Where Does Dolphin Emulator Store Saves?
Dolphin user directory on Windows, macOS and Linux: GameCube saves, Wii NAND, memory cards and states.
Last updated
Dolphin keeps everything in a user directory: GameCube saves and memory cards in GC, Wii NAND and saves in Wii, states in StateSaves. The parent location depends on version and OS.
Version history matters here. Older builds used Documents, newer ones prefer AppData, and existing installs keep their old path. Config > Paths shows the truth.
Where Dolphin Emulator stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Dolphin Emulator
Default for recent builds; older installs keep Documents\Dolphin Emulator when present. GameCube cards in GC, Wii saves in Wii\title. Check Config > Paths for the live folder.
~/Library/Application Support/Dolphin
Same inner layout (GC, Wii, StateSaves). Use Go to Folder in Finder.
~/.local/share/dolphin-emu
Same inner layout. Legacy ~/.dolphin-emu is used when it already exists from old installs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I transfer Dolphin saves to a new computer?
Copy the GC folder (memory cards) and the Wii\title tree (Wii saves) to the same user directory on the new machine. Memory card .raw files transplant cleanly between installs.
My Dolphin folder is not where guides say. Why?
Check Config > Paths for the live user folder. Recent builds default to AppData; older installs keep using Documents\Dolphin Emulator when it already exists. Custom and portable (User next to exe) layouts override both.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.