PBP

ICON0 eboot.pbp FW 6.60

PBP (PLAYSTATION BOOT PACKAGE) is an archive format used on the PSP. The archive contains description data, preview media and executable/data content.

At the time of writing, PBP files have been used notably for firmware updates, and some free applications, demos and additional contents.

PBP is an uncompressed archive, with an index displaying file data offsets.

PBP files are usually run from the Memory Stick. They must be placed in the /PSP/GAME/ folder of the Memory Stick.

Common PBP structure

Usually every PBP file embeds a PARAM.SFO file and the PARAM.SFO file starts at offset 0x28 just after the PBP header.

EBOOT.PBP

Selection window

Used on PSP (PSP remaster and PSN content:PS1 classic and Minis), to be loaded with build-in PSP emulator on PS3. See Emulation.

With PSP remaster game, you can select either to start the game directly or the NPJA0040/USRDIR/EBOOT.BIN (Ad-Hoc Party folder). An ICON of the game is also loaded on the top left corner on the menu.

The PSP System Software update EBOOT.PBP can be downloaded from the from PS3 Internet Browser to be transfered to a PSP connected to the PS3 using a micro USB cable or copied to an external storage device, for example to a Memory Stick inserted in the Memory Stick slot of the First Series PS3.

RCO PNG used on PS3 for EBOOT.PBP

Example of files contained in an EBOOT.PBP:

• PARAM.SFO
• ICON0.PNG
• ICON1.PMF
• PIC0.PNG
• PIC1.PNG
• SND0.AT3
• DATA.PSP
• DATA.PSAR

EBOOT.PBP Header

Offset	Size	Description
0x0	4 (char[4])	Signature (magic). Always 00 50 42 50 i.e. { '\0', 'P', 'B', 'P' }
0x4	4 (uint32)	Unknown. possibly the version number. Currently always 0x00000100 or 0x01000100 (some MINIS, PSP HD Remasters and PSP PlayView).
0x8	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file PARAM.SFO (?this value should always be 0x28?)
0xC	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file ICON0.PNG
0x10	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file ICON1.PMF or ICON1.PNG
0x14	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file PIC0.PNG or UNKNOWN.PNG (Value can be repeated)
0x18	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file PIC1.PNG or PICT1.PNG
0x1C	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file SND0.AT3
0x20	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file DATA.PSP
0x24	4 (uint32)	Offset of the file DATA.PSAR

PARAM.SFO

Basically the information file for the .PBP - has title, parental control level etc.

Fews parameters inside different type of .pbp (psp remaster, psp game, minis, ps1 classic..)

For the external PS3 SFO, see PARAM.SFO. Some parameters such SAVEDATA_DETAIL related but used separately from the eboot.pbp as well.

For PS1 classic, offset .SFO should not be variable on EBOOT.PBP.

(e.g.: Title of the game should start at offset 0x358 with category: ME, not as EG)

Key (Parameters)	Description	Format (DATA TYPE)	Max length	Value example	Used on	Note
APP_VER	Application or Patch Version	utf-8	8	1.00		PS1 classic should not have this parameter.
ATTRIBUTE	Various parameter	integer	4	01 00 60 01		PS1 classic do not have attribute.
BOOTABLE	Is bootable or not	integer	4	01 00 00 00		Parameters PS1 classic should start from here.
CATEGORY	Category of Content	utf-8	4	--		Category of PSF, as per the table above.
DISC_ID	Product number of the game(?)	integer	16 (0X10)	NPXX12345		Equal to Game ID for PS3. See DiscID.
DISC_NUMBER	--	integer	4	1		Which disc (out of DISC_TOTAL) is this? (Counts from 1.)
DISC_TOTAL	--	integer	4	1		Total number of UMD discs for this game.
DISC_VERSION	--	utf-8	8	1.00		Version of the game(?), e.g. "1.00"
DRIVER_PATH	--	utf-8	64 (0x40)	--
HRKGMP_VER	--	integer	4	0
LICENSE	License information	utf-8	512 (0x200)	--
MEMSIZE	--	integer	4	1		add extra RAM for eboot (Not for PSP-1000), first used on homebrew: snes TYL
PARENTAL_LEVEL	Parental Lock Level	integer	4	"3"		Minimum parental control level needed to access this file (1-11, 1=general audience, 5=12 years, 7=15 years, 9=18 years) //E.G.:Set as 3 on ModNation Racers
PBOOT_TITLE	--	utf-8	128 (0x80)	--		Used on PBOOT.PBP (Update)
PSP_SYSTEM_VER	--	utf-8	8	6.35		Version of PSP system software required to run the game(?)
REGION	--	integer	4	00 80 00 00		Bitmask of allowed regions. 0x8000 is region 2?
TITLE	Game Title (Default language)	utf-8	128 (0x80)	--		Text shown under the "Game" heading in the save game menu.
TITLE_XX	Game Title	utf-8	128 (0x80)	--		Localized version of the TITLE attribute. See Languages.
UPDATER_VER	--	utf-8	8	6.60		Used by the firmware updater program to denote the version it upgrades the firmware to. Category MG, on PSP_GAME: SYSDIR/UPDATE/PARAM.SFO if not empty
USE_USB	--	integer	4	0

*LANGUAGE category MG Language of the game. "JP" indicates Japanese. 

