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.

warning

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, or the -reload CLI command to be run.

Portable Mode

Optionally, Zaparoo Core can run in portable mode, where the config and all other data are stored in a single folder alongside the executable. To enable this, create an empty folder called user in the same folder as the Core executable, then start Core normally.

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.

Global Settings

The global settings 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

Key	Type	Default
config_schema	integer	1

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

Key	Type	Default
debug_logging	boolean	false

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
success_sound = "custom_success.wav"
fail_sound = "custom_fail.wav"
limit_sound = "custom_limit.wav"

scan_feedback

Key	Type	Default
scan_feedback	boolean	true

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

success_sound

Key	Type	Default
success_sound	string	(embedded default)

success_sound specifies a custom audio file to play when a token scan is successful. Supports WAV, MP3, OGG, and FLAC formats.

[audio]
success_sound = "custom_success.wav"

• Omit or comment out: Use embedded default success sound
• Empty string "": Disable success sound completely
• Relative path: Resolved to <data_dir>/assets/ (e.g., "success.mp3" → /media/fat/zaparoo/assets/success.mp3)
• Absolute path: Used as-is (e.g., "/path/to/sound.wav")

fail_sound

Key	Type	Default
fail_sound	string	(embedded default)

fail_sound specifies a custom audio file to play when a token scan fails or ZapScript execution errors occur. Supports WAV, MP3, OGG, and FLAC formats.

[audio]
fail_sound = "custom_fail.wav"

Configuration works the same as success_sound:

• Omit or comment out: Use embedded default fail sound
• Empty string "": Disable fail sound completely
• Relative path: Resolved to <data_dir>/assets/
• Absolute path: Used as-is

limit_sound

Key	Type	Default
limit_sound	string	(embedded default)

limit_sound specifies a custom audio file to play when playtime limit warnings occur. Supports WAV, MP3, OGG, and FLAC formats.

[audio]
limit_sound = "custom_limit.wav"

Configuration works the same as success_sound:

• Omit or comment out: Use embedded default limit sound
• Empty string "": Disable limit sound completely
• Relative path: Resolved to <data_dir>/assets/
• Absolute path: Used as-is

Media

[media]
filename_tags = true
default_regions = ["us", "world"]
default_langs = ["en"]

The media section configures how Core processes and matches media files, including tag parsing and region/language preferences.

filename_tags

Key	Type	Default
filename_tags	boolean	true

filename_tags enables or disables automatic parsing of tags from media filenames (e.g., region codes, languages, revision numbers).

[media]
filename_tags = true

When enabled, Core extracts metadata tags from filenames like (USA), (En), (Rev 1) to help with conflict resolution and media matching.

See the Tags documentation for detailed information about tag parsing and usage.

default_regions

Key	Type	Default
default_regions	string[]	["us", "world"]

default_regions specifies which region tags to prefer when multiple versions of the same game exist.

[media]
default_regions = ["us", "eu", "world"]

Regions are checked in order. If a game has both (USA) and (Europe) versions, the USA version will be preferred with the default settings.

Common region codes: us, eu, jp, world, uk, de, fr, es, it

default_langs

Key	Type	Default
default_langs	string[]	["en"]

default_langs specifies which language tags to prefer when multiple language versions exist.

[media]
default_langs = ["en", "es"]

Languages are checked in order. Common language codes: en, es, fr, de, it, ja, pt

Readers

[readers]
auto_detect = true

auto_detect

Key	Type	Default
auto_detect	boolean	true

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' ]
on_scan = '**echo:card was scanned'
on_remove = '**echo:card was removed'

mode

Key	Type	Default
mode	string ("tap" | "hold")	tap

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. See exit_delay, ignore_system, and on_remove for related options.

exit_delay

Key	Type	Default
exit_delay	float (≥0.0)	0.0

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

Key	Type	Default
ignore_system	string[]	[]

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

on_scan

Key	Type	Default
on_scan	string

on_scan is a snippet of ZapScript which is run immediately after a token is scanned but before ZapScript on the token itself (or a mapping) is run. It is always active if enabled.

on_remove

Key	Type	Default
on_remove	string

on_remove is a snippet of ZapScript which is run immediately after a token is removed from the reader. It's only active in hold mode.

Note that this will always run in hold mode when a token is removed from the reader, no matter if any media was launched or is active. It also does not respect the exit_delay setting and runs before any media exit logic happens.

