PS5 FFPFS-CLI

A cross-platform CLI and GUI tool to pack and build PS5 homebrew images in the .ffpfsc container format for ShadowMountPlus (SMP).

Rather than using complex, platform-dependent exFAT loopback mounts, this tool creates a standard uncompressed PFS image (pfs_image.dat) and packs it inside a compressed PFS container (.ffpfsc), which is the recommended layout for nested images in ShadowMountPlus.

Features

• Pure Python & Cross-Platform: Runs natively on macOS, Linux, and Windows with zero OS-specific dependencies.
• No Admin/Root Privileges Required: Since it doesn't need to mount loopback disks or format drives, it runs completely in userland.
• Smart Folder Discovery: You don't need to pass the exact game root. The tool recursively scans the provided directory for the actual game folder (containing eboot.bin and sce_sys/param.json).
• Title ID Auto-Naming: Automatically parses sce_sys/param.json to extract the game's actual Title ID (e.g., PPSA01411) and names output files accordingly.
• Archive Support: Directly process ZIP and RAR archives (including password-protected) without manual extraction. Uses a built-in, self-contained UnRAR C++ extension — no external unrar or 7-Zip binaries required.
• Batch Processing: Process an entire directory of multiple games, archives, and .exfat files into separate images automatically using the --batch flag.
• GUI Mode: Launch a graphical user interface with --gui for a point-and-click workflow.
• Auto-Cleanup: Automatically cleans up intermediate nested PFS files, keeping only the final compressed .ffpfsc file.

Download Prebuilt Binaries

Prebuilt standalone binaries are available on the Releases page. No Python installation required.

Platform	Download
Windows (x64)	PS5-FFPFS-CLI-Windows-x64.exe
macOS (universal)	PS5-FFPFS-CLI-macOS-universal.zip
Linux (x64)	PS5-FFPFS-CLI-Linux-x64.AppImage

Requirements (Source Install)

• Python 3.8+
• A C++ compiler (only needed to build the built-in unrar extension from source)

Installation (Source)

git clone https://github.com/bizkut/ps5-ffpfs-cli.git
cd ps5-ffpfs-cli
pip install -e ./unrar

The unrar directory contains a self-contained C++ extension for RAR extraction. It will be built automatically during pip install.

CLI Usage

python3 cli.py [game_folder_or_archive_or_exfat] [output] [options]

Options

Flag	Description
--keep-pfs	Keep the intermediate nested PFS image (<title_id>_nested_pfs.dat)
--batch	Process multiple inputs into multiple outputs. output is treated as a directory.
--gui	Launch the graphical user interface
-f, --force, --overwrite	Overwrite existing files without prompting
--password PASSWORD	Password for ZIP/RAR archives
--temp-dir DIR	Custom directory for temporary PFS images (defaults to system temp)

Examples

Standard Process (Game Folder → .ffpfsc):

python3 cli.py /path/to/GameFolder

Process a Password-Protected RAR Archive:

python3 cli.py /path/to/Game.rar --password DLPSGAME.COM

Process a ZIP Archive:

python3 cli.py /path/to/Game.zip

Convert Existing exFAT (exFAT → .ffpfsc):

python3 cli.py /path/to/GameImage.exfat

Batch Processing:

python3 cli.py /path/to/AllGames /path/to/OutputFolder --batch

Keep Intermediate Files:

python3 cli.py /path/to/GameFolder --keep-pfs

Custom Temp Directory (useful for large games on SSDs):

python3 cli.py /path/to/GameFolder --temp-dir /fast/ssd/tmp

Launch GUI:

python3 cli.py --gui

GUI Usage

Launch the GUI either by running the standalone executable (no terminal needed) or from the command line:

python3 gui.py

The GUI supports:

• Selecting source folders, archives, or .exfat files via a file picker
• Password input for protected archives
• Batch folder selection
• Output directory selection
• Temp directory selection for intermediate PFS images (useful when processing large games on SSDs)
• Progress feedback during packing

Building from Source

Build Standalone Executable (via PyInstaller)

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --name PS5-FFPFS-CLI --onefile --windowed \
  --hidden-import tkinter --hidden-import mkpfs.cli --hidden-import multiprocessing \
  --hidden-import unrar --hidden-import unrar.rarfile --hidden-import unrar._unrar \
  --collect-data tkinter --collect-binaries tkinter \
  --collect-data customtkinter --collect-data mkpfs --collect-binaries mkpfs \
  gui.py

Note for RAR support in frozen builds: The unrar C extension must be placed in the unrar/ package directory within the bundle so import unrar._unrar can locate it. If PyInstaller fails to collect it automatically, copy _unrar*.so (or _unrar*.pyd on Windows) into the unrar/ source directory before building.

Known Issues & Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
"No module named '_unrar'" in frozen build	PyInstaller places the C extension at the bundle root instead of inside unrar/	Ensure the .so/.pyd is in unrar/ before building, or use the .spec file provided in the repo
GUI spawns multiple instances during compression (macOS/Windows)	multiprocessing.Pool workers re-run the entry point	Fixed in v1.1.5+ — multiprocessing.freeze_support() is called at module level
Console windows flicker on Windows during compression	Subprocess spawns visible console	Fixed in v1.1.5+ — subprocesses use CREATE_NO_WINDOW flag in frozen mode
Cancel button does nothing in frozen build	Direct-call path bypassed subprocess termination	Fixed in v1.1.5+ — restored subprocess path with headless env so terminate() works

License

MIT License. The built-in UnRAR extension is based on the RARLAB UnRAR source (freeware license for extraction-only use).