Homebrew CaVE Database Manager - A SNES, NES, N64, Genesis Switch Online modding App

[XenoFredo]

I must be a special kind of idiot, but I can't get the SNES to work at all. I added 91 games (following the tutorial, using v.1.5, SNES Online updated to 4.0.0.0), saved, connected my switch via DBI MTP, circle turned green, made sure to check "Full Unlock" under tools, then clicked Sync Database.

But when I try to launch it on my switch, it just stays at the red screen showing 2 SNES controllers. Stays there until I press Home, then close software. I've uninstalled the SNES and reinstalled it, It works fine as stock, but when I run the database and add games... nothing.

If it hangs on the loading screen, the most likely explanation is that the version of your database does not match the version of the NSO app you have installed.

 

[LaserJesusBeard]

Delete Super Soccer. Nintendo lost the rights to it and have removed the rom from the latest NSO - SNES updates.

Edit: you can add it back in as a custom rom in the usual way if you miss it that much.

If it hangs on the loading screen, the most likely explanation is that the version of your database does not match the version of the NSO app you have installed.

I removed Super Soccer, then checked and sure enough, I have 4.1.0.0 rather than 4.0.0.0. Fixed that, too, and it works perfectly now. Thank you both!

Now to figure out how to add cover art for these. =D Thanks again!

 

[elMamuton]

My dream is to be able to put my list of ROMs into the Nintendo Switch Online SNES app, because I love playing "improved" versions of classic games.
I followed the tutorial to convert my ROMs to the SFROM format, but none of them would open. I thought it was because they’re modified versions, but when I tried using a stock ROM of A Link to the Past, it also wouldn’t open.

• I’m using the app on version 4.0.0
• I’ve already deleted Super Soccer
• I have Full Unlock enabled (I already tried disabling it, syncing, then enabling again and syncing)
• I’m using the Sync function
  Could someone help me figure out what might be going wrong?

Edit: An update — I took an old database from version 3.4 (with some test games) and updated it to version 4.0, and magically all those games opened. I tried to simulate this database again using my ROMs with the obsolete CAVE (since the 3.4 database was made with it), but my games still didn’t open.


Summary: I think there’s something wrong with how I’m converting my ROMs. I’ve tried everything — updated the Sfrom database, applied the patches — but it seems like my files never work when added via CAVE.


One thing I noticed: almost no game opens. However, I was trying to inject a BS Legend of Zelda version from the Satellaview, and that one magically opens but stays on a black screen. When I change any setting in the Advanced Settings in Sfrom, it stops giving the black screen and starts behaving like my other ROMs (not opening at all).


I uploaded screenshots showing how Sfrom is reading my stock ROM of A Link to the Past.


Also, I’m using a Japanese OLED Switch, but my system is set to Portuguese (Americas) since I’m Brazilian — maybe there’s something related to the region that’s causing the problem. And yes, I’ve already tried creating the database in several languages — English, Portuguese, and Portuguese-BR.

 

[AceofHearts76]

I have done this process before so ik it works, what is the problem here, please help

Post automatically merged: Apr 28, 2025

please yall, i'm so desperate to make this work and have no idea what this error means

 

[AceofHearts76]

I have done this process before so ik it works, what is the problem here, please helpView attachment 500971

Post automatically merged: Apr 28, 2025

please yall, i'm so desperate to make this work and have no idea what this error means

no shot this is an unanswerable question, i'm so desperate

 

[SavageColeTrain]

Okay, I've looked but can't seem to find an answer, and I'm sorry if this has been asked already, but... Can we go online to play, say, Pokemon Emerald with someone else who had the same romfs folder? Or am I just stuck doing local?

 

[nWo]

Hi everyone. Well, sorry if this has been addressed before, but I wanted to know how do you get the DTZ that aren't available on the compatibility site for Nintendo 64? There are a few games I want to try but I don't know how to obtain said DTZ files. Thank you in advance.

Post automatically merged: May 7, 2025

I want for example, DTZ of Banjo Kazooie and SM64

 

[JANGOoff]

Hiiiiii, I have a problem adding SNES games
When I add the games, they just don't want to start, the *click* sound is heard and nothing.

I tried different solutions in the comments such as removing that soccer game, Even trying with older versions of NSO, but nothing

Could someone help me please?

 

[ThePanda]

Hiiiiii, I have a problem adding SNES games
When I add the games, they just don't want to start, the *click* sound is heard and nothing.

