vgmstream - A library for playback of various streamed audio formats used in video games.
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vgmstream

This is vgmstream, a library for playing streamed (pre-recorded) audio from video games.

Some of vgmstream's features:

  • hundreds of video game music formats and codecs, from typical game engine files to obscure single-game codecs, aiming for high accuracy and compatibility.
  • support for looped BGM, using file's internal metadata for smooth transitions, with accurate sample counts
  • subsongs, playing internal songs separatedly
  • encryption keys, audio split in multiple files, internal stream names, and many other unusual cases found in game audio
  • TXTH function, to support extra formats (including raw audio in many forms)
  • TXTP function, for real-time and per-file config (like forced looping, removing channels, playing certain subsong, or fusing together multiple files as a single one)
  • simple external tagging via .m3u files
  • plugins available for various common players and O.S.

There are multiple end-user bits:

  • a command line decoder called "test.exe/vgmstream-cli"
  • a Winamp plugin called "in_vgmstream"
  • a foobar2000 component called "foo_input_vgmstream"
  • an XMPlay plugin called "xmp-vgmstream"
  • an Audacious plugin called "libvgmstream"
  • a command line player called "vgmstream123"

Help can be found here: https://www.hcs64.com/

Latest development is usually here: https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/

Automated builds with the latest changes: https://vgmstream.org/downloads

Releases are here: https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/releases

You can find further info about other details in https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/tree/master/doc

Needed extra files (for Windows)

Support for some codecs (Ogg Vorbis, MPEG audio, etc) is done with external libraries, so you will need to have certain DLL files.

In the case of the foobar2000 component they are all bundled for convenience, or you can get them here: https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/tree/master/ext_libs (bundled here: https://f.losno.co/vgmstream-win32-deps.zip, may not be latest).

Put the following files somewhere Windows can find them:

  • libvorbis.dll
  • libmpg123-0.dll
  • libg719_decode.dll
  • avcodec-vgmstream-58.dll
  • avformat-vgmstream-58.dll
  • avutil-vgmstream-56.dll
  • swresample-vgmstream-3.dll
  • libatrac9.dll
  • libcelt-0061.dll
  • libcelt-0110.dll
  • libspeex.dll

For Winamp/XMPlay/command line this means in the directory with the main .exe, or in a system directory, or any other directory in the PATH variable.

Components

test.exe/vgmstream-cli

Installation: unzip the file and follow the above instructions for installing the other files needed.

Converts playable files to wav. Typical usage would be:

  • test.exe -o happy.wav happy.adx to decode happy.adx to happy.wav.

If command-line isn't your thing you can also drag and drop files to the executable to decode them as (filename).wav.

There are multiple options that alter how the file is converted, for example:

  • test.exe -m -o file.wav file.adx: print info but don't decode
  • test.exe -i -o file.wav file.hca: convert without looping
  • test.exe -s 2 -F -o file.wav file.fsb: play 2nd subsong + ending after 2.0 loops
  • test.exe -l 3.0 -f 5.0 -d 3.0 -o file.wav file.wem: 3 loops, 3s delay, 5s fade

Available commands are printed when run with no flags. Note that you can also achieve similar results for other plugins using TXTP, described later.

With files multiple subsongs you need to specify manually subsong (by design, to avoid massive data dumps since some formats have hundreds of subsongs), but you could do some command line tricks:

: REM extracts from subsong 5 to 10 in file.fsb
for /L %A in (5,1,10) do test.exe -s %A -o file_%A.wav file.fsb

Output filename in -o may use multiple wildcards:

  • ?s: sets current subsong (or 0 if format doesn't have subsongs)
  • ?0Ns: same, but left pads subsong with up to N zeroes
  • ?n: internal stream name, or input filename if format doesn't have name
  • ?f: input filename

For example test.exe -s 2 -o ?04s_?n.wav file.fsb could generate 0002_song1.wav

in_vgmstream

Installation: drop the in_vgmstream.dll in your Winamp plugins directory, and follow the above instructions for installing the other files needed.

Once installed supported files should be playable.

xmp-vgmstream

Installation: drop the xmp-vgmstream.dll in your XMPlay plugins directory, and follow the above instructions for installing the other files needed.

Note that this has less features compared to in_vgmstream and has no configuration. Since XMPlay supports Winamp plugins you may also use in_vgmstream.dll instead.

Because the XMPlay MP3 decoder incorrectly tries to play some vgmstream extensions, you need to manually fix it by going to options > plugins > input > vgmstream and in the "priority filetypes" put: ahx,asf,awc,ckd,fsb,genh,msf,p3d,rak,scd,txth,xvag

XMPlay cannot support subsongs due to player limitations, try using TXTP instead (explained below).

foo_input_vgmstream

Installation: every file should be installed automatically by the .fb2k-component bundle.