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 = 'pn532uart'
path = '/dev/ttyUSB0'

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

driver

Key	Type	Default
driver	string

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

path

Key	Type	Default
path	string

path is an argument for the specified reader driver for how the device should be found. See the documentation for your specific reader hardware for configuration examples.

id_source

Key	Type	Default
id_source	string

id_source specifies which identifier source to use for token identification. This is only supported by certain reader drivers:

• opticaldrive: Can use uuid (disc UUID) or label (disc label)

Other reader drivers ignore this setting.

readers.drivers

readers.drivers configures driver-specific settings. It's a sub-section that uses driver IDs as keys, and must have this header format: [readers.drivers.DRIVER_ID]

[readers.drivers.acr122pcsc]
enabled = true
auto_detect = false

[readers.drivers.simpleserial]
enabled = false

enabled

Key	Type	Default
enabled	boolean	varies by driver

enabled allows you to explicitly enable or disable a specific reader driver. When not specified, the driver uses its default enabled state.

auto_detect

Key	Type	Default
auto_detect	boolean	true

auto_detect controls whether this specific driver should participate in automatic reader detection, overriding the global auto_detect setting for this driver only.

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]]. See also launchers.default for launcher-specific settings.

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

Key	Type	Default
system	string

ID of the system this default override entry applies to.

launcher

Key	Type	Default
launcher	string

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

before_exit

Key	Type	Default
before_exit	string

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$'
]
on_media_start = '**echo:media started'

index_root

Key	Type	Default
index_root	string[]	[]

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.

To exclude specific directories from being scanned, create an empty file named .zaparooignore in that directory. The directory and all subdirectories will be skipped during media database updates.

allow_file

Key	Type	Default
allow_file	string[] (regex patterns)	[]

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.

media_dir

Key	Type	Default
media_dir	string	<data dir>/media

media_dir overrides the default location on disk where remote media downloads will be stored. By default, it will use the media directory in the Core data folder.

on_media_start

Key	Type	Default
on_media_start	string

on_media_start is a snippet of ZapScript which is run immediately after media starts launching, regardless of the scan mode. See also on_scan and on_remove for related scan events.

launchers.default

launchers.default overrides default settings for specific launchers. It's a sub-section that can be defined multiple times, and must have this header: [[launchers.default]]. See also systems.default for system-specific settings.

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

[[launchers.default]]
launcher = 'KodiTV'
server_url = 'http://localhost:5678'

launcher

Key	Type	Default
launcher	string

ID of the launcher this default override entry applies to.

install_dir

Key	Type	Default
install_dir	string

Override the default installation directory for this launcher. Only supported by some launchers and usually refers to the parent directory of the executable which does the launching.

server_url

Key	Type	Default
server_url	string

Override the default server URL for this launcher. Only supported by some launchers and refers to an API base address.

ZapScript

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

allow_execute

Key	Type	Default
allow_execute	string[] (regex patterns)	[]

Security Warning

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. Be extremely careful with this setting as it can execute arbitrary commands on your system.

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
api_listen = "0.0.0.0"
allowed_ips = [
    "192.168.1.100",
    "192.168.1.0/24"
]
device_id = '4d01c19f-09ba-4871-a58a-82fb49f5b518'
allowed_origins = [
    'https://app.zaparoo.org'
]
allow_run = [
    '^\*\*launch\.random:.+$'
]

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
enabled = true
broker = "mqtt://localhost:1883"
topic = "zaparoo/events"
filter = [
    "media.started",
    "media.stopped",
    "tokens.added"
]

api_port

Key	Type	Default
api_port	integer (1-65535)	7497

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.

api_listen

Key	Type	Default
api_listen	string	"0.0.0.0"

api_listen specifies which network interface the API server should bind to.

[service]
api_listen = "127.0.0.1"  # Localhost only

Common values:

• "0.0.0.0" - Listen on all network interfaces (default, allows remote connections)
• "127.0.0.1" - Localhost only (blocks all remote connections)
• Specific IP address - Bind to a specific network interface

Use "127.0.0.1" if you only want local access to the API and Web UI.

allowed_ips

Key	Type	Default
allowed_ips	string[]	[]

allowed_ips creates an IP allowlist for API access. Only requests from listed IPs will be accepted.

