RetroPie is a feature-rich, all in one retro game emulation operating system for the Raspberry Pi. Here we show how to get started with RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi.
By getting started with RetroPie on Raspberry Pi, the user will be able to collect all the required parts, create a MicroSD card with RetroPie, get an overall understanding of how RetroPie works, do the basic configuration required, add an emulator, copy ROMs and start using RetroPie.
Table of contents
Introduction to RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi
RetroPie is a free, software utility that combines all the tools required to run games and applications on a Raspberry Pi. Its main focus is running retro games and uses EmulationStation as the graphical user interface (GUI).
RetroPie can be installed in one of two ways:
- as a Debian-based operating system
- as an application on Raspbian
As an operating system, RetroPie manages all OS related settings through the Raspi-config tool and other Linux bootup files.
This post will not cover installing RetroPie as an application on Raspbian, only as an operating system.
The latest version tested of RetroPie was 4.7.1 (released 4 November 2020).
EmulationStation is an emulator, game and App launcher that also manages controller and keyboard support. It is not an emulator itself. EmulationStation also provides access to the RetroPie configuration settings.
Emulators are the different (pre-installed or additional-installed) ‘programs’ or ‘cores’ on the RetroPie system. The emulators run the ROMs.
Libretro is the framework for the emulators and ‘libretro cores’ are the emulators themselves.
Retroarch is the frontend or GUI for libretro.
ROMs (e.g. ROM images or ROM files) are computer files that contain a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, i.e. the games.
No ROMs are included in RetroPie, but we will be using some free, example ROMS in this post.
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What you need to get started with RetroPie
Raspberry Pi (model B)
A fully functional, powered up Raspberry Pi 2B, 3B/B+ or 4B with at least a keyboard, mouse and a screen connected to it. The B models are preferred because of their Ethernet connectivity. A wireless keyboard and mouse can also be used.
MicroSD card
To install RetroPie as an operating system a MicroSD card will be required. The minimum MicroSD card size required for RetroPie is 4GB.
A 4GB MicroSD card will be enough space if only a few emulators/ROMs are going to be stored, or if a USB Flash drive is going to be used. 16GB and 32GB MicroSD cards will have more than enough space for hundreds of ROMs, but are more expensive.
Irrespective of the size of the MicroSD card, the fastest available card (i.e. Class 10 or faster) is recommended.
SD card reader and PC
To install RetroPie as an operating system a PC connected to the internet and an SD cards reader will be required. A PC is also required to format a USB Flash drive.
MB-ME32GA/AM, Class 10
SDSQUA4-032G-GN6MA, UHS-I/Class 10
Internet connection
An internet connection is required to download the image files onto a PC before they are written to the MicroSD card.
After RetroPie has been fully configured on the Raspberry Pi, an internet connection is optional but necessary for proper updating and ‘net play’. WiFi or Ethernet will do.
Additional storage
Emulators are downloaded and saved on the Raspberry Pi while ROM files can either be copied on the Raspberry Pi or on an external USB Flash drive. For larger ROM collections on a 4GB MicroSD card, it is recommended to use a USB Flash drive for additional storage.
Game controller
Although not completely necessary, a game controller comes highly recommended. There are many to choose from. Most USB and Bluetooth game controllers will work with the Raspberry Pi.
We used a Sony PlayStation 2 controller via the SmartJoy Dual PLUS Adapter without any problems.
Installing RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi
The RetroPie OS is built on top of Raspberry Pi OS Lite (without the PIXEL desktop environment). It can either be installed onto a MicroSD card using Raspberry Pi imager or it can be installed using the appropriate RetroPie image file in combination with an SD card formatting tool and a disk imaging tool.
On the Raspberry Pi Imager, RetroPie is situated under the Emulation and game OS main menu item.
The first RetroPie boot
After the MicroSD card is inserted into the Raspberry Pi and it is switched on for the first time, RetroPi will enlarge the main boot partition on SD card and reboot again. After this, RetroPie will boot into EmulationStation.
Mapping keys for the first time
Upon launching for the first time, EmulationStation will prompt to set up a controller (called mapping). A keyboard can also be used.
