A while back I started making my first 3DS homebrew app and at first struggled hard with the creation of the CIA files. Most approaches I read about didnt seem to work for me. After a while I found CBuilder3DS by SlalomSquid which made the process far easier. I can very much recommend it, and it's been baked into the release workflow of my game launcher app for quite a while now. There is also extensive noob friendly documentation available for it.
https://github.com/slalomsquid/CBuilder3DS
creator: SlalomSquid
tool: CBuilder3DS
I've read on another thread here, that a user named Saysaa made a tool that has a similar premise. I haven't tested it, but figured I should leave the link here as well. It's a bit more easy use GUI like, while CBuilder is more suited for a code environment I'd say.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/i-created-a-tool-to-create-cia-files-very-simply.678024/
https://github.com/saysaa/CIATools/releases/
I know that for many people creating CIA poses little problems, but I also know that for many people it was an unsolvable mess that made them rage quit the whole process. So here's to 2025/26. We now got this stuff!
If you have questions, leave them here. I'll try to answer them best I can.
Cheers
selloa
--------------
check out my 3ds random game launcher here (github) or here (universal-db)
https://github.com/slalomsquid/CBuilder3DS
creator: SlalomSquid
tool: CBuilder3DS
- Compiles your C code using devkitARM and libctru
- Creates application assets (banner, icon, audio)
- Packages everything into multiple 3DS formats
- Generates both development (.3dsx) and distribution (.3ds/.cia) files
I've read on another thread here, that a user named Saysaa made a tool that has a similar premise. I haven't tested it, but figured I should leave the link here as well. It's a bit more easy use GUI like, while CBuilder is more suited for a code environment I'd say.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/i-created-a-tool-to-create-cia-files-very-simply.678024/
https://github.com/saysaa/CIATools/releases/
I know that for many people creating CIA poses little problems, but I also know that for many people it was an unsolvable mess that made them rage quit the whole process. So here's to 2025/26. We now got this stuff!
If you have questions, leave them here. I'll try to answer them best I can.
Cheers
selloa
--------------
check out my 3ds random game launcher here (github) or here (universal-db)
Last edited by selloa,
