emulator: Lexaloffle
type: standalone
core_classification: other
upstream: "https://www.lexaloffle.com/"
profiled_date: "2026-11-09"
core_version: "0.2.7"
version_basis:
  kind: package
  url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260105092803id_/https://www.lexaloffle.com/dl/7wdekp/pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip"
  pattern: 'pico-8_([0-9.]+[a-z]?)_raspi\.zip'
  artifact: "pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip and pico-8_0.2.7_amd64.zip, version string pico-8 0.2.7 in every binary"
version_source:
  url: "https://www.lexaloffle.com/dl/docs/pico-8_changelog.txt"
  pattern: '^\s*v(0\.\d+\.\d+[a-z]?)\s*$'
display_name: "Lexaloffle - PICO-8"
cores:
  - lexaloffle
  - "pico-8"
  - "pico8"
  - "Pico-8"
  - "pico_standalone"
  - "float-scaled"
systems:
  - pico8
standalone_directories:
  - "executable directory"

notes: |
  Commercial fantasy console by Lexaloffle Games LLP, sold as ZIP archives
  per platform. Nothing in the program checks a hash of its own files: the
  hashes below are those of the files in the official 0.2.7 archives.
  Voxatron, the same publisher's other program, is profiled apart
  (voxatron.yml).

  The program finds its own folder through /proc/self/exe and reads its
  .dat beside itself. The paths below are the layout of the archives, whose
  top folder is pico-8/: a launcher that runs one of these files from a
  folder places the program folder there.

  PICO-8 0.2.7 ships five archives. pico-8_0.2.7_amd64.zip holds pico8
  (x86_64, SDL2 linked in) and pico8_dyn (x86_64, system libSDL2).
  pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip holds pico8 (armhf, SDL2 linked in, needs the
  Raspberry Pi libbcm_host.so), pico8_dyn (armhf, system libSDL2), pico8_gpio
  (armhf, needs libbcm_host.so and libwiringPi.so) and pico8_64 (aarch64,
  system libSDL2). pico-8_0.2.7_i386.zip holds pico8_32bit and
  pico8_32bit_dyn, pico-8_0.2.7_windows.zip holds pico8.exe and
  pico-8_0.2.7_osx.zip holds PICO-8.app. Each binary opens pico8.dat from its
  own folder and quits when it is absent, and pico8.dat is the same file in
  every archive of one version. The binaries name no other file of the
  archive: which binary runs, and from which folder, is the launcher's choice.
  The amd64 and raspi archives carry pico8.dat 10b39730, byte for byte.

  Launchers by platform, each read at the revision the platform file pins:
  - Batocera lexaloffleGenerator.py runs bios/pico-8/pico8 and raises when it
    is missing or not executable, with LD_LIBRARY_PATH set to bios/pico-8.
    The name is fixed for every board: an x86_64 board needs the amd64 pico8,
    a Raspberry Pi 32-bit board the raspi pico8, an aarch64 board pico8_64
    renamed.
  - KNULLI knulli-install-pico8 unzips the raspi archive from roms/pico8,
    stops when pico8_64, pico8_dyn, pico8_gpio or pico8.dat is missing, moves
    pico8_64 to bios/pico-8/pico8 and the other three beside it. Its
    lexaloffleGenerator.py runs bios/pico-8/pico8 with no LD_LIBRARY_PATH.
    The RG35XX simplermenu launcher runs pico8_dyn.
  - Recalbox pico8Generator.py moves bios/pico-8 to /overlay/emulator/pico-8
    and renames pico8_64 to pico8 there, then runs it.
  - ROCKNIX start_pico8.sh runs roms/pico-8/pico8_64 on aarch64 and
    roms/pico-8/pico8_dyn on any other HW_ARCH, from roms/pico-8/<HW_ARCH>/
    when that folder exists. ROCKNIX reads nothing from bios/.
  - AmberELEC pico-8.sh runs roms/pico-8/pico8_64 and shows "Missing Pico-8
    binaries!" when pico8_64 or pico8.dat is absent.
  - EmuELEC pico8.sh copies roms/bios/pico-8/* to /emuelec/bin/pico-8 on the
    next start and runs pico8_dyn from there, with no existence check.
  - RetroDECK component_launcher.sh executes bios/pico-8/pico8, and its
    component_manifest.json lists pico8, pico8.dat and pico8_dyn as required.
  - RetroBat Pico8.Generator.cs runs pico8.exe from the folder its config
    names pico8 and returns nothing when pico8.exe is absent. That folder is
    an emulator install, outside the BIOS tree.
  - ArkOS (dArkOS pico8/pico8.sh) prefers roms/pico-8/pico8_64, then
    roms/pico-8/pico8_dyn, then extracts pico8_64 and pico8.dat from a
    *raspi.zip in that folder, and starts Fake08 when the binary or
    pico8.dat is still missing.
  - ES-DE es_find_rules.xml looks for pico8_64 under ~/Applications/pico-8
    and three other home folders on linuxarm, pico8 on linux and unix, and
    pico8.exe on Windows.