We were able to connect a wireless keyboard and a Sony PlayStation 2 controller via the SmartJoy Dual PLUS Adapter without any problems.
To start the binding process, press and hold the up key of the chosen device (keyboard or controller). Hold the key for about 3 seconds.
If you made a mistake with the key mapping before pressing on Done, press the F4 key on the keyboard to go back to the RetroPie terminal and type in sudo reboot. This will reboot RetroPie and allow the user to start over again. To skip a key specific binding, press and hold the Esc key. When finished, press the A-key on Done.
If you made a mistake with key mapping while (stuck) in EmulationStation follow the instructions at the bottom of this post.
The EmulationStation keys that you will be using the most during the setup process are the A-key, B-key, Start-key and Select-key.
Now that you have your EmulationStation booted up, it will start in the default frontend with RetroPie Configuration. This is where it all starts! From here you will have two options — you can either go into the EmulationStation Main Menu, RetroPie Configuration or the RetroPie terminal.
The important configuration & menu screens & the terminal
There are four important screens to master: EmulationStation Main Menu, RetroPie Configuration, raspi-config and the Retropie-Setup Script.
Some of these screens use the EmulationStation key mappings while others use the default linux menu keys.
The EmulationStation Main Menu
To get to the EmulationStation Main Menu, press the Start-key.
The RetroPie Configuration screen
To get to the RetroPie Configuration screen, choose RetroPie Configuration (A-key) from EmulationStation.
The Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool (raspi-config)
The Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool is where the Raspberry Pi itself is configured. To get to raspi-config, choose RASPI-CONFIG (A-key) from the RetroPie Configuration screen.
The Raspi-config tool can also be accessed by pressing the F4 key on the keyboard to go to the RetroPie terminal and then by typing the following:
sudo raspi-config
The RetroPie-Setup Script
The easiest way to get to the RetroPie-Setup Script is by choosing RETROPIE SETUP from the RetroPie Configuration screen.
The RetroPie-Setup Script can also be accessed through the RetroPie terminal (by pressing the F4 key while in EmulationStation) or from SSH:
sudo bash RetroPie-Setup/retropie_setup.sh
RetroPie terminal
Some commands can only be done through the terminal while some commands are just much easier to do through the terminal. The RetroPie terminal is similar to all Linux terminals.
The RetroPie terminal can be accessed by pressing the F4 key on the keyboard while in EmulationStation. The terminal can also be accessed using PuTTY (needs SSH to be enabled).
To exit the terminal and go back to EmulationStation, type:
exit
To reboot the Raspberry Pi, use:
sudo reboot
Internet settings
RetroPie needs the internet to install and update most of its functions. An Ethernet connection can be used before a Wi-Fi connection is configured.
Wi-Fi can be configured, and the IP address can be obtained, using the RetroPie Configuration screen.
Connect via Wi-Fi (optional)
From the RetroPie Configuration screen, scroll down to WIFI
- Connect to WiFi network
- Choose the network
- Enter the network key/password
Get the IP address
There are two ways to get the IP address of a Raspberry Pi running RetroPie:
1. from the RetroPie Configuration screen, scroll down to SHOW IP
or
2. in the RetroPie terminal (by pressing the F4 while in EmulationStation) and using the following terminal command:
hostname -I
Raspberry Pi settings
It is important to go through the Raspi-config tool at least once after RetroPie has been installed. From here, the settings for underscan and keyboard layout can be set. This is also where the output resolution is set, the Raspi-config tool is updated and SSH is enabled.
Update Raspi-config (important)
By choosing Update, the Raspi-config tool will be updated to the latest version. This should be done from time to time to make sure all the Raspberry Pi configuration is up to date.
Overscan (optional)
Overscan (in the form of disabling underscan) might, or might not create a fuller image if there is a border around the screen.
Underscan can be enabled or disabled in the Display Options under Underscan.
Keyboard settings (optional)
The keyboard layout is set under Localisation Options. Under Keyboard, I usually choose Generic 105-key (Intl.) — which is also the default.
The default Language is English (UK), but can also be set to English (US).
I don’t use keyboard functions so I just choose the default settings there.
The ‘Compose’ key has various functions in RetroPie and gets mapped during the controller/keyboard key binding process. It is better to set the same one here too. I use one on the right Ctrl key.
