PS2-Servers

Network servers for loading PlayStation 2 games and apps over a LAN with Open PS2 Loader (OPL) and forks — plus a small GUI launcher so anyone can run them without touching a terminal.

Quick start — the launcher

The launcher lets you pick a server, choose your games folder, and click Start. It detects your PC's LAN IP and shows the exact settings to enter in OPL.

• Packaged app (no Python needed): download the release for your OS. On Windows, prefer the folder build — unzip PS2Servers-windows-x64-folder.zip and run PS2Servers.exe from inside the folder. It is the same app, but without the self-extracting wrapper that makes the single-file .exe trip antivirus heuristics, so it comes up clean. A single-file PS2Servers-windows-x64.zip is still provided for convenience if your AV doesn't object. (Linux: PS2Servers-linux-x64, or PS2Servers-linux-x64-folder.tar.gz if /tmp is mounted noexec.)
• From source: double-click Start-Launcher.bat (Windows) or run ./start-launcher.sh (Linux/macOS). Requires Python 3.

The launcher starts normally without administrator rights. The GUI shows whether it is currently running as administrator and includes a Restart as administrator button for the few Windows setup actions that actually need elevation.

The GUI uses a lightweight PS2-themed Tkinter skin. It does not use Electron, Qt, a browser view, or any heavy UI framework.

Windows security note

PS2 Servers is an unsigned open-source network tool. Because it runs local server processes and may ask Windows Firewall to allow inbound LAN traffic, some antivirus products may flag the packaged Windows EXE heuristically.

The SMBv1/RiptOPL server does not enable Windows' built-in SMB1 optional feature tree. It speaks the OPL-compatible SMB1/CIFS subset itself and normally listens on custom TCP port 1111; OPL connects to this program directly. (Avoid ports below 1033 — Windows can reserve or block low ports.)

Windows setup is intentionally narrow:

• no automatic enabling of Windows SMB1;
• no disabling of SMB1 automatic removal;
• Windows Firewall changes are limited to rules named PS2 Servers - ...;
• firewall allow/cleanup can be handled from the GUI without a terminal;
• administrator rights are requested only for firewall changes or advanced port 445 mode;
• advanced port 445 mode is optional and temporarily pauses Windows File Sharing only while that server mode is running.

Normal custom-port SMB mode, UDPFS, UDPBD, folder browsing, and logs do not need the whole launcher to run as administrator. Keeping the default launch non-admin reduces the blast radius of bugs and keeps the app easier to trust.

If a download is flagged, the antivirus statement (docs/antivirus-transparency.md — styled web version at docs/falsepositives.html) explains exactly why heuristics fire, what the app does and does not do, how to verify a download, and how to report a false positive to each vendor. A non-self-extracting folder build is offered as an alternative download for AV-wary users.

See SECURITY.md for verification, cleanup, and reporting details. See docs/antivirus-transparency.md for the public antivirus false-positive review note, stable release identity, ports, firewall behavior, and uninstall/cleanup details.

What's inside

All three servers are pure-Python (standard library) and run on Windows, Linux and macOS.

Folder	Server	What it does
smbv1_server/	SMBv1 (RiptOPL)	Shares a games folder over SMB — works even on Windows 11 where the OS removed SMB1.
udpfs_server/	UDPFS	Serves a folder and/or disk image over UDP; can transparently decompress CHD/CSO/ZSO.
udpbd_server/	UDPBD	Serves a disk image as a block device over UDP; the PS2 auto-discovers it.

udpbd_server/udpbd_server.py is a pure-Python port of Rick Gaiser's UDPBD server — see its provenance. UDPBD has largely been superseded by UDPFS.

UDPFS can transparently decompress CHD/CSO/ZSO images. How that support is bundled in releases and provided in source mode is documented in docs/optional-compression-dependencies.md.

Want a UDPFS server without Python (handy on low‑end hardware, or to avoid antivirus false positives on packaged builds)? udpfsd by pcm720 is a Go alternative — a single prebuilt binary with the same CHD/CSO/ZSO support. See Credits & thanks.

UDPFS settings worth knowing

Defaults are right for every client we know of. These are the ones you might change.

"Check this if you are using Modulo"

Either/or — tick it only while you are actually using Modulo.

Modulo's client does not follow the UDPFS protocol. It never restarts its sequence counter (on hardware it climbs straight across a full server restart), and it cannot move to the server's data port. That is not specific to us: it fails against pcm720's udpfsd for the same reasons. Modulo's own repository ships a patched copy of a server to work around both, which is how we established exactly what it expects.

This mode answers the way that patched server does. A correct client cannot follow it — its INFORM consumes a sequence number, so the server's first reply arrives one ahead of where a conformant client is listening. While this is on, NHDDL, RiptOPL, POPSTARTER, POPSLOADER and wLaunchELF-R3Z will not connect. Untick it and they are back. Nothing is lost either way; it is one at a time.

CLI: --modulo-mode (implies --single-port; env MODULO_MODE).