files:
  # -------------------------------------------------------
  # PICO-8 0.2.7
  # -------------------------------------------------------
  - name: pico8
    path: pico-8/pico8
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, emuelec, knulli, recalbox, retrobat, rocknix]
    size: 9425408
    md5: 0d127838e79459da4ae36bb8b2e576ca
    sha1: 1843e82abc1d068d7602d3ac135b6ad72aaf6c0a
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 x86_64 executable, SDL2 linked in"
    note: "The pico8 of pico-8_0.2.7_amd64.zip, an x86_64 ELF that loads no libSDL2. Batocera runs it on x86_64 boards and raises when it is missing or not executable. RetroDECK executes the same path."
    source_ref: "batocera lexaloffleGenerator.py:17, 37, 48-52, 87-90, RetroDECK pico-8/component_launcher.sh:3, RetroDECK pico-8/component_manifest.json:12-17"

  - name: pico8
    path: pico-8/pico8
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, emuelec, knulli, recalbox, retrobat, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 7895320
    md5: 21d4c4c6d9da8fc2c81aa7a844edee96
    sha1: 946db0633966afecf81d2b33957c7db8fb3a2356
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 armhf executable, SDL2 linked in"
    note: "The pico8 of pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip, a 32-bit ARM ELF that needs libbcm_host.so, so it runs on Raspberry Pi firmware only. Batocera's fixed path is the one a 32-bit Raspberry Pi board (bcm2835, bcm2836) can run."
    source_ref: "batocera lexaloffleGenerator.py:17, 48-52"

  - name: pico8
    path: pico-8/pico8
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, emuelec, recalbox, retrobat, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 1640888
    md5: 70ab37eab4e7d162d36d9b2d91b84867
    sha1: 4ed23b6578a2d93d67aa856791dc70e95d68a3f4
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 aarch64 executable (pico8_64) under the name pico8"
    note: "The pico8_64 of pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip, at the pico8 path. KNULLI's installer moves pico8_64 there and its generator runs it, with no check of the bytes. An aarch64 Batocera board needs the same file at the same path."
    source_ref: "knulli board/fsoverlay/usr/bin/knulli-install-pico8:8, 33-36, 66, 73, knulli lexaloffleGenerator.py:20, 54-59, batocera lexaloffleGenerator.py:17"

  - name: pico8_64
    path: pico-8/pico8_64
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [batocera, emuelec, knulli, retrobat, retrodeck]
    size: 1640888
    md5: 70ab37eab4e7d162d36d9b2d91b84867
    sha1: 4ed23b6578a2d93d67aa856791dc70e95d68a3f4
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 aarch64 executable, system libSDL2"
    note: "pico8_64 is only in pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip, the build for 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS, linked against the system SDL2. AmberELEC and ROCKNIX run it from roms/pico-8/, not from bios/. AmberELEC stops with a message when it is missing. ROCKNIX picks it when HW_ARCH is aarch64. Recalbox renames bios/pico-8/pico8_64 to pico8 before the first run, and a missing file fails the rename."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 raspi readme_raspi.txt:3-11, amberelec packages/amberelec/sources/pico-8.sh:51-54, amberelec packages/amberelec/sources/scripts/runemu.py:123, rocknix projects/ROCKNIX/packages/emulators/standalone/pico-8/scripts/start_pico8.sh:8-17, 35-40, 46-47, recalbox projects/configgen/configgen/generators/pico8/pico8Generator.py:14-19, dArkOS pico8/pico8.sh:47-60, 128-135"

  - name: pico8_dyn
    path: pico-8/pico8_dyn
    system: pico8
    required: false
    unread_on: [amberelec, emuelec, knulli, recalbox, retrobat]
    size: 1805928
    md5: 724435a9e6f3ef8a55c648fc88651826
    sha1: 9b2e573250c70382b4071709a85c8d56c0371d59
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 x86_64 executable, system libSDL2"
    note: "The pico8_dyn of pico-8_0.2.7_amd64.zip, the same program linked against the system SDL2. RetroDECK lists it as required in its manifest, but its launcher executes pico8 only. Batocera never runs it. ROCKNIX runs it from roms/pico-8/ on x86_64, its HW_ARCH other than aarch64."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 amd64 pico8_dyn, NEEDED libSDL2-2.0.so.0, RetroDECK pico-8/component_manifest.json:26-32, RetroDECK pico-8/component_launcher.sh:3, rocknix projects/ROCKNIX/packages/emulators/standalone/pico-8/scripts/start_pico8.sh:10-17, 48"

