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The <iso_project> element is the root container for a disc image project. Each element defines a complete PlayStation ISO image with its tracks, file system, and metadata.

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Basic Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<iso_project image_name="myimage.bin" cue_sheet="myimage.cue" no_xa="0">
  <!-- Track elements go here -->
</iso_project>

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Attributes

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image_name
string
required
File name of the ISO image file to generate. Typically uses .bin extension.This can be overridden using the -o or --output command-line option.
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cue_sheet
string
File name of the cue sheet to generate for the image file.Required when:
  • More than one track is specified
  • Using CD-DA audio tracks
This can be overridden using the -c or --cuefile command-line option.
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no_xa
boolean
default:"0"
If set to a non-zero value (e.g., 1 or true), creates the image without CD-XA extended file attributes, resulting in a plain ISO9660 image.XA data (like STR videos and XA audio) can still be included but this is not recommended.

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Examples

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Single Track Data Disc

<iso_project image_name="game.bin">
  <track type="data">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="GAME"
    />
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="system.txt"/>
      <file name="GAME.EXE" source="game.exe"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
</iso_project>

​
Multi-Track Disc with Audio

<iso_project image_name="musicgame.bin" cue_sheet="musicgame.cue">
  <track type="data" xa_edc="true">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="MUSICGAME"
    />
    <license file="licensea.dat"/>
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="system.txt"/>
      <file name="GAME.EXE" source="game.exe"/>
      <file name="TRACK02.DA" trackid="02" type="da"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
  
  <track type="audio" trackid="02" source="bgm01.wav"/>
  <track type="audio" source="bgm02.wav"/>
</iso_project>

​
Plain ISO9660 (No XA)

<iso_project image_name="data.bin" no_xa="1">
  <track type="data">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="DATA"
    />
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="system.txt"/>
      <file name="DATA.DAT" source="data.dat"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
</iso_project>

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Multi-Disc Projects

Multiple <iso_project> elements can be specified in a single XML file for multi-disc game projects: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!-- Disc 1 -->
<iso_project image_name="game_disc1.bin" cue_sheet="game_disc1.cue">
  <track type="data">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="GAME_DISC1"
      volume_set="GAME_TRILOGY"
    />
    <license file="licensea.dat"/>
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="disc1/system.txt"/>
      <file name="GAME.EXE" source="disc1/game.exe"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
</iso_project>

<!-- Disc 2 -->
<iso_project image_name="game_disc2.bin" cue_sheet="game_disc2.cue">
  <track type="data">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="GAME_DISC2"
      volume_set="GAME_TRILOGY"
    />
    <license file="licensea.dat"/>
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="disc2/system.txt"/>
      <file name="GAME.EXE" source="disc2/game.exe"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
</iso_project>

<!-- Disc 3 -->
<iso_project image_name="game_disc3.bin" cue_sheet="game_disc3.cue">
  <track type="data">
    <identifiers
      system="PLAYSTATION"
      application="PLAYSTATION"
      volume="GAME_DISC3"
      volume_set="GAME_TRILOGY"
    />
    <license file="licensea.dat"/>
    <directory_tree>
      <file name="SYSTEM.CNF" source="disc3/system.txt"/>
      <file name="GAME.EXE" source="disc3/game.exe"/>
    </directory_tree>
  </track>
</iso_project>
When using multi-disc projects, the -o, -c, and -L command-line options cannot be used as they would apply to all discs.

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Required Child Elements

Each <iso_project> must contain at least one <track> element:
  • The first track should be a data track (type="data")
  • Additional audio tracks (type="audio") are optional
See Tracks for detailed track configuration.

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Command-Line Overrides

Several attributes can be overridden via command-line options:
AttributeCommand-Line OptionDescription
image_name-o, --outputOverride output image file name
cue_sheet-c, --cuefileOverride cue sheet file name
--L, --licenseOverride license file
--l, --labelOverride volume identifier
Example: 
mkpsxiso -o custom.bin -c custom.cue -l CUSTOMVOL project.xml

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Validation

mkpsxiso validates the project structure:
  • At least one <track> element must be present
  • The first track must be a data track
  • If audio tracks are present, cue_sheet must be specified
  • Data tracks must include a <directory_tree> element

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Next Steps

Tracks

Configure data and audio tracks

Identifiers

Set volume and system identifiers

Directory Tree

Define the file system structure

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