Files
libretro/wiki/index.md
T
Abdessamad Derraz 70d761682c docs: plain copy on the newcomer pages
The Start here pages ran 460 to 2,100 words and the first command of
Get your files sat 254 words down. Each page now opens on its action,
with short sentences and one fact per block. The facts a newcomer does
not act on moved one level down: the legal analysis to wiki/legal.md,
the project terms to wiki/reference-terms.md, the annotated run and the
installer failures to the installer page, collection figures to a new
Explore index.

tests/test_site_copy.py holds the budgets on the generated pages, and
the testing guide states them with their reasons.

Four statements the repository contradicts are rewritten: prboom.wad
is compiled into PrBoom (emulators/prboom.yml), Batocera reports a
mismatch as UNTESTED (batocera-systems checkBios), 13 hle_fallback
entries are required, and the gaps headline splits missing firmware
from game data and unread entries.
2026-10-22 14:23:54 +02:00

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reference

Reference

These pages describe how the files are checked, what the data holds and how the toolchain works. To set up BIOS files on a device, start with Get your files.

How the files are checked

Data

  • Data and API - JSON, CSV and SQLite exports with their checksums
  • Find a file - any SHA1, MD5, CRC32 or SHA256: the file, the platforms that declare it, the emulators that check it
  • Data model - database.json structure, indexes, file resolution order, YAML formats

The toolchain

  • Architecture - directory structure, data flow, platform inheritance, pack grouping, security, edge cases, CI workflows
  • Build your own packs - custom packs, region filtering, one file per slot, target filtering, truth generation, emulator verification, offline workflow
  • Command-line tools - every script, pipeline usage, scrapers
  • Projects using this data - projects built on RetroBIOS data

Methodology

Platform lists are checked against emulator source code, file by file where a profile exists. Documentation and metadata can differ from what a program does at run time, so the source is the primary reference:

  1. Upstream emulator source: what the original project loads (Dolphin, PCSX2, Mednafen and others)
  2. Libretro core source: the RetroArch port, which may adapt paths or add files
  3. .info declarations: metadata that platforms rely on, checked against the two above

For contributors

  • Profiling an emulator - create an emulator profile from source code, YAML field reference
  • Adding a platform - scraper, registry, YAML config, exporter, target scraper, install detection
  • Adding a scraper - plugin architecture, BaseScraper, parsers, target scrapers
  • Testing - run tests, fixture pattern, how to add tests, CI integration
  • Release process - CI workflows, large files, manual release

See contributing for submission guidelines.

Terms

The words these pages use, from profile to provenance, are in Terms of the reference pages. The everyday words are in the glossary.