A known quirk is that when loop options or tags change, playlist info won't refresh automatically. You need to manually refresh it by selecting songs and doing shift + right click > Tagging > Reload info from file(s).

Audacious plugin

Installation: needs to be manually built. Instructions can be found in doc/BUILD.md document in vgmstream's source code (can be done with CMake or autotools).

vgmstream123

Installation: needs to be manually built. Instructions can be found in doc/BUILD.md document in vgmstream's source code (can be done with CMake or autotools).

Usage: vgmstream123 [options] INFILE ...

The program is meant to be a simple stand-alone player, supporting playback of vgmstream files through libao. Files compressed with gzip/bzip2/xz also work, as identified by a .gz/.bz2/.xz extension. The file will be decompressed to a temp dir using the respective utility program (which must be installed and accessible) and then loaded.

It also supports playlists, and will recognize a special extended-M3U tag specific to vgmstream of the following form:

#EXT-X-VGMSTREAM:LOOPCOUNT=2,FADETIME=10.0,FADEDELAY=0.0,STREAMINDEX=0

(Any subset of these four parameters may appear in the line, in any order)

When this "magic comment" appears in the playlist before a vgmstream-compatible file, the given parameters will be applied to the playback of said file. This makes it feasible to play vgmstream files directly instead of needing to make "arranged" WAV/MP3 conversions ahead of time.

The tag syntax follows the conventions established in Apple's HTTP Live Streaming standard, whose docs discuss extending M3U with arbitrary tags.

Special cases

vgmstream aims to support most audio formats as-is, but some files require extra handling.

Subsongs

Certain container formats have multiple audio files, usually called "subsongs", often not meant to be extracted (no simple separation). Some plugins are able to "unpack" those files automatically into the playlist. For others without support, you can create multiple .txtp (explained below) to select one of the subsongs (like bgm.sxd#10.txtp).

You can use this python script to autogenerate one .txtp per subsong: https://github.com/vgmstream/vgmstream/tree/master/cli/txtp_maker.py Put in the same dir as test.exe/vgmstream_cli, then to drag-and-drop files with subsongs to txtp_maker.py (it has CLI options to control output too).

Renamed files

A few extensions that vgmstream supports clash with common ones. Since players like foobar or Winamp don't react well to that, they may be renamed to make them playable through vgmstream.

  • .aac to .laac (tri-Ace games)
  • .ac3 to .lac3 (standard AC3)
  • .aif to .laif (standard Mac AIF, Asobo AIF, Ogg)
  • .aiff/aifc to .laiffl/laifc (standard Mac AIF)
  • .asf to .lasf (EA games, Argonaut ASF)
  • .bin to .lbin (various)
  • .flac to .lflac (standard FLAC)
  • .mp2 to .lmp2 (standard MP2)
  • .mp3 to .lmp3 (standard MP3)
  • .mp4 to .lmp4 (standard M4A)
  • .mpc to .lmpc (standard MPC)
  • .ogg to .logg (standard OGG)
  • .opus to .lopus (standard OPUS or Switch OPUS)
  • .stm to .lstm (Rockstar STM)
  • .wav to .lwav (standard WAV)
  • .wma to .lwma (standard WMA)
  • .(any) to .vgmstream (FFmpeg formats or TXTH)

Command line tools don't have this restriction and will accept the original filename.

The main advantage to rename them is that vgmstream may use the file's internal loop info, or apply subtle fixes, but is also limited in some ways (like standard/player's tagging). .vgmstream is a catch-all extension that may work as a last resort to make a file playable.

Some plugins have options that allow any extension (common or unknown) to be played, making renaming unnecessary. You may need to adjust plugin priority in player's options first.

Also be aware that other plugins (not vgmstream's) can tell the player they handle some extension, then not actually play it. This makes the file unplayable as vgmstream doesn't even get the chance to parse that file, so you may need to disable the offending plugin or rename the file (for example this may happen with .asf and foobar2000).

When extracting from a bigfile, sometimes internal files don't have an actual name+extension. Those should be renamed to its proper/common extension, as the extractor program may guess wrong (like .wav instead of .at3 or .wem). If there is no known extension, usually the header id string may be used instead.

Note that vgmstream also accepts certain extension-less files too.

Demuxed videos

vgmstream also supports audio from videos, but usually must be demuxed (extracted without modification) first, since vgmstream doesn't attempt to support most of them (it does support a few video formats as-is though).

The easiest way to do this is using VGMToolBox's "Video Demultiplexer" option for common game video formats (.bik, .vp6, .pss, .pam, .pmf, .usm, .xmv, etc).

