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Aldo Vargas edited this page Mar 31, 2025 · 52 revisions

webMAN MOD Current

webMAN MOD is a homebrew plugin for PlayStation®3 forked from the original webMAN/sMAN by DeanK with many features added.

The application provides extended services for PS3 console like web server, ftp server, file manager, netiso, ntfs, gamepad emulation, ps3mapi, tasks automation, memory debugger and more.

Our goal is to create an AIO plugin that includes many of the features available on the PS3 Scene in an easy and intuitive way. webMAN MOD is the result of the hard work of several users, developers and artists that collaborated with development, knowledge, resources, feedback & ideas.

What is webMAN MOD?

webMAN MOD is a homebrew plugin for designed for jailbroken PS3 consoles running custom firmware (CFW) or HEN (Homebrew Enabler) that offers a wide range of tools to manage and play games, as well as control system features. Think of it as an all-in-one solution that integrates seamlessly with the PS3’s XMB (XrossMediaBar) menu, making it a popular choice among enthusiasts in the PS3 homebrew scene.

At its core, webMAN MOD acts as a background service, allowing you to mount and launch game backups (in ISO or folder format) directly from the XMB without needing to open a separate app. It supports a variety of game types, including PS3, PS2, PS1, and PSP titles, and can handle content stored on the internal hard drive, external USB drives, or even networked devices via a server called ps3netsrv. Beyond games, it provides features like a built-in web server, FTP server, file manager, and dynamic fan control to keep your console cool during use. It also includes extras like screenshot and video recording capabilities, gamepad emulation, and support for cheats through the Artemis patch engine.

What sets webMAN MOD apart from the original webMAN is the extensive work by developer Aldo Vargas (aldostools) and contributions from others in the community. They’ve added a ton of features over the years—stuff like improved file copying, support for NTFS and exFAT drives, and a more polished interface with options for custom themes and cover art display. It’s highly customizable too; you can tweak settings through a web browser by accessing your PS3’s IP address or use button combos on the XMB to trigger actions like refreshing game lists or rebooting the system.

Compared to other PS3 backup managers like multiMAN or IRISMAN, webMAN MOD stands out for its speed and convenience. It runs in the background, so you don’t have to leave the XMB to load games, and it’s lightweight enough to coexist with other tools. That said, it’s more geared toward mounting and launching games rather than offering the detailed file management or disc-ripping options you’d get with multiMAN. It’s also unique in its ability to stream games over a local network, a feature that’s pretty rare in the PS3 scene.

The plugin has been around for over a decade, evolving with input from a dedicated community. It supports all PS3 models— Fats, Slims, and Super Slims— as long as they’re on compatible firmware, typically 4.46 to 4.92 with Cobra or Mamba payloads enabled. For non-CFW users, it works with PS3HEN on hybrid firmware (HFW) versions like 4.84 to 4.88. Installation is straightforward: you drop a .PKG file onto your PS3, install it, and it’s ready to go, often pre-configured with sensible defaults.

In short, webMAN MOD is a powerful, versatile tool that turns a jailbroken PS3 into a more flexible gaming machine. It’s not just about playing backups— it’s about giving you control over your console in a way Sony never intended, all while keeping things fast and user-friendly.

Background History

Following the PS3 jailbreak in 2010, an open source backup manager was released to the community allowing to copy and mount PS3 games directly on the jailbroken console. Several forks were released to the public; most of them with minimal changes. Among them multiMAN and Iris Manager stood out among the rest due their new features, graphical interface, integrated ftp server and file manager.

Many companies found this was a new niche and tried to monetize this emerging market. Cobra Team developed an infamous USB dongle for FW 3.55 (and later ODE) that added outstanding features like ISO support, backups from recordable media discs, play from network storage, etc. To complete their product they contacted DeanK to develop a custom version of multiMAN that would take advantage of their payload. In 2012, multiMAN Cobra Manager (aka mmCM) was released along with multiMAN 4.x. In this process, DeanK gained a lot of experience with Cobra API; although the payload itself for the time was a secret.

In 2012 the lv0ldr keys were leaked by the hacking group "The Three Musketeers", leading the access to 4.x keys. Soon flat_z with other developers disclosed how to create custom PSP minis and PS2 Classics for CFW. Cobra-USB/ODE lost most of their competitive advantages and retired from the market. Months later STLcardsWS -from PSX-PLACE- contacted the Cobra Team for an interview and asked them why not release the source code now that the product was not longer profitable. Cobra Team accepted and released a raw version of Cobra-USB 6.0. After the first source code release, U$er then was able to create a plugin system out of the source. Weeks later, the lead programmer released in November 2013 a cleaned version of the source code of Cobra 7.0 along with the first 4.46 CFW Cobra dongle-less and as bonus included new features like a boot plugins and NTFS ISO support making use of the NTFS library developed by Estwald -author of Iris Manager.

With many variations of CFW 4.46 with Cobra support available and a lot of information included in the source code released, a new revolution started in PS3 scene, starting with the development of custom plugins like webMAN. Rebug Team released subsequents versions of Cobra payload merging the improvements from several developers like Habib, NzV, KW, DeanK and many others. Now it's maintained by Evilnat.

