diff --git a/scripts/common.py b/scripts/common.py
index 1c28b625a..b8cb33896 100644
--- a/scripts/common.py
+++ b/scripts/common.py
@@ -1220,6 +1220,19 @@ def archive_entry(archive: str, files: list[dict]) -> dict:
     return {**own, "members": members} if members else own
 
 
+def archive_is_optional(entry: dict, archive: str, files: list[dict]) -> bool:
+    """Optional as a whole: its own entry and every member it carries.
+
+    A --required-only pack leaves it out, and the report of that pack too.
+    geolith's _Required pack held neocd.zip and irrmaze.zip all the same.
+    """
+    return entry.get("required") is False and all(
+        member.get("required") is False
+        for member in files
+        if member.get("archive") == archive
+    )
+
+
 def holds_required_members(path: str, members: list[dict]) -> bool:
     """Whether an archive holds every member a profile requires inside it."""
     crcs = zip_member_crcs(path)
diff --git a/scripts/generate_pack.py b/scripts/generate_pack.py
index fa91eb16f..e922558c1 100644
--- a/scripts/generate_pack.py
+++ b/scripts/generate_pack.py
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ from common import (
     archive_entry,
     profiles_for_systems,
     write_text_atomic,
+    archive_is_optional,
     artifact_lock,
     repository_output_lock,
     ArtifactLockBusy,
@@ -1473,18 +1474,6 @@ class DamagedArchiveError(OSError):
 
 
 
-def _archive_is_optional(archive_entry: dict, archive_name: str, files: list[dict]) -> bool:
-    """Optional as a whole: its own entry and every member it carries.
-
-    geolith's _Required pack held neocd.zip and irrmaze.zip all the same.
-    """
-    return archive_entry.get("required") is False and all(
-        member.get("required") is False
-        for member in files
-        if member.get("archive") == archive_name
-    )
-
-
 def _pack_data_tree(
     zf: zipfile.ZipFile,
     local_cache: str,
@@ -1673,7 +1662,7 @@ def generate_emulator_pack(
                 )
 
                 own_entry = archive_entry(archive_name, files)
-                if required_only and _archive_is_optional(own_entry, archive_name, files):
+                if required_only and archive_is_optional(own_entry, archive_name, files):
                     continue
                 local_path, status = resolve_file(
                     own_entry,
diff --git a/scripts/verify.py b/scripts/verify.py
index 147a8f80d..0f621eb4e 100644
--- a/scripts/verify.py
+++ b/scripts/verify.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ from common import (
     suggest_names,
     require_platform,
     archive_entry,
+    archive_is_optional,
     archive_members,
     profiles_for_systems,
     PROFILE_IDENTITY_FIELDS,
@@ -2056,12 +2057,16 @@ def verify_emulator(
     regions: list[str] | None = None,
     platforms_dir: str = _REPO_PLATFORMS,
     system_ids: list[str] | None = None,
+    required_only: bool = False,
 ) -> dict:
     """Verify files for specific emulator profiles.
 
     A region priority list narrows the report the same way a pack built with the
     same list would be narrowed, through the emulator pack's own drop set.
     `system_ids` keeps the entries of those systems, as the system pack does.
+    `required_only` reports on the pack built with --required-only: a loose
+    file or tree marked ``required: false`` is left out, and an archive when
+    it and every member it carries are optional, as the builder leaves them.
     """
     from packextras import expand_agnostic_entries
     from packresolve import resolve_file
@@ -2105,7 +2110,7 @@ def verify_emulator(
     if regions:
         from packextras import emulator_region_drops
 
-        region_drops = emulator_region_drops(selected, standalone, regions, db=db)
+        region_drops = emulator_region_drops(selected, standalone, regions, required_only, db=db)
 
