RetroArch

Overview

RetroArch is a frontend. A frontend is a program that does not emulate a console by itself: it provides the window, the menus, the sound, the video and the controller handling. The emulation itself is done by add-ons called cores. A core is one emulator packed into a single file, for one console or a family of consoles. RetroArch loads the core you choose and runs your game inside it.

This design has a big advantage: once you learn RetroArch, every console shares the same menus, the same controller setup, the same save states, the same shaders (picture filters) and the same extra features. It also has a cost: the menus are dense, and you must install a core for each console before you can play. This guide goes slowly through that first part.

RetroArch is free and open source. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and some game consoles. This sheet covers the cores used for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP and Super Nintendo. If you only play one console and want the simplest path, a dedicated emulator for that console may be easier.

Key words explained

• Frontend: RetroArch itself, the program you open. It shows menus and handles screen, sound and controllers.

• Core: the emulator for a given console, as a single file (a .dll file on Windows). Without a core, RetroArch cannot run anything.

• Content: the official name for what you load, usually a game file. This guide says game.

• Game file / disc image: your own game copied from your own cartridge or disc into a file on your computer. Cartridge games give small files (for example .sfc, .gba, .z64, .nds). Disc games give a disc image: .cue with .bin files, .iso, .chd (a compressed disc image) or .pbp.

• BIOS: a small program stored inside a console that starts it up. Some cores need a copy of it to run, taken from your own console. Many cores do not need one.

• Playlist: a list of games that RetroArch builds for you after a scan, so you can start a game from a menu instead of browsing folders.

• Menu: the RetroArch screen with the lists of options. The Quick Menu is the part of it that appears while a game is loaded, with options for this game and this core only.

• Core options: settings that belong to one core (for example the graphics resolution). They are different from RetroArch settings, which apply to everything.

• Save state: a snapshot of the whole console at one instant that you can come back to. An in-game save is the normal save made with the game's own menu. They are not the same thing (see Saves).

• Shader: a small program that changes how the picture looks, for example to imitate an old TV screen.

• Hotkey: a keyboard key or controller button that triggers a RetroArch action, such as opening the menu.

System requirements

• RetroArch runs on Windows 7 and later, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. The exact versions are listed on the official platforms page.

• The power you need depends on the core. Older consoles (Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance) run on almost any computer or phone. Nintendo DS, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 ask for more, and PSP asks the most of the cores in this sheet, especially if you raise the resolution.

• For the best picture on PlayStation and Nintendo 64 cores, a graphics card that supports Vulkan or OpenGL is recommended. Vulkan and OpenGL are two ways for a program to talk to your graphics card. You do not need to know more than that: if the core's graphics option does not work, switch to the other one.

• To check your computer on Windows: open Settings > System > About for the processor and memory, and look for your graphics card in Task Manager (Performance tab). If a core runs slowly, lower the resolution in its core options first.

What you need

• RetroArch itself, from the official site. It is the frontend.

• One core per console you want to play. Why: RetroArch has no emulation of its own. You download cores from inside RetroArch (see First setup).

• Your own games, dumped from your own cartridges and discs. PixelArk does not provide or link to game files.

• A BIOS or firmware for some cores, dumped from your own console. Why: those cores copy the console's start-up program. The BIOS guide explains where the files go and the core pages list the exact names. RetroArch and libretro do not supply them.

• A controller (optional but comfortable). A keyboard works too.

• An archive tool such as 7-Zip if you download the .7z version on Windows.

Installation

Always start from the official platforms page: it links to the right download for each system.

Windows. There are two builds, both portable (everything stays in one folder, nothing is spread across your system):

1. Easiest: download the installer (an .exe file) and run it with the default location.

2. Alternative: download the RetroArch.7z archive and extract it to a folder that does not need administrator rights, for example C:\Users\yourname\RetroArch. Do not extract it into Program Files or the Windows folder, because it can cause problems there.

3. Open retroarch.exe in that folder.

RetroArch is also available on Steam. The Steam version has its own way of updating and finding cores, so follow the instructions shown there.

macOS, Linux, Android and iOS: download the version for your system from the platforms page or its store links, then continue with First setup. The menus are the same on every system.

How to know it worked: RetroArch opens on a dark menu with a vertical list of icons on the left (Main Menu, Settings, and so on). If the window opens and closes at once, re-download it and try another folder.

First setup

How to move in the menu. By default the keyboard arrow keys move the cursor. X selects, and Z or Backspace goes back. F1 opens and closes the menu at any moment, including during a game. With a controller, the d-pad moves, the bottom button (A) selects and the right button (B) goes back.

