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melonDS

melonds · v1.1 • deprecated

7
8.0

Nintendo DS and DSi emulator

Games macOS 11+ Homepage →
brew install --cask melonds
60
30-day installs
171
90-day installs
531
365-day installs
Install trend
Trust Score 7/10
Open source (GPL-3.0) +3
Active development +2
Licensed +1
No auto-updates +0
Deprecated +0
Established (>1yr) +1
Low installs +0

Review

Mar 10, 2026

melonDS is a Nintendo DS and DSi emulator that offers accurate emulation with a focus on performance and compatibility. It supports JIT recompilation and advanced GPU handling, making it a solid choice for retro gaming enthusiasts looking to play DS/DSi games on macOS.

Emulates Nintendo DS and DSi games on macOS.

Maturity: The project is active with a large GitHub following but has a high number of open issues.

Community: The project has been discussed on Hacker News, particularly its JIT recompiler and GPU handling, which received significant attention. Reddit mentions are minimal but positive.

Pros

  • + Accurate emulation with support for JIT recompilation and advanced GPU features.
  • + Open-source and actively maintained with a strong community.
  • + Free to use under the GPL-3.0 license.

Cons

  • - No auto-update feature, requiring manual installation of new versions.
  • - A large number of open issues may indicate ongoing development challenges.
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698
Forks
957
Issues
GPL-3.0
License
C++Last commit: Mar 8, 2026

Community Mentions

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