Enable SSH (optional)
By enabling SSH, PuTTY and WinSCP can be used to connect to RetroPie from a remote location. WinSCP can be used to copy ROM files to RetroPie.
SSH is enabled under Interfacing Options -> SSH. The Raspberry Pi needs to be rebooted before SSH will be active.
Use the IP address, username:pi and password:raspberry to SSH into RetroPie.
Resolution
The resolution is a measurement of the sharpness and clarity of an image. It is mainly dependent on the display device (e.g. TV, computer screen, etc.).
In most cases 720p @60Hz will be more than enough, but smaller resolutions might be more fitting for older or atypical screens.
Higher resolutions need more processing power from the Raspberry Pi, so setting the correct resolution is important for speed too.
The output resolution of a Raspberry Pi is set under the Display Options -> Resolution.
Raspberry Pi 4B
The Raspberry Pi 4B is known to have some issues with its resolution settings. It typically only accepts the highest resolution of the display device, which is mainly a problem with 1080p and 4K displays.
1080p and 4K are unsupported by most game emulators at this stage and there is no benefit for EmulationStation. In our case, these resolutions have significantly reduced the performance of RetroPie.
The problem with the Raspberry Pi 4 is that the Raspi-config Resolution setting does not work as expected and needs to be set manually using the boot configuration file (config.txt) using terminal commands.
Update RetroPie (important)
Apart from updating Raspi-config, the RetroPie packages should also be updated from time to time.
This process will update the RetroPie-Setup Script, all the RetroPie Linux packages, RetroArch (emulators), the drivers and all the optional and experimental installed packages.
From the RetroPie-Setup Script go to Update all installed packages and follow the prompts.
Adding packages
Packages are the actual pieces of software that are used by EmulationStation to perform a specific function. They include all the required packages (referred to as core packages) and popular packages (main packages).
Emulators and other applications (such as Kodi and the Steam Link App) are installed as optional packages or experimental packages.
Additional packages are installed from the RetroPie Configuration screen under RetroPie Setup. Under Manage packages, there are options to manage all the types of packages (e.g. core packages, main packages, etc.).
After managing/installing the desired package(s), the user can go back to EmulationStation again.
Installing from binary vs. source
Packages can either be installed from binary or from the source files. Installing from (pre-compiled) binary installs the latest stable version of the package while installing from source installs package files that might still be in development.
The source code can take much longer to install and are more prone to bugs. It is preferred to install from binary.
Adding emulator packages
Emulators are software packages that are able to emulate the hardware required to run ROMs. Emulators are usually specific to one piece of hardware, but multi-platform emulators are also available.
There are single platform emulators for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sony PlayStation, Super Nintendo, and many other consoles and devices. Multi-platform emulators are available for arcade machines, Atari machines and others.
Most of the popular emulators are pre-installed (e.g. Genesis/Mega Drive, PlayStation and NES), but some must be manually installed (e.g. for the Atari ST).
Additional emulators can be installed from the Manage Packages section under either optional packages or experimental packages.
To, for example, install the Atari ST emulator, Hatari (Atari ST/STE/TT/Falcon emulator), go to Manage optional packages -> hatari (item 22) -> Install from binary.
Removing packages
Packages are removed from the Manage Packages section under either optional packages or experimental packages. After selecting the package, the Remove option will uninstall it.
Adding ROMs to RetroPie
After the appropriate emulator(s) has been installed, their specific ROMs can be added.
ROMs (i.e. ROM images or ROM files) are computer files that contain a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, i.e. the games. No ROMs are included in RetroPie and need to be downloaded/dumped yourself.
There is a lot to say about the legality of owning an electronic form of a ROM, but games on the Wikipedia List of commercial video games released a freeware can be used.
Zero Tolerance (Genesis/Mega Drive) and S.D.I. (Atari ST) were chosen as example ROMs.
ROMs can either be added to RetroPie using a USB Flash drive or by copying them directly to the Raspberry Pi storage using WinSCP. Before ROMS are added to RetroPie, they need to be prepared first.