For standard videos formats (.avi, .mp4, .webm, .m2v, .ogv, etc) not supported by VGMToolBox, FFmpeg binary may work:

  • ffmpeg.exe -i (input file) -vn -acodec copy (output file) Output extension may need to be adjusted to some appropriate audio file depending on the audio codec used. ffprobe.exe can list this codec, though the correct audio extension depends on the video itself (like .avi to .wav/mp2/mp3 or .ogv to .ogg).

Some games use custom video formats, demuxer scripts in .bms format may be found on the internet.

Companion files

Some formats have companion files with external info, that should be left together:

  • .mus: playlist with .acm
  • .ogg.sli or .sli: loop info for .ogg
  • .ogg.sfl : loop info for .ogg
  • .opus.sli: loop info for .opus
  • .pos: loop info for .wav
  • .vgmstream.pos: loop info for FFmpeg formats
  • .acb: names for .awb
  • .xsb: names for .xwb

Similarly some formats split header+body data in separate files, examples:

  • .abk+.ast
  • .bnm+.apm/wav
  • .ktsl2asbin+.ktsl2stbin
  • .mih+.mib
  • .mpf+.mus
  • .pk+.spk
  • .sb0+.sp0 (or other numbers instead of 0)
  • .sgh+.sgd
  • .snr+.sns
  • .spt+.spd
  • .sts+.int
  • .xwh+.xwb
  • .xps+dat
  • .wav.str+.wav
  • .wav+.dcs
  • .wbh+.wbd Both are needed to play and must be together. The usual rule is you open the bigger file (body), save a few formats where the smaller (header) file is opened instead for technical reasons (mainly some bank formats).

Generally companion files are named the same (bgm.awb+bgm.acb), or internally point to another file sfx.sb0+STREAM.sb0. A few formats may have different names which are hardcoded instead of being listed in the header file (e.g. .mpf+.mus). In these cases, you can use TXTM format to specify associated companion files. See Artificial files below for more information.

Dual stereo

A special case of the above is "dual file stereo", where 2 similarly named mono files are fused together to make 1 stereo song.

  • (file)_L.dsp+(file)_R.dsp
  • (file)-l.dsp+(file)-l.dsp
  • (file).L+(file).R
  • (file)_0.dsp+(file)_1.dsp
  • (file)_Left.dsp+(file)_Right.dsp
  • (file).v0+(file).v1

vgmstream automatically detects these pairs and makes a stereo song from L + R. You can open either L or R and you'll get the same stereo. If you rename one of the files the "pair" won't be found, and both will be played as mono. This is only done for a few choice formats (mainly .dsp and .vag) that commonly split audio like that, though.

OS case sensitiveness

When using OS with case sensitive filesystem (mainly Linux), a known issue with companion files is that vgmstream generally tries to find them using lowercase extension.

This means that if the developer used uppercase instead (e.g. bgm.ABK+bgm.AST) loading will fail. It's technically complex to fix this, so for the time being the only option is renaming the companion extension to lowercase.

A particularly nasty variation of that is that some formats load files by full name (e.g. STREAM.SS0), but sometimes the actual filename is in other case (Stream.ss0), and some files could even point to that with yet another case. You could try adding symlinks in various upper/lower/mixed cases to handle this. Currently there isn't any way to know what exact name is needed (other than hex-editting), though only a few formats do this, mainly Ubisoft banks.

Regular formats without companion files should work fine in upper/lowercase.

.pos looping

.pos is a small file with 32 bit little endian values: loop start sample and loop end sample. This is a real format, but is sometimes reused to force loops.

If you want to force looping consider using TXTP instead, as it's much simpler to make and cleaner (plus doesn't hijack a real format). For example, make a text file named bgm01-loop.txtp and inside write bgm01.mp3 #I 10.0 90.0. Open the .txtp and vgmstream will loop that .mp3 from 10 to 90 seconds.

Decryption keys

Certain formats have encrypted data, and need a key to decrypt. vgmstream will try to find the correct key from a list, but it can be provided by a companion file:

  • .adx: .adxkey (keystring, 8 byte keycode, or derived 6 byte start/mult/add key)
  • .ahx: .ahxkey (derived 6 byte start/mult/add key)
  • .hca: .hcakey (8 byte decryption key, a 64-bit number)
    • May be followed by 2 byte AWB scramble key for newer HCA
  • .fsb: .fsbkey (decryption key in hex, usually between 8-32 bytes)
  • .bnsf: .bnsfkey (decryption key, a string up to 24 chars)

The key file can be .(ext)key (for the whole folder), or `(name).(ext)key" (for a single file). The format is made up to suit vgmstream.

Artificial files

In some cases a file only has raw data, while important header info (codec type, sample rate, channels, etc) is stored in the .exe or other hard to locate places. Or maybe the file plays normally, but has many layers at once that are silenced dynamically during gameplay, or looping metadata is stored externally.