Step 1: install a core. A core is the emulator for your console, and RetroArch needs it before it can run a game.

1. In the Main Menu, open Online Updater, then Core Downloader. If you do not see Core Downloader, go to Settings > User Interface > Menu Item Visibility and enable Show Core Downloader.

2. Pick the core for your console from the list (see the recommended cores below). It downloads and installs by itself. Do this for each console.

3. While you are in Online Updater, also run Update Core Info Files. Info files tell RetroArch each core's name, the file types it accepts, and the firmware it needs. A core still loads without them, but RetroArch knows less about it.

4. Optionally, run Update Databases (used to recognise your games when you scan) and Update Assets if they are offered. Some Windows builds already include the databases.

Recommended cores for this sheet:

• Super Nintendo: Snes9x. Fast and very compatible. No BIOS needed.

• Game Boy Advance: mGBA. No BIOS needed.

• Nintendo 64: Mupen64Plus-Next. No BIOS needed.

• PlayStation: Beetle PSX HW. Needs a BIOS (see the PlayStation note).

• PSP: PPSSPP. No BIOS needed, but it needs a few helper files (see the PSP note).

• Nintendo DS: melonDS DS. BIOS and firmware are optional for DS games.

The full list of cores is on the core list. Several cores can exist for one console: they differ in speed and accuracy. If one has a problem, try another.

Step 2: place BIOS files if your core needs them. Open Settings > Directory and look at System: that is the system folder. Copy your BIOS files into it, with the exact file names given on the core's documentation page. File names must match exactly, including lower case.

Step 3: tell RetroArch where your games are (next section). Step 4: set how to open the menu from a controller. Open Settings > Input > Hotkeys and set the Menu Toggle Controller Combo (a button combination on your controller, for example Start + Select) so you can reach the menu without a keyboard.

Adding your games

There are two ways to start a game.

• Load Content (quick): in the Main Menu choose Load Content, browse to your game file and select it. If several installed cores can run it, RetroArch asks you to choose one.

• Scan (recommended for many games): choose Import Content, then Scan Directory, and select the folder with your games. RetroArch looks into subfolders too and builds a playlist per console, which appears at the right of the main menu. By default the scan is strict: it only adds games whose checksum or disc serial matches its database. This is why a database update helps. A hacked or unusual file may not be added; use the manual scan option for those games.

If Import Content is not in the Main Menu, it is under Playlists by default; you can move it with Settings > User Interface > Menu Item Visibility.

Box art is optional: in Online Updater, Playlist Thumbnails Updater downloads pictures for a playlist. It can be long on a slow connection.

How to know it worked: your console now shows up on the right of the main menu with its games. Select a game, choose Run, and pick the core if asked. If nothing happens, see Common problems.

Disc games: if a game uses several files (a .cue file with .bin files), select or scan the .cue file, and keep all the files in the same folder. The .chd format also works on the PlayStation and PSP cores.

Controls

RetroArch uses a virtual controller called the RetroPad, which looks like a modern gamepad. Each core then translates the RetroPad into the buttons of its console. Mapping means telling RetroArch which of your real buttons is which RetroPad button.

• Many common controllers are recognised automatically by a controller profile (an autoconfig). On Windows, controllers using XInput, such as Xbox controllers, usually work at once.

• To map by hand: Settings > Input > RetroPad Binds > Port 1 Controls > Set All Controls, then press each button as asked. Use Save Controller Profile to keep it.

• To change the mapping only for one core or one game: load the game, open the Quick Menu > Controls, change buttons, then choose Save Core Remap File or Save Game Remap File. Other consoles are not affected.

• To play with several people, use Port 2 Controls and the Device Index option to choose which controller is which player.

Default keyboard hotkeys (valid while a game is running):

• F1: open or close the menu.

• F2: save a state. F4: load a state. F6 and F7: change the state slot.

• Space: toggle fast forward. R: rewind (if rewind is enabled). P: pause. H: reset.

• F8: screenshot. F: toggle full screen. Esc: quit RetroArch.

If you set Enable Hotkeys in Settings > Input > Hotkeys, a hotkey only works while you hold that button. This avoids pressing a hotkey by accident during a game, and is useful with controllers.

Nintendo 64 note: the console has C buttons. In the Mupen64Plus-Next core, the C buttons can be mapped to the right analog stick, which is the most comfortable way. DS note: in melonDS DS the touch screen is operated with a virtual cursor, moved with the right stick.

Graphics and performance settings

There are two levels of options. RetroArch settings (Settings > Video) apply to all cores. Core options (Quick Menu > Options while a game runs) belong to one core. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what helped.

