PKG Creation - PSL1GHT

Overview

The PKG creation tools allow you to package your PS3 homebrew applications into installable PKG files. These packages include your application executable, metadata, icons, and additional resources.

PKG files created with these tools are for homebrew use on custom firmware only.

Package Components

PARAM.SFO

System File Object containing application metadata, title, ID, and version information.

EBOOT.BIN

The main application executable in NPDRM SELF format.

ICON0.PNG

Application icon displayed in the XMB (320x176 pixels recommended).

Resources

Additional files like sounds, textures, and data files in USRDIR/.

Required Tools

The PKG creation process uses two Python scripts from tools/ps3py/:

pkg.py: Creates PKG archives from directory structures
sfo.py: Generates PARAM.SFO metadata files

PARAM.SFO Creation

Using sfo.py

PARAM.SFO files contain essential metadata for your application.

sfo.py -f [options] input.xml output.sfo

SFO XML Format

Create an XML template with your application metadata:

sfo.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<sfo>
  <value name="APP_VER" type="string">01.00</value>
  <value name="ATTRIBUTE" type="integer">0</value>
  <value name="BOOTABLE" type="integer">1</value>
  <value name="CATEGORY" type="string">HG</value>
  <value name="LICENSE" type="string">Creative Commons</value>
  <value name="PS3_SYSTEM_VER" type="string">03.4100</value>
  <value name="RESOLUTION" type="integer">63</value>
  <value name="SOUND_FORMAT" type="integer">1</value>
  <value name="TITLE" type="string">My PSL1GHT App</value>
  <value name="TITLE_ID" type="string">MYAP00001</value>
  <value name="VERSION" type="string">01.00</value>
</sfo>

PSL1GHT includes a default sfo.xml at $PS3DEV/bin/sfo.xml that you can customize.

Generate PARAM.SFO

# From XML template
sfo.py -f sfo.xml PARAM.SFO

# Override title and app ID
sfo.py -f sfo.xml --title "My Game" --appid "GAME00001" PARAM.SFO

SFO Options

-f, --fromxml

string

Convert from XML to SFO format

-t, --toxml

string

Convert existing SFO to XML format

--title

string

Override the TITLE field from XML

--appid

string

Override the TITLE_ID field from XML

-l, --list

string

List contents of an existing SFO file

PKG Creation Workflow

Prepare Directory Structure

Create a package directory with the required structure:

mkdir -p pkg/USRDIR

Create NPDRM EBOOT.BIN

Convert your ELF to NPDRM SELF format:

fself -n myapp.elf pkg/USRDIR/EBOOT.BIN

Generate PARAM.SFO

Create the metadata file:

sfo.py -f sfo.xml --title "My App" --appid "MYAP00001" pkg/PARAM.SFO

Add Icon and Resources

Copy your icon and additional files:

cp ICON0.PNG pkg/
cp -r data/* pkg/USRDIR/

Create PKG

Build the package with a Content ID:

pkg.py --contentid UP0001-MYAP00001_00-0000000000000000 pkg/ myapp.pkg

Using pkg.py

Basic Usage

pkg.py [options] source-directory [output-file]

Creating a Package

# Create PKG from directory
pkg.py --contentid UP0001-GAME00001_00-0000000000000000 pkg/ mygame.pkg

# If output file is omitted, uses Content ID as filename
pkg.py --contentid UP0001-GAME00001_00-0000000000000000 pkg/
# Creates: UP0001-GAME00001_00-0000000000000000.pkg

PKG Options

-c, --contentid

string

required

Content ID in format: UP0001-TITLEID_00-0000000000000000

-l, --list

string

List contents of an existing PKG file

-x, --extract

string

Extract contents from an existing PKG

Content ID Format

The Content ID must follow Sony’s format:

UP0001-TITLEID_00-0000000000000000
│     │        │  │
│     │        │  └─ Unique identifier (16 chars)
│     │        └──── Version separator
│     └───────────── Title ID (9 chars)
└─────────────────── Publisher ID

For homebrew, use UP0001 as the publisher ID and create a unique Title ID.

Package Directory Structure

Your package directory should follow this structure:

pkg/
├── PARAM.SFO          # Application metadata (required)
├── ICON0.PNG          # Application icon (required)
├── PIC1.PNG           # Background image (optional)
└── USRDIR/            # Application directory (required)
    ├── EBOOT.BIN      # Main executable (required)
    ├── data/          # Your data files
    ├── shaders/       # Shader files
    └── textures/      # Texture files

The EBOOT.BIN must be in NPDRM SELF format. Use fself -n to create it.

