The Tool Desk
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What a PS1 CUE file contains
The .bin file holds disc-image data. Its companion .cue file names the image and describes how the disc is divided into tracks. A simple disc may have one data track; a mixed-mode disc can include data and audio tracks, along with indexes and pregaps. The CUE is plain text, but its entries carry information that an emulator needs to interpret the image correctly. Libretro’s disc-image documentation explains why the cue sheet matters when loading CUE/BIN images.
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How to read a basic CUE sheet
A simple one-track example from the Libretro PCSX ReARMed documentation looks like this:
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TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00FILEnames the image data file and declares its encoding asBINARY.TRACK 01 MODE1/2352identifies track 01 as a data track using the stated mode and sector size.INDEX 01 00:00:00marks the start position for index 01.
This illustrates the basic structure; it is not a universal replacement for the original CUE. The actual sheet for a disc with multiple tracks may include more filenames, track modes, indexes, or pregaps.
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Why multi-track CUE files need their original layout
Some PS1 discs combine game data with CD audio. Their cue sheets can describe a MODE2 data track followed by audio tracks, with entries such as PREGAP, INDEX 00, and INDEX 01. These positions describe the track sequence and timing. A pregap can represent sectors that are not stored directly in the BIN file. See the CDRInfo cue-sheet technical reference for an example of this structure.
If you replace a multi-track sheet with a generic one-track CUE, the emulator may no longer see the disc as intended. Music or other disc behavior may be missing. Preserve the original CUE and its track entries whenever possible rather than flattening the image into a single data track.
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Load a CUE/BIN game in an emulator
- Keep the CUE and every image file it references together, in the expected relative locations.
- Check the CUE’s
FILEentries against the actual filenames. For example, if the sheet namesfoo.bin, the referenced image needs to have that name and be reachable from the cue sheet’s location. - In a compatible emulator, choose or open the
.cuefile. Libretro’s guidance is to load the cue sheet rather than the BIN directly, because the sheet tells the core where tracks are.
For multi-disc games, each disc should retain its own image and cue sheet. Libretro documents using an M3U playlist to organize discs and support disc swapping; follow the disc-management instructions for the emulator core you use: Libretro: Disc Images: CUE, CHD and M3U.
Troubleshoot missing files, audio, or disc behavior
- The emulator cannot find the image: Check that each filename in a CUE
FILEline matches the real filename, including its extension, and that the file is in the referenced location. - Music or disc behavior is missing: Check whether the original disc used multiple tracks and whether the CUE still describes them. A one-track replacement may omit audio-track and timing information.
- A multi-disc game will not swap correctly: Keep each disc’s CUE and image together, then use the emulator’s documented multi-disc workflow, such as an M3U playlist where supported.
- A PAL game has a compatibility issue: In the documented PCSX ReARMed workflow, some PAL PS1 games using LibCrypt protection require an SBI subchannel file alongside the BIN/CUE files. This applies to that specific compatibility case, not to every PS1 game. See Libretro’s PCSX ReARMed documentation.
Do you need special hardware to open a CUE?
No optical drive is needed to inspect or load an existing CUE/BIN set. An external USB CD/DVD drive is relevant only if you are creating an image from your own physical disc; it is not required just to work with files already on your computer. For disc-image creation context, see Libretro’s disc-image documentation.
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CUE/BIN and CHD are different storage choices
CUE/BIN commonly stores disc data in a BIN image plus a separate text cue sheet. CHD is another disc-image option supported by several PlayStation emulator cores. Which one works depends on the specific emulator core and its documented support; do not assume every core accepts every format. Libretro discusses both formats and M3U playlists in its disc-image guide.
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