Getting Started

Wii homebrew is compiled using devkitpro, specifically devkitPPC. It compiles to a boot.dol and a boot.elf file, we're more interested in the first.

Repository Setup

Use the wii-template template repository to create your git repo. You can either click the "Use this template" button, or select "alex/wii-template" from the "Template" dropdown when making a repository. The template includes:

• The example hello world application from devkitpro.
• The devkitpro example Makefile, modified to always output a file named boot.dol for the Homebrew Channel.
• A Jenkinsfile that will build your code using the Makefile in the devkitppc Docker container.
• The icon.png and meta.xml files needed for the Homebrew Channel.

Local Compilation

Most sources online recommend you install devkitpro locally, so that's definitely an option. Nobody really mentions the Docker container, but if you want you can use that locally too, using the following command from the project root directory:

docker run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/src devkitpro/devkitppc bash -c 'cd /src; make'

This will output your boot.dol and boot.elf to the same folder.

Emulating Your Code

You can quite eaisly run your code in the Dolphin emulator, just go to "Open" and select your boot.dol file.

Homebrew Channel Installation

To get the code running on an actual Wii, you need to install it to the Homebrew Channel. Applications are installed to the apps folder in the root of your SD card, each application has its own folder. Just put your boot.dol, meta.xml and icon.png in a new folder in the apps folder, and you should be good to go.

The meta.xml describes what appears in the menu for your application in the Homebrew Channel. Its fields are documented on wiibrew, here.

The icon.png is the application's icon in the Homebrew Channel. Wiibrew says it should be 128x48 pixels (see here), and provides a seperate page with a lot of templates.