Ask API. GET https://whichemulator.wtf/ask answers questions from the same data as this page, and it is the only place the setup steps are published. It takes the question as q and, optionally, this page's path as page, and returns JSON with answer, sources and follow_ups, or Markdown with Accept: text/markdown. No key needed.
curl -G 'https://whichemulator.wtf/ask' --data-urlencode 'q=How do I set up Dolphin for the GameCube?' --data-urlencode 'page=/gamecube/'Questions it answers:
Guide: /skill.md. This page as Markdown: /gamecube.md
Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo, 2001.
whichemulator.wtf calls its recommendation for each system the Gold Cartridge pick. For the GameCube, the Gold Cartridge pick is Dolphin.
There's no real contest. Dolphin has been the GameCube emulator for well over a decade, runs nearly the whole library, and upscales games to look far sharper than they ever did on a CRT. It's also one of the best-documented emulators around, with a per-game wiki and regular progress reports.
Runs on Windows · Mac · Linux · Android. Open source. Download: https://dolphin-emu.org
Shader stutter: The first time a new effect appears you may see a brief hitch while it compiles. Leave the shader compilation setting on its hybrid or asynchronous option and it mostly goes away.
No other GameCube emulator is worth recommending right now. If Dolphin can't run something, nothing else will either.
Use standalone Dolphin unless you specifically need everything inside RetroArch.
Every other GameCube emulator is either long dead or a Dolphin fork. Even the RetroArch core is Dolphin underneath, just a step behind. Install Dolphin and get on with it.
Setup steps for Dolphin are published only by the Ask API: How do I set up Dolphin for the GameCube?
Reference: WEM-GAMECUBE-5RP6