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Citra is a Nintendo 3DS Emulator.

Website: https://citra-emu.org/

Github: https://github.com/citra-emu/citra

Compatibility List: https://citra-emu.org/game/

Citra Table of Contents

  1. Getting Started with Citra
  2. Citra Tips and Tricks

Getting Started with Citra

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Citra is a fairly straight-forward emulator to set up. Place your ROMs in Emulation/roms/n3ds or Emulation/roms/3ds. No additional setup is required if you are using decrypted ROMs. Read the Configuration section to learn more about Citra and its folder locations. The Configuration section covers where to place your aes_keys.txt if you are using encrypted ROMs.

To launch your ROMs in game mode, use Steam ROM Manager and use one of the following parsers to play your Citra ROMs:

  • EmulationStation-DE
  • Nintendo 3DS - Citra
  • Emulators

Citra Configuration

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  • Executable Location: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\citra-qt.exe
  • Config Location: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra
  • ROM Location: Emulation\roms\n3ds
  • aes_keys.txt Location: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user\sysdata
    • Only necessary if the 3DS ROM is encrypted
  • Storage Location: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user
  • Saves Location:
    • Shortcut: Emulation\saves\citra\saves
    • Target: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user\sdmc
  • Save States Location:
    • Shortcut: Emulation\saves\citra\states
    • Target: %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user\states

Works With

  • Steam ROM Manager
  • EmulationStation-DE

How to Update Citra

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How to Launch Citra

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  • Launch Citra from the EmuDeck folder in the Start Menu
  • Launch citra.bat file in Emulation\tools\launchers
  • Launch citra-qt.exe in %USERPROFILE%\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra
  • Launch the emulator from Steam after adding it via the Emulators parser in Steam ROM Manager

Citra File Formats

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  • .3ds
  • .3dsx
  • .app
  • .axf
  • .cci
  • .cxi
  • .elf

How to Manage DLC and Updates

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Read: https://citra-emu.org/wiki/dumping-updates-and-dlcs/ to learn how to properly dump your DLC and update files from your 3DS.

DLC and update files typically are .CIAs, an installable file format through Citra. After installing your DLC or updates, you may discard these files.

How to Install DLC and Updates

  1. Open Citra
  2. Click File in the top left
  3. Click Install CIA...
  4. Navigate to your DLC or update files

Citra Tips and Tricks

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How to Install Custom Textures

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Here's how to install custom textures for Citra:

Citra Configuration

  1. Open the Citra emulator. Click Emulation in the top left. Click Configuration, Graphics, and check both Use Custom Textures and Async Custom Texture Loading

Note: Preload Custom Textures is no longer recommended. Leave Preload Custom Textures off

How to Install Custom Textures

Note: Your texture pack may already come properly named and packaged with the correct TitleID and texture files. You may place the included texture pack folder directly into C:\Users\USERNAME\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user\load\textures. You do not need the following section if this is the case.

Option 1
  1. Right-click on your game in the games list and select Open Custom Texture Location to open the folder where custom textures will be loaded from
  2. Place your custom texture files directly into the opened folder
Option 2
  1. Open https://3ds.jdbye.com/?details=USA&split=0&display=0 in a browser
  2. Note down the Title ID for the game
    • For example, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D's (US) Title ID is: 0004000000125500
  3. Open C:\Users\USERNAME\emudeck\EmulationStation-DE\Emulators\citra\user\load\textures
    • If the load and textures folder do not exist, create them
  4. In the textures folder from Step 3, create a folder matching the TitleID from Step 2
  5. Put your texture files directly into the TitleID folder you created in Step 4
  6. Your texture pack should now be installed

IMPORTANT: Outdated guides will recommend enabling Preload Custom Textures. Turning on Preload Textures is no longer recommended and will cause a severe performance hit.