Third Party App, Device and OS Integrations

[gantoine]

This research document outlines potential integration of RomM with various gaming frontends, launchers, operating systems, mobile apps, handhelds, and custom firmware. It details the implementation status of plugins, sync services, and server-side push-pull mechanisms across different platforms, with a focus on enabling seamless ROM management and save synchronization.

Caution

This document is for research and discussion purposes only! It is not a development roadmap, and inclusion does not guarantee implementation.

Breakdown

• Plugins for Playnite, LaunchBox and Lutris
• Cross-platform (Windows, macOS and Linux) sync service for ES-DE, Retroarch, OpenEMU, RetroBat, Ludo, Bizhawk, Lakka, RetroPie, Batocera and Bazite
• React Native app for Android which connects to other emulator apps
• Server-side push-pull for Provenance on iOS
• Client apps for muOS, OnionUI and CrossMix
• On-device sync service for ArcOS, GarlicOS, Knulli and ROCKNIXX
• Server-side push-pull for all targeted CFWs (AmberELEC, ArkOS, CrossMix, GarlicOS, Knulli, MinUI, muOS, OnionUI and ROCKNIX)

Legend

⚪ Completed
🟢 Targeted
🟠 Concerns or unknowns
🔴 Unsupported
⚫ Dead project

🔵 Client app/plugin
🟣 On-device sync service
🟤 Server-side push-pull

Frontends and Launchers

For launchers with no plugin systems, it might be possible to build sync software that downloads games into the correct folders for each app, and syncs the saves back to the server on change (like Syncthing).

App	Platforms	Status	Notes
Playnite	Windows	🟢 ⚪	Plugin repo
LaunchBox	Windows, Android	🟢 🔵	Plugins can be written in C# or VB
Lutris	Linux	🟢 🔵	RomM could be added as a "game source" in the main codebase, would require buy-in from their team.
ES-DE	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	🟢 🟣
Retroarch	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, RPi, Xbox, Playstation, Wii, 3DS	🟢 🟣
OpenEMU	macOS	🟢 🟣
RetroBat	Windows	🟢 🟣
Ludo	Windows, Linux, macOS	🟢 🟣
Bizhawk	Windows, Linux	🟢 🟣
Nostlan	Windows, macOS, Linux	🟠 🔵	Extension protocol under development. Cloud saves/sync is only available to Patreon members.
Hyperspin FE	Windows, Android	🟠 🔵	1.x does support plugins but is now legacy, and 2.x is currently in closed beta.
Pegasus	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, RPi, Odroid	🟠	We could generate a metadata.pegasus.txt file when downloading games/collections.
AttractMode	Windows, Linux, macOS, RPi	🔴
mGalaxy	Windows, macOS	🔴
Metropolis	Windows	⚫
FEEL	Windows	⚫
QuickPlay	Windows	⚫
GameHub	Linux	⚫
GameEX	Windows	⚫

Operating Systems

All of these systems are Linux based, so we could build a simple CLI tool that fetches games, and a service that syncs saves (like Syncthing). Would need a GUI app when running on handhelds, or systems with a desktop environment.

OS	Platforms	Status	Notes
Lakka	RPi, Odroid, Anbernic	🟢 🟣
RetroPie	RPi, Odroid	🟢 🟣
Batocera	Linux, Steam Deck, RPi, Odroid, Anbernic	🟢 🟣
Bazzite	Linux, ASUS, Ayn, Lenovo, GPD	🟢 🟣	Uses KDE desktop environment by default.
RecalBox	RPi, Linux, Odroid, Anbernic	🟠 🟣
ChimeraOS	Linux, Ayaneo, Legion Go, ONEXPLAYER, ROG Ally, Steam Deck	🔴	Active but low popularity.
SteamOS	Linux, Steam Deck	🔴	Technically possible to install apps, but simpler to integrate with Retrodeck.
SteamFork	Linux, Antec, Ayn, Ayaneo, GPD	🔴	Active but low popularity.
Ubuntu GamePack	Linux	⚫
GroovyArcade	Linux	⚫

Mobile

For Android devices, generally speaking, we'd need to build a React Native app that not only connects to RomM and displays the mobile interface, but is also aware of the other emulators installed on the device, like Dolphin, PPSSPP or DraStic. The app should be able to download and move games to a location usable by the emulators (easier), and sync saves back up to the server (harder).

Options are much more limited for iOS devices, and we would likely need to integrate directly with any apps.

App	Platforms	Status	Notes
Provenance	iOS	🟢 🟤	Can push games to device and sync saves via build-in web server.
Delta	iOS	🟠 🔵	Supports custom backends, would need to build a new one.
Lemuroid	Android	🟠 🔵	Supports cloud sync via Google Drive, would need to build a new one.
Eclipse	iOS	🔴	Web based and overlaps with EmulatorJS.
DolphiniOS	iOS	🔴	No plugin system or cloud saves.

