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Version: Stable

Card-Only Batocera Cabinet

This community recipe turns Batocera's visible system list into a single empty Insert Game Card system. Zaparoo Core continues indexing and launching the games hidden from EmulationStation, so the cabinet can be operated entirely with physical tokens.

This recipe adapts a card-only cabinet setup shared by Discord community member BFOOT to Batocera's current custom-system format.

Community customization

This is an EmulationStation customization, not an officially supported Zaparoo feature. Batocera or theme updates may require adjustments. Keep a copy of the custom configuration so you can remove it while troubleshooting or restore it after an update.

Before you start​

Install Zaparoo Core and confirm that your tokens already launch games on Batocera. This recipe only changes what EmulationStation displays.

Batocera supports persistent system overlays named es_systems_<name>.cfg under /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/. See Batocera's Customize ES Systems guide for the underlying format.

Create the empty system​

  1. Create an empty folder at /userdata/roms/igc.
  2. Find a current <command> line in /usr/share/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg. Copy the whole line. Batocera can change its Python and config-generator paths between releases, so do not reuse a command copied from an older guide.
  3. Create /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/es_systems_nfc.cfg with the following content. Replace the marked command line with the current line copied in the previous step.
es_systems_nfc.cfg
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<systemList>
  <system>
    <fullname>Insert Game Card</fullname>
    <name>insertgamecard</name>
    <manufacturer>Zaparoo</manufacturer>
    <hardware>console</hardware>
    <path>/userdata/roms/igc</path>
    <extension>.zip</extension>
    <!-- Replace this line with a current command from Batocera's es_systems.cfg. -->
    <command>COPY THE CURRENT BATOCERA COMMAND HERE</command>
    <platform>zaparoo</platform>
    <theme>insertgamecard</theme>
    <emulators>
      <emulator>
        <cores>
        </cores>
      </emulator>
    </emulators>
  </system>
</systemList>

The network-share path for the same file is:

\\BATOCERA\share\system\configs\emulationstation\es_systems_nfc.cfg

Restart EmulationStation after saving the file.

Show only the card prompt​

  1. Open Main Menu > Game Collection Settings.
  2. Enable Show Empty Systems.
  3. Exit the menus so EmulationStation refreshes its systems.
  4. Return to Game Collection Settings > Systems Displayed.
  5. Choose Select None.
  6. Enable only Insert Game Card.
  7. Exit the menus again to refresh the display.

The other systems are hidden from EmulationStation, not removed from disk. Zaparoo can still launch their indexed games from tokens.

Add prompt artwork​

The <theme>insertgamecard</theme> value asks the active Batocera theme for an insertgamecard system design. Theme structure varies, so use the theme's own customization instructions to add a static Insert Game Card background or logo.

If the theme has no matching entry, the empty system can still appear with its text name. Test the system display before investing time in custom artwork.

Undo the customization​

Delete es_systems_nfc.cfg, then restart EmulationStation. Your original systems remain installed and can be enabled again under Systems Displayed.