Abdessamad Derraz
b82c4be6c9
Five lines the default text hid are back where the user reads them: - the result names each failed file again, after Exit too; - a run, --check, the plan and the result count the files an emulator needs that are not available here, --verbose or Details naming them; - --check names each copy that fails its check, the files that sit too deep and what a run copies, and says such a copy is backed up; only the plain missing files wait on --verbose; - the plan and the result keep the count of save files left out and the remedy, the reason going to Details; - the plan counts the --from files that could not be read where no row names them, and says another drive to add. Exit codes are unchanged. The result's word budget rises by the failed file line.
The BIOS files emulators need, put in the right folder and checked.
Website · Get the files · A game does not start · Questions
Some consoles need a small program, the BIOS, to start their games: PlayStation 1 and 2, Saturn, Neo Geo, Dreamcast and more. RetroBIOS installs the BIOS and firmware files for AmberELEC, Batocera, BizHawk, EmuDeck, EmuELEC, KNULLI, Lakka, MiSTer FPGA, MinUI, MyMinUI, NextUI, ROCKNIX, Recalbox, RetroArch, RetroBat, RetroDECK, RetroPie, and RomM, checked the way each one checks them.
Install in one line
Windows: open the Start menu, type PowerShell and open it. Paste this line (Ctrl+V or right-click in the window) and press Enter.
irm https://abdess.github.io/retrobios/i.ps1 | iex
Linux, macOS, Steam Deck, Android (Termux): open a terminal, paste this line and press Enter.
curl -fsSL https://abdess.github.io/retrobios/i | sh
With Python 3.8 or newer: uvx retrobios runs the same installer, and so does pipx run retrobios.
A handheld, an SD card, or not sure? Pick the device: its page gives the folder and the command. A muOS, Onion, spruceOS, MinUI, KNULLI, ROCKNIX, Lakka or MiSTer SD card plugged into the computer is found by itself.
The installer finds the setup and its BIOS folder, installs the files it needs (only what the games need when it finds them on the card) and checks each one. Its screen installs everything, or fewer under Choose systems. Arrow keys and Enter drive it, or a controller on a handheld. It sends no report of its own (what is counted). Options go after the line in the form the installer page gives.
First time? The first install, step by step. A game does not start: what to check. Other questions: FAQ.
Or download a ZIP
The Files column counts what a pack holds once unzipped.
| Setup | Files | Size | Unzip into | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batocera | 12,810 | 7.5 GB | /userdata/bios/ |
Download |
| EmuDeck | 620 | 3.2 GB | ~/Emulation/bios/ |
Download |
| MiSTer FPGA | 83 | 29 MB | /media/fat/games/ |
Download |
| RetroArch | 8,504 | 6.0 GB | system/ |
Download |
| RetroBat | 12,399 | 7.9 GB | bios/ |
Download |
| RomM | 1,087 | 1.5 GB | library/bios/ |
Download |
ZIPs are made for the setups most people download. The others install with the line above, and each page gives the command: AmberELEC, BizHawk, EmuELEC, KNULLI, Lakka, MinUI, MyMinUI, NextUI, ROCKNIX, Recalbox, RetroDECK, RetroPie.
Unzip into the BIOS folder, files straight in it. A big pack comes in parts (Pack.part1of2.zip): download every part (why some setups have no ZIP). Each release lists its files' SHA-256 with a signature (verifying a release).
Help
- "BIOS missing" or a game does not start: what to check
- Have a file? Check it by its hash
- Every console and the files it needs: systems
- Asking an AI assistant: it reads the site best from llms.txt
How it is built
- 623 emulators profiled, 589 from their source code and 34 closed-source builds from their binaries: 93% of the files they load cite the file and line that reads them
- 18 setups, each checked its own way: MD5 for Batocera and Recalbox, the file name for RetroArch, as their own code does
- 519 systems, 19,947 files in the collection, what is still missing named file by file
- 2,222 archives, each with a recipe that rebuilds it from the ROMs the collection holds: 1,790 byte for byte, 432 with the same files inside (rebuilding an archive)
- Public data: JSON, CSV and SQLite, the metadata under MIT
For developers: build a pack
Packs are built from a clone, and the clone carries the collection: its checkout alone is over 7.7 GB. git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abdess/retrobios.git leaves the history out. Files kept as release assets are downloaded when a pack needs them. Then generate packs for any platform, emulator, or system:
python scripts/generate_pack.py --platform retroarch --output-dir dist/
python scripts/generate_pack.py --emulator dolphin
python scripts/generate_pack.py --platform batocera --required-only
python scripts/verify.py --platform batocera
Requires Python 3.9 or newer and pyyaml. The one-line installer alone runs on Python 3.8. Every tool and option: tools. How the lists are built: architecture.
Contributors
Community tools
- BIOS Preservation Tool by monster-penguin - scans, verifies and stages a BIOS collection using RetroBIOS hash metadata
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
License
The scripts and tooling are released under the MIT License. The BIOS and firmware files are not covered by that license: they are third-party system software, preserved and provided for personal backup, archival, and interoperability with emulation software. NOTICE sets out their status and how to ask for a file to be removed. The reasoning, and where it is weakest, is in the project's legal position.
Auto-generated on 2026-11-09T20:13:20Z