Dumping System Archives and the Shared Fonts

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At this time, Citra can run many games without needing to do any special work on a physical 3DS. However, some games do require files dumped from a 3DS in order to function properly. This tutorial will teach you how to dump the system archives (alongside the config savegame), which are critical for some games, such as Pokemon, to work.

These files are copyrighted and are not allowed to be shared, so don’t ask for them. If you do not own a 3DS to dump the files from, you are out of luck.

threeSD

threeSD is a tool written to help import data from your 3DS for Citra more conveniently and it dumps all the needed files with one operaton, meaning you don’t need to repeatedly dump your games or system software. If you get new games or DLC, those will need to be dumped again.

Refer to threeSD Quickstart Guide for importing your installed titles, updates, DLCs, save data, extra data, system files, etc. Note that you’ll still need a hacked 3DS with GodMode9 to obtain your keys so that threeSD can decrypt the data on your SD card.

3DSUtils

Required tools

*There is no official precompiled version of this app, but a non-official build is provided for convenience. Alternatively, you can install devkitPro and compile it yourself from the 3dsutils source code.

A 3DS with Homebrew Launcher access
The 3dsutils homebrew app (Click here for a non-official version)*
An SD card reader or a way to wirelessly transfer files between the 3DS console and a computer

Instructions

Run 3dsutils via the homebrew launcher.
Press A when prompted to begin. The system archives will be dumped. Wait for the process to finish, then press A when prompted to be taken back to the homebrew launcher.
There will now be a 3dsutils folder at the root of the 3DS’s SD card. Inside that folder is a folder nand. Transfer the folder nand to the User Directory. The folder will merge with the existing nand folder contained therein. If prompted to overwrite any files, say yes.

Diagram showing the correct location of the system archives and shared font in Citra’s User Directory.

				
					"User Directory"
└── nand
    └─── 00000000000000000000000000000000
        └── title
            ├── 0004009b
            │   ├── 00010202
            │   │   └── content
            │   │       └── 00000000.app.romfs
            │   ├── 00010402
            │   │   └── content
            │   │       └── 00000000.app.romfs
            │   ├── 00014002
            │   │   └── content
            │   │       └── 00000000.app.romfs
            │   ├── 00014102
            │   │   └── content
            │   │       └── 00000000.app.romfs
            │   ├── 00014202
            │   │   └── content
            │   │       └── 00000000.app.romfs
            │   └── 00014302
            │       └── content
            │           └── 00000000.app.romfs
            └── 000400db
                └── 00010302
                    └── content
                        └── 00000000.app.romfs