rom64
rom64 is a free, open-source Nintendo 64 ROM utility written in Go for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
What rom64 is
rom64 is a free, open-source Nintendo 64 ROM utility written in Go for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its commands list ROMs in a directory, display ROM information, convert formats, and validate checksums. Listings can show title, ID, region, video system, CIC chip type, version, format, and file details, with output available as tables, text, JSON, CSV, tab-delimited text, or XML. The utility calculates MD5 and SHA-1 file checksums and CRC values. Conversion changes non-native files into native big-endian Z64 format and then compares SHA-1 values with known-good checksums. Validation checks a ROM’s SHA-1 against a datfile and works only when the ROM is already in native big-endian Z64 format. A recent datfile is included, while another can be selected with --datfile. The --rename-validated option renames validated files to their datfile names. The repository uses the MIT license. Building requires installing Go, fetching module dependencies, and running make all. Release v0.5.4 is listed as latest, and the maintainer profile identifies Mike Roach in Denmark.
Good
- Free and open source under MIT license
- Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows
- Multiple listing output formats
- Converts files to native Z64 format
- Supports MD5, SHA-1, and CRC values
Watch out
- Validation only supports native big-endian Z64 files
- Building requires Go and make
- Checksum comparison depends on a datfile
Who it suits
rom64 suits users who manage Nintendo 64 ROM collections on Linux, macOS, or Windows. It is useful when listing metadata, converting formats, calculating hashes, or checking known-good checksums.
Verdict
rom64 offers focused command-line tools for inspecting, converting, renaming, and verifying Nintendo 64 ROMs. Its Z64-only validation rule and source-build requirements are the main constraints.
The facts
Each one read from rom64's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Build
- The README says to install Go, fetch module dependencies, and run make all to build the project.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Build instructions
- The README’s build instructions say to install Go for the relevant platform, fetch module dependencies, and run `make all`.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Checksum limitation
- The README says validation checksums work only for ROM files in native big-endian Z64 format.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Checksums
- The utility can calculate file MD5 and SHA-1 checksums and CRC values.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Commands
- It provides `ls` to list ROMs, `info` to show information about one ROM, `convert` to convert a ROM, and `validate` to check a ROM’s SHA-1 checksum.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Datfile
- The binary includes a recent datfile, and users can specify a different one with the --datfile flag.checked 4 Oct 2026
- File checksums
- File checksum fields include MD5, SHA-1, and CRC values, and checksum calculation can be requested when listing ROMs.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Format conversion
- The `convert` command converts non-native ROM formats to native big-endian Z64 format.checked 11 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository lists an MIT license.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Maintainer
- The GitHub profile identifies the maintainer as Mike Roach and lists Denmark as the location.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Open source license
- The repository identifies its license as MIT.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Output formats
- The listing command supports table, text, JSON, CSV, tab-delimited, and XML output.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- rom64 is a Nintendo 64 ROM utility written in Go.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Release
- The releases page lists v0.5.4 as the latest release and describes its `--rename-validated` flag.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Rename option
- The `validate --rename-validated` option renames a validated ROM to the filename listed in the datfile.checked 11 Oct 2026
- ROM conversion
- The convert command converts ROMs from non-native formats to native big-endian Z64 format and then checks the SHA-1 against known good checksums.checked 4 Oct 2026
- ROM details
- ROM information includes metadata such as image name, region, video system, version, CIC chip type, and CRC values.checked 11 Oct 2026
- ROM listing
- The `ls` command supports table, text, JSON, CSV, tab, and XML output formats.checked 11 Oct 2026
- ROM metadata
- Its listing command can report ROM title, ID, region, video system, CIC chip type, version, format, and file details.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Validation
- The validate command checks a ROM’s SHA-1 against known-good checksums from a datfile.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Validation data
- The binary includes a recent datfile of known ROMs and SHA-1 checksums, and users can specify their own datfile with `--datfile`.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Validation limit
- Checksum validation works only on ROM files in native big-endian Z64 format.checked 4 Oct 2026
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