RetroArch Integration

Configuration, core management, playlists, shortcuts, and achievements for RetroArch.

Path Configuration

Configure the RetroArch executable in the Settings view.

Action Description
Browse Manually select the RetroArch executable (on macOS you can select the .app bundle directly)
Auto-Detect Automatically find RetroArch on the system PATH or common install locations
Download Opens the official RetroArch download page in a browser
Clear Removes the stored RetroArch path

The configured path is stored in settings.json and persists across sessions.

What RetroArch Enables

  • ROM Browser — launch ROMs directly in RetroArch with the appropriate libretro core.
  • Big Picture Mode — launch ROMs from the fullscreen interface with per-system core mapping.
  • Core Downloader — install missing cores into the RetroArch cores directory.
  • Playlist Creator — create and manage RetroArch playlists with thumbnail downloading.
  • Shortcut Creator — generate desktop shortcuts for direct ROM launching.
  • Discord Rich Presence — show the game being played in your Discord status.

Core Downloader

Downloads and installs libretro cores from the official RetroArch buildbot.

How It Works

  1. Click Check Cores to scan the RetroArch cores/ directory and compare installed cores against the list of cores used by the application.
  2. A list shows each core with its install status (✔ installed / ✘ missing).
  3. Click Download Missing Cores to download and install all missing cores.
  4. A Cancel button is available during downloads.

Platform Support

Cores are downloaded from buildbot.libretro.com for the current platform:

Platform Architecture
Windows x86_64
Linux x86_64 or aarch64 (auto-detected)
macOS x86_64 or arm64 (auto-detected)

Core Directory

  • Windows / macOS — the cores/ directory next to the RetroArch executable.
  • Linux — if the directory next to the executable is not writable (e.g., system package install), the downloader uses ~/.config/retroarch/cores/. For Flatpak installations, ~/.var/app/org.libretro.RetroArch/config/retroarch/cores/ is used. For Snap installations, ~/snap/retroarch/current/.config/retroarch/cores/ is used.

Playlist Creator

Create and manage RetroArch playlists (.lpl files) from ROM directories, with integrated thumbnail downloading.

How It Works

  1. Select a ROM directory and target system from the dropdown.
  2. Click Build Playlist to scan the directory for ROM files and create a playlist.
  3. Optionally enable recursive scanning to include subdirectories.
  4. Review the generated playlist entries in the list.
  5. Remove unwanted entries with the Remove button.
  6. Click Save to write the playlist in RetroArch’s JSON .lpl format.

Loading Existing Playlists

Click Load Playlist to open an existing .lpl file for editing. Entries can be added or removed before saving.

Thumbnail Downloading

  1. Build or load a playlist first.
  2. Select the thumbnail categories to download: Boxarts, Snaps (screenshots), and/or Titles (title screens).
  3. Optionally enable Overwrite to replace existing thumbnails.
  4. Click Download Thumbnails to fetch images from the Libretro Thumbnails repository.
  5. A Cancel button is available during downloads.

Thumbnails are saved to the RetroArch thumbnails directory. On Linux and macOS, the config directory (~/.config/retroarch/thumbnails) is preferred over the executable directory.

Playlist Directory

Platform Directory
Windows <RetroArch dir>\playlists\
Linux ~/.config/retroarch/playlists/ (or Flatpak/Snap equivalent)
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/RetroArch/playlists/

Shortcut Creator

Create desktop shortcuts that launch a specific ROM directly in RetroArch with a chosen libretro core.

How It Works

  1. Select a ROM file and the target system.
  2. Choose a libretro core from the dropdown (auto-selected based on system).
  3. Set a shortcut name (auto-filled from the ROM filename).
  4. Optionally set an output directory, custom icon, fullscreen mode, or extra RetroArch arguments.
  5. Click Create Shortcut to generate the shortcut file.

Platform-Specific Shortcuts

Platform Format Description
Windows .lnk Standard Windows shortcut created via PowerShell
Linux .desktop XDG desktop entry file, auto-set as executable
macOS .command Shell script, auto-set as executable

Core Discovery

The shortcut creator searches for libretro cores in multiple locations:

  • Windows — cores/ next to RetroArch executable
  • Linux — cores/ next to executable, /usr/lib/libretro, /usr/lib64/libretro, ~/.config/retroarch/cores/, Flatpak and Snap core directories
  • macOS — cores/ next to executable, ~/Library/Application Support/RetroArch/cores/, Homebrew locations

RetroAchievements Writer

Create and edit achievement definition files compatible with RetroAchievements.org.

How It Works

  1. Enter a game title, game ID, and select the console.
  2. Add achievements with a title, description, points (0–100), memory address condition, type, author, and badge ID.
  3. Validate the achievement set for completeness.
  4. Save as JSON (RACache local format) or export as plain text for RAIntegration / RALibretro.

Achievement Types

Type Description
Standard Default achievement type
Missable Can be permanently missed during a playthrough
Progression Marks progress through the game
Win Condition Awarded for completing the game or a major milestone

Supported Consoles

78 console IDs are supported, including NES, SNES, N64, Mega Drive, Game Boy (all variants), PlayStation, PS2, PSP, Atari systems, Neo Geo, Arcade, PC Engine, and many more.

Validation

The validator checks for:

  • Missing game title or game ID
  • Invalid console ID
  • Empty achievement list
  • Missing achievement titles, descriptions, or memory addresses
  • Invalid point values (must be 0–100)
  • Duplicate achievement IDs

Discord Rich Presence

Automatically updates your Discord status when launching a ROM via RetroArch.

  • Shows the game being played and the system it runs on
  • Status is cleared when the emulator exits
  • Enable or disable in Settings