ps5-unified-autoloader

A standalone PS5 ELF payload that automates loading payloads. This is intended for integration into jailbreak chains rather than direct end-user usage.

What it does

When loaded via elfldr (e.g. as part of your jailbreak chain), autoloader.elf:

1. Kills the entry point app (YouTube PPSA01650/01651/01652 or Artemis Lua games like Aerial Life, Aibeya, etc.) if it is running
2. Kills BD Disc Player (NPXS40140) if it is running, using a careful suspend→wait→kill sequence
3. Waits for elfldr to be ready on port 9021 (up to 10 seconds)
4. Looks for the autoload.txt configuration file in the following order (highest priority first):
   • App-specific directories on USB (/mnt/usb[0-7]/ps5_autoloader_<app>/autoload.txt, where <app> is bdjb for BD Disc Player or the Title ID of the entry point app, e.g. PPSA01650 for YouTube)
   • App-specific directory in /data (/data/ps5_autoloader_<app>/autoload.txt)
   • Generic directories on USB (/mnt/usb[0-7]/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt)
   • Generic directory in /data (/data/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt)
5. If found: launches each payload listed in the config via elfldr
6. If not found: automatically starts the bundled Payload Manager

autoload.txt format

# This is a comment — ignored
@sync                  # move config directory to /data if all loads succeed
mypayload.elf          # loaded from the same directory as this autoload.txt
anotherpayload.elf
!1000                  # sleep 1000 ms before next entry
third_payload.elf

• One entry per line
• Filenames are resolved relative to the directory containing autoload.txt (e.g. if config is on /mnt/usb0/ps5_autoloader/autoload.txt, then mypayload.elf resolves to /mnt/usb0/ps5_autoloader/mypayload.elf)
• Absolute paths (starting with /) are used as-is
• Lines starting with # are comments
• Lines starting with ! are sleep commands: !<ms> sleeps for that many milliseconds
• Lines starting with @ are directives:
  • @sync: If loaded from a USB drive, this moves the entire active configuration directory (including all payloads and autoload.txt) to the internal /data partition on the PS5. The process runs only after all payloads have loaded successfully with zero errors. It clears the target internal directory, copies the files, verifies them byte-by-byte, and then deletes the folder from the USB drive so that subsequent boots run locally without needing the USB.

Building

Requirements

• Docker
• git (with submodules, only needed for -b builds)

Clone

git clone https://github.com/itsPLK/ps5-unified-autoloader.git
cd ps5-unified-autoloader

Build (download pre-built pldmgr — recommended)

./build_release.sh
# or explicitly:
./build_release.sh -d

Build (compile pldmgr from source)

git submodule update --init --recursive
./build_release.sh -b

This uses pldmgr's own Docker image (which includes libmicrohttpd, mbedTLS, libcurl) to build pldmgr, then uses a separate lean SDK image to build the autoloader.

Output

autoloader_v0.1.0_abc1234.elf

Structure

autoloader.elf          ← load this via elfldr
  └─ pldmgr.elf         ← embedded fallback (launched if no autoload.txt found)