     # The emulator pack walks profiles in name order and keeps the first
     # file at a path, folding case: a later profile's different file there
@@ -2142,6 +2147,8 @@ def verify_emulator(
         bluemsx's Machines/ tree holds msx-emu's coleco.rom path in a
         --system colecovision pack."""
         for dd in deliverable(profile.get("data_directories", []), standalone):
+            if required_only and dd.get("required") is False:
+                continue
             cache = (data_registry or {}).get(dd.get("ref", ""), {}).get("local_cache", "")
             if not cache or not os.path.isdir(cache):
                 continue
@@ -2170,6 +2177,17 @@ def verify_emulator(
         )
         if system_ids:
             files = [fe for fe in files if entry_serves_systems(fe, profile, system_ids)]
+        if required_only:
+            optional_archives = {
+                fe["archive"] for fe in files
+                if fe.get("archive")
+                and archive_is_optional(archive_entry(fe["archive"], files), fe["archive"], files)
+            }
+            files = [
+                fe for fe in files
+                if fe.get("archive") not in optional_archives
+                and (fe.get("archive") or fe.get("required") is not False)
+            ]
         if region_drops:
             # Loose files only, as the emulator pack: an archive ships whole,
             # and dropping kronos' regional stvbios.zip members rebuilt the
@@ -2185,6 +2203,8 @@ def verify_emulator(
         for dd in deliverable(
             profile.get("data_directories", []), standalone
         ):
+            if required_only and dd.get("required") is False:
+                continue
             ref = dd.get("ref", "")
             if not ref:
                 continue
@@ -2516,6 +2536,7 @@ def verify_system(
     standalone: bool = False,
     regions: list[str] | None = None,
     platforms_dir: str = _REPO_PLATFORMS,
+    required_only: bool = False,
 ) -> dict:
     """Verify files for all emulators supporting given system IDs."""
     profiles = load_emulator_profiles(emulators_dir)
@@ -2541,7 +2562,7 @@ def verify_system(
 
     return verify_emulator(
         matching, emulators_dir, db, standalone, regions=regions,
-        platforms_dir=platforms_dir, system_ids=system_ids,
+        platforms_dir=platforms_dir, system_ids=system_ids, required_only=required_only,
     )
 
 
@@ -2680,6 +2701,7 @@ def _refuse_listing_narrowings(
         ("--destinations", args.destinations),
         ("--offline", args.offline),
         ("--no-game-data", getattr(args, "no_game_data", False)),
+        ("--required-only", args.required_only),
     ):
         if on:
             parser.error(f"{flag} is incompatible with {listing}")
@@ -2708,6 +2730,8 @@ def _refuse_mode_flags(args: argparse.Namespace, parser: argparse.ArgumentParser
          "--no-game-data requires --platform or --all"),
         (args.destinations and getattr(args, "region", None),
          "--destinations describes the full pack and is incompatible with --region"),
+        (args.destinations and args.required_only,
+         "--destinations describes the full pack and is incompatible with --required-only"),
     ):
         if refused:
             parser.error(message)
@@ -2776,6 +2800,11 @@ def _main(held: contextlib.ExitStack) -> None:
         help="Report on the pack built with --no-game-data: game data left "
         "out and named, firmware only",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--required-only", action="store_true",
+        help="Report on the pack built with --required-only: files the code "
+        "runs without are left out",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--db", default=DEFAULT_DB,
         help="database file to read (default: %(default)s)",
@@ -2867,6 +2896,7 @@ def _main(held: contextlib.ExitStack) -> None:
         result = verify_emulator(
             names, args.emulators_dir, db, args.standalone,
             regions=requested_regions, platforms_dir=args.platforms_dir,
+            required_only=args.required_only,
         )
         if args.json:
             result["details"] = _json_details(result["details"], args.verbose)
@@ -2881,6 +2911,7 @@ def _main(held: contextlib.ExitStack) -> None:
         result = verify_system(
             system_ids, args.emulators_dir, db, args.standalone,
             regions=requested_regions, platforms_dir=args.platforms_dir,
+            required_only=args.required_only,
         )
         if args.json:
             result["details"] = _json_details(result["details"], args.verbose)
@@ -2950,6 +2981,7 @@ def _main(held: contextlib.ExitStack) -> None:
             regions=requested_regions,
             system_filter=platform_systems,
             no_game_data=getattr(args, "no_game_data", False),
+            required_only=args.required_only,
         )
         names = [
             load_platform_config(p, args.platforms_dir).get("platform", p)
diff --git a/tests/test_system_selection.py b/tests/test_system_selection.py
index b70436947..c7016c539 100644
--- a/tests/test_system_selection.py
+++ b/tests/test_system_selection.py
@@ -430,6 +430,51 @@ class ASystemReportCountsTheClaimsThePackCounts(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(report_owned_by_systems([entry], ["panasonic-3do"]), [entry])
 