Cases like those can be supported using an artificial files with info vgmstream needs.

GENH: a byte header placed right before the original data, modyfing it. The resulting file must be (name).genh. Contains static header data. Programs like VGMToolbox can help to create GENH, but consider using TXTH instead.

TXTH: a text header placed in an external file. The TXTH must be named .txth or .(ext).txth (for the whole folder), or (name.ext).txth (for a single file). Contains dynamic text commands to read data from the original file, or static values. This allows vgmstream to play unsupported formats.

TXTH is recommended over GENH as it's far easier to create and has many more functions, plus doesn't modify original data.

For files that already play, sometimes they are used by the game in various complex and non-standard ways, like playing multiple small songs as a single one, or using some channels as a section of the song. For those cases we can create a TXTP file.

TXTP: text files with player configuration, named (name).txtp. Text inside can contain a list of filenames to play as one (ex. intro.vag(line)loop.vag), list of separate channel files to join as a single multichannel file, subsong index (ex. bgm.sxd#10), per-file configurations like number of loops, remove unneeded channels, make looping files, and many other features.

TXTM: text file named .txtm for formats with companion files. It lists name combos determining which companion files to load for each main file. It is useful for formats where name combos are hardcoded so vgmstream doesn't know which companion file(s) to load if its name doesn't match the main file. Note that companion file order is usually important.

Usage example:

# Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PS2)
entrance.mpf:entrance.mus,entrance_o.mus
willow.mpf:willow.mus,willow_o.mus
# Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (3DS) names for .awb
bgm_2_streamfiles.awb: bgm_2.acb

Creation of those files is meant for advanced users, docs can be found in vgmstream source.

Plugin conflicts

Since vgmstream supports a huge amount of formats it's possibly that some of them are also supported in other plugins, and this sometimes causes conflicts. If a file that should isn't playing or looping, first make sure vgmstream is really opening it (should show "VGMSTREAM" somewhere in the file info), and try to remove a few other plugins.

foobar's FFmpeg plugin and foo_adpcm are known to cause issues, but in modern versions (+1.4.x) you can configure plugin priority.

In Audacious, vgmstream is set with slightly higher priority than FFmpeg, since it steals many formats that you normally want to loop (like .adx). However other plugins may set themselves higher, stealing formats instead. If current Audacious version doesn't let to change plugin priority you may need to disable some plugins (requires restart) or set priority on compile time. Particularly, mpg123 plugin may steal formats that aren't even MP3, making impossible for vgmstream to play them properly.

Channel issues

Some games layer a huge number of channels, that are disabled or downmixed during gameplay. The player may be unable to play those files (for example foobar can only play up to 8 channels, and Winamp depends on your sound card). For those files you can set the "downmix" option in vgmstream, that can reduce the number of channels to a playable amount.

Note that this type of downmixing is very generic (not meant to be used when converting to other formats), channels are re-assigned and volumes modified in simplistic ways, since it can't guess how the file should be properly adjusted. Most likely it will sound a bit quieter than usual.

You can also choose which channels to play using TXTP. For example, create a file named song.adx#C1,2.txtp to play only channels 1 and 2 from song.adx. TXTP also has command to set how files are downmixed.

Tagging

Some of vgmstream's plugins support simple read-only tagging via external files.

Tags are loaded from a text/M3U-like file named !tags.m3u in the song folder. You don't have to load your songs with this M3U though, but you can (for pre-made order). The format is meant to be both a quick playlist and tags, but the tagfile itself just 'looks' like an M3U. you can load files manually or using other playlists and still get tags.

Format is:

# ignored comment
# $GLOBAL_COMMAND (extra features)
# @GLOBAL_TAG text (applies all following tracks)

# %LOCAL_TAG text (applies to next track only)
filename1
# %LOCAL_TAG text (applies to next track only)
filename2

Accepted tags depend on the player (foobar: any; winamp: see ATF config, Audacious: few standard ones), typically ALBUM/ARTIST/TITLE/DISC/TRACK/COMPOSER/etc, lower or uppercase, separated by one or multiple spaces. Repeated tags overwrite previous (ex.- may define @COMPOSER multiple times for "sections"). It only reads up to current filename though, so any @TAG below would be ignored.

GLOBAL_COMMANDs currently can be:

  • AUTOTRACK: sets %TRACK tag automatically (1..N as files are encountered in the tag file).
  • AUTOALBUM: sets %ALBUM tag automatically using the containing dir as album.
  • EXACTMATCH: disables matching .txtp with regular files (explained below).

Playlist title formatting (how tags are shown) should follow player's config, as vgmstream simply passes tags to the player. It's better to name the file lowercase !tags.m3u rather than !Tags.m3u (Windows accepts both but Linux is case sensitive).

