# Dolphin

> Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulation software

**Wikidata**: [Q1236429](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1236429)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_(emulator))  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/dolphin

## Summary
Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator that runs Nintendo GameCube and Wii software on desktop and mobile operating systems. First created in 2003 by Henrik Rydgård, Dolphin is a cross-platform application with active development and regular releases hosted on GitHub.

## Key Facts
- Dolphin is a video game console emulator that emulates the Nintendo GameCube and Wii.
- Dolphin was created by Henrik Rydgård and has an inception date of 2003-09-22.
- Dolphin is free and open-source software; it was relicensed to the GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later in 2015.
- Dolphin runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and FreeBSD.
- The project’s official website is https://dolphin-emu.org/ and its source code repository is https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin.
- Stable release examples: 5.0 (released 2016-06-24); development/stable-tagged releases include 2407 (2024-07-02), 2409 (2024-09-04), and 2412 (2024-12-02).
- Dolphin’s GUI toolkit is Qt (most recent value, start time 2014-09-17); it previously used wxWidgets (end time 2018-06-30).
- Dolphin’s official blog is https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/, official wiki is https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/, and issue tracker is https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/.
- Official social/contact handles and channels include Twitter: @Dolphin_Emu, Mastodon: dolphin@dolphin-emu.org, YouTube channel ID UC1US0SaXvIUPgnf-GLbfb3g, and IRC irc://irc.libera.chat/dolphin-emu.

## FAQs
### Q: What platforms can Dolphin run on?
A: Dolphin runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and FreeBSD. It is distributed in packages for distributions such as Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Gentoo, and Flathub.

### Q: Which consoles does Dolphin emulate?
A: Dolphin emulates Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles, allowing those console titles to run on supported host operating systems.

### Q: Is Dolphin open-source and what is its license?
A: Yes. Dolphin is free and open-source software and since 2015 is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later. It had a proprietary license in early development (2003–2008) and used GPL v2 from 2008 until relicensing in 2015.

### Q: Where is Dolphin’s source code hosted?
A: The project’s source code is hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin.

### Q: How active is Dolphin development?
A: Dolphin has active development with numbered releases spanning from legacy stable releases (for example 5.0 on 2016-06-24) to recent releases such as 2407 (2024-07-02), 2409 (2024-09-04), and 2412 (2024-12-02).

## Why It Matters
Dolphin provides a widely used way to run Nintendo GameCube and Wii software on modern hardware and operating systems. By offering cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, FreeBSD) and an open-source codebase hosted on GitHub, Dolphin enables preservation, testing, and continued access to titles for developers, researchers, and users who want to run console software outside of original hardware. The project’s long history (inception 2003-09-22), public licensing under the GNU GPL v2 or later since 2015, and frequent releases demonstrate ongoing maintenance and community contributions. Dolphin’s tooling and documentation — including an official wiki, blog, forums, and an issue tracker — support both end users and contributors. The emulator’s migration to Qt for its GUI and its packaging across major distributions make it accessible to a broad audience, while platform ports (including Android) extend its reach to mobile devices.

## Notable For
- Emulating both Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles in a single, actively maintained emulator.
- Long-running open-source project started in 2003 by Henrik Rydgård and relicensed to GPL v2+ in 2015.
- Cross-platform availability: official support for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and FreeBSD, and packaged in many distributions (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Gentoo, Flathub).
- Active release cadence with many stable and development releases; recent release tags include 2407 (2024-07-02), 2409 (2024-09-04), and 2412 (2024-12-02).
- GUI migrated to Qt (start time 2014-09-17) from wxWidgets (ended 2018-06-30), reflecting modernized desktop UI tooling.

## Body

### Overview
- Name: Dolphin (also known as Dolphin-emu, Dolphin Emulator, ドルフィン).
- Purpose: Emulate Nintendo GameCube and Wii games and software on host systems.
- Instance of: video game console emulator, application, and free and open-source software (free and open-source status from 2008-07-13 onward).
- Author/initial creator: Henrik Rydgård.

### History & Releases
- Inception date recorded: 2003-09-22.
- Licensing timeline:
  - Proprietary license during initial development (2003–2008).
  - GNU General Public License, version 2.0 from 2008 until 2015.
  - Relicensed to GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later in 2015.
- Notable release tags and dates:
  - 2.0 — stable version (2011-08-20).
  - 3.0 — stable version (2011-08-20).
  - 3.5 — stable version (2012-12-24).
  - 4.0 — stable version (2013-09-22).
  - 4.0.1 — stable version (2013-10-21).
  - 4.0.2 — stable version (2013-11-29).
  - 5.0 — stable version (2016-06-24).
  - 2407 — release (2024-07-02).
  - 2409 — release (2024-09-04).
  - 2412 — release (2024-12-02).