Idle timeout

UDPFS drops a console once it goes quiet for this long, closing whatever files it had open. UDPFS has no disconnect packet — a paused game and an unplugged console are identical on the wire, both simply silent — so the timeout is the only thing that tells them apart, and it does so by guessing.

Default 3600s (1 hour), matching udpfsd, bounded 60–86400. Lower it only to clear stale consoles faster (handy with several PS2s sharing one address). Too low and a long pause loses its game: 0 does not disable it and never did, so it clamps up to the 60s minimum like any other out-of-range value.

CLI: --peer-timeout SECONDS (env PEER_TIMEOUT).

Port and Data port

Leave both alone unless something needs them predictable. UDPFS normally serves discovery on 0xF5F6 and hands each console off to an ephemeral data port, which a manual firewall rule, port forwarding or a strict NAT cannot follow — pin Data port in that case and a matching firewall rule is added for it.

--single-port serves discovery and data on the one port instead, for clients or networks that cannot handle the two-port handshake. Unlike Modulo mode it changes no protocol behavior, so normal clients keep working.

CLI: --port, --data-port, --single-port.

Minimum system requirements

You need two machines on the same LAN: the PC that runs PS2 Servers, and the PS2 that loads games from it. The PC side is deliberately light — no Python and no heavy runtime for the packaged app.

Your PC (runs PS2 Servers)

	Requirement
OS	Windows 10/11 (x64), Linux (x64), or macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
Packaged app	No Python required — the download bundles everything
From source	Python 3 with Tkinter (Linux: sudo apt install python3-tk); official builds use Python 3.12
Hardware	Any modern 64-bit PC — the launcher is a small Tkinter GUI, not Electron/Qt
Network	Wired or Wi‑Fi LAN on the same subnet as the PS2 (wired recommended for large games)
Disk	A few hundred MB for the app, plus room for your game files

Your PS2 (loads over the network)

	Requirement
Console	A PS2 that boots homebrew (FreeMcBoot / FreeDVDBoot / modchip / etc.)
Loader	Open PS2 Loader (OPL) or a fork such as RiptOPL
Network adapter	The PS2 Ethernet adapter — built into slims; SCPH‑10281 on fat units
Emulator (optional)	PCSX2 with a configured network adapter also works for testing

Optional — compressed images (UDPFS)

Packaged builds bundle CHD (libchdr) and ZSO (lz4) support, so CHD/CSO/ZSO images "just work" and appear as plain .iso. From source, install lz4 for ZSO and a libchdr native library for CHD; CSO always works (Python standard library). See docs/optional-compression-dependencies.md.

Direct PS2-to-PC link (no router)

A PS2 cabled straight into the PC has no router on the wire, so nothing hands the console an IP address — every network app then fails the same way (empty lists, "check cable and DHCP"). Tick "PS2 is plugged directly into this PC" at the top of the launcher and that whole problem disappears: PS2 Servers finds the right network port, gives the PC a fixed address on it (one administrator prompt), and runs a tiny DHCP helper on that port only, so the console — which asks for an address by itself — just gets one. The LAN IP box fills in with the address to use in OPL. Unticking the box undoes all of it.

You normally never configure the PS2. On Windows, if the console still has a leftover static IP from an earlier setup, the helper sees the device on the wire and quietly moves this PC to a compatible address so the two coexist — stepping off a clashing address, or even adopting the console's subnet if it is on a different one. The console finds the server by broadcasting, so it usually needs no changes. Only if no shared address can be found — an unusually busy wire — does the launcher fall back to asking you to set the PS2 to DHCP or a different static IP. (This automatic coexistence is Windows-only for now; on Linux and macOS a console with a leftover static IP may need setting to DHCP or a matching static address.)

The helper is deliberately paranoid, because a DHCP server answering on a real network could hand bad addresses to everything on it. It binds only to the direct-link port, refuses to start if that port reaches a router or already got an address from a real DHCP server, serves exactly one address to one console, and stops itself if several devices start asking.

Direct link works on Windows. On Linux and macOS it is experimental: the port setup and DHCP both need root there, so ticking the box runs the helper as administrator (via pkexec on Linux, the standard admin prompt on macOS). It adds the address to the chosen port for the session and normally removes it again when the helper stops (on unticking the box, a crash, or the launcher exiting). Because the address is only added, it is not persistent — a reboot always clears it. If the helper is force-killed in a way that skips its cleanup, the launcher checks the port afterwards and, if the temporary address is still there, tells you so rather than reporting a clean stop; a reboot or a manual removal clears it. If anything looks off, untick the box and send the TERMINAL output.

