{"slug": "dolphin", "name": "Dolphin", "category": "files", "category_name": "Files, sync and backup", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 2.956, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2026-03-12", "latest": "2026-09-07", "why": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://apps.kde.org/dolphin/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Dolphin"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 778761377, "item_id": 48672586, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48672586", "by": "x______________", "date": "2026-06-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Very cool update overall, great work!", "excerpt": "Very cool update overall, great work! > It was clear that something had to change. Bunny When this issue was brought up in one of our chats, a former Dolphin developer suggested that we should give Bunny a try. Another mention of bunny [0] gives them good exposure, and not just because they're an European company! [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48657030", "context": "", "use_case": "game emulation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dolphin Emulator Progress Release 2606"}, {"id": 764309216, "item_id": 47769326, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47769326", "by": "lexicality", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dolphin just handles everything (sftp, ftp, samba, etc) for me natively in the same window.", "excerpt": "> I use Linux daily and don't want to switch to Windows just to connect to the printer's FTP service I wonder if the author tried using their file manager to connect? I haven't needed any kind of external file management system since switching to Linux, Dolphin just handles everything (sftp, ftp, samba, etc) for me natively in the same window.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "file management and remote file access", "switched_from": "", "story": "Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue"}, {"id": 757754272, "item_id": 47359642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47359642", "by": "zelphirkalt", "date": "2026-03-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development.", "excerpt": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development. Instead of it becoming ever bigger and also slower, it moved from using all 4 cores of an old machine of mine to run Metroid Prime, to using 25% of the cores, for the same game a few years later, just by being smarter (much smarter) about JIT and emulation. The efficiency improvement was an outstanding achievement. Whenever I read about emulators, I am reminded ", "context": "", "use_case": "GameCube/Wii emulation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dolphin Progress Release 2603"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "lexicality", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47769326", "date": "2026-04-14"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["legal reference example", "game emulation", "file management and remote file access", "gamecube/wii emulation"], "compared": [{"slug": "nautilus", "name": "Nautilus", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49577129", "title": "Ask HN: Fable hacked my piano, can I release the results?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48671392", "title": "Dolphin Emulator Progress Release 2606", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47768306", "title": "Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47348304", "title": "Dolphin Progress Release 2603", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 793504272, "item_id": 49594017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49594017", "by": "philosopherNoob", "date": "2026-09-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "check out the GameCube Dolphin emulator and how the team stays legal", "excerpt": "If I ever owned a self-playing piano, figuring out how I could play custom songs of my own creation would be my top priority. It\u2019s awesome you\u2019ve found some success. Jmpman, what your post is missing is motivation. Why are you doing this and what is your goal? If you sell your decoder or encoder the company will, eventually, kick your butt. Getting money involved raises the stakes. If you distribute a file that is so", "context": "", "use_case": "legal reference example", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Fable hacked my piano, can I release the results?"}, {"id": 778761377, "item_id": 48672586, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48672586", "by": "x______________", "date": "2026-06-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Very cool update overall, great work!", "excerpt": "Very cool update overall, great work! > It was clear that something had to change. Bunny When this issue was brought up in one of our chats, a former Dolphin developer suggested that we should give Bunny a try. Another mention of bunny [0] gives them good exposure, and not just because they're an European company! [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48657030", "context": "", "use_case": "game emulation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dolphin Emulator Progress Release 2606"}, {"id": 764309216, "item_id": 47769326, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47769326", "by": "lexicality", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dolphin just handles everything (sftp, ftp, samba, etc) for me natively in the same window.", "excerpt": "> I use Linux daily and don't want to switch to Windows just to connect to the printer's FTP service I wonder if the author tried using their file manager to connect? I haven't needed any kind of external file management system since switching to Linux, Dolphin just handles everything (sftp, ftp, samba, etc) for me natively in the same window.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "file management and remote file access", "switched_from": "", "story": "Modifying FileZilla to Workaround Bambu 3D Printer's FTP Issue"}, {"id": 757754272, "item_id": 47359642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47359642", "by": "zelphirkalt", "date": "2026-03-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development.", "excerpt": "Dolphin is a rare example for really smart development. Instead of it becoming ever bigger and also slower, it moved from using all 4 cores of an old machine of mine to run Metroid Prime, to using 25% of the cores, for the same game a few years later, just by being smarter (much smarter) about JIT and emulation. The efficiency improvement was an outstanding achievement. Whenever I read about emulators, I am reminded ", "context": "", "use_case": "GameCube/Wii emulation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dolphin Progress Release 2603"}]}