Because CLI tools can be intimidating, the community has developed GUI-based wrappers at9tool.exe in the background: ATRACTool-Reloaded
A high-quality audio format used extensively in PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 games.
: Use the -e flag, and you can specify the bitrate with the -br flag. The default bitrate for the best quality single-channel audio is 96 , but some games may use 60 for a smaller file size.
Type cd followed by the exact path of the folder containing the file (e.g., cd C:\Modding\AT9Tool ) and press Enter before typing your conversion command. Alternatively, drag and drop the at9tool.exe file directly into your open terminal window. at9tool.exe
: You can create a simple batch file (a .bat or .cmd file) that loops through all .at9 files in a folder and converts them. A common loop used in the modding community is:
Converts an existing AT9 file back into a standard playable WAV file. -br N
Essential for creating custom themes or replacing in-game music for the Audio Extraction: Used to pull sound effects from game archives (e.g., Bloodborne Persona 4 Golden ) for personal use or preservation. Looping Audio: Because CLI tools can be intimidating, the community
Modders changing the main menu system music on an environment like HENkaku custom firmware must supply a file named BGM.at9 . The console will crash or reject the theme if a plain MP3 or unmapped WAV is renamed. at9tool.exe guarantees system compatibility. Video Game Modding & Audio Swaps
: Converts .at9 files back into standard formats like .wav for playback or editing.
ATRAC9 is praised for its ability to provide high-quality audio at relatively low bitrates. This makes it an ideal format for video games, where both file size and audio fidelity are critical. For audio files to be playable on a Vita or PS4, they must often be converted to the .at9 format, which is where at9tool.exe comes in. Type cd followed by the exact path of
The is a command-line utility used to encode and decode Sony’s ATRAC9 (.at9) audio format, which is primarily used for games and themes on the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 . It is frequently utilized in the modding and homebrew communities for creating custom themes or extracting game audio . Core Functions
audio files (the format used by the PlayStation 4 and Vita), its existence tells a larger story about the bridge between proprietary tech fan preservation The Ghost in the Machine
Before diving into the tool, it helps to understand why it exists. (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding 9) is a proprietary audio compression technology designed by Sony.
However, the file has been widely preserved by the gaming preservation and homebrew communities. It is commonly found bundled inside legitimate open-source modding toolkits, custom theme creators (such as the PS Vita Custom Theme Manager ), and community GitHub repositories dedicated to PlayStation asset extraction. Setup Instructions
It significantly reduces the size of raw audio files (like .wav ) without causing noticeable drops in sound quality.