Preparing ROM files for RetroPie
ROM files are prepared by compressing or uncompressing them, checking their file format, removing extra files and renaming them.
Compressed ROMs
To save space, ROM files are usually downloaded as compressed .zip, .rar or .7z files. In order to prepare ROM files to be used by EmulationStation, they might have to be extracted to be used in their original form, and/or re-compressed to a supported file format.
By using the links provided, Zero Tolerance and S.D.I. are both downloaded as .zip files. By opening these files (using a zip utility), Zero Tolerance is a .SMD file and S.D.I. is a .st file.
File format
In most cases, the ROM files will work in their original file format, but this might take up unnecessary space on the Raspberry Pi. It also makes ROM files that consist of multiple files messy. In most cases, .zip files will also work.
A better solution would be to see what files are supported by each system. This can be done by looking at the EmulationStation systems file. It can be accessed from the RetroPie terminal by using the following command:
nano /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg
This will open the es_systems.cfg file as read-only, so it can’t be edited at this point.
Each <system> tag represents a system and the <name> tag represents the shortened name for the system. Each system is closed by the </system> tag.
For example, <name>megadrive</name> represents the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive:
<system> <name>megadrive</name> <fullname>Sega Mega Drive</fullname> <path>/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/megadrive</path> <extension>.7z .smd .bin .gen .md .sg .zip .7Z .SMD .BIN .GEN .MD .SG .ZIP</extension> <command>/opt/retropie/supplementary/runcommand/runcommand.sh 0 _SYS_ megadrive %ROM%</command> <platform>megadrive</platform> <theme>megadrive</theme> </system>
Similarly,<name>atarist</name> represents the Atari ST:
<system> <name>atarist</name> <fullname>Atari ST</fullname> <path>/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/atarist</path> <extension>.st .stx .img .m3u .rom .raw .ipf .ctr .zip .ST .STX .IMG .M3U .ROM .RAW .IPF .CTR .ZIP</extension> <command>/opt/retropie/supplementary/runcommand/runcommand.sh 0 _SYS_ atarist %ROM%</command> <platform>atarist</platform> <theme>atarist</theme> </system>
The <extension> tab will list all the ROM file formats that can be used for that system.
Extra file information
Some compressed ROM files might have extra information files packaged inside the compressed files. These files will probably not interfere with EmulationStation, but it’s recommended to remove them.
Renaming
Most versions of downloaded ROMs (compressed or uncompressed) will be named with additional information, such as the version, region or site they were downloaded from or will be abbreviated.
I like to rename these files to something more human-readable. The filename of the compressed/ROM file will actually be shown on RetroPie.
For example. I will rename zerotol.zip to Zero Tolerance.zip.
Using a USB Flash drive to add ROMs
In the case where RetroPie is not connected to a network that includes a PC, ROM files can be added by using a USB Flash drive. A PC to prepare and copy the ROM files to the Flash drive is still required.
The process includes preparing the USB Flash drive where the ROM directory structure will be created, copying the ROM files to the Flash drive and transferring the ROM files from the Flash drive to RetroPie.
Preparing the USB Flash drive
Before a USB Flash drive can be used to transfer ROM files to RetroPie, it needs to be prepared first. By preparing the Flash drive, directories will be created where the ROM files are to be copied.
The USB Flash drive is prepared as follows:
- Format the Flash Drive using your PC’s operating system. Usually following the prompts/options with something like Right-click on the drive letter and Format… Skip this step if the Flash drive is already empty.
- Create a directory named
retropiein the root of the Flash drive. This directory will be used by RetroPie to create additional directories to which the ROMS are to be copied. - Safely unmount the Drive before transferring it to the Raspberry Pi.
- Directly after being plugged into the Raspberry Pi the Flash drive’s LED will start to blink repeatedly. It can be unplugged after the blinking has stopped. If it is a LEDless Flash drive, leave it in for about one minute before it can be unplugged.
- After plugging the Flash drive back into a PC, there will be newly created directories under the
/retropiedirectory.
The Flash Drive is now prepared.
Following using the example ROMs, the following directories will be created:
retropie/megadriveretropie/nes
This process needs to be done each time additional emulators have been added to RetroPie.
