How to Play Smash Bros Melee Online with Slippi on PC

The complete Slippi setup takes about 10 minutes if you already have your Melee ISO.

Step 1 — Download and install Slippi:

1. Go to slippi.gg and click Download for Windows (or Mac/Linux).
2. Run the installer. Slippi installs its own Dolphin fork (the "Slippi Launcher") — do not use regular Dolphin for online play. The launcher and the Dolphin fork install together.
3. Open the Slippi Launcher. It will prompt you to locate your Melee ISO on first run.

Step 2 — Create a Slippi account:

1. In the Slippi Launcher click Login / Sign Up in the top-right corner.
2. Create an account at start.slippi.gg (email + username). Your username becomes your in-game tag (visible to opponents).
3. After logging in, your account syncs to the launcher — you will see your rank and record on the main screen.

Step 3 — Configure controls:

1. A GameCube controller via a Mayflash GameCube Adapter or official Nintendo GameCube USB Adapter is strongly recommended for competitive play. Slippi Dolphin auto-detects adapters that support GameCube controller mode.
2. If using an Xbox or PlayStation controller: in the Slippi Launcher go to Settings → Controller → Port 1 and configure your button mapping. Note that claw grips and analog triggers matter in Melee — a GC controller eliminates these issues.
3. If using a GCC adapter, ensure it is plugged into a USB 3.0 port and that the adapter is in "PC mode" (Mayflash) or that the Zadig WinUSB driver is installed (Nintendo adapter — follow Dolphin's GameCube adapter guide on the Dolphin wiki).

Step 4 — Start an online session:

1. In the Slippi Launcher click Play Online.
2. Choose Unranked (any character, casual) or Ranked (selected character, MMR ladder). Both use rollback netcode.
3. Slippi will search for an opponent at a similar connection quality. Typical match time is 10–60 seconds.
4. Your ping to the opponent is shown in-game (top-right overlay). Rollback netcode handles connections up to ~80–100ms well. Above 150ms the experience degrades.

If Slippi fails to find opponents, disconnects frequently, or has severe rollback stutter, follow these steps.

Cannot find opponents / search never completes:

1. Check status.slippi.gg — server outages are occasionally announced here.
2. Ensure your Slippi Launcher is up to date. Open the launcher and click Check for Updates (or it auto-updates on launch). Running an old version can cause matchmaking failures.
3. Firewall / antivirus may block Slippi's connection. Add an exception for the Slippi Launcher and the embedded Dolphin executable in your firewall settings.
4. If behind a CGNAT or strict NAT router, Slippi may struggle to punch through. Try: enable UPnP on your router, or use a wired Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi.

Severe rollback stutter (frames constantly rolling back):

1. This usually means your PC cannot simulate the game fast enough to keep up with rollback. Minimum recommended CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (or equivalent). Melee is CPU-limited in Dolphin — GPU barely matters.
2. In the Slippi Launcher go to Settings → Dolphin Settings → Config → General. Ensure Dual Core is OFF (Slippi requires single-core mode for deterministic netplay).
3. Ensure no other heavy applications are running during a session (browsers with many tabs, video streams, Discord screen share).
4. Set Windows power plan to High Performance (Control Panel → Power Options). This prevents CPU throttling during matches.

One-sided lag (you feel lag, opponent does not):

1. Use a wired Ethernet connection. Wi-Fi introduces latency spikes that create one-sided rollback. This is the single most impactful change for online quality.
2. Close all background internet applications (torrents, cloud sync, video streaming).

To play with a specific friend instead of random matchmaking, use Slippi's Direct Connection mode.

1. Both players open the Slippi Launcher and click Play Online → Direct Connection.
2. One player hosts: click Host and copy the code shown (a short alphanumeric code, not an IP address — Slippi handles traversal automatically).
3. The other player clicks Join and pastes the code.
4. Both players select their character and stage preferences. The session uses the same rollback netcode as ranked/unranked matchmaking.
5. Direct Connection supports up to 4 players for local tournament-style play (each on their own PC, connecting to the host's code).

Note: Direct connection does not affect your ranked MMR. Use it for friendlies, practice, or netplay with players in different regions (the rollback handles cross-region connections reasonably well up to ~120ms).

Slippi automatically saves replays of every online match and provides post-game stats. Here is how to use them.

Viewing replays:

1. In the Slippi Launcher click Replays (the film strip icon). All online matches are saved automatically as .slp files in your Slippi replays folder (default: Documents\Slippi).
2. Click any match to open it in the built-in replay viewer. You can pause, rewind, and frame-advance through the match. Press F to toggle frame-by-frame mode.
3. Post-game stats are shown automatically after each online match: total damage dealt, opening rate, neutral win %, kill methods, and L-cancel success rate.

Slippi Stats website (slippi.gg/user):

1. Log in to slippi.gg and navigate to your profile. Your full ranked history, character usage, and head-to-head records against specific opponents are tracked there.
2. Upload replays manually via the Launcher's Upload Replays option to include offline matches in your slippi.gg stats.

Sharing replays:

1. .slp files are small (typically 100–500 KB per match) and can be shared directly. The recipient opens them in any copy of Slippi Dolphin via Replays → Open Replay File.
2. Do not share .slp files opened in standard Dolphin — they will not play correctly outside of the Slippi fork.