DeanK with his vast experience in GUI & Cobra API, initially developed 2 plugins: ftp server and a web server that allowed mount games directly from XMB. The idea was clever & simple: generate an XMBML menu with links to the games and the local web server would receive the request to mount the selected game. Later to reduce memory usage, both plugins were merged into one open source plugin called "webftp_server" -or best known as webMAN. And more recently sMAN

Other developers like M@tsumot0 and zar developed a fork localized to 23 languages and including IDPS/PSID spoofing. It was named webMAN-MOD. aldostools joined the team adding new features -some of them make use of the new features in Cobra payload- and merging the contributions from other developers until the software product that we have today.

Quick installation Tutorial

  • Download webMAN MOD Installer and the optional Add-Ons from Github or Brewology
  • Copy the package files to the root of a pendrive or USB storage formatted in FAT32 MBR
  • Install the packages from Package Manager > Install Packages > Standard
  • Complete the installation running webMAN MOD Installer (find the icon under Games column on XMB)
    • Keep pressing L1 until reboot to install full edition
    • Keep pressing ✖ until reboot to install lite edition
  • After installation webMAN MOD Installer can be deleted (Optional)

Additional configurations

Additional Addons (Optional)

  • IRISMAN - Use for dump ISO, download covers, advanced file management
  • Movian - Use to play music & videos.
  • multiMAN - Use for dump ISO, download covers, advanced file management, PS2 Classics creation

webMAN MOD Customization Addons (Optional)

Supported FW versions

  • Support on all custom firmwares with Cobra feature enabled (ver 4.46-4.92 CEX, DEX & DECR)
  • Support on Evilnat firmware (ver 4.87.2-4.92 CEX, DEX, PEX, D-PEX)
  • Support on REBUG firmware with Cobra feature disabled (ver 4.84.2-4.86.1 CEX, DEX & DECR)
  • Support on REBUG firmware with Mamba loaded via boot_plugins_nocobra_kernel.txt (ver 4.86.1 CEX & 4.84.2 DEX)
  • Support on PS3HEN on 4.82-4.84 OFW CEX & DEX and 4.84-4.92 HFW
  • Support on classic custom firmware with Mamba loaded via IRISMAN (ver 3.41-4.92 CEX, DEX & DECR)
  • Support on classic custom firmware with Mamba/PRXLoader (ver 3.41-4.92 CEX, DEX & DECR)
  • Support on classic custom firmware with PRXLoader (ver 3.41-4.92 CEX, DEX & DECR)

⚠️IMPORTANT: To support firmware 4.70 and lower, must recompile the project without LAST_FIRMWARE_ONLY in flags.h.

How to build

Requirements for Windows:

Requirements for GNU/Linux:

@rhynec has prepared two github repos which provide pre-compiled PSL1GHT toolchains:

  • SDK-Mirror: Mirrored and re-packaged pre-compiled toolchains from various authors.
  • SDK-Build: Automated builds of the PSL1GHT toolchain, with the psdk variant meant as a re-creation of PSDK3v2 for Linux (using gcc 4), and the ps3dev-latest variant being a working build of latest ps3dev sources (using an older commit to PSL1GHT, since newer commits seems to break builds).

@bucanero also has prepared a ps3l1ght SDK toolchain repo for Linux and Mac.

Troubleshooting

The first thing that you always should try when a bug is found in webMAN MOD is update to the latest build using the online updater in webMAN Games > webMAN Setup > Update webMAN MOD > Install

If that doesn't fix the issue, then go to the webMAN MOD releases Download one or 2 previous versions (e.g. .44, .43, .42, etc.) just in case the latest build has some issues. It is recommended to uninstall the current version before installing a previous build.

💡 NOTE: The latest builds are constantly updated every time a new commit is published. It's recommended to update only if you need a new feature or have issues with your current build.

If the issue is still present in the previous builds, the issue could be caused by other elements:
1- It could be a bad configuration or corrupted. Try deleting /dev_hdd0/tmp/wm_config.bin and configure it again in /setup.ps3
2- Other plugins or mods could be preventing the proper operation of webMAN MOD
Remove any other plugins from /dev_hdd0/boot_plugins.txt and test again without them loaded.
3- Mods to the system files done by users, homebrew stores or homebrews often cause issues (a fresh FW update is usually suggested)
4- Some issues could be related with external devices (disk, USB enclosure, cable, network, power, etc) or internal failures. Test moving the games to the internal disk or try replacing the external devices.
5- Ask for help in PSX-PLACE forums or open an issue reporting the bug. Include details about your current settings, game path and operating environment (HEN / CFW, CEX / DEX, FW version, PS3 model).

If the system is freezing after some event, it's recommended to enable Cobra/HEN debug mode to capture the system log messages using socat.

socat -u udp-recv:18194 stdout

Donations

💡 If you like webMAN MOD, then feel free to contribute with a small donation, I'd really appreciate it!
Donate @ paypal.me/aldostools or buy me a coffee @ ko-fi.com/aldostools

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