Attribute

• MINIS used are for X1 category ATTRIBUTE_In_Bootable_content

Category

PSP	PS3 SFO related	Note
EG	MN	PSP Essentials or Extended or External (or Episode) Games? Minis
EG	PE	PSP remaster (and in others only PSP released games?)
EG	PP	Not bootable on PS3
MA	No	Apps
ME	1P	PS1 Classic
MG	No	MemoryStick Game?. For update FW :MSTKUPDATE, Apps game and Game data (for param.pbp , not as save data). PP on PS3 is possible.
MS	No	MemoryStick Save for Game&apps (PSP remaster also)
UG	No	UMD Disc Game
PG	PP	Game update

DISC_ID (or TITLE_ID ?)

Some special titles from SCE utility apps:

• NPIA00013 (SensMe) http://www.playstation.com/psp-app/sensme/en/download_pc.html

Update for Game (PBOOT.PBP): some values

APP_VER: 1.01 or more

ATTRIBUTE: 01 00 00 00

CATEGORY: PG

PBOOT_TITLE

Content Information Files

For PS3 see: Content_Information_Files.

ICON0.PNG

The little icon in 32bit colour PNG format. Max resolution is 144x80.

: 80x80

: 80x80 (same used on savedata)

:

: 144x80

ICON1.PMF or ICON1.PNG

The little animated icon in PSMF format or image in PNG.

:ICON1.PNG or ICON1.PMF (310x180)

:ICON1.PNG or ICON1.PMF (310x180)

:

PIC0.PNG

"Information" image in PNG format. Max resolution is 480x272.

:

:

:

PIC1.PNG or PICT1.PNG

The background image in 32bit colour PNG format. Max resolution is 480x272.

:PICT1.PNG (480x272)

:PICT1.PNG (480x272)

:

: PIC1.PNG (480x272)

SND0.AT3

The sound which is played when the icon is highlighted, in ATRAC3 format.

:

: not present.

:

: not present.

DATA.PSP

More information, except more targeted at the executable portion (contains info such as ELF size):

Boot and Warning image

Logo screen from eboot.pbp

Minis warning logo

• :

"minis"boot logo (visual content is similar than the file located on /dev_flash/pspemu/flash0/logo/minis_logo/)

Display on Screen from PS3 side might be altered according to the FW.

PNG format (480x272)

Not all Minis games have the second

• :

Offset	Length	Name	Description
0x00	16	-	~PSP (7E 50 53 50 00 02 01 00 01 01 20)
...
0x2C	-	Size	Length first part / offset second part (40 25)

• :

Menu screen bin

Menu screen selection image for PSP Remaster located in PSP_EMU.

See Emulator settings.

Other

• When the eboot is signed as free demo (PSP 6.60 OFW might block it, 6.39 FW no).

DATA.PSAR

This section lacks information on:

• how many PGD files are present in DATA.PSAR
• how DATA.PSAR is related to ISO.BIN.EDAT
• if STARTDAT is part of DATA.PSAR or not

The DATA.PSAR is the bulk of the EBOOT.PBP and the portion that contains the executable code.

The DATA.PSAR contains a PGD file at offset 0x50. This PGD file contains the BB MAC from which can be derived the version key.

Offset	Length	Name	Description
0x00	0x10	Magic	: NPUMDIMG (4E 50 55 4D 44 49 4D 47 03 00 00 01 10 00 00 00) : PSISOIMG0000 (50 53 49 53 4F 49 4D 47 30 30 30 30 xx xx xx xx) See ISO.BIN.EDAT#Section.
0x10	0x40	?	?
0x50	?	DATA.PGD	PGD file

• STARTDAT: the STARTDAT header contains the header size (50) and .png size (usually A5 2F for File:PSP Minis Warning logo.jpg minis warning logo or 06 26 for PSP Remaster).

PARAM.PBP

The PSP XMB references PARAM.PBP files as "game data". They are used by PlayView､ additional contents.

