Retro Launcher is currently applying for signing with the SignPath Foundation
Retro — Retro Compilation Manager catalogs and installs recomps that self-compile on the end user’s machine. For liability reasons we encourage releases that do not ship machine-generated C derived from proprietary software; users generate that code locally instead. First installs can take 5–10 minutes, which is a lot to manage by hand — this hub exists to make that workflow practical.
Retro checks for updates, rebuilds with existing build data when possible, shares the same portable toolchain used by per-title self-compiling launchers, and automates BIOS/ROM wiring so you are not stuck in each game’s Generate & Build wizard.
Retro Launcher → catalog / install / queue / update / launch
│
▼
each recomp/decomp exe → recomp-ui (settings, disc verify, PLAY)
Windows, Linux, and macOS builds are available from Releases. Feedback is welcome while the project keeps evolving.
Shipping pre-generated recomp C from commercial ROMs is a legal grey area we
prefer to avoid. Catalog titles that use psxrecomp + recomp-ui (and similar
self-compiling stacks) ask each user to generate and compile on their own PC.
Retro’s job is to make that tolerable: shared toolchains, shared engine
source (one psxrecomp / recomp-ui pin across titles), incremental rebuilds,
queued installs, and automatic ROM/BIOS/save plumbing.
Submit a title via the catalog submission form. psxrecomp + recomp-ui projects can auto-fill most fields. Other self-compiling launchers can still be listed so Retro fetches releases/updates and hands users off to that title’s install flow as gracefully as possible.
Queue every pending update at once, or queue Install/Update for individual titles anytime. Builds and installs continue in the background while you browse the library and launch other games. Builds are CPU-heavy — expect some lag until they finish.
ROM/BIOS/save libraries stay in your emulation tree. Recomp app data can install under the default apps folder or extra roots you add in Library Settings (e.g. a fast SSD). When more than one root is configured, Install asks where to put the title.
Easy Install scaffolds a common EmulationStation-style folder layout. Advanced users can point Retro at an existing ES-DE / RomM-style library and map platform folders. Import ROMs, saves, and BIOS dumps from Add/Scan Files; files are hashed, indexed, and stored in your library directories. Scan also picks up files you placed on disk manually.
Pick memcards (or cart battery files) per title, create/rename/import saves, and optionally two-way sync with RomM via the RomM API. Saves and configs are preserved across app updates, and uninstall can keep them for a later reinstall.
Install with bundled OpenBIOS, then add a retail dump such as SCPH1001.BIN
later and Retro can prompt a rebuild with SCPH support. After that, hot-swap
between BIOS choices in the hub (Play stages an empty bios.cfg for OpenBIOS so
a prior SCPH pick cannot stick). Online lobbies settle one match BIOS: OpenBIOS
unless every seated peer can run SCPH-1001 and nobody selected OpenBIOS.
With a RomM base URL + client API token, Retro can:
- Match catalog titles to your RomM library by hash (fast — RomM already hashed them)
- Download matching ROMs and BIOS into your library
- Bidirectionally sync native saves (newer wins)
Retro uses the same portable toolchain packs as the per-title self-compiling launchers. It preserves cmake/build intermediates when possible so updates rebuild faster, wires ROMs and BIOS automatically, and skips the per-game Generate & Build wizard when you manage installs through the hub.
Remote catalog from
Retro-Catalog,
automatic boxart (Libretro by default; optional RomM covers or local art),
uninstall with keep-saves, and deeper options under Menu (library roots,
exclude dirs, update checks, etc.).
Platform Config — one global settings page per platform, opened from the
library header (PSXrecomp Config, SNESrecomp Config): Display, Audio,
Input seats, keyboard binds, and Hotkeys, stored under platform/<slug>/ in the
data folder and merged into each title's own config files (PSX
settings.toml + config.ini, SNES config.ini + keybinds.ini) on install,
update, and launch. Per-game keys the platform page does not own are left as the
port shipped them, and any title can opt out via Manage Game Data → Exclude
from platform config.
