example with SideStore's JIT workflow during testing. The branch adds an external JIT bridge in:

• src/core/jit/external_jit_bridge.h
• src/core/jit/external_jit_bridge.cpp

An external sideload/debug workflow can provide these weak hooks:

bool shadps4_external_jit_is_ready(void);
bool shadps4_external_jit_prepare_process(void);

Desktop tests can also set:

SHADPS4_EXTERNAL_JIT_READY=1

On Apple platforms the bridge also performs a lightweight executable-memory probe. When SideStore has enabled JIT for the app process, the launcher's External JIT card should change from Not detected to a ready provider state.

This only reports readiness. It does not bypass iOS code-signing rules by itself.

Build Notes

You need full Xcode with the iPhoneOS SDK installed. Apple Command Line Tools alone are not enough.

Example configure command:

cmake -S . -B build/ios-device \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=iOS \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT=iphoneos \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=arm64 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=18.0 \
  -DSHADPS4_IOS_PORT=ON \
  -DSHADPS4_ENABLE_EXTERNAL_JIT_BRIDGE=ON

Current on-device testing starts with the smoke-test app:

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer cmake -S . -B build/ios-smoke -G Xcode \
  -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=iOS \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT=iphoneos \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=arm64 \
  -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=18.0 \
  -DSHADPS4_IOS_PORT=ON \
  -DSHADPS4_IOS_BUILD_SMOKE_APP=ON \
  -DSHADPS4_ENABLE_EXTERNAL_JIT_BRIDGE=ON

Unsigned compile check:

DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer xcodebuild \
  -project build/ios-smoke/shadPS4.xcodeproj \
  -scheme shadps4-ios-smoke \
  -configuration Debug \
  -destination 'generic/platform=iOS' \
  clean build CODE_SIGNING_ALLOWED=NO

Physical-device install requires an Apple Development signing identity and a provisioning profile for dev.guty345.shadps4-ios-smoke.

The normal desktop shadPS4 build path is inherited from upstream. See the original build documentation:

• Windows
• Linux
• macOS

Port Status

Implemented in this branch:

• iOS/iPadOS CMake scaffolding
• iOS smoke-test app target
• Native UIKit launcher UI for on-device testing
• iOS deployment target set to 18.0
• Device policy for RAM, iPad M-series support, and iPad Air M3
• Resolution clamp to 720p or 900p
• External JIT readiness bridge
• SideStore-compatible executable-memory readiness probe
• Game/folder picker with eboot.bin, sce_sys/param.sfo, and icon0.png discovery
• GameController.framework detection for DualSense, DualShock 4, Xbox, and MFi controllers
• Apple Runtime status panel for tracking which macOS ARM pieces can be reused
• UIKit-owned CAMetalLayer renderer surface with a Metal diagnostic clear
• MoltenVK ICD resource packaging when the upstream ICD file is present
• MoltenVK runtime loader and CMake wiring for .xcframework, .framework, .dylib, or .a iOS builds
• Optional bundled MoltenVK build path reused from the existing Apple/macOS ARM dependency tree
• ARM64 dynarec backend skeleton tied to external SideStore JIT status
• ARM64 executable-code validation stub for testing JIT pages on device
• SDL Metal surface path extended for iOS
• Port notes in docs/ios-ipados-port.md

Still needed:

• iOS MoltenVK runtime binary or xcframework linkage
• On-device Vulkan presenter validation through VK_EXT_metal_surface
• Touch overlay input for playing without a hardware controller
• Full PS4 x86_64 instruction decoder and ARM64 block translator
• External JIT provider integration beyond readiness detection
• Real game boot path after renderer, sysmodule, and CPU execution paths are connected

To link an iOS MoltenVK runtime, configure with one of these paths:

-DSHADPS4_IOS_MOLTENVK_XCFRAMEWORK=/path/to/MoltenVK.xcframework
-DSHADPS4_IOS_MOLTENVK_FRAMEWORK=/path/to/MoltenVK.framework
-DSHADPS4_IOS_MOLTENVK_DYLIB=/path/to/libMoltenVK.dylib
-DSHADPS4_IOS_MOLTENVK_STATIC=/path/to/libMoltenVK.a

To try building the bundled MoltenVK source that already exists in this repo:

-DSHADPS4_IOS_BUILD_BUNDLED_MOLTENVK=ON

macOS ARM Reuse

The macOS Apple Silicon path is useful, but it cannot be dropped into iPadOS unchanged. This fork can reuse Apple arm64 build detection, shared C++ state, controller mapping ideas, and the Metal/MoltenVK rendering direction.

The app now reuses the same WindowSystemInfo::Metal contract that macOS ARM uses before vk_platform.cpp creates VK_EXT_metal_surface. The parts still blocking real game execution are full MoltenVK runtime validation on iOS, replacement of the desktop SDL lifecycle, and the x86/xbyak CPU backend.

Legal Files and Game Dumps

This repository does not include PlayStation 4 firmware, system modules, games, keys, or copyrighted Sony content.

Use only files dumped from hardware and games you legally own. Upstream shadPS4 requires supported PS4 firmware modules to be placed in the emulator sys_modules folder when needed.

Upstream Project

This fork is based on the official shadPS4 emulator:

• Website: shadps4.net
• Upstream repository: shadps4-emu/shadPS4
• Compatibility tracker: shadps4-game-compatibility
• Discord: shadPS4 Discord

Please support and credit the upstream project. This fork exists to explore the iOS/iPadOS port path, not to replace upstream shadPS4.

License

This project follows upstream shadPS4 licensing:

• GPL-2.0-or-later