PARAM.PBP Header

Offset	Length	Value	Notes
0x00	4	00 50 42 50	Magic (".PBP")
0x04	4	01 00 01 00	Unknown purpose, possibly the version number. Currently is always similar (also on 1.00 or 1.02 disc_version)
0x08	4	28 00 00 00	Offset of the file PARAM.SFO (this value should always be 0x28)
0x0C	4	DC 01 00 00	Offset of the file ICON0.PNG 144x80 (similar since same parameters are used)
0x10	4	xx xx 00 00	Offset of the file ICON1.PNG or ICON1.PMF 310x180 ("information")
0x14	4	xx xx 00 00	repeat Offset of the file ICON1.PNG or ICON1.PMF
0x18	4	xx xx 00 00	Offset of the file PIC1.PNG 480x272 ("Background") not all Playview have it (and so, offset second part)
0x1C	4	xx xx xx 00	Offset second part of the file
0x20	4	xx xx xx 00	repeat second part of the file
0x24	4	xx xx xx 00	repeat second part of the file

PARAM.SFO starts at offset 0x28 with following parameters (see above for length or purpose):

• BOOTABLE: 00 00 00 00

• CATEGORY: "MG"

• DISC_ID :

• DISC_VERSION: "1.00" , "1.02"

• PARENTAL_LEVEL

• PSP_SYSTEM_VER: 1.00

• REGION : 00 00 80 00

• TITLE

• USE_USB: 00 00 00 00

Then the ICON0.PNG starts usually at offset 0x1DC

ICON0.PNG and PIC1.PNG:

After the 2 or 3 .png, the second part of the file start (length is always 0x20 bytes).

Tools

zPBPTool

• • Source code: [1] (mod version written in C), [2] (original version written in Zig)
  • Note: zPBPTool replaces PSPSDK's pack-pbp and unpack-pbp tools. In addition to this, it can be used to analyze a PBP file without extracting it.

PSARdumper

• • [3]
  • Source code: ?
  • Note: This dumper is only for PSAR files of PSP System Software packages.

PRXdecrypter

• • [4]
  • Source code: ?
  • Note: PRXdecrypter is a modification of PSARdumper that can decrypt other files as MODULES.PRX or EBOOT.BIN.

PBP Unpacker

• • [5]
  • Source code: ?
  • Note: There is a bug in PBP Unpacker version <=0.94 where .PBP with size bigger than 1MB are not supported.

PSXtract

• • [6]
  • Note: PSXtract is a tool to convert PS1 EBOOT.PBP (coming from PKG) to ISO
  • psxtract-2 by has207 (2025-10-26): Mod of PSXtract that features a modified version of libkirk's source code to support DES encryption/decryption and the AMCTRL functions. It also features isofix code for ensuring finalized ISO matches real discs. And uses atrac3 ACM code for ATRAC3 decoding of CDDA audio tracks.
  • PSXtract2021 by Mr-Berzerk (2021-11-09): Version of Hykem's PSXtract with attempts to merge in as many forks as possible.
  • See [7] for an analysis of many forks of PSXtract as of 2021.
  • PSXtract Source code by zecoxao from AkuHak's repo (2016-06-20)
  • https://github.com/AKuHAK/psxtract
  • https://github.com/Sorvigolova/psxtract
  • Game manual (DOCUMENT.DAT) decryption is also supported.
  • AKuHAK has contributed code that was integrated into Hykem's original repository - the commits in his repository are legit and are based on Hykem and DeadlySystem' work.

psnpkgdecryptor-extractor

• psnpkgdecryptor-extractor by TheLeecherMan for PKG and KEYS.BIN
  • [8]
  • Note: Some feature (KEYS.BIN is used by PS1 classic on PSP):

Extract & Decrypt & Dump all PSP PKG files ( Games & Minis, DLCs & Addons, NeoGeo, PC Engine, PSOne Classic Games, Games Updates ) ISO, EBOOT, EDAT/PGD files to Decrypt (Version 1.3), Dump, Verify ISO Generate KEYS.BIN for PSOne Game from PSOne EBOOT.PBP ... 

libLZR

• PSP homebrew - libLZR v0.11
  • [9]
  • Note: The library de- and encodes LZR streams (as used in the Sony PSP firmware). ?Used in PGD only?

Links and Resources

• More information about the PSAR files: [10]

• For structure (and history of research): [11]

• For files related to EBOOT.PBP (keys.bin, etc.) there is basic information on the Talk page.

• For history of the page: original link for PBP structure http://endlessparadigm.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=13

ImHex Pattern for PBP files

ImHex with loaded Digital Comics (NPEG00012) EBOOT.PBP

Load PBP file in ImHex, in "Pattern editor" paste pattern from link below, click "Evaluate" (green play button)

https://gist.github.com/playday3008/0c8ba916ba3b1c4f52654db6e3f85109

Pattern supports:

• PARAM.SFO (PSP/PS3 compatible): structure
• ICON0.PNG: preview/structure
• ICON1.PMF: structure
• PIC0.PNG: preview/structure
• PIC1.PNG: preview/structure
• SND0.AT3: structure
• DATA.PSP (SCE/PRX/ELF): structure (PRX is partial (currently))
• DATA.PSAR: structure (partial (currently))