Now you have a clean, space-saving CHD file ready for MAME, RetroArch, or other emulators. Need help? Check the official MAME documentation or visit the r/MAME subreddit.
Example: game.zip → contains "game.bin" and "game.cue" Extract both files to a folder. Get the latest MAME tools from the official MAME dev site or use a package manager. Convert Zip To Chd
chdman createcd -i "game.iso" -o "game.chd" chdman createhd -i "disk.img" -o "disk.chd" For a GD-ROM (Dreamcast .GDI): chdman createcd -i "game.gdi" -o "game.chd" Step 4: Verify the CHD file The new .chd file will be in the same folder. It will be smaller than the original raw image but slightly larger than the ZIP. Example: Full conversion from ZIP to CHD (Windows) 1. Download "game.zip" containing "game.cue" + "game.bin" 2. Right-click → Extract Here → folder "game" 3. Download chdman.exe from MAME package 4. Copy chdman.exe into "game" folder 5. Open Command Prompt in that folder 6. Run: chdman createcd -i "game.cue" -o "game.chd" 7. Output: game.chd created successfully Automation Script (Windows Batch File) Save as zip_to_chd.bat in the folder with your ZIP files and chdman.exe : Now you have a clean, space-saving CHD file
Download mame.zip from mamedev.org, extract chdman.exe Linux: sudo apt install mame-tools (or mame package) macOS: brew install mame Step 3: Convert disk image to CHD Open a terminal / command prompt in the folder containing your extracted files. For a single .BIN/.CUE or .ISO file: chdman createcd -i "game.cue" -o "game.chd" Or for a raw ISO: Example: game