I tried different solutions in the comments such as removing that soccer game, Even trying with older versions of NSO, but nothing

Could someone help me please?

https://bitbucket.org/darkakumaspro...oes-the-custom-snes-game-i-added-fail-to-load

 

[JANGOoff]

Thanks, I managed to add almost all the games, but for some reason FE Genealogy of Holy War doesn't want to work.

Now just crash the app

 

[DarkAkuma]

I won't be posting every time... as I haven't. But the public branch now has the GBA v2.1 update available via the automatic update feature!

I figured out a more reliable way to remind myself now.

For reference, NSO Genesis/Megadrive v3.1 was released on 05-10-2024.

The next update on schedule is N64 v3.1 on 06-16-2025.

---

I have done this process before so ik it works, what is the problem here, please helpView attachment 500971

Post automatically merged: Apr 28, 2025

please yall, i'm so desperate to make this work and have no idea what this error means

Looks to be self explanatory. It cant find the DBINFO file in the romfs folder at the path mentioned. Judging by the recalculating cache message, this is happening as you try to Sync (actually posting the details of what you were trying to do when you encountered an error... generally helps people be more able/willing to respond and help you).

The obvious I would assume is that you deleted the file for some reason. If so... don't.

Assuming that's not the case... Then the file didn't get created? Thus I would have to wonder if you imported an older database made from before the DBINFO file was used, and it failed to create one (shouldn't happen, but could... I guess), or you created a brand new database (more likely since you have only 1 game). Why it wouldn't get created... All I can think of off the top of my head is, either a permission access issue on the folder, or an error/crash happened during creation of the database that you have not mentioned.

Of note, the Code value of your 1 game does look odd. It shouldn't be an issue, but... it could suggest a cascade of issues. How... I'm not sure. I'm just trying to grasp at anything I can from the little information you provided.

My dream is to be able to put my list of ROMs into the Nintendo Switch Online SNES app, because I love playing "improved" versions of classic games.
I followed the tutorial to convert my ROMs to the SFROM format, but none of them would open. I thought it was because they’re modified versions, but when I tried using a stock ROM of A Link to the Past, it also wouldn’t open.

• I’m using the app on version 4.0.0
• I’ve already deleted Super Soccer
• I have Full Unlock enabled (I already tried disabling it, syncing, then enabling again and syncing)
• I’m using the Sync function
  Could someone help me figure out what might be going wrong?

Edit: An update — I took an old database from version 3.4 (with some test games) and updated it to version 4.0, and magically all those games opened. I tried to simulate this database again using my ROMs with the obsolete CAVE (since the 3.4 database was made with it), but my games still didn’t open.


Summary: I think there’s something wrong with how I’m converting my ROMs. I’ve tried everything — updated the Sfrom database, applied the patches — but it seems like my files never work when added via CAVE.


One thing I noticed: almost no game opens. However, I was trying to inject a BS Legend of Zelda version from the Satellaview, and that one magically opens but stays on a black screen. When I change any setting in the Advanced Settings in Sfrom, it stops giving the black screen and starts behaving like my other ROMs (not opening at all).


I uploaded screenshots showing how Sfrom is reading my stock ROM of A Link to the Past.


Also, I’m using a Japanese OLED Switch, but my system is set to Portuguese (Americas) since I’m Brazilian — maybe there’s something related to the region that’s causing the problem. And yes, I’ve already tried creating the database in several languages — English, Portuguese, and Portuguese-BR.

This sounds like the common issue thats usually answered here.

Beyond that, I could suggest... That you made them as SNES Classic format sfrom, instead of Switch format sfroms. Sadly... NSO only supported the SNES Classic format... for a single version of the app.

Another one I am seeing a little more commonly now is, that people THINK they have the full unlock installed... but don't. This generally happens because... they manually drag the database folder to their SDcard. That is wrong. CaVE no longer supports that method because it introduces user error that leads to too many headache. I wont instruct on how to fix such a manual install fail, as... like I said. I/CaVE no longer supports that. I will just say that, using CaVE to sync ensures the Full Unlock patch is properly installed in the right location.

Oh! Seems I added that last one to the FAQ too already...

Hi everyone. Well, sorry if this has been addressed before, but I wanted to know how do you get the DTZ that aren't available on the compatibility site for Nintendo 64? There are a few games I want to try but I don't know how to obtain said DTZ files. Thank you in advance.

