Pyrite64 comes as a self-contained installation for the editor and engine.
The only thing external is the N64-SDK,
which depending on the platform, can be auto-installed for you by the editor.
Below are instructions to get Pyrite64 running on each supported platform:
Download the latest release from:
https://github.com/HailToDodongo/pyrite64/releases
Or for the latest development build from the GitHub Actions:
https://github.com/HailToDodongo/pyrite64/actions
(Alternatively, you can build the editor from source)
Extract the ZIP file on your PC in any directory you want.
Inside, launch pyrite64.exe (or pyrite64 on linux) to start the editor.
On the first start you will see a message that it could not find any N64 toolchain.
By clicking on the "Install Toolchain" button you can open the toolchain manager.
This will walk your through the process of installing it, most of which is fully automated.
Once that part is done, you now have two new options to either open or create a new project.
As a test if everything has installed correctly, you can create a new project.
Simply click on "Create Project" and choose a name.
Once in the editor, press F12 to build the default project.
This should then succeed and produce a .z64 ROM in the project directory.
Note that the first build can take a little bit longer, since the included engine gets compiled once.
Projects are contained to a directory, which includes a .p64proj file that holds the project settings.
To open an existing project, click on "Open Project" and select the .p64proj file.
Since it has a unique file extension, you can also associate it with the editor in your OS to open it by default when double-clicking on it.
Bundled with the editor is also an example project called "Cathode Quest 64" (N64Brew 2025 GameJam entry).
This is located in n64/examples/jam25, and is going to be updated over time as the editor grows.
Next: Using the Editor