Note that with global tags you don't need to put all files inside. This would be a perfectly valid !tags.m3u:

# @ALBUM    Game
# @ARTIST   Various Artists

Non-English filenames and tags

Tags and filenames using extended characters (like Japanese) should work, as long as !tags.m3u is saved as "UTF-8 with BOM" (UTF-8 is a way to define non-English characters, and BOM is a helper "byte-order" mark). Windows' notepad creates files "with BOM" when selecting UTF-8 encoding in save as dialog, or you may use other programs like notepad++.exe to convert them.

More exactly, vgmstream needs the file saved in UTF-8 to match tags and filenames (and ignores BOM), while foobar/Winamp won't understand UTF-8 filenames unless .m3u is saved with BOM (ignoring tags). Whereas if saved in what Windows calls "Unicode" (UTF-16) neither may work.

Conversely, if your filenames only use English/ANSI characters you may ommit BOM, and if your tags are English only you may save the .m3u as ANSI. Or if you only use !tags.m3u for tags and not for opening files (for example opening them manually or with a playlist.m3u8) you won't need BOM either.

Other players may not need BOM (or CRLF), but for consistency use them when dealing with non-ASCII names and tags.

Tags with spaces

Some players like foobar accept tags with spaces. To use them surround the tag with both characters.

# @GLOBAL TAG WITH SPACES@ text
# ...
# %LOCAL TAG WITH SPACES% text
filename1

As a side effect if text has @/% inside you also need them: # @ALBUMARTIST@ Tom-H@ck

For interoperability with other plugins, consider using only common tags without spaces.

ReplayGain

foobar2000/Winamp can apply the following replaygain tags (if ReplayGain is enabled in preferences):

# %replaygain_track_gain N.NN dB
# %replaygain_track_peak N.NNN
# @replaygain_album_gain N.NN dB
# @replaygain_album_peak N.NNN

TXTP matching

To ease TXTP config, tags with plain files will match .txtp with config, and tags with .txtp config also match plain files: !tags.m3u

# @TITLE    Title1
BGM01.adx #P 3.0.txtp
# @TITLE    Title2
BGM02.wav

config.m3u

# matches "Title1" (1:1)
BGM01.adx #P 3.0.txtp
# matches "Title1" (plain file matches config tag)
BGM01.adx
# matches "Title2" (config file matches plain tag)
BGM02.wav #P 3.0.txtp
# doesn't match anything (different config can't match)
BGM01.adx #P 10.0.txtp

Since it matches when a tag is found, some cases that depend on order won't work. You can disable this feature manually then: !tags.m3u

# $EXACTMATCH
#
# %TITLE    Title3 (without config)
BGM01.adx
# %TITLE    Title3 (with config)
BGM01.adx #I 1.0 90.0 .txtp

config.m3u

# Would match "Title3 (without config)" without "$EXACTMATCH", as it's found first
# Could use "BGM01.adx.txtp" as first entry in !tags.m3u instead (different configs won't match)
BGM01.adx #I 1.0 90.0 .txtp

Issues

If your player isn't picking tags make sure vgmstream is detecting the song (as other plugins can steal its extensions, see above), .m3u is properly named and that filenames inside match the song filename. For Winamp you need to make sure options > titles > advanced title formatting checkbox is set and the format defined.

When tags change behavior varies depending on player:

  • Winamp: should refresh tags when file is played again.
  • foobar2000: needs to force refresh (for reasons outside vgmstream's control)
    • select songs > shift + right click > Tagging > Reload info from file(s).
  • Audacious: files need to be readded to the playlist

Currently there is no tool to aid in the creation of these tags, but you can create a base .m3u and edit as a text file. You may try this python script to make the base file: https://pastebin.com/Sdu82SAp

vgmstream's "m3u tagging" is meant to be simple to make and share (just a text file), easier to support in multiple players (rather than needing a custom plugin), allow OST-like ordering but also combinable with other .m3u, and be flexible enough to have commands. If you are not satisfied with vgmstream's tagging format, foobar2000 has other plugins (with write support) that may be of use:

Virtual TXTP files

Some of vgmstream's plugins allow you to use virtual .txtp files, that combined with playlists let you make quick song configs.

Normally you can create a physical .txtp file that points to another file with config, and .txtp have a "mini-txtp" mode that configures files with only the filename.

Instead of manually creating .txtp files you can put non-existing virtual .txtp in a .m3u playlist:

# playlist that opens subsongs directly without having to create .txtp
# notice the full filename, then #(config), then ".txtp" (spaces are optional)
bank_bgm_full.nub  #s1  .txtp
bank_bgm_full.nub  #s10 .txtp

Combine with tagging (see above) for extra fun OST-like config.

