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Config File

The config file is the main configuration file of the Zaparoo Core software service.

Its location depends on the platform where the service is running. On MiSTer, it's located in the /media/fat/zaparoo folder (i.e. zaparoo folder in the root of the SD card).

The file is always called config.toml on every platform.

The config file is written in TOML. Be aware that although comments are supported in TOML, they will be lost if Core makes updates to this file (e.g. when adjusting settings using the Zaparoo App) and should be avoided for important information.

Any changes made to the config file while the Core service is running require the service to be restarted before changes will take effect.

Options

Options in the config file are grouped by sections which start with a header. For example, the audio section begins with [audio] and continues until the next header is encountered.

Root

The root section does not start with a section header and is the only section that behaves this way. It's reserved for certain options that affect all parts of Core or the config file itself.

config_schema = 1
debug_logging = true

config_schema

KeyTypeDefault
config_schemainteger1

This option should not be changed or removed.

config_schema is used internally by Core to track what version of itself last wrote to the file. This makes it possible to perform migrations between versions if the layout of the config file must be changed.

debug_logging

KeyTypeDefault
debug_loggingbooleanfalse

debug_logging enables or disables logging debug messages to Core log files. It's useful for troubleshooting issues but can make log files noisy.

This option should be enabled when attempting to reproduce issues for reporting.

Audio

[audio]
scan_feedback = true

scan_feedback

KeyTypeDefault
scan_feedbackbooleantrue

scan_feedback enables or disables playing a sound from the host device when a scan is successful or results in an error.

Readers

[readers]
auto_detect = true

auto_detect

KeyTypeDefault
auto_detectbooleantrue

auto_detect enables or disables automatically searching for and probing possible connected readers on the host device.

It may be required to disable this option if auto-detection is causing problems with unrelated connected devices.

readers.scan

readers.scan is a sub-section of readers and must be defined with the header: [readers.scan]

[readers.scan]
mode = 'hold'
exit_delay = 3.0
ignore_system = [ 'PC', 'MSX' ]
mode
KeyTypeDefault
modestringtap

mode defines the behavior of scans. It has two options:

  • tap is the default mode and means when a token is used with a reader it can be removed again without affecting the playing media. If a token is tapped, removed and then tapped again it will relaunch the already playing media.
  • hold mode makes it so a token must be held to the reader for as long as any launched media will play. That is, after a token is removed from the reader, it will exit the media. This makes a token act more like real physical media. Core does not currently make any attempt to save before exiting media.
exit_delay
KeyTypeDefault
exit_delayfloat0.0

exit_delay adds a delay, in seconds, before media is exited after a token is removed from a reader. It's only active if hold mode is also active.

For example, if exit_delay was set to 2.3, it would mean when a token is removed from a reader, instead of immediately exiting the media, a timer is started for 2.3 seconds first. If the same token is placed back on the reader before the timer is complete, the timer will be cleared and the media won't exit.

This feature can be useful if you want to, using a single reader, scan other tokens such as adding credit without exiting the current game.

ignore_system
KeyTypeDefault
ignore_systemstring[][]

ignore_system is a list of systems which will not exit playing media on token removal. It's only active in hold mode.

readers.connect

readers.connect manually defines a reader which is physically connected to the host device and is not auto-detected. It's a sub-section that can be defined multiple times, and must have this header: [[readers.connect]]

Pay attention to the double pairs of square brackets. Each defined readers.connect section must have its own header.

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'pn532_uart'
path = '/dev/ttyUSB0'

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'file'
path = '/tmp/some_file'
driver
KeyTypeDefault
driverstring

driver specifies which reader driver should be used to attempt connection to the reader device. See reader drivers for a list of possible options.

path
KeyTypeDefault
pathstring

path is an argument for the specified reader driver for how the device should be found. See reader drivers for what this argument should look like for the driver.

Systems

systems.default

systems.default overrides the default behavior of the specified system. It's a sub-section that can be defined multiple times, and must have this header: [[systems.default]]

Pay attention to the double pairs of square brackets. Each defined systems.default section must have its own header.