Post automatically merged: May 7, 2025

I want for example, DTZ of Banjo Kazooie and SM64

I'm not sure what you mean... The DTZ list... is the DTZ list. There is no other real list for custom DTZs.

That said, there IS another list of DTZs, and that list fits what I think you are asking for... without being more specific. I have been maintaining what I call the "Official DTZ Remakes" list. That list has dtz's for all the officially released games like Banjo Kazooie and SM64... just they only have the plain text files in the. Namely, the .cfg and decrypted and cleaned up .luas.

NSO N64 Info

Of note, the same list also is the home of the Widescreen patches/info list, for use with DisplayEx's Widescreen support. The Official DTZ Remakes list is the second tab.

 

[elMamuton]

This sounds like the common issue thats usually answered here.

Beyond that, I could suggest... That you made them as SNES Classic format sfrom, instead of Switch format sfroms. Sadly... NSO only supported the SNES Classic format... for a single version of the app.

Another one I am seeing a little more commonly now is, that people THINK they have the full unlock installed... but don't. This generally happens because... they manually drag the database folder to their SDcard. That is wrong. CaVE no longer supports that method because it introduces user error that leads to too many headache. I wont instruct on how to fix such a manual install fail, as... like I said. I/CaVE no longer supports that. I will just say that, using CaVE to sync ensures the Full Unlock patch is properly installed in the right location.

Oh! Seems I added that last one to the FAQ too already...

Thanks for replying. Since I couldn’t inject the ROMs properly, I ended up giving up—but your suggestion to convert them to SNES Classic format gave me hope.


Just a quick note: before messaging here, I read the FAQ and thought I might be syncing the files incorrectly. However, I used DBI and didn’t drag the files manually to my SD card as suggested in the FAQ. I also checked for any mismatch between the filenames and the "rom" path reference in the titlesdb, but everything seemed fine.


Also, as far as I remember, when I open NSO, I see the version of Cave with the "full unlock" message in the bottom right corner, so it seems like it's installed correctly. Like I said, it seems to be an issue with how I'm converting the ROMs—because when I used an old database and just updated it to the latest version, all the custom ROMs worked fine.

 

[AceofHearts76]

I won't be posting every time... as I haven't. But the public branch now has the GBA v2.1 update available via the automatic update feature!

I figured out a more reliable way to remind myself now.

For reference, NSO Genesis/Megadrive v3.1 was released on 05-10-2024.

The next update on schedule is N64 v3.1 on 06-16-2025.

---



Looks to be self explanatory. It cant find the DBINFO file in the romfs folder at the path mentioned. Judging by the recalculating cache message, this is happening as you try to Sync (actually posting the details of what you were trying to do when you encountered an error... generally helps people be more able/willing to respond and help you).

The obvious I would assume is that you deleted the file for some reason. If so... don't.

Assuming that's not the case... Then the file didn't get created? Thus I would have to wonder if you imported an older database made from before the DBINFO file was used, and it failed to create one (shouldn't happen, but could... I guess), or you created a brand new database (more likely since you have only 1 game). Why it wouldn't get created... All I can think of off the top of my head is, either a permission access issue on the folder, or an error/crash happened during creation of the database that you have not mentioned.

Of note, the Code value of your 1 game does look odd. It shouldn't be an issue, but... it could suggest a cascade of issues. How... I'm not sure. I'm just trying to grasp at anything I can from the little information you provided.



This sounds like the common issue thats usually answered here.

Beyond that, I could suggest... That you made them as SNES Classic format sfrom, instead of Switch format sfroms. Sadly... NSO only supported the SNES Classic format... for a single version of the app.

Another one I am seeing a little more commonly now is, that people THINK they have the full unlock installed... but don't. This generally happens because... they manually drag the database folder to their SDcard. That is wrong. CaVE no longer supports that method because it introduces user error that leads to too many headache. I wont instruct on how to fix such a manual install fail, as... like I said. I/CaVE no longer supports that. I will just say that, using CaVE to sync ensures the Full Unlock patch is properly installed in the right location.

Oh! Seems I added that last one to the FAQ too already...



I'm not sure what you mean... The DTZ list... is the DTZ list. There is no other real list for custom DTZs.

That said, there IS another list of DTZs, and that list fits what I think you are asking for... without being more specific. I have been maintaining what I call the "Official DTZ Remakes" list. That list has dtz's for all the officially released games like Banjo Kazooie and SM64... just they only have the plain text files in the. Namely, the .cfg and decrypted and cleaned up .luas.