# @ALBUM    GOD HAND

# play 1 loop, delay and do a longer fade
# %TITLE    Too Hot !!
circus_a_mix_ver2.adx       #l 1.0 #d 5.0 #f 15.0 .txtp

# play 1 loop instead of the default 2 then fade with the song's internal fading
# %TITLE    Yet... Oh see mind
boss2_3ningumi_ver6.adx     #l 1.0  #F .txtp

...

You can also use it in CLI for quick access to some txtp-exclusive functions:

# force change sample rate to 22050 (don't forget to use " with spaces)
test.exe -o btl_koopa1_44k_lp.wav "btl_koopa1_44k_lp.brstm  #h22050.txtp"

Support for this feature is limited by player itself, as foobar and Winamp allow non-existant files referenced in a .m3u, while other players may filter them first.

Supported codec types

Quick list of codecs vgmstream supports, including many obscure ones that are used in few games.

  • PCM 16-bit
  • PCM 8-bit (signed, unsigned)
  • PCM 4-bit (signed, unsigned)
  • PCM 32-bit float
  • u-Law/a-LAW
  • CRI ADX (standard, fixed, exponential, encrypted)
  • Nintendo DSP ADPCM a.k.a GC ADPCM
  • Nintendo DTK ADPCM
  • Nintendo AFC ADPCM
  • ITU-T G.721
  • CD-ROM XA ADPCM
  • Sony PSX ADPCM a.k.a VAG (standard, badflags, configurable, extended)
  • Sony HEVAG
  • Electronic Arts EA-XA (stereo, mono, Maxis)
  • Electronic Arts EA-XAS (v0, v1)
  • DVI/IMA ADPCM (stereo/mono + high/low nibble, 3DS, Omikron, SNDS, etc)
  • Microsoft MS IMA ADPCM (standard, Xbox, NDS, Radical, Wwise, FSB, WV6, etc)
  • Microsoft MS ADPCM (standard, Cricket Audio)
  • Westwood VBR ADPCM
  • Yamaha ADPCM (AICA, Aska)
  • Procyon Studio ADPCM
  • Level-5 0x555 ADPCM
  • lsf ADPCM
  • Konami MTAF ADPCM
  • Konami MTA2 ADPCM
  • Paradigm MC3 ADPCM
  • FMOD FADPCM 4-bit ADPCM
  • Konami XMD 4-bit ADPCM
  • Platinum 4-bit ADPCM
  • Argonaut ASF 4-bit ADPCM
  • Ocean DSA 4-bit ADPCM
  • Circus XPCM ADPCM
  • Circus XPCM VQ
  • OKI 4-bit ADPCM (16-bit output, 4-shift, PC-FX)
  • Ubisoft 4/6-bit ADPCM
  • Tiger Game.com ADPCM
  • LucasArts iMUSE VBR ADPCM
  • CompressWave (CWav) Huffman ADPCM
  • SDX2 2:1 Squareroot-Delta-Exact compression DPCM
  • CBD2 2:1 Cuberoot-Delta-Exact compression DPCM
  • Activision EXAKT SASSC DPCM
  • Xilam DERF DPCM
  • InterPlay ACM
  • VisualArt's NWA
  • Electronic Arts MicroTalk a.k.a. UTK or UMT
  • Relic Codec
  • CRI HCA
  • tri-Ace PS2 Codec
  • Xiph Vorbis (Ogg, FSB5, Wwise, OGL, Silicon Knights)
  • MPEG MP1/2/3 (standard, AHX, XVAG, FSB, AWC, P3D, EA, etc)
  • ITU-T G.722.1 annex C a.k.a. Polycom Siren 14 (Namco)
  • ITU-T G.719 annex B a.k.a. Polycom Siren 22
  • Electronic Arts EASpeex
  • Electronic Arts EALayer3
  • Electronic Arts EA-XMA
  • Sony ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus
  • Sony ATRAC9
  • Microsoft XMA1/2
  • Microsoft WMA v1, WMA v2, WMAPro
  • AAC
  • Bink
  • AC3/SPDIF
  • Xiph Opus (Ogg, Switch, EA, UE4, Exient)
  • Xiph CELT (FSB)
  • Musepack
  • FLAC
  • Others

Sometimes standard codecs come in non-standard layouts that aren't normally supported by other players (like multiple .ogg or .mp3 files chunked and interleaved together in custom ways).

Some codecs are not fully correct compared to the games due to minor bugs, but in most cases it isn't audible, and general accuracy is high, with emphasis in proper support of encoder delay, accurate sample counts and seeking that other plugins may lack.

Note that vgmstream doesn't (can't) reproduce in-game music 1:1, as internal resampling, filters, volume, etc, are not replicated.