### Platforms, Packaging & Distribution
- Official website: https://dolphin-emu.org/.
- Source code repository: https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin (repository used by the project).
- Distribution and packages:
  - Flathub ID: org.DolphinEmu.dolphin-emu.
  - AUR packages: dolphin-emu-nogui-git, dolphin-emu-git.
  - Debian/Ubuntu package names: dolphin-emu.
  - Fedora package: dolphin-emu.
  - openSUSE package: dolphin-emu.
  - Gentoo package: games-emulation/dolphin.
  - FreeBSD port: emulators/dolphin-emu.
  - NetBSD package ID: emulators/dolphin-emu.
  - SlackBuilds package: games/dolphin-emu.
  - F-Droid package: org.dolphinemu.dolphinemu.

### Technical & Development Details
- GUI toolkit/framework: Qt as the current GUI toolkit (start time 2014-09-17); previous GUI framework was wxWidgets (end time 2018-06-30).
- Input device support: touchscreen (noted for mobile/Android use).
- Source code hosting and development:
  - GitHub organization/username: dolphin-emu.
  - Translation contributions via Transifex: https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/dolphin-emu/.
  - Issue tracker: https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/.
- Community & support:
  - Official wiki: https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/.
  - Official forums: https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/ and developer Google Group https://groups.google.com/g/dolphin-emu-dev.
  - IRC channel: irc://irc.libera.chat/dolphin-emu.
  - Blog: https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/.
  - Social: Twitter @Dolphin_Emu, Mastodon dolphin@dolphin-emu.org, YouTube channel ID UC1US0SaXvIUPgnf-GLbfb3g, subreddit DolphinEmulator, Discord invite id dolphin-emu.

### Logos & Media
- Official website and project assets reference refreshed logo as of 2024-07-02: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Dolphin_Emulator_Logo_Refresh.svg (preferred).
- Earlier logo (used before 2024-07-02): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Dolphin-logo.svg.
- Project screenshot/image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Dolphin_Emulator_Main_and_About_Windows.png.

### Metadata & Identifiers
- Wikipedia article title: Dolphin (emulator) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_(emulator).
- Freebase ID: /m/09d9hj.
- SteamGridDB ID: 34346.
- Flathub, distribution and packaging identifiers provided above.
- Copyright status: copyrighted.

## Schema Markup
```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Dolphin",
  "description": "Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator that runs Nintendo GameCube and Wii software on desktop and mobile operating systems.",
  "url": "https://dolphin-emu.org/",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_(emulator)",
    "https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin"
  ],
  "additionalType": "video game console emulator"
}

## References

1. [Source](https://henrikrydgard.com./)
2. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/02/dolphin-releases-announcement/#a-new-look)
3. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2015/05/25/relicensing-dolphin/)
4. [Source](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/)
5. [Source](https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Adolphin-emu%2Fdolphin++language%3AKotlin&type=code)
6. [Release 5.0. 2016](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/5.0)
7. [Release 2.0. 2011](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2.0)
8. [Release 3.0. 2011](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/3.0)
9. [Release 3.5. 2012](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/3.5)
10. [Release 4.0. 2013](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/4.0)
11. [Release 4.0.1. 2013](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/4.0.1)
12. [Release 4.0.2. 2013](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/4.0.2)
13. [Release 2407. 2024](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2407)
14. [Release 2409. 2024](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2409)
15. [Release 2412 · dolphin-emu/dolphin](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2412)
16. [Release 2503. 2025](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2503)
17. [Release 2506. 2025](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2506)
18. [Release 2506a. 2025](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2506a)
19. [Release 2509. 2025](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2509)
20. [Release 2512. 2025](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2512)
21. [Release 2603. 2026](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2603)
22. [Release 2603a. 2026](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/releases/tag/2603a)
23. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
24. [Source](https://api.github.com/repos/dolphin-emu/dolphin)
25. [Source](https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/tree/games-emulation/dolphin/dolphin-9999.ebuild?id=080ca735f85ceda85ec5cca0805f51f212c4e2b9#n15)
26. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/978a855d3f7d01c541700f09f517d1ef213a0eec/)
27. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2018/05/02/legend-dolphin-lens-between-worlds/)
28. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2018/07/06/dolphin-progress-report-june-2018/#50-8279-remove-dolphinwx-by-spycrab0)
29. [Source](https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/faq/#ive-got-idea-make-dolphin-better-how-should-i-tell)
30. YouTube API
31. [Source](https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/-/blob/master/metadata/org.dolphinemu.dolphinemu.yml)
32. [Dolphin (Emulator) - SteamGridDB](https://www.steamgriddb.com/game/34346)