[[systems.default]]
system = 'SNES'
launcher = 'SindenSNES'
before_exit = '**input.keyboard:{f12}||**delay:2000'
system
KeyTypeDefault
systemstring

ID of the system this default override entry applies to.

launcher
KeyTypeDefault
launcherstring

ID of the launcher that should be used by default when media in this system is launched.

before_exit
KeyTypeDefault
before_exitstring

A snippet of ZapScript to be run before media exits if hold mode is enabled. Blocks before moving onto exit so commands like delay can be used.

Launchers

[launchers]
index_root = [
'/media/alt_mount/games'
]
allow_file = [
'^/media/fat/something.mgl$'
]

index_root

KeyTypeDefault
index_rootstring[][]

index_root is a list of paths on the host device that should also be searched when indexing media during a media database update.

For example, if index_root was set to [ '/media/fat/other_place' ], a database update will search all standard locations like normal but then also attempt to search /media/fat/other_place/SNES, /media/fat/other_place/Genesis, etc. for potential media.

allow_file

KeyTypeDefault
allow_filestring[][]

allow_file allows certain files to be launched if their assigned launcher requires it.

This is used on platforms like Windows to allow executable files to be launched with tokens, where this ability is useful but would be a security issue if allowed globally.

Each entry in this option is a Regular Expression. Notes on usage here:

  • An entry is considered a partial match unless it's surrounded by a ^ and $.
  • On Windows, file path separators must be escaped: C:\\Test\\Thing.exe
  • An entry can be made case-insensitive by putting (?i) at the beginning.

ZapScript

[zapscript]
allow_execute = [
'^touch /tmp/tap_time$',
'^/media/fat/linux/mplayer .+'
]

allow_execute

KeyTypeDefault
allow_executestring[][]

allow_execute allows specific executables and arguments to be run using the **execute ZapScript command. By default, the command does not allow anything to be run.

Each entry in this option is a Regular Expression. Notes on usage here:

  • An entry is considered a partial match unless it's surrounded by a ^ and $.
  • On Windows, file path separators must be escaped: C:\\Test\\Thing.exe

Service

[service]
api_port = 7497
device_id = '4d01c19f-09ba-4871-a58a-82fb49f5b518'
allow_run = [
'^\*\*launch\.random:.+$'
]

api_port

KeyTypeDefault
api_portinteger7497

api_port specifies which port the API of Core should be accessible from.

Don't change this unless you know what you're doing. It will currently break external tools that rely on it being the default value.

device_id

KeyTypeDefault
device_idstring (UUID)generated at first start

device_id is a UUID that is used to uniquely identify the instance of the Core service running on a host device.

It's currently reserved for future use when devices can communicate with each other and external services. It should not be changed once set.

allow_run

KeyTypeDefault
allow_runstring[][]

allow_run explicitly allows ZapScript to be run using the run endpoint of the Core API. By default, nothing is allowed.

Each entry in this option is a Regular Expression. Notes on usage here:

  • An entry is considered a partial match unless it's surrounded by a ^ and $.
  • Characters *, | and . common in both ZapScript and Regular Expressions must be escaped like in the example file below.

Example File

An example config.toml file with all fields filled, using the example sections shown above.

config_schema = 1
debug_logging = true

[audio]
scan_feedback = true

[readers]
auto_detect = true

[readers.scan]
mode = 'hold'
exit_delay = 3.0
ignore_system = [ 'PC', 'MSX' ]

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'pn532_uart'
path = '/dev/ttyUSB0'

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'file'
path = '/tmp/some_file'

[[systems.default]]
system = 'SNES'
launcher = 'SindenSNES'

[launchers]
index_root = [
'/media/alt_mount/games'
]
allow_file = [
'^/media/fat/something.mgl$'
]

[zapscript]
allow_execute = [
'^touch /tmp/tap_time$',
'^/media/fat/linux/mplayer .+'
]

[service]
api_port = 7497
device_id = '4d01c19f-09ba-4871-a58a-82fb49f5b518'
allow_run = [
'^\*\*launch\.random:.+$'
]