Skip to content

Library and search

The Library lists every game read on the card during the last sync. It works with the console off.

Browsing

  • Consoles and Genres: the library opens on the consoles of the card; pick one, then narrow down by genre and sub-genre.
  • View: cover grid or table.
  • Filters: console, genre, format, region, and Favorites. Clear filters resets them.
  • Sort by: title, release year, added to catalog, file date, size. The button next to the sort states the order in plain words ("Oldest first", "A → Z"…) and reverses it in one click.
  • Images: Box art shows the real game box from the libretro collection, downloaded the first time it is displayed and kept on the computer. Card images shows the images stored on the card instead.
  • Include games removed from the card: games that were on the card and have since disappeared. They are never erased from the catalog, only marked as removed.

The search bar at the top of every page suggests consoles, genres and games as you type. Arrow keys and Enter open a game; See all N results opens the library filtered on your search.

  • Typos are tolerated: "castlvania", "zelad", "stret fihgter".
  • The start of a title is enough: "final fant".
  • Search also covers year, publisher, developer, franchise, regions and genres, in English, French and Spanish.
  • With the field empty, your last six searches come back; remove them one by one or all at once. They are kept in the browser, so each browser has its own list.

Search engine

Search uses Typesense, which is fast and tolerates typos; it comes with the Docker installation. If it is not available (installation from the source code without Docker), a built-in search takes over automatically.

A game's page

Click a game to open its page:

  • genre, regions, release date, publisher, developer, franchise (Wikipedia links), summary and GameFAQs link;
  • Play on the console (see Playing on the console);
  • Add to favorites: favorites appear on the dashboard and in the library;
  • the trailer (▶ on the cover), found on YouTube;
  • Controls: which console button does what in this game. Ask the AI fills it in, Edit lets you write your own;
  • the game's saves, each with Play or Resume here;
  • the duplicates of the same game and the file's history.

Trailers and AI features need a key: see Assistant, knowledge and videos. Without a YouTube key, ▶ opens the search on youtube.com.

Favorites belong to a console

Each favorite is tied to the console it was added on (through the fingerprint of its SSH key, which does not change like an IP address does). Connecting another console only shows its own favorites, limited to games on its card; the others come back with their console.

Sync

The Sync page rereads the whole card. Use it after changing the card or after a long time without the app.

  • History: each sync with what was added, modified and removed. A console that could not be read keeps its previous files.
  • Detected changes: the list of files concerned, filtered by type.
  • Files with the same title: several files of one console that share a title once region tags are removed. They are often different regions or editions; nothing is deleted.

If the ROMs folder is suddenly empty (card unmounted), the sync is refused and nothing changes in the catalog.