BFpilot/README.md

BFpilot

BFpilot is a lightweight PS5 payload that serves a browser-based file manager at http://<PS5_IP>:5905/.

The project is split into two payloads:

• bfpilot.elf - the main file manager payload.
• bfpilot-launcher-installer.elf - an optional home-screen tile installer.

The main payload stays deliberately small and compatibility-focused. It does not import launcher installer libraries, does not install the tile, and can be used without touching PS5 app installation services.

Features

• Browse local PS5 paths from a web browser.
• Upload and download files.
• Copy, move, rename, create folders, and delete from the web UI.
• PS5-side copy and move operations with progress and cancellation.
• Transfer timing, throughput, and device diagnostics.
• Clean places sidebar for Root, Homebrew, Mounts, User, Data, mounted drives, and custom shortcuts.
• Mounted USB/ext drives are shown only when they are actually present.
• Top storage summary for Data and mounted drives.
• Persistent custom shortcuts with add, rename, and remove controls.
• Optional launcher tile that opens http://127.0.0.1:5905/.

Download

Use the release assets:

• bfpilot.elf for the file manager.
• bfpilot-launcher-installer.elf only if you want the PS5 home-screen tile.

Run bfpilot.elf first. After the web UI is working, run the launcher installer payload if you want the tile.

Usage

Inject the file manager payload to your loader, usually on port 9021:

python3 payload_sender.py 192.168.1.204 9021 bfpilot.elf

Open:

http://192.168.1.204:5905/

Health checks:

http://192.168.1.204:5905/api/status
http://192.168.1.204:5905/api/diag
http://192.168.1.204:5905/api/fs/places

Install or refresh the launcher tile:

python3 payload_sender.py 192.168.1.204 9021 bfpilot-launcher-installer.elf

The tile opens:

http://127.0.0.1:5905/

Build

Set PS5_PAYLOAD_SDK to your PS5 payload SDK path:

export PS5_PAYLOAD_SDK=/path/to/ps5-payload-sdk
make clean all
make inspect-imports

Expected outputs:

bfpilot.elf
bfpilot-launcher-installer.elf

make inspect-imports verifies that the file manager payload does not contain launcher/AppInstUtil imports and that the isolated installer contains the required installer imports.

Diagnostics

Local read-only diagnostics:

PS5_IP=192.168.1.204 BF_WEB_PORT=5905 make ps5-diag

Smoke test the file APIs using only BFpilot-created files under /data/test:

PS5_IP=192.168.1.204 BF_WEB_PORT=5905 \
BF_ALLOW_PS5_WRITE=1 \
make ps5-smoke

Optional benchmark mode writes under /data/test/bfpilot-bench by default:

PS5_IP=192.168.1.204 BF_WEB_PORT=5905 \
BF_ALLOW_PS5_WRITE=1 \
BF_ALLOWED_REMOTE_ROOTS=/data/test/bfpilot-bench \
python3 scripts/ps5_diag.py --bench

Runtime logs are stored on the PS5 at:

/data/BFpilot/boot.log
/data/BFpilot/log.txt
/data/BFpilot/crash.log
/data/BFpilot/launcher-installer.log

Compatibility Notes

bfpilot.elf is file-manager-only by design. It avoids AppInstUtil, SystemService, UserService, and privileged launcher imports because those can fail before main() on some firmware/loader combinations.

bfpilot-launcher-installer.elf is separate and uses the complete launcher installer dependency set. If launcher installation fails on a firmware, the file manager payload remains usable.

More detail is in docs/COMPATIBILITY_STRATEGY.md and docs/FIRMWARE_TESTING.md.