launcHER.CNF Reference

launcHER.CNF is an INI-style configuration file that instructs launcHER where Ember is installed, what arguments to supply, and how to maintain the PlayStation 2 hardware environment across handoff.

Syntax Rules

Comments: Any line beginning with # or // is ignored.
Key-Value Pairs: Directives follow the key=value format with no spaces surrounding the equals sign.
Case-Insensitive Filenames: launcHER automatically discovers launcHER.CNF, launcHER.cnf, launcHER.CFG, or launcHER.cfg.
Argument Accumulation: Multiple arg= lines are appended sequentially into the target ELF's argv[] array.
Global Arguments: In quickboot mode, all arg= lines apply to every active path= directive. Keep only one profile active unless you intentionally want fallbacks sharing identical arguments.

Configuration Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`path=<path>`	Specifies the path to `ember.elf`. Can be repeated to define fallback locations.	`path=mass?:/EMBER/ember.elf`
`arg=<value>`	Defines an argument passed to the target ELF.	`arg=Soul Blade`

Global Launcher Flags

Special arguments beginning with a hyphen (-) are intercepted by launcHER to control kernel behavior:

Flag	Purpose	When to Use
`-skip_argv0`	Omit the raw loader target string from the child ELF's `argv[]`.	Essential for APA/PFS so Ember sees `pfs0:/EMBER/ember.elf` as `argv[0]`.
`-dev9=NICHDD`	Keep both the Network Adapter interface and IDE/ATA hard drive powered.	Essential for Internal exFAT (ATA BDM) and APA/PFS so the drive does not shut down.
`-dev9=NIC`	Keep the Network Adapter interface powered (network only).	Essential for UDPBD and UDPFS network streaming.
`-dev9=HDD`	Keep only the internal IDE/ATA hard drive powered.	Alternative to `NICHDD` if network hardware is unused.
`-dev9=OFF`	Shut down DEV9 interface before loading ELF.	Default when omitted; fine for USB, MMCE, MC, and MX4SIO.
`-reset_iop`	Perform a full IOP reset before loading the ELF.	Clean boot when the child ELF has its own embedded IRX drivers.

Direct Command-Line Invocation

Instead of reading launcHER.CNF, launcHER can be invoked directly with command-line arguments from another ELF, a shell script, or a frontend:

launcHER.elf <target_path> [arg1] [arg2] ... [flags]

APA/PFS Direct Invocation Example:

launcHER.elf hdd0:__.EMBER:pfs:/EMBER/ember.elf pfs0:/EMBER/ember.elf "Soul Blade" -skip_argv0 -dev9=NICHDD

Internal exFAT Direct Invocation Example:

launcHER.elf ata:/EMBER/ember.elf "Soul Blade" -dev9=NICHDD

USB Direct Invocation Example:

launcHER.elf mass0:/EMBER/ember.elf "Soul Blade"

Flag Placement Rule

Always place global launcher flags (such as -skip_argv0 and -dev9=...) at the very end of the command line so all preceding strings are cleanly passed to the child ELF.