Run a server on its own (terminal)

Each server still runs standalone, and the launcher can run them too:

python smbv1_server/smbserver_opl.py --share games=D:/PS2Games
python udpfs_server/udpfs_server.py  -d D:/PS2Games --enable-compression
python udpbd_server/udpbd_server.py  D:/PS2Games/game.iso
# or, via the launcher engine:
python -m launcher --serve udpfs -d D:/PS2Games
python -m launcher --list            # show servers available on this machine

Build the packaged app

Nuitka bundles the launcher and all three servers into one executable per OS — no Python install required for the end user:

python -m pip install -r requirements-build.txt
python build/build.py            # -> dist/PS2Servers(.exe)

Release verification

Automatic releases (built on every push to main) include SHA256SUMS.txt, a portable source ZIP, and GitHub artifact attestations for the packaged assets. Tagged vX.Y.Z releases include a per-asset <asset>.sha256.txt checksum file plus attestations. Example verification (automatic-release assets):

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.txt
gh attestation verify PS2Servers-windows-x64.zip -R NathanNeurotic/PS2-Servers

Checksums prove the file was downloaded intact. Attestations prove build provenance. Neither is a magic safety certificate. Because the app is plain Python and build/build.py rebuilds the release from source (single-file or PS2_BUILD_MODE=standalone folder build), the lowest-trust path is to inspect the source and build/run it yourself — see docs/antivirus-transparency.md for the full verification, "build it yourself", and false-positive-reporting guide.

Status

The UDPBD port is validated by udpbd_server/selftest.py at the protocol level (INFO/READ/WRITE byte-for-byte). As with the SMBv1 server, final validation is on real hardware — an actual PS2 running OPL, or PCSX2 with a network adapter.

Legal & responsible use

Please read this before using PS2 Servers.

• Your content, your responsibility. PS2 Servers is a general-purpose file server. It ships no games and no copyrighted content — it only serves files you point it at, from your PC. You are solely responsible for ensuring you have the legal right to use, copy, and serve any games, disc images, saves, or other files, and for complying with the laws of your jurisdiction. This project does not condone or facilitate copyright infringement; the intended use is with homebrew and with backups of media you legally own.
• Not affiliated with Sony. "PlayStation", "PlayStation 2", and "PS2" are trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment. This is an independent, unofficial fan/homebrew project with no affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement from Sony, the Open PS2 Loader team, or any other rights holder. See NOTICE.md.
• Trusted networks only. The servers are unauthenticated (guest) and designed for a private home LAN. Do not expose them to the internet or run them on untrusted networks.
• Data-loss risk. Writable modes let the PlayStation 2 write to the folders and disc images you share (saves, VMC). Keep backups; use --read-only if you want a strictly read-only share.
• No warranty. PS2 Servers is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, and the authors' liability is limited, as set out in the Academic Free License 3.0 (see §7 "Disclaimer of Warranty" and §8 "Limitation of Liability" in LICENSE). You use it at your own risk.

License and notices

PS2 Servers is licensed under the Academic Free License 3.0 (AFL-3.0). See LICENSE.

This repository also includes third-party notices and provenance details in NOTICE.md, including the redistributed Neutrino UDPFS server, UDPBD protocol references, optional compression libraries, build tooling, and trademark notes.

Credits & thanks

This is a fan project that stands entirely on the shoulders of the PS2 homebrew community. None of the clever parts are ours — we just wrapped brilliant existing work in something click‑and‑go. With genuine gratitude:

• Rick Gaiser — @rickgaiser — the heart of all of this. He designed the UDPBD and UDPFS network protocols and wrote the original servers, alongside Neutrino. udpfs_server/udpfs_server.py is his UDPFS server (from Neutrino's pc/ host tools), and udpbd_server/udpbd_server.py is our independent Python re‑implementation of his UDPBD v2 protocol. The network game‑loading here simply does not exist without his work — thank you.
• pcm720 — @pcm720 — a core Neutrino contributor and author of udpfsd, a UDPFS server written in Go. If you'd rather not run our Python UDPFS server — e.g. on a low‑end device, or to sidestep the antivirus heuristics that hit unsigned packaged Python builds — udpfsd is an excellent no‑Python alternative: one standalone binary, prebuilt for Windows, macOS, and low‑end ARM/MIPS targets, with the same transparent CHD/CSO/ZSO decompression. Thanks as well for generously taking the time to vet the network‑boot docs. 🙏
• El_isra — @israpps — maintains the canonical udpbd-server on GitHub (Rick's code, with CI), which is the reference we ported from.
• Alex Parrado — the Windows port of udpbd-server.
• Open PS2 Loader and the ps2homebrew team — the loader everything here serves, and the wider toolchain that makes PS2 homebrew possible.
• prodeveloper0/pyudpbd — a pure‑Python UDPBD port we read while writing our own.
• The folks behind CHD (libchdr / MAME), CSO, and ZSO — the compressed‑image formats UDPFS decompresses on the fly.

What's original here

The GUI launcher, the RiptOPL SMBv1 server, and the pure‑Python UDPBD port were written for this repo. Everything at the protocol level is the community's — we reimplemented from public protocols/source (rather than copying code) where we could, and tried to attribute accurately.

To the authors above 🙏

This exists out of appreciation for what you've given the PS2 scene, not any sense of ownership. If you'd like attribution changed, a link corrected, or your work removed from this repo entirely, please open an issue — we'll sort it out right away, no questions asked. Thank you, sincerely.