Makerom

makerom is a tool which can be used to create NCCH, CCI, and CIA files.

makerom
General
Author(s)	3dsguy
Type	PC utility
Version	0.15
Links
Download
Source

Format Overviews

NCCH

The native format storing code binaries and data archives for the 3DS is NCCH. NCCH files are comprised of:

• code/exheader/plainregion (used for code execution) (plainregion just lists included SDK library add-ons)
• icon (app title text, icon, homemenu settings, see here
• banner (cbmd + cwav, i.e. the upper screen banner/sound shown on the homemenu)
• logo (the splash screen displayed after an application is launched from the homemenu)
• romfs (read-only filesystem used to store resources)

Typical uses for NCCH files include:

• Executable image (code+exheader+icon+banner+logo+romfs)
• e-Manual archive (accessed from homemenu) (romfs)
• DLP child CIA archive (accessed from application) (romfs)
• Update Data archive (romfs)
• Standalone data archive (romfs)
• DLC index archive (icon+romfs)
• DLC archive (romfs)

CCI

The native format for gamecard images is CCI and is a NCCH container format. CCI files are limited to containing 8 NCCH files, and can contain NCCH files for applications titles only.

NCCH configuration for CCI

NCCH	Required	Index
Executable image	YES	0
e-Manual archive	NO	1
DLP child CIA archive	NO	2
Update Data archive	NO	7

CIA

The native format for packaging NCCH files for install is CIA, which is also a NCCH container format. CIA files are limited to containing 65535 NCCH files and can be used to contain NCCH files for any title type. CIA files also contain signed data used by the 3DS for general title management and DRM. Installing custom CIA files on a 3DS which also uses eShop/SysUpdates is unwise as conflicts will likely occur.

NCCH configurations for CIA

Applications (Application/DlpChild/Demo/Patch/SystemApplication):

NCCH	Required	Index
Executable image	YES	0
e-Manual archive	NO	1
DLP child CIA archive	NO	2

System Applet/Module:

NCCH	Required	Index
Executable image	YES	0

System Data Archives:

NCCH	Required	Index
Data archive	YES	0

DLC:

The number of DLC data archives in DLC varies for each DLC.

NCCH	Required	Index
DLC index archive	YES	0
DLC data archive	YES	Varies

Using Makerom

Command line

makerom [general args] [rsf args] [crypto args] [ncch 0 build args] [cci args] [cia args]

General Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-f <format>	'ncch'/'cxi'/'cfa'/'cci'/'cia'	Specify the output file format. 'ncch'/'cxi'/'cfa' has no affect, probably parsed without error for legacy support.
-o <path>	Valid file path.	Specify name/path for output file. Makerom will decided a name if this is not specified.
-v	not required	Enables verbose output.

RSF Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-rsf <path>	Valid file path	Specify the path to Rom Specification File(RSF). See below for creating RSF.
-D<NAME>=<VALUE>		This is used to substitute where "$(<NAME>)" exists in the RSF files with "<VALUE>". (Uppercase isn't a requirement)

Crypto Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-target <target>	't'/'d'/'p'	Specify key-chain. This affects encryption, signing and '-desc' template availability. t=test, suitable for homebrew. d=devkit(incomplete), suitable for devkits. p=retail(unusable), suitable for signing retail software?
-ckeyid <index>	Any value between 0-255 (inclusive).	Overrides the default common key used to encrypt CIA title keys.
-showkeys	none	Dumps loaded key-chain to stdout.

NCCH Build Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-elf <file>	Valid file path	Specify ELF. See below for creating ELF.
-icon <file>	Valid file path	Specify icon.
-banner <file>	Valid file path	Specify banner.
-desc <apptype>:<fw>	<apptype>='app'/'ecapp'/'demo'/'dlpchild'. <fw>='kernel version minor'.	Use a template for exheader/accessdesc. These are hard-coded, so not all firmwares have a template. A value from 1-7 can be used in place of 'kernel version minor'. A template shouldn't be used if the title needs "special" permissions, the RSF must be configured fully.
-exefslogo	none	Include logo in ExeFS. Required for usage on <5.0 systems.