Supported file types

As manakoAT likes to say, the extension doesn't really mean anything, but it's the most obvious way to identify files.

This list is not complete and many other files are supported.

  • PS2/PSX ADPCM:
    • .ads/.ss2
    • .ass
    • .ast
    • .bg00
    • .bmdx
    • .ccc
    • .cnk
    • .dxh
    • .enth
    • .fag
    • .filp
    • .gcm
    • .gms
    • .hgc1
    • .ikm
    • .ild
    • .ivb
    • .joe
    • .kces
    • .khv
    • .leg
    • .mcg
    • .mib, .mi4 (w/ or w/o .mih)
    • .mic
    • .mihb (merged mih+mib)
    • .msa
    • .msvp
    • .musc
    • .npsf
    • .pnb
    • .psh
    • .rkv
    • .rnd
    • .rstm
    • .rws
    • .rxw
    • .snd
    • .sfs
    • .sl3
    • .smpl (w/ bad flags)
    • .ster
    • .str+.sth
    • .str (MGAV blocked)
    • .sts
    • .svag
    • .svs
    • .tec (w/ bad flags)
    • .tk5 (w/ bad flags)
    • .vas
    • .vag
    • .vgs (w/ bad flags)
    • .vig
    • .vpk
    • .vs
    • .vsf
    • .wp2
    • .xa2
    • .xa30
    • .xwb+xwh
  • GC/Wii/3DS DSP ADPCM:
    • .aaap
    • .agsc
    • .asr
    • .bns
    • .bo2
    • .capdsp
    • .cfn
    • .ddsp
    • .dsp
      • standard, optional dual file stereo
      • RS03
      • Cstr
      • _lr.dsp
      • MPDS
    • .gca
    • .gcm
    • .gsp+.gsp
    • .hps
    • .idsp
    • .ish+.isd
    • .lps
    • .mca
    • .mpdsp
    • .mss
    • .mus (not quite right)
    • .ndp
    • .pdt
    • .sdt
    • .smp
    • .sns
    • .spt+.spd
    • .ssm
    • .stm/.dsp
    • .str
    • .str+.sth
    • .sts
    • .swd
    • .thp, .dsp
    • .tydsp
    • .vjdsp
    • .waa, .wac, .wad, .wam
    • .was
    • .wsd
    • .wsi
    • .ydsp
    • .ymf
    • .zwdsp
  • PCM:
    • .aiff (8 bit, 16 bit)
    • .asd (16 bit)
    • .baka (16 bit)
    • .bh2pcm (16 bit)
    • .dmsg (16 bit)
    • .gcsw (16 bit)
    • .gcw (16 bit)
    • .his (8 bit)
    • .int (16 bit)
    • .pcm (8 bit, 16 bit)
    • .kraw (16 bit)
    • .raw (16 bit)
    • .rwx (16 bit)
    • .sap (16 bit)
    • .snd (16 bit)
    • .sps (16 bit)
    • .str (16 bit)
    • .xss (16 bit)
    • .voi (16 bit)
    • .wb (16 bit)
    • .zsd (8 bit)
  • Xbox IMA ADPCM:
    • .matx
    • .wavm
    • .wvs
    • .xmu
    • .xvas
    • .xwav
  • Yamaha AICA ADPCM:
    • .adpcm
    • .dcs+.dcsw
    • .str
    • .spsd
  • IMA ADPCM:
    • .bar (IMA ADPCM)
    • .pcm/dvi (DVI IMA ADPCM)
    • .hwas (IMA ADPCM)
    • .dvi/idvi (DVI IMA ADPCM)
    • .ivaud (IMA ADPCM)
    • .myspd (IMA ADPCM)
    • .strm (IMA ADPCM)
  • multi:
    • .aifc (SDX2 DPCM, DVI IMA ADPCM)
    • .asf/as4 (8/16 bit PCM, DVI IMA ADPCM)
    • .ast (GC AFC ADPCM, 16 bit PCM)
    • .aud (IMA ADPCM, WS DPCM)
    • .aus (PSX ADPCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM)
    • .brstm (GC DSP ADPCM, 8/16 bit PCM)
    • .emff (PSX APDCM, GC DSP ADPCM)
    • .fsb/wii (PSX ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM, MPEG audio, FSB Vorbis, MS XMA)
    • .msf (PCM, PSX ADPCM, ATRAC3, MP3)
    • .musx (PSX ADPCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM, DAT4 IMA ADPCM)
    • .nwa (16 bit PCM, NWA DPCM)
    • .p3d (Radical ADPCM, Radical MP3, XMA2)
    • .psw (PSX ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM)