  - name: pico8_dyn
    path: pico-8/pico8_dyn
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, batocera, recalbox, retrobat, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 1452936
    md5: 867701eff7e82a91985ae1fbe90dbc4a
    sha1: 87ef68e70c53ba209e697bb51de45826e982d92d
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 armhf executable, system libSDL2"
    note: "The pico8_dyn of pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip, 32-bit, linked against the system SDL2. EmuELEC copies bios/pico-8 to /emuelec/bin/pico-8 and runs pico8_dyn with no existence check. KNULLI's installer stops when the archive lacks it and moves it to bios/pico-8, and the RG35XX simplermenu launcher runs it. ROCKNIX runs a pico8_dyn from roms/pico-8/ on a HW_ARCH other than aarch64, and ArkOS falls back to it when pico8_64 is absent."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 raspi readme_raspi.txt:3-11, emuelec packages/sx05re/emuelec/bin/pico8.sh:9-14, 39-43, knulli board/fsoverlay/usr/bin/knulli-install-pico8:9, 38-41, 67, knulli board/actions/atm7039/rg35xx/fsoverlay/usr/share/knulli/datainit/system/configs/simplermenu_plus/launchers/pico8_sa:3, rocknix projects/ROCKNIX/packages/emulators/standalone/pico-8/scripts/start_pico8.sh:14-16, dArkOS pico8/pico8.sh:49-50"

  - name: pico8_gpio
    path: pico-8/pico8_gpio
    system: pico8
    required: false
    unread_on: [amberelec, batocera, emuelec, recalbox, retrobat, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 7898704
    md5: 286ab30756dfc40749ecd72221f0d063
    sha1: df77c64c95695710d23b451277325e0c37e7416e
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 armhf executable with GPIO access (wiringPi)"
    note: "Only in pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip. The 32-bit build that maps the GPIO pins to 0x5f80..0x5fff, linked against libbcm_host.so and libwiringPi.so. KNULLI's installer stops when the archive lacks it and moves it to bios/pico-8, but no launcher runs it."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 raspi readme_raspi.txt:3-11, knulli board/fsoverlay/usr/bin/knulli-install-pico8:10, 43-46, 68"

  - name: pico8.dat
    path: pico-8/pico8.dat
    system: pico8
    required: true
    size: 11243101
    md5: 10b397305093c80109096319a538ba56
    sha1: 0f92093752bddb12210c7db6d93af3ba2413cfce
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 data file (boot sequence, themes, demo carts)"
    note: "PICO-8 opens it from its own folder and quits with \"couldn't load <folder>/pico8.dat\" when it is absent (the amd64 pico8, run without it). Paired with the binary's own version, identical in pico-8_0.2.7_amd64.zip, pico-8_0.2.7_raspi.zip and pico-8_0.2.7_windows.zip. AmberELEC and ArkOS check for it before starting PICO-8, and KNULLI's installer stops when the archive lacks it."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 amd64 pico8, string pico8.dat at 0x231bc0, pico-8 0.2.7 raspi pico8_64, string pico8.dat at 0x110138, amberelec packages/amberelec/sources/pico-8.sh:51-52, dArkOS pico8/pico8.sh:136-142, knulli board/fsoverlay/usr/bin/knulli-install-pico8:11, 48-51, 69"

  - name: pico8.exe
    path: pico-8/pico8.exe
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, batocera, emuelec, knulli, recalbox, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 2171788
    md5: 55b1b9db521ffd0cea0995174bd12a2b
    sha1: 1d1b504d3283d750869a93ed9befa1e49928d68e
    description: "PICO-8 0.2.7 Windows executable"
    note: "The pico8.exe of pico-8_0.2.7_windows.zip. RetroBat runs it from its pico8 emulator folder and starts nothing when it is absent."
    source_ref: "retrobat emulatorLauncher/Generators/Pico8.Generator.cs:14-18, 56-57"

  - name: SDL2.dll
    path: pico-8/SDL2.dll
    system: pico8
    required: true
    unread_on: [amberelec, batocera, emuelec, knulli, recalbox, retrodeck, rocknix]
    size: 1088000
    md5: 098c661f98cd7fd85a82ebc34db5be15
    sha1: 9174251921d675c204e683cdea65a8c906fcba28
    description: "SDL2 library of the PICO-8 0.2.7 Windows build"
    note: "pico8.exe imports SDL2.dll, which Windows loads from the executable's folder. Shipped beside it in pico-8_0.2.7_windows.zip."
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 windows pico8.exe, import table"

  - name: config.txt
    unsourceable: "written by the emulator on exit, no canonical file"
    system: pico8
    required: false
    description: "PICO-8 settings"
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 amd64 pico8, string config.txt at 0x244739, pico-8 0.2.7 pico-8_manual.txt:250-259, 284"
    note: "Read beside the binary, then from the -home folder (~/.lexaloffle/pico-8 on Linux), and written there on exit when absent."

  - name: sdl_controllers.txt
    unsourceable: "user supplied, no canonical file"
    system: pico8
    required: false
    description: "Custom SDL controller mappings, one per line"
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 amd64 pico8, string sdl_controllers.txt at 0x24c896, pico-8 0.2.7 pico-8_manual.txt:301-302, 4053"
    note: "Processed first when present beside the binary, then read from the -home folder, where PICO-8 writes it when absent."

  - name: favourites.txt
    unsourceable: "written by the emulator, no canonical file"
    system: pico8
    required: false
    description: "SPLORE favourites list"
    source_ref: "pico-8 0.2.7 amd64 pico8, string favourites.txt at 0x242346"
    note: "Read from the -home folder. The bbs/<listing>.pip.png images beside it are downloaded from the BBS."