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https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch.git
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140 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
140 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
[](https://travis-ci.org/libretro/RetroArch)
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[](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/retroarch)
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# RetroArch
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RetroArch is the reference frontend for the libretro API.
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Popular examples of implementations for this API includes videogame system emulators and game engines, but also
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more generalized 3D programs.
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These programs are instantiated as dynamic libraries. We refer to these as "libretro cores".
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## libretro
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[libretro](http://libretro.com) is an API that exposes generic audio/video/input callbacks.
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A frontend for libretro (such as RetroArch) handles video output, audio output, input and application lifecycle.
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A libretro core written in portable C or C++ can run seamlessly on many platforms with very little/no porting effort.
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While RetroArch is the reference frontend for libretro, several other projects have used the libretro
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interface to include support for emulators and/or game engines. libretro is completely open and free for anyone to use.
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[libretro API header](https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/blob/master/libretro-common/include/libretro.h)
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## Binaries
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Latest Windows binaries are currently hosted on the [buildbot](http://buildbot.libretro.com/).
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## Support
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To reach developers, either make an issue here on GitHub, make a thread on the [forum](http://www.libretro.com/forums/),
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or visit our IRC channel: #retroarch @ irc.freenode.org.
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## Documentation
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See our [Documentation Center](https://docs.libretro.com/). On Unix, man-pages are provided.
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More developer-centric stuff is found [here](https://github.com/libretro/libretro.github.com/wiki/Documentation-devs).
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## Related projects
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- Cg/HLSL shaders: [common-shaders](https://github.com/libretro/common-shaders)
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- slang shaders: [slang-shaders](https://github.com/libretro/slang-shaders)
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- GLSL shaders: [glsl-shaders](https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders)
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- Helper scripts to build libretro implementations: [libretro-super](https://github.com/libretro/libretro-super)
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- GitHub mirrors of projects, useful for generating diff files: [libretro-mirrors](https://github.com/libretro-mirrors/)
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## Philosophy
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RetroArch attempts to be small and lean,
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while still having all the useful core features expected from an emulator.
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It is designed to be very portable and features a gamepad-centric UI.
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It also has a full-featured command-line interface.
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In some areas, RetroArch goes beyond and emphasizes on not-so-common technical features such as multi-pass shader support,
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real-time rewind (Braid-style), video recording (using FFmpeg), etc.
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RetroArch also emphasizes on being easy to integrate into various launcher frontends.
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## Platforms
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RetroArch has been ported to the following platforms:
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- Windows
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- Linux
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- FreeBSD
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- NetBSD
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- MacOS
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- PlayStation 3
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- PlayStation Portable
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- Original Xbox
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- Xbox 360 (Libxenon/XeXDK)
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- Wii, GameCube (Libogc)
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- WiiU
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- Nintendo 3DS
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- Raspberry Pi
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- Android
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- iOS
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- Blackberry
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## Dependencies (PC)
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There are no true hard dependencies per se.
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On Windows, RetroArch can run with only Win32 as dependency.
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On Linux, there are no true dependencies. For optimal usage, the
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following dependencies come as recommended:
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- GL headers / Vulkan headers
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- X11 headers and libs, or EGL/KMS/GBM
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OSX port of RetroArch requires latest versions of XCode to build.
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RetroArch can utilize these libraries if enabled:
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- nvidia-cg-toolkit
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- libxml2 (GLSL XML shaders)
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- libfreetype2 (TTF font rendering on screen)
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RetroArch needs at least one of these audio driver libraries:
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- ALSA
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- OSS
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- RoarAudio
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- RSound
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- OpenAL
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- JACK
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- SDL
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- PulseAudio
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- XAudio2 (Win32, Xbox 360)
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- DirectSound (Win32, Xbox 1)
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- CoreAudio (OSX, iOS)
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To run properly, RetroArch requires a libretro implementation present, however, as it's typically loaded
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dynamically, it's not required at build time.
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## Dependencies (Console ports, mobile)
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Console ports have their own dependencies, but generally do not require
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anything other than what the respective SDKs provide.
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## Configuring
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The default configuration is defined in config.def.h.
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It is not recommended to change this unless you know what you're doing.
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These can later be tweaked by using a config file.
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A sample configuration file is installed to /etc/retroarch.cfg. This is the system-wide config file.
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RetroArch will on startup create a config file in $XDG\_CONFIG\_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg if doesn't exist.
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Users only need to configure a certain option if the desired value deviates from the value defined in config.def.h.
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To configure joypads, use the built-in menu or the `retroarch-joyconfig` command-line tool.
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## Compiling and installing
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Instructions for compiling and installing RetroArch can be found in the [Libretro/RetroArch Documentation Center](https://docs.libretro.com/).
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