Skip to content

ROMKADE Manager documentation

ROMKADE Manager manages and controls your retro handheld (Anbernic, Miyoo, TrimUI…) from your computer's browser, over Wi-Fi. You browse your library, add games, launch them on the console, back up your saves, follow your play time and set up controllers and Bluetooth, without taking the microSD card out.

  • Requirements

    A computer with Docker (macOS, Windows or Linux), a console with SSH, the same Wi-Fi network.

    What you need

  • Installation

    Install Docker, start ROMKADE Manager with one command, then connect your console.

    Install ROMKADE Manager

  • User guide

    Library, adding games, playing on the console, saves, controllers, play time.

    Use the app

  • Administration

    Every section of the Settings page: connection, console system, AI, data.

    Settings

  • Supported consoles

    Which firmware and consoles work, and what each one allows.

    Compatibility

How it works

ROMKADE Manager is a small server that runs on your computer and opens in your browser. It talks to the console over SSH, the remote access service that most retro handheld firmwares include.

Browser  ──>  ROMKADE Manager (your computer, 127.0.0.1:8765)  ──SSH over Wi-Fi──>  Console (microSD card)
  • The catalog lives on your computer. A sync reads the card and stores the list of games in a local database. The library stays available when the console is off.
  • The console is only modified by actions you start: adding games, restoring or deleting a save, Bluetooth settings, player controllers, setting the clock. Reading the card never writes to it.
  • Your library stays on your computer. A free ROMKADE account signs you in, and usage statistics are only sent if you accept them. The app reaches the Internet for box art and, if you turn them on, trailers and AI descriptions with your own keys, and ROMKADE Cloud if you link your console to Claude or ChatGPT.

What it can do

Area What you get
Library Every game on the card with box art, genre, year, publisher and summary; typo-tolerant search; filters by console, genre, format, region
Adding games Drag files into the browser; the target console is suggested; each copy is verified before it shows up on the card
Playing Launch a game on the console from your computer, quit it, resume from a save state, adjust the volume
Saves See every save, copy them all to your computer, restore or delete one, with an automatic backup first
Controllers and Bluetooth Pick each player's controller, pair controllers and speakers, send game sound to a Bluetooth speaker
Play time Time per day and per game, sessions, optional alert when you have played long enough

What is available depends on the console's firmware: see Supported consoles.

ROMKADE Manager provides no games

It manages the files you already own. Box art, artwork and game information come from open projects credited in About.