Create patches from the CLI

Build a patch from an original ROM and a modified one, add SOLID metadata, and test the result before publishing it. New to the CLI? Start with Get started.

01Create a patch

Build a patch from an original ROM and a changed one:

rom-weaver patch create \
  --original original.gba \
  --modified modified.gba \
  --format bps \
  --output release.bps

SOLID patches carry their own metadata. --solid-system, --solid-game, and --solid-hack fill in its three-string header. Adding any of --solid-version, --solid-author, --solid-contact, or --solid-comment switches to the seven-string extended header; --solid-extended selects that header with the extra fields left empty. These flags need SOLID output and cannot be combined with --plan.

rom-weaver patch create \
  --original original.sfc \
  --modified translated.sfc \
  --output translation.solid \
  --solid-system SNES \
  --solid-game "Example Game" \
  --solid-hack "English Translation" \
  --solid-version 1.0 \
  --solid-author "Example Team"

02Test what you built

Never publish an untested patch. Apply it back onto a clean copy of the original and checksum the result, as the practice walkthrough shows end to end, or run patch validate for a check that writes nothing; its flags are covered in Apply patches from the CLI.

03Where next

• Unsure which format to publish in? Pick a patch format.
• Ship several patches with checksums and ordering as one file: Bundles from the CLI.
• Every patch create flag is in the CLI reference.