NSO N64 Info

Of note, the same list also is the home of the Widescreen patches/info list, for use with DisplayEx's Widescreen support. The Official DTZ Remakes list is the second tab.

very sorry I didn't explain much. I wiped the switch entirely and this was while trying to create the database for the first time on said wiped switch. I believe I tried this with multiple of the nso emulator apps and I believe I tried other games on gba. This error did in-fact occur while attempting to sync the database, and I did not delete that file myself. I created an empty folder under that name where it said it should be (not expecting results) which just closed the cave app, and attempting to re-open the database continued crashing it. When I set up and played games through cave the first time, before I wiped the console, the switch was using emunand. This error has been occurring while on sysnand. I will soon go back to emunand and try it to see if it still works, but I got a bit sick of working on this alone so I have not done that yet. still, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lostbhoy]

Sooooo..... Does this work with N64 rom hacks?

Got Super Mario 64 Land showing in my selection however I just get an error it cannot start and throws me back to home screen. As it works on a real N64.... Surely here too???

Created/packed the dtz then added it to the game, synced it to console but not sure if I'm doing the right thing as the pop up help seem to be random.

Is it the rom? Is it me?? And how to remove it now??

 

[DominoBright]

Sooooo..... Does this work with N64 rom hacks?

Got Super Mario 64 Land showing in my selection however I just get an error it cannot start and throws me back to home screen. As it works on a real N64.... Surely here too???

Created/packed the dtz then added it to the game, synced it to console but not sure if I'm doing the right thing as the pop up help seem to be random.

Is it the rom? Is it me?? And how to remove it now??

There was a video on SMB: The Lost Levels, an officially released FDS game, where a casual player was running it on NSO and the emulator crashed. (It led to a new world record speedrun.)

I would guess that your rom hack being able to run on a real N64 has nothing to do with it.

 

[Lostbhoy]

There was a video on SMB: The Lost Levels, an officially released FDS game, where a casual player was running it on NSO and the emulator crashed. (It led to a new world record speedrun.)

I would guess that your rom hack being able to run on a real N64 has nothing to do with it.

I went back and tried again and realised I messed up the meta part however the game now boots with the background loaded, hangs then boots me out.

So yeah, I was rather hoping as it's a Kaze Emanuar hack it would maybe work but that guys better than Miyamoto on N64!!

Oh well, no big loss!

 

[johw]

Guys, what is the most recent version?

CaVE-v1.5-Beta_2
The one above has up to 3.90

 

[Branches]

CaVe launches and then just closes itself for me. Any way to fix this ? DebugLog isn't telling me any error

[3/27/2025 1:07:43 PM] -- New Session Initalized --
[3/27/2025 1:07:43 PM] SaveSettings
[3/27/2025 1:07:49 PM] Loading: C:\CaVE-v1.5-Beta\settings
[3/27/2025 1:08:11 PM] Entering Main
[3/27/2025 1:08:11 PM] UpdateRecentDatabasesMenu
[3/27/2025 1:08:11 PM] Listing versions available in NewDatabase menu.

I also have the exact problem, version 1.4.6 seems to work thought

 

[Waveracer]

For N64, the first page says, "Follow the popups." I did, but it's stuck on the start screen. Same thing for Genesis/Mega Drive. For GBA (that doesn't work either), there are some basic instructions on first page, but I can't figure them out. The only apps that are working for me are NES and GB. Any help for the rest would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[LaurenPol]

There must be some kind of issue with generating/syncing SNES Databases or something. When I delete the folder, and start fresh, it creates the DBInfo just fine, and also the lclassics,titlesdb - As soon as I add a new game, and press sync I can see it deleting the lclassics.titlesbd in real-time, and then give an error that it doesn't exist.

I'm using the 4.1 database - is there something I'm missing?

Here are my steps (which all worked flawlessly for GBA+N64)
Install .NSP + 4.1 Update on my Switch,
Use USB Tools -> SD Card to mount to PC
Open Cave, create 4.1 database in atmosphere -> contents
Put converted sfrom into Cave, add pretty picture
Press Sync -> Error "lclassics.titlesdb" not found in atmosphere->contents->NUMBERS->romfs->titles->lclassics.titlesdb.

Any idea on why it doesn't work?