Copying the ROM files to the USB Flash drive
In order to better understand the copying process and to prepare the ROM files (see earlier) we need to take a look at the newly created directories that were created on the USB Flash drive under /retropie.
RetroPie would have created directories for all the emulators that are installed. These would include the ‘default’ emulators (i.e. those that are main packages) and those that were installed manually (i.e. those that were installed as optional or experimental packages). Atari ST would be an example of an optional package.
Because EmulationStation automatically installed emulators for the PlayStation, Genesis/Mega Drive and the Nintendo Entertainment System, the following directories will be present:
retropie/psxretropie/megadriveretropie/nes
If hatari was installed, a /atarist directory would also be present.
Transferring the ROMs to RetroPie
The prepared ROMs can now be copied to their respective ROM directories onto the Flash Drive. With the Flash Drive connected to a PC, browse to the retropie/roms directory and copy the ROM files to their respective directory:
- Zero Tolerance ->
/roms/megadrive/ - S.D.I. ->
/roms/atarist/
Safely unmount the Flash Drive before transferring it back to the Raspberry Pi. This time all the ROMs copied onto the Flash Drive are going to be transferred onto RetroPie’s MicroSD card. Allow enough time until the LED stops blinking again, or at least the amount of time it took to copy the ROM files onto the Flash Drive.
Once this is done, the Flash Drive can be removed from the Raspberry Pi and RetroPie needs to be rebooted or EmulationStation needs to be restarted.
From the EmulationStation Main Menu go to QUIT and press the A-key -> choose RESTART EMULATIONSTATION and press the A-key -> Choose YES with the A-key.
Using WinSCP to add ROMs
WinSCP can also be used to copy ROM files to RetroPie. Using the IP address of RetroPie and the SSH setting on WinSCP, a network connection can be established.
With its file explorer interface, browse to the /home/pi/RetroPie/roms directory on RetroPie and the directory where the ROM files have been prepared.
Because EmulationStation automatically installs emulators for the PlayStation, Genesis/Mega Drive and the Nintendo Entertainment System, their respective directories will be present. If hatari was installed, a /home/pi/RetroPie/atarist directory would also be present.
The ROM files can either be copied and pasted or dragged and dropped, to their respective system directory:
- Zero Tolerance ->
/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/megadrive/ - S.D.I. ->
/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/atarist/
Once the ROM files have been copied, RetroPie needs to be rebooted or EmulationStation needs to be restarted.
From the EmulationStation Main Menu go to QUIT and press the A-key -> choose RESTART EMULATIONSTATION and press the A-key -> Choose YES with the A-key.
Accessing the ROMs / games
After ROM files have been added and EmulationStation starts up again, game systems for the added ROMs will appear on the EmulationStation menu. To choose a ROM (now a game on a game system), navigate to its system icon and press the A-key.
When more ROMs are added, a list will form under the respective system.
First time ROM / game setup
When a game is opened there will be an emulation settings screen flashed for a short period of time. If a key (any key) is pressed while this screen is shown, the emulator settings menu will appear.
These settings are pretty self-explanatory, so make sure to check them out in the future. For now, don’t press any key to use the default emulation settings.
Exiting a game
To exit a game, press the Hotkey + Select + Start buttons at the same time.
Removing ROM files
ROM files can be removed using the RetroPie File manager or WinSCP. Games/ROMs will no longer appear after EmulationStation has been restarted.
Taking screenshots in RetroPie
Although there are other ways to do so, one of the easier ways to take a screenshot in RetroPie is by doing it from a remote location using raspi2png.
Resetting EmulationStation’s key mapping (when/if necessary)
EmulationStation’s key mapping can be reset using the RetroPie-Setup Script. If the current key mapping is not allowing proper navigation, the terminal or SSH/terminal option can be used.
When in the RetroPie-Setup Script go to P Manage Packages -> Manage core packages -> 809 emulationstation -> Configuration / Options -> Clear / Reset Emulation Station input configuration
Go Back to the first page of the RetroPie-Setup Script and choose Perform reboot to go back to EmulationStation.
Conclusion
RetroPie is a retro game emulation operating system for the Raspberry Pi. This post showed how to get started with RetroPie on Raspberry Pi.