Custom Firmwares

App	Plarforms	Status	Notes
AmberELEC	Anbernic	🟢 🟤	Can transfer files with SFTP/SCP.
ArkOS	Anbernic, Powkiddy	🟢 🟣 🟤	Build on Ubuntu and can use Linux service describe above.
CrossMix	TrimUI	🟢 🔵 🟤	Apps built in GLSL + Python, but SFTP/SCP is supported
GarlicOS	Anbernic	🟢 🟣 🟤	Can run shell scripts and supports push-pull via SSH
Knulli	Linux, Steam Deck, RPi, Odroid, Anbernic	🟢 🟣 🟤	Batocera fork with lots of overlap.
MinUI	Anbernic	🟢 🟤
muOS	Anbernic	🟢 🔵 🟤	Client app already under development.
OnionUI	Miyoo	🟢 🔵 🟤	Supports custom apps written in C + SDL2.
ROCKNIX	Anbernic, GameForce, IndieDroid, MagicX, OrangePi, PowKiddy, Retroid	🟢 🟣 🟤	Active fork of JELOS.
SpruceOS	Miyoo A30	🔴 🔵 🟤	Apps can be written in HTML + Shell. Low popularity.
PlumOS	Anbernic	🔴 🟤	Fork of JELOS.
SimpleMenu	Bittboy, Pocket Go, RetroFW, OpenDingux	⚫
RetroFW	Anbernic	⚫
JELOS	Anbernic, Ayn, Loki, Odroid, Powkiddy, OrangePi	⚫

[HacMan137]

Retroarch support for syncing saves and downloading ROMs would be absolutely incredible. Has there been any more discussion on that front?

[gantoine]

Not yet, we have plans but life tends to get in the way so progress is slow going.

[suds-mcduff]

How is progress moving with Lutris integration? With regard to Linux gaming in general, which platform do you see as highest priority to integrate with?

[zurdi15]

We have some POC but the Lutris development is a little bit slow right now, but the top prio is still Lutris

[IDmedia]

I'm currently working on a solution to integrate RetroBat with my NAS setup, as I prefer keeping my ROMs and save games stored centrally. I'm not a fan of streaming games or playing them in a browser. I want local performance with the convenience of NAS storage. After some research, RomM stood out as the most suitable backend for this task.

The Concept

RetroBat’s launcher, emulatorLauncher.exe, is at the heart of my idea. Since it is the go-to executable for launching all supported emulators, I realized I could simply "proxy" its behavior with a modified executable. Here's how it works:

1. Rename the original emulatorLauncher.exe to something like emulatorLauncherX.exe.
2. Replace it with my custom version of emulatorLauncher.exe.
3. My modified version intercepts commands, handles NAS-related operations, and then passes the request along to the original emulatorLauncherX.exe.

How It Works

The setup enables seamless integration with RomM, and RetroBat operates as if everything were stored locally. Here's a quick breakdown of what happens:

1. Setup

• You rename the original executable.
• Use my modified emulatorLauncher.exe to connect to RomM and generate "dummy" files (e.g., empty .txt files) that trick RetroBat into thinking the games are locally stored.

2. Launching a Game

When RetroBat launches a game, my modified launcher:
A) Syncs the latest game library with RetroBat by generating updated dummy files.
B) Checks for available local storage space and deletes cached games if necessary.
C) Downloads the requested ROM and save files from the NAS.
D) Launches the game seamlessly.
E) After exiting the game, uploads the updated save files back to the NAS.

Why This Matters

This method bridges the gap beautifully between local gameplay and centralized storage. It ensures the convenience of NAS without compromising performance or flexibility, giving me the best of both worlds.

Would love to hear your thoughts! Is anyone else experimenting with similar setups, or perhaps integrating RetroBat with other backend solutions? Let me know!

[gantoine]

Interesting idea, but how is it better then the existing playnite plugin for windows?

[halkeye]

https://github.com/SteamGridDB/steam-rom-manager might be an option too, pull metadata and even files from romm

[amymowatt]

MiSTer support would be great to see.

[josegonzalez]

The Mortar pak allows downloading games from RomM, supports NextUI and I believe MuOS support is incoming.

[BrandonKowalski]

Howdy!

Mortar supports RomM and currently targets NextUI (TrimUI Brick and Smart Pro) and has a beta release for muOS (I only own an RG35XXSP so I'll need people to help test).

[gantoine]

Sweet! Want me to ping the muos users in our discord to beta test it?

[BrandonKowalski]

That'd be killer. I'm K-Wall over on Discord.