Automated Build Integration

The PSL1GHT build system automates PKG creation in ppu_rules:

%.pkg: %.self
    $(VERB) echo building pkg ... $(notdir $@)
    $(VERB) mkdir -p $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/USRDIR
    $(VERB) cp $(ICON0) $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/ICON0.PNG
    $(VERB) $(SELF_NPDRM) $(BUILDDIR)/$(basename $(notdir $<)).elf \
            $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/USRDIR/EBOOT.BIN $(CONTENTID)
    $(VERB) $(SFO) --title "$(TITLE)" --appid "$(APPID)" \
            -f $(SFOXML) $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/PARAM.SFO
    $(VERB) if [ -n "$(PKGFILES)" -a -d "$(PKGFILES)" ]; then \
            cp -rf $(PKGFILES)/* $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/; fi
    $(VERB) $(PKG) --contentid $(CONTENTID) $(BUILDDIR)/pkg/ $@

Makefile Configuration

Configure your Makefile with package metadata:

# Package settings
TITLE      := My PSL1GHT Application
APPID      := MYAP00001
CONTENTID  := UP0001-$(APPID)_00-0000000000000000
ICON0      := $(CURDIR)/resources/ICON0.PNG
SFOXML     := $(CURDIR)/resources/sfo.xml
PKGFILES   := $(CURDIR)/pkgfiles

Build PKG

# Build everything and create PKG
make pkg

# Or explicitly
make myapp.pkg

Complete Example

#!/bin/bash

# Set up variables
APP_NAME="mygame"
APP_TITLE="My Awesome Game"
APP_ID="GAME00001"
CONTENT_ID="UP0001-${APP_ID}_00-0000000000000000"

# Create directory structure
mkdir -p pkg/USRDIR

# Create NPDRM SELF
fself -n build/${APP_NAME}.elf pkg/USRDIR/EBOOT.BIN

# Generate PARAM.SFO
sfo.py -f sfo.xml --title "${APP_TITLE}" --appid "${APP_ID}" pkg/PARAM.SFO

# Copy resources
cp resources/ICON0.PNG pkg/
cp -r data/* pkg/USRDIR/

# Create PKG
pkg.py --contentid ${CONTENT_ID} pkg/ ${APP_NAME}.pkg

echo "Package created: ${APP_NAME}.pkg"

Package Testing

List Package Contents

# View files in PKG
pkg.py -l myapp.pkg

Output:

Listing: "myapp.pkg"
+) overwrite, -) no overwrite

  directory:+          0: 
   raw data:+        320: PARAM.SFO
   raw data:+      51200: ICON0.PNG
  directory:+          0: USRDIR
 NPDRM SELF:+     524288: USRDIR/EBOOT.BIN
   raw data:+      16384: USRDIR/data/textures.dat

Extract Package

# Extract PKG to directory
pkg.py -x myapp.pkg

# Creates directory: UP0001-MYAP00001_00-0000000000000000/

Source Code Reference

Packaging tools are implemented in:

PKG Tool: tools/ps3py/pkg.py:1-608
SFO Tool: tools/ps3py/sfo.py:1-323
PKG Encryption: tools/ps3py/crypt.c
FSELF Integration: tools/ps3py/fself.py

Key Functions

# From tools/ps3py/pkg.py:378
def pack(folder, contentid, outname=None):
    # Creates encrypted PKG from folder structure
    # Handles NPDRM SELF metadata
    # Generates QA digest for verification

Troubleshooting

Error: Invalid Content ID

Ensure your Content ID follows the correct format:

UP0001-TITLEID_00-0000000000000000

Publisher: UP0001 (4-6 chars)
Title ID: 9 characters
Version: 00
Unique ID: 16 characters

PKG Won't Install on PS3

Common causes:

EBOOT.BIN is not in NPDRM format (use fself -n)
PARAM.SFO is missing or invalid
Custom firmware doesn’t support homebrew PKG installation

Application Doesn't Appear in XMB

Check that:

ICON0.PNG exists and is valid
PARAM.SFO has correct CATEGORY (use “HG” for homebrew games)
TITLE field in PARAM.SFO is not empty

Python Import Errors

The ps3py tools require Python 2 and compiled extensions:

cd tools/ps3py
python setup.py build

FSELF Tool

Create SELF executables for packaging

PS3 Loading

Test without creating PKG files

Build System

Automate PKG creation

Sample Projects

See complete packaging examples

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Graphics

Input

Audio

Networking

System

System Utilities

SPU Development

Tools

Advanced Topics

​Overview

​Package Components

PARAM.SFO

EBOOT.BIN

ICON0.PNG

Resources

​Required Tools

​PARAM.SFO Creation

​Using sfo.py

​SFO XML Format

​Generate PARAM.SFO

​SFO Options

​PKG Creation Workflow

​Using pkg.py

​Basic Usage

​Creating a Package

​PKG Options

​Content ID Format

​Package Directory Structure

​Automated Build Integration

​Makefile Configuration

​Build PKG

​Complete Example

​Package Testing

​List Package Contents

​Extract Package

​Source Code Reference

​Key Functions

​Troubleshooting

​See Also

FSELF Tool

PS3 Loading

Build System

Sample Projects

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Package Components

Required Tools

PARAM.SFO Creation

Using sfo.py

SFO XML Format

Generate PARAM.SFO

SFO Options

PKG Creation Workflow

Using pkg.py

Basic Usage

Creating a Package

PKG Options

Content ID Format

Package Directory Structure

Automated Build Integration

Makefile Configuration

Build PKG

Complete Example

Package Testing

List Package Contents

Extract Package

Source Code Reference

Key Functions

Troubleshooting

See Also