    • .rwar, .rwav (GC DSP ADPCM, 8/16 bit PCM)
    • .rws (PSX ADPCM, XBOX IMA ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM, 16 bit PCM)
    • .rwsd (GC DSP ADPCM, 8/16 bit PCM)
    • .rsd (PSX ADPCM, 16 bit PCM, GC DSP ADPCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM, Radical ADPCM)
    • .rrds (NDS IMA ADPCM)
    • .sad (GC DSP ADPCM, NDS IMA ADPCM, Procyon Studios NDS ADPCM)
    • .sgd/sgb+sgh/sgx (PSX ADPCM, ATRAC3plus, AC3)
    • .seg (Xbox IMA ADPCM, PS2 ADPCM)
    • .sng/asf/str/eam/aud (8/16 bit PCM, EA-XA ADPCM, PSX ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM, XBOX IMA ADPCM, MPEG audio, EALayer3)
    • .strm (NDS IMA ADPCM, 8/16 bit PCM)
    • .sb0..7 (Ubi IMA ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM, PSX ADPCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM, ATRAC3)
    • .swav (NDS IMA ADPCM, 8/16 bit PCM)
    • .xwb (PCM, Xbox IMA ADPCM, MS ADPCM, XMA, XWMA, ATRAC3)
    • .xwb+xwh (PCM, PSX ADPCM, ATRAC3)
    • .wav/lwav (unsigned 8 bit PCM, 16 bit PCM, GC DSP ADPCM, MS IMA ADPCM, XBOX IMA ADPCM)
    • .wem [lwav/logg/xma] (PCM, Wwise Vorbis, Wwise IMA ADPCM, XMA, XWMA, GC DSP ADPCM, Wwise Opus)
  • etc:
    • .2dx9 (MS ADPCM)
    • .aax (CRI ADX ADPCM)
    • .acm (InterPlay ACM)
    • .adp (GC DTK ADPCM)
    • .adx (CRI ADX ADPCM)
    • .afc (GC AFC ADPCM)
    • .ahx (MPEG-2 Layer II)
    • .aix (CRI ADX ADPCM)
    • .at3 (Sony ATRAC3 / ATRAC3plus)
    • .aud (Silicon Knights Vorbis)
    • .baf (PSX configurable ADPCM)
    • .bgw (PSX configurable ADPCM)
    • .bnsf (G.722.1)
    • .caf (Apple IMA4 ADPCM, others)
    • .dec/de2 (MS ADPCM)
    • .hca (CRI High Compression Audio)
    • .pcm/kcey (DVI IMA ADPCM)
    • .lsf (LSF ADPCM)
    • .mc3 (Paradigm MC3 ADPCM)
    • .mp4/lmp4 (AAC)
    • .msf (PCM, PSX ADPCM, ATRAC3, MP3)
    • .mtaf (Konami ADPCM)
    • .mta2 (Konami XAS-like ADPCM)
    • .mwv (Level-5 0x555 ADPCM)
    • .ogg/logg (Ogg Vorbis)
    • .ogl (Shin'en Vorbis)
    • .rsf (CCITT G.721 ADPCM)
    • .sab (Worms 4 soundpacks)
    • .s14/sss (G.722.1)
    • .sc (Activision EXAKT SASSC DPCM)
    • .scd (MS ADPCM, MPEG Audio, 16 bit PCM)
    • .sd9 (MS ADPCM)
    • .smp (MS ADPCM)
    • .spw (PSX configurable ADPCM)
    • .stm/lstm [amts/ps2stm/stma] (16 bit PCM, DVI IMA ADPCM, GC DSP ADPCM)
    • .str (SDX2 DPCM)
    • .stx (GC AFC ADPCM)
    • .ulw (u-Law PCM)
    • .um3 (Ogg Vorbis)
    • .xa (CD-ROM XA audio)
    • .xma (MS XMA/XMA2)
    • .sb0/sb1/sb2/sb3/sb4/sb5/sb6/sb7 (many)
    • .sm0/sm1/sm2/sm3/sm4/sm5/sm6/sm7 (many)
    • .bao/pk (many)
  • artificial/generic headers:
    • .genh (lots)
    • .txth (lots)
  • loop assists:
    • .mus (playlist for .acm)
    • .pos (loop info for .wav: 32 bit LE loop start sample + loop end sample)
    • .sli (loop info for .ogg)
    • .sfl (loop info for .ogg)
    • .vgmstream + .vgmstream.pos (FFmpeg formats + loop assist)
  • other:
    • .adxkey (decryption key for .adx)
    • .ahxkey (decryption key for .ahx)
    • .hcakey (decryption key for .hca)
    • .fsbkey (decryption key for .fsb)
    • .bnsfkey (decryption key for .bnsf)
    • .txtp (per song segment/layer handler and player configurator)

Enjoy! hcs