Arguments useful for rebuilding a NCCH file:

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-code <file>	Valid file path	Specify decompressed/plaintext exefs code binary.
-exheader <file>	Valid file path	Specify plaintext exheader binary.
-logo <file>	Valid file path	Specify logo.
-plainrgn <file>	Valid file path	Specify NCCH plain-region.
-romfs <file>	Valid file path	Specify an unencrypted RomFS binary.

CCI Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-content <path>:<index>	<path>=Valid file path. <index>=Any value between 0-7 (inclusive)	Include a built NCCH file in the CCI container. "-i" can be used instead of "-content".
-devcci	none	Build a debug CCI?
-nomodtid	none	Don't modify the TitleIds of NCCH files included to match NCCH0
-alignwr	none	Align the offset for the Card2 writable region to the end of the last NCCH in the CCI.

CIA Arguments

Argument	Acceptable values	Notes
-content <path>:<index>:<id>	<path>=Valid file path. <index>=Any value between 0x0-0xFFFF (inclusive). <id>=Any value between 0x0-0xFFFFFFFF (inclusive)	Include a built NCCH file in the CIA container. If <id> isn't specified, it will be generated randomly. "-i" can be used instead of "-content".
-major <version>	Any value between 0-63 (inclusive)	Specify the version major for the title. This cannot be used with "-dver".
-minor <version>	Any value between 0-63 (inclusive)	Specify the version minor for the title. This cannot be used with "-dver".
-micro <version>	Any value between 0-15 (inclusive)	Specify the version micro for the title.
-dver <version>	Any value between 0-4095 (inclusive)	Specify the data-title version for the title. This cannot be used with "-major" or "-minor".
-dlc	none	Specify this flag when building a DLC CIA.
-rand	none	Use a random title key to encrypt CIA content.

Examples

General examples:

Create CXI

makerom -o sample.cxi -rsf sample.rsf -target t -elf sample.elf -icon sample.icn -banner sample.bnr -desc app:4

Create CFA

makerom -o sample.cfa -rsf sample.rsf -target t

Create CCI

makerom -f cci -o sample.cci -target t -i sample.cxi:0 -i sample.cfa:1

Create CIA

makerom -f cia -o sample.cia -target t -i sample.cxi:0:0 -i sample.cfa:1:1

Makerom supports building a NCCH file and including it automatically (as index 0) into a NCCH container:

Create CCI and CXI at the same time and include a CFA

makerom -f cci -o sample.cci -rsf sample.rsf -target t -elf sample.elf -icon sample.icn -banner sample.bnr -desc app:4 -i sample.cfa:1

Create CIA and CXI at the same time and include a CFA

makerom -f cia -o sample.cia -rsf sample.rsf -target t -elf sample.elf -icon sample.icn -banner sample.bnr -desc app:4 -i sample.cfa:1:1

Rebuilding CXI:

makerom -o rebuild.cxi -rsf rebuild.rsf -target t -code rebuild/code.bin -exheader rebuild/exheader.bin -icon rebuild/icon.bin -banner rebuild/banner.bin -romfs rebuild/romfs.bin

Creating RSF files

Inspired by Nintendo's format for their makerom, a yaml configuration file is required for creating NCCH files. CIA/CCI can be created without using a RSF file, but default settings will be used.

For CXI, RSF files can be used to specify permissions, and access control settings. Makerom can use default settings by use of the "-desc" option, which removes the requirement for specifying them in the RSF file.

Sample RSF to be used with "-desc": download (link broken)

Sample RSF to be used without "-desc": download

Creating ELF files

The latest devkitARM used in conjunction with ctrulib can create ELF files compatible with makerom.

ELF files that are created using the official SDK are also supported by makerom.

Compiling Source

For Windows a MinGW-W64/MSYS build setup is required.

For Linux, gcc/g++/make must be installed.

All additional libraries used by makerom (polarssl/libyaml) are included in the source, and are linked statically.