Setup Guide

Getting into IronMonVS takes three things: install the extension from GitHub, connect the VS Monitor, and let it auto-patch a fresh, randomized ROM for you every run. No manual ROM patching, no bundle downloads. If you already play Ironmon, you can be racing in a few minutes.

✅Before You Start

You need these installed and working first. If you have played Ironmon before, you already have them.

BizHawk (the EmuHawk.exe emulator)
The Ironmon Tracker loaded in BizHawk (install guide here)
A clean Pokémon FireRed ROM (the wrapper patches it for you, so no need to pre-patch anything)

New to Ironmon? Get the emulator and tracker running first with the Ironmon Tracker install guide, then come back here.

Install the Extension

One GitHub link installs (or updates) everything, monitor included

Connect the Monitor

Auto-Patch

Set up for you, every run patches itself

Install or Update the Extension

The GitHub installer sets up the tracker extension and the VS Monitor together

Open the Extension Installer

In the Ironmon Tracker, go to Settings > Extensions, open the General tab, and click "Install a New Extension".

Paste the GitHub Link

This is the important one. The installer downloads and sets up the extension and the bundled VS Monitor for you.

https://github.com/WaffleSmacker/IronmonVS-IronmonExtension

Click "Install" / "Confirm Installation". The tracker downloads the latest version automatically.

Enable It

Confirm "IronmonVs" shows up in your extensions list, click it, and check the enable box.

🔄 Already have the extension installed?

Open the IronmonVS extension in your tracker (Settings > Extensions > IronmonVS) and click "Check for updates". It checks for a newer version and, if there is one, updates itself automatically, bundled monitor included. Your settings and Twitch login are kept.

Prefer to grab files by hand? Everything is on the GitHub releases page, but the built-in installer above is easier and keeps you up to date.

Connect the VS Monitor

A small program that sets up your profile and syncs your runs to the site

📦 What it is: The IronmonVsMonitor runs alongside your game and uploads your run data. Running it as a separate program keeps the emulator lag-free. It comes bundled with the extension, so you already have it.

Launch It

The easiest way: in the tracker, open the IronmonVS extension (Settings > Extensions > IronmonVS) and click its "Options" button, that opens the monitor. You can also run IronmonVsMonitor.exe straight from your IronmonVS folder. Keep it open while you play.

Connect Twitch

On the Setup tab, click Connect next to "Twitch". Log in through the official Twitch window (the program never sees your password). Your username appears when it works, and Registered confirms your account is set up on ironmonvs.com.

Pick Your Competition

Use the Competition dropdown to choose the event you are playing. This ties your runs and seeds to the right competition so scoring and the shared seed list line up.

Auto-Patch (Done For You)

Set up automatically the first time you run IronmonVS after updating

🪄What this does

The monitor ships with the IronMonVS Randomizer (a wrapper around the standard randomizer), and it wires itself into your tracker automatically the first time you run IronmonVS after updating. There is nothing to configure. From then on, every New Run applies the IronMonVS ROM patch and quality-of-life features and randomizes the game for you, then BizHawk loads the ready-to-play ROM. You never hand-patch a ROM again. In a competition it also locks each run to the correct shared seed.

✓

Just Confirm It's Working

Nothing to set up. Start a New Run (A + B + Start) and the wrapper builds and loads your patched, randomized ROM, with "Seed #N" shown in the corner of the screen. That is your confirmation the auto-patch is in place and working.

✓

You're Ready, Go Play

Start a run and grab your starter

With the monitor running and connected, start your run and grab a Pokémon from the starter table. The moment you take that first ball, your run is sent to ironmonvs.com and shows up on your profile and the leaderboards.

Keep the VS Monitor open the whole time you play. If the site ever goes down mid-run, the monitor quietly queues your uploads and retries until they land, so you never lose a run.

🎥Streaming? Optional Extras

Everything below lives on the monitor's Streamer tab and is completely optional.

OBS overlays: copy the "Your stats" and "Standings" URLs and add them as Browser sources. They are transparent and auto-refresh.
Ghost players: see other competitors moving around the overworld live. Purely visual, toggle it off any time.
Death puddles: markers where others died on your current seed (visibility is set by the host).
Auto-clips: automatically clip big moments like Brock or a Champion win (needs the clip permission when you connect Twitch).

Need Help?

Work through the steps in order and make sure the VS Monitor is running and connected. Most issues come down to the monitor being closed or not logged in with Twitch. Still stuck? Reach out to your competition host, or grab the latest build from the GitHub releases page.