• Video driver (Settings > Drivers): the way RetroArch talks to your graphics card. Leave the default first. Switch to Vulkan if your card supports it and you want shaders or better speed, and back if the picture breaks. A restart of RetroArch is needed after changing it.

• Integer scaling (Settings > Video > Scaling): scales the picture by whole numbers only, so pixels stay sharp and even. Good for 2D consoles like the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance. It leaves black borders around the picture.

• Shaders (Quick Menu > Shaders > Load Shader Preset): filters that change the look, for example a CRT effect that imitates an old TV. The type of shader must match your video driver (.slangp with Vulkan, for example), and Online Updater can download the shader packs. Use Quick Menu > Shaders > Save to keep a shader for a core or a game. Read the shaders guide.

• Run-ahead (Settings > Latency or Quick Menu > Latency): reduces input lag, the delay between your button press and the action on screen. It works by running the game a few frames in advance. Set 1 frame to start; a value that is too high causes stutter or glitches. It needs a faster computer and a core with good save state support. Read the run-ahead guide.

• Internal resolution (core option): the size at which a 3D console draws the game before it is shown. Higher gives sharper 3D games but needs more power. Start at 2x or 4x on PlayStation, N64 and PSP, and lower it if the game runs slowly.

• Frame rate: how many images per second are shown. Consoles run at a fixed rate; if yours is lower, the game slows down. Press F3 to see the rate, and lower the resolution or shaders if it drops.

Keeping settings per game: in the Quick Menu use Save Core Overrides, Save Content Directory Overrides or Save Game Overrides. An override stores only the settings that differ from the global ones, for that core, folder or game. This way, a change for one console does not affect the others. See the overrides guide.

Settings can be lost if RetroArch is closed in a rough way. In Settings > Configuration, check Save Configuration on Exit, or save it manually from the Configuration File menu.

Saves

• An in-game save is the normal save of the game (a memory card on PlayStation, battery save on a cartridge). It is written to the folder shown in Settings > Directory > Savefile.

• A save state is a snapshot of the whole console, made by RetroArch at any moment (F2 saves, F4 loads, F6 and F7 change slot). It is written to the folder shown in Settings > Directory > Savestate.

• Save states depend on the core version. After a core update an old state may not load. So keep in-game saves too, and do not rely on states alone.

• Some versions of RetroArch can automatically make a save state when you close a game and load it at the next start. Look for the options in the Settings > Saving menu.

• Backup: copy the saves and states folders (and the config folder, if you want your settings) from time to time. Deleting RetroArch's folder also deletes them.

Updating

• RetroArch: Windows installer, run the latest installer over the old install. Archive version, download the new archive and extract it over your folder, keeping your saves and config. Other systems: update from the store or download the new build from the platforms page.

• Cores: in Online Updater, use Update Installed Cores to get the latest versions of the cores you already have. If a game worked and then breaks after an update, you can try another core for that console.

• Info files, databases and shaders have their own entries in Online Updater; update them from time to time.

Common problems

• Failed to open libretro core: the core is missing, or does not match your RetroArch. Cause: it was moved, deleted or is a different version. Fix: download it again from Online Updater > Core Downloader.

• The game does not start and the core asks for a BIOS: the BIOS file is missing, misnamed, or not in the system folder. Fix: check the exact file name on the core's page at docs.libretro.com, and the folder in Settings > Directory > System.

• Games are missing from the playlists: the scan only adds games it recognises. Fix: update the databases in Online Updater, or use the manual scan for those games.

• You cannot open the menu during a game: the menu key is F1 on the keyboard. With a controller, set the Menu Toggle Controller Combo in Settings > Input > Hotkeys.

• Settings disappear after closing: configuration was not saved. Fix: enable Save Configuration on Exit, or save from the Configuration File menu. Use overrides to keep per-core settings.

• Black screen or crash after changing the video driver: the driver does not work on your graphics card. Fix: restart RetroArch and switch back to the previous driver, or edit the video_driver line in retroarch.cfg.

• Sound crackles or the game is slow: the core asks too much of your computer. Fix: lower the internal resolution, remove the shader, disable run-ahead, or choose a lighter core.

• Too much input lag: enable run-ahead with 1 frame, and use a game mode on your TV or screen.

• A button does nothing in the menu or game: the controller is not recognised. Fix: map it by hand (Settings > Input > RetroPad Binds).

Going further

• RetroArch official site

• libretro documentation

• Understanding RetroArch

• Installing on Windows

• Downloading cores

• Scanning and importing content

• Input and controls

• BIOS information

• RetroArch on GitHub