- Mod management and optional launcher bypass when Retro owns configuration
- Centralized netplay lobby — stay in one lobby, hot-swap titles after a match, filter by player count / shared library, backwards compatible with each game’s built-in lobby
| Artifact | Platform |
|---|---|
Retro-Launcher-linux-x86_64.AppImage |
Linux |
Retro-Launcher-windows-x64-setup.exe |
Windows installer |
Retro-Launcher-portable-windows.zip |
Windows portable (Retro Launcher.exe inside) |
Retro-Launcher-macos-arm64.dmg |
macOS Apple Silicon |
Retro-Launcher-macos-x86_64.dmg |
macOS Intel |
Releases are published manually via Actions → Release. Leave version
empty to auto-bump the next x.x.x from the latest vX.Y.Z tag (bump
defaults to patch). Hub Update Retro pulls the matching asset for your
install channel. Windows portable: unzip and run Retro Launcher.exe (hub),
or Retro Launcher.exe cli <command> for the CLI (same idea as the Linux
AppImage cli dispatch).
cmake -G Ninja -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j
./build/retcomm --help
./build/retcomm-hub # SDL3 + ImGui dashboardRequires CMake 3.24+, a C++17 compiler, and libcurl. Runtime archive tools:
bsdtar (preferred), unzip, or 7z. Update checks (catalog / launcher /
toolchain / game tags) use github.com redirects and do not need a token.
Optional GitHub PAT for api.github.com when listing/downloading release
assets: Library Settings → GitHub token, config.json github_token, or
env GITHUB_TOKEN / GH_TOKEN (env wins). Hub UI needs system SDL3 + OpenGL and Dear ImGui (sibling
../recomp-ui, or CMake FetchContent). Wine installs need wine / wine64 on
PATH.
Packaging lives under packaging/; icon source is assets/retcomm.svg.
./build/retcomm list
./build/retcomm catalog update
mkdir -p ~/.config/retcomm
cp config.example.json ~/.config/retcomm/config.json
# edit library_root / bios_root / saves_root / platform_folders
./build/retcomm scan
./build/retcomm bios scan
./build/retcomm library
./build/retcomm install masters-of-teras-kasi-psx
./build/retcomm launch masters-of-teras-kasi-psx
./build/retcomm uninstall masters-of-teras-kasi-psx # keeps saves by defaultlaunch stages disc/ROM/BIOS sidecars next to the install and prefers a companion
.cue for disc titles. Installs land under
~/.local/share/retcomm/apps/<install_dir>/ (or your configured install roots)
with releases/<tag>/, a current link, and install.json.
Your ROMs and disc images stay in the emulation library: an install folder only
ever links to them or names their path, never keeps a second copy. A build links
the library's tracks into the recompiler's work tree before codegen runs, and
anything a host that refuses links forced it to copy is removed again afterwards
— also swept for existing installs by retcomm cache gc and hub
Clean up shared caches.
Scan walks only the platform folders the catalog needs, skips junk dirs, and
hashes when identity digests are present. Results go to
library-index.json with incremental cache hits; use scan --full (or hub
Full rebuild index) to rehash everything.
Titles live in
Retro-Catalog,
not this repo. The launcher caches catalog.zip under
~/.local/share/retcomm/catalog/ and can auto-update on startup.
"catalog": {
"url": "https://github.com/RetroPortingToolKit/Retro-Catalog/releases/latest/download/catalog.zip",
"github_repo": "RetroPortingToolKit/Retro-Catalog",
"auto_update": true
}Overrides: --catalog DIR, $RETCOMM_CATALOG.
| Role | Linux |
|---|---|
| Config | ~/.config/retcomm/ |
| Installs + state | ~/.local/share/retcomm/ |
| Catalog cache | ~/.local/share/retcomm/catalog/ |
See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md,
docs/CATALOG.md, and
docs/BUILD_PACKS.md.
docs/ architecture, catalog notes, screenshots/
src/ CLI + core + hub
include/retcomm/ public headers
assets/ app icon + hub assets
packaging/ AppImage, DMG, Windows helpers
.github/workflows/ Release CI
Retro Launcher is released under the MIT License.