 
+class VerifyReportsTheRequiredOnlyPack(unittest.TestCase):
+    """`generate_pack --emulator mame --required-only` held 164 archives and
+    the only report, `verify --emulator mame`, credited 2302 paths:
+    --required-only was refused by verify, and the archive rule existed in
+    the builder only."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        previous = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(REPO_ROOT)
+        self.addCleanup(os.chdir, previous)
+
+    def test_the_report_holds_the_paths_the_pack_holds(self):
+        import contextlib
+        import io
+
+        from verify import verify_emulator
+
+        db = common.load_database("database.json")
+        for name in ("beetle_psx", "dolphin", "fbneo", "geolith", "mame"):
+            with self.subTest(emulator=name):
+                record = builder.PackRecord()
+                with contextlib.redirect_stdout(io.StringIO()), \
+                        contextlib.redirect_stderr(io.StringIO()):
+                    builder.generate_emulator_pack(
+                        [name], "emulators", db, "bios", "", offline=True,
+                        platforms_dir="platforms", record=record, required_only=True,
+                    )
+                    report = verify_emulator([name], "emulators", db,
+                                             platforms_dir="platforms", required_only=True)
+                    full = verify_emulator([name], "emulators", db, platforms_dir="platforms")
+                self.assertEqual(sorted(report["pack_destinations"]), sorted(record.files))
+                self.assertLessEqual(set(report["pack_destinations"]),
+                                     set(full["pack_destinations"]))
+
+    def test_every_mode_takes_the_flag(self):
+        for argv in (["--platform", "lakka"], ["--emulator", "handy"],
+                     ["--system", "atari-lynx"]):
+            with self.subTest(argv=argv):
+                proc = subprocess.run(
+                    [sys.executable, "scripts/verify.py", *argv, "--required-only"],
+                    cwd=REPO_ROOT, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=600, check=False,
+                )
+                self.assertEqual(proc.returncode, 0, proc.stderr[-1500:])
+
+
 class StrictVerifyFailsOnACriticalMiss(unittest.TestCase):
     """verify exited 0 with a required file missing on an md5 platform, so
     the pipeline printed "verify OK" over a pack the frontend rejects."""
diff --git a/wiki/advanced-usage.md b/wiki/advanced-usage.md
index 814a6d03c..c17cc07ac 100644
--- a/wiki/advanced-usage.md
+++ b/wiki/advanced-usage.md
@@ -95,6 +95,15 @@ What counts as "required" depends on the platform YAML. For existence-mode platf
 For MD5-mode platforms (Batocera), all declared files are treated as required unless
 explicitly marked optional.
 
+An emulator or system pack keeps the files and trees its profiles do not mark
+`required: false`, and an archive unless it and every ROM it carries are
+optional. `verify.py` takes the same flag and reports on that pack:
+
+```bash
+python scripts/verify.py --platform batocera --required-only
+python scripts/verify.py --emulator mame --required-only
+```
+
 ### Region filtering
 
 Keep one regional BIOS per system instead of all of them:
diff --git a/wiki/tools.md b/wiki/tools.md
index 31086a61e..aa9e695a4 100644
--- a/wiki/tools.md
+++ b/wiki/tools.md
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ python scripts/verify.py --platform batocera --system psx  # one system of a pla
 python scripts/verify.py --platform retroarch --target switch  # filter by hardware
 python scripts/verify.py --platform recalbox --region us   # regional priority list
 python scripts/verify.py --platform emuelec --no-game-data  # the firmware-only pack, game data named
+python scripts/verify.py --emulator mame --required-only    # the pack built with --required-only
 python scripts/verify.py --all --destinations tmp/paths.json  # also write the paths each pack holds
 python scripts/verify.py --all --offline             # a release asset the cache lacks counts missing, as in an offline build
 python scripts/verify.py --list-platforms          # list all platforms
@@ -258,7 +259,8 @@ own verification mode ([discrepancy detection](verification-modes.md#discrepancy
   with the closest matches before any work. Without `--platform`, `--system`
   takes our ids only.
 - `--required-only`: exclude optional files and the data directories declared
-  `required: false`, keep only required
+  `required: false`, keep only required. `verify.py --required-only` reports
+  on the same file set, for `--platform`, `--emulator` and `--system`
 - `--no-game-data`: firmware only. Leaves out the platform's entries
   categorized game data and the cores' `category: game_data` files, and names
   each one. Tags the pack `_NoGameData`. `verify.py --no-game-data` and