MiSTer Companion v7.4.0 adds built-in CD ripping tools

Open-source developer Anime0t4ku released version 7.4.0 of the MiSTer Companion utility today. I think Animr0t4ku has been on a roll lately with MiSTer releases, and this update adds a highly requested feature: dedicated optical disc utilities. The software now includes built-in 'Disc to Image' and 'Image to Disc' functions tailored specifically for the FPGA platform's CD-based console and arcade cores.

MiSTer Companion launched in 2024 as a cross-platform graphical interface for managing a MiSTer FPGA setup. Before tools like this existed, updating cores or tweaking the MiSTer.ini configuration file meant connecting a keyboard to the device or logging into a Linux terminal from a separate computer. The companion app replaces that process with a clean GUI that works over a local network or via direct offline SD card editing.

Handling multi-track rips

The addition of disc imaging tools in version 7.4.0 solves a specific headache for retro hardware enthusiasts. The MiSTer FPGA project relies on a Terasic DE10-Nano board to recreate classic console hardware at the silicon level. When you boot up the PlayStation or Sega Saturn cores, the system expects a cycle-accurate data feed.

Feeding those cores requires properly formatted disc images, usually in the .cue/.bin or .chd formats. Ripping a physical CD-ROM is not as simple as dragging files onto a desktop. Games from the 32-bit era often use mixed-mode CDs containing both data tracks and standard Red Book audio tracks. If you rip a game like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Sonic CD incorrectly, the game might boot, but the background music will be completely missing or out of sync.

Previously, players had to rely on aging Windows software like ImgBurn or complex command-line scripts to create clean rips from their physical collections. Anime0t4ku has integrated that pipeline directly into the companion app. You can now take a physical disc, run it through the 'Disc to Image' tool, and generate a file ready for the MiSTer's file system in one place.

The 'Image to Disc' feature works in reverse, allowing users to burn their digital backups back onto blank CD-Rs. This is useful for testing homebrew software or playing patched translations on original hardware, assuming your vintage console's laser is still functioning.

Cross-platform utility

The software is available for free across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. The Android support is particularly useful for players who keep their MiSTer in a living room entertainment center and want to manage files or update cores from a phone on the couch.

The MiSTer ecosystem has grown massively since its origins in 2017. What started as a niche project by Alexey Melnikov to simulate 8-bit and 16-bit computers now handles the NEC PC Engine CD-ROM², the Sega CD, and the Neo Geo CD with near-zero latency. As the hardware capabilities expanded into the optical media era, the file sizes and storage management requirements scaled up with them. A full library of cartridge games fits on a cheap micro SD card. A library of Saturn games requires a dedicated external SSD and careful file management.

Anime0t4ku's utility bridges the gap between the complex Linux backend of the MiSTer and the end user. Version 7.4.0 is live on GitHub now. The documentation is somewhere between incomplete and optimistic, but the tool itself works exactly as advertised.