Mario Kart 64 on PC: SpaghettiKart setup guide (2026)

SpaghettiKart is Harbour Masters' native PC port of Mario Kart 64. Same libultraship family as Ship of Harkinian and Starship. Windows and Linux builds are ready; Switch homebrew needs a PC-generated mk64.o2r. You bring the US ROM. Checked against the official repo on Oct 13, 2026 (~2.4k stars).

Legal: CRT Forge links to official project repos only. We never host or link ROMs, ISOs or game dumps. Bring your own dump from a cartridge or disc you own. This isn't legal advice.

Latest release: 1.0.0 "Bolognese Alfa", published Feb 25, 2026, on the official Releases page. Nightlies for Windows (x64 and Win32), Linux (x64 and x86), macOS (arm64 and Intel) and Switch are linked from the README.

Step 1: verify your ROM dump

Only the US Mario Kart 64 ROM is supported. SHA-1: 579C48E211AE952530FFC8738709F078D5DD215E (check at romhacking.net/hash). File format must be .z64.

Step 2: download SpaghettiKart

Get the release zip from github.com/HarbourMasters/SpaghettiKart/releases. Don't trust mirrors that ship a ROM.

Step 3: generate mk64.o2r and play

Windows: extract, run Spaghettify.exe, select your US ROM, then launch again to play.
Linux: install zenity or kdialog, chmod +x spaghetti.appimage, run it and select your ROM.
Switch: generate mk64.o2r on PC, then copy the files to the SD card per the README.

Default controls

N64	Keyboard
A	`Shift`
B	`Ctrl`
L	`Q`
R	`Space`
Z	`Z`
Start	`Enter`
Analog stick	`Arrow keys`
C buttons	`T G F H`
D-Pad	`Num 8 2 4 6`

Shortcut	Action
`F11`	Fullscreen
`Tab`	Toggle alternate assets
`Ctrl+R`	Reset
`Esc`	Settings

SDL gamepads work with a documented mapping in the README (A/X/LB/RB/LT, sticks, d-pad).

Graphics backends

DirectX 11 (Windows default), OpenGL (all platforms), Metal (macOS). Crash workaround: edit spaghettify.cfg.json, set Backend id to 3 / Name OpenGL.

Modding

Put .o2r or .zip packs in mods. .otr is not supported. Docs: harbourmasters.github.io/SpaghettiKart. Community mods: GameBanana.

FAQ

Is SpaghettiKart legal?

SpaghettiKart includes no copyrighted assets. You must provide a supported US Mario Kart 64 dump. Harbour Masters does not condone piracy. This isn't legal advice.

Where do I download SpaghettiKart?

Only from github.com/HarbourMasters/SpaghettiKart/releases. The latest release we checked on Oct 13, 2026 is 1.0.0 "Bolognese Alfa" (published Feb 25, 2026).

Which Mario Kart 64 ROM is supported?

Only the US ROM. SHA-1: 579C48E211AE952530FFC8738709F078D5DD215E. It must be .z64 (byte-swap .n64 if needed).

What is mk64.o2r / Spaghettify.exe?

On Windows you run Spaghettify.exe and select your US ROM to generate mk64.o2r. On Linux use spaghetti.appimage (zenity or kdialog required for the file picker). Switch homebrew needs the o2r generated on PC first.

Do .otr mods work?

No. SpaghettiKart supports .o2r packs and stored .zip files in the mods folder. The README explicitly says .otr archives are not supported.

Where are the mods?

There's an official GameBanana page (gamebanana.com/games/22970) and Harbour Masters docs at harbourmasters.github.io/SpaghettiKart/.