P1POPStarter DocsRecovered preservation manual
Setup Storage Reference Archive

README.md

Rendered local archive file: README.md

Source file#

README.md

POPStarter Documentation Preservation Site#

This repository contains a seed pack and a generated static documentation site for POPStarter, the PS2 homebrew launcher used with Sony's PS2 POPS PS1 emulator.

The site is intentionally source-driven. Claims are tagged by confidence and verification status, modern POPSLoader/fork behavior is separated from original POPStarter core behavior, and unresolved conflicts are kept visible.

This repository must not include Sony POPS emulator binaries, BIOS files, decrypted libraries, proprietary packages, or direct binary download links. Do not add or link directly to files such as:

  • POPS.ELF
  • POPS.PAK
  • POPS_IOX.PAK
  • IOPRP252.IMG
  • PS1 BIOS files

The documentation may say that users need legally obtained copies and may describe where those files belong. When proprietary components need identification, use filenames, hashes, or source-reference identifiers only.

Quick Start#

npm install
npm run build

Open the generated site at:

dist/index.html

For a local HTTP preview:

python -m http.server 4173 -d dist

Then open:

http://localhost:4173/

Scripts#

npm run validate:seed
npm run validate:data
npm run validate:site
npm run build
npm run preflight
  • validate:seed checks the original seed JSON under data/.
  • validate:data checks the site data under src/data/.
  • validate:site checks the generated GitHub Pages output under dist/.
  • build renders the static site into dist/.
  • preflight runs all validators and rebuilds the site.

Project Layout#

src/data/        Structured source, command, storage, patch, issue, glossary, hotkey, and gap data
src/content/     Page definitions used by the static generator
scripts/         Build and validation scripts
research/        Plan, source audit, conflicts, missing items, and source-note captures
docs/            Original seed drafts
data/            Original seed JSON/YAML
source_notes/    User and assistant seed notes
media/           User-provided screenshot evidence
dist/            Generated site output after npm run build
.github/         GitHub Pages deployment workflow

Why Not Astro/Starlight Yet?#

The seed asked for Astro + Starlight unless a better static-docs stack was justified. This pass uses a zero-dependency Node generator so the pack builds offline and npm install works without the package registry. The generated output is plain static HTML/CSS/JS and is suitable for GitHub Pages. The structured data and page content are organized so a later Astro/Starlight migration can import them cleanly.

Research Status#

Start with:

  • research/SOURCE_AUDIT.md
  • research/CONFLICTS.md
  • research/MISSING.md
  • research/IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md

Key resolved item in this pass: the "disable ELF loader" workaround is documented as PATCH_9.BIN placed in the POPS folder, based on krHACKen's PSX-Place page 4 post. This remains marked as conflicting because other seed/ElOtroLado-derived notes associate PATCH_9.BIN with $NOPAL.

GitHub Pages Deployment#

The repository includes .github/workflows/deploy-pages.yml.

Recommended repository settings:

1. Open GitHub repository settings. 2. Go to Pages. 3. Set Source to GitHub Actions. 4. Push to main or run the workflow manually.

The workflow runs npm ci, npm run preflight, uploads dist/, and deploys it with the official Pages action.

The generated dist/ includes:

  • .nojekyll
  • 404.html
  • sitemap.xml
  • robots.txt
  • opensearch.xml
  • static HTML pages
  • assets/
  • evidence/

Search Coverage#

The site search indexes:

  • every guide page
  • every command, storage layout, patch, issue, source, and glossary entry
  • every local seed draft under docs/
  • local source notes
  • research audit files
  • raw web capture notes
  • the copy/paste prompt
  • structured JSON data pages