[service]
allowed_ips = [
    "192.168.1.100",           # Single IP
    "192.168.1.0/24",          # CIDR range (entire subnet)
    "10.0.0.0/8",              # Large CIDR range
    "2001:db8::1",             # IPv6 address
    "2001:db8::/32"            # IPv6 CIDR range
]

Supports:

• Individual IPv4 addresses (e.g., "192.168.1.100")
• Individual IPv6 addresses (e.g., "2001:db8::1")
• CIDR ranges for IPv4 (e.g., "192.168.1.0/24")
• CIDR ranges for IPv6 (e.g., "2001:db8::/32")

Empty list (default): No IP filtering, all IPs allowed

Port numbers in IP addresses are automatically stripped during matching.

Important

If you configure allowed_ips, you must explicitly include "127.0.0.1" to allow localhost connections. Without it, local tools like the TUI interface and CLI commands will be blocked.

device_id

Key	Type	Default
device_id	string (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.

allowed_origins

Key	Type	Default
allowed_origins	string[]	[]

allowed_origins specifies which origins are allowed to access the Core API via CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing). By default, localhost and the active device IP address are allowed.

allow_run

Key	Type	Default
allow_run	string[] (regex patterns)	[]

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.

service.publishers

service.publishers is a sub-section of service that configures publishing Core events to external services.

service.publishers.mqtt

service.publishers.mqtt configures MQTT publishers for broadcasting Core events. It's a sub-section that can be defined multiple times, and must have this header: [[service.publishers.mqtt]]

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

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
enabled = true
broker = "mqtt://localhost:1883"
topic = "zaparoo/events"
filter = [
    "media.started",
    "media.stopped",
    "tokens.added"
]

enabled

Key	Type	Default
enabled	boolean	true

enabled turns this MQTT publisher on or off.

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
enabled = false

broker

Key	Type	Default
broker	string

broker specifies the MQTT broker connection URL.

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
broker = "mqtt://192.168.1.100:1883"

Supported URL schemes:

• mqtt:// - Standard MQTT connection
• mqtts:// or ssl:// - MQTT over TLS/SSL

For TLS connections and authentication, see the MQTT reader's auth.toml configuration.

topic

Key	Type	Default
topic	string

topic specifies the MQTT topic to publish events to.

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
topic = "home/zaparoo/events"

filter

Key	Type	Default
filter	string[]	[] (publish all events)

filter limits which event types are published. When empty, all events are published.

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
filter = [
    "media.started",
    "media.stopped",
    "tokens.added",
    "readers.added"
]

Available event types match the Core API notification types.

Groovy

[groovy]
gmc_proxy_enabled = true
gmc_proxy_port = 32106
gmc_proxy_beacon_interval = '2s'

gmc_proxy_enabled

Key	Type	Default
gmc_proxy_enabled	boolean	false

gmc_proxy_enabled enables or disables the GMC proxy service for Groovy MiSTer Control integration.

gmc_proxy_port

Key	Type	Default
gmc_proxy_port	integer (1-65535)	32106

gmc_proxy_port specifies which port the GMC proxy service should listen on.

gmc_proxy_beacon_interval

Key	Type	Default
gmc_proxy_beacon_interval	string	2s

gmc_proxy_beacon_interval sets the interval for GMC proxy beacon broadcasts.

Playtime

[playtime]
retention = 365

[playtime.limits]
enabled = true
daily = "2h"
session = "45m"
session_reset = "20m"
warnings = ["10m", "5m", "2m", "1m"]

The playtime section configures playtime tracking, limits, and parental controls.

See the Playtime documentation for detailed information and examples.

retention

Key	Type	Default
retention	integer	365

retention specifies how many days of playtime history to keep. Old records are automatically cleaned up.

[playtime]
retention = 90  # Keep 90 days

Set to 0 to keep all history forever (disables cleanup).

playtime.limits

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

enabled

Key	Type	Default
enabled	boolean	false

enabled turns playtime limit enforcement on or off.

[playtime.limits]
enabled = true

daily

Key	Type	Default
daily	duration	none

daily sets the maximum total playtime per calendar day (resets at midnight).

[playtime.limits]
daily = "2h"      # 2 hours per day
daily = "1h30m"   # 1 hour 30 minutes

Omit or leave empty to disable daily limits.

session

Key	Type	Default
session	duration	none

session sets the maximum playtime per gaming session.

[playtime.limits]
session = "45m"   # 45 minutes per session
session = "1h"    # 1 hour per session

Omit or leave empty to disable session limits.

session_reset

Key	Type	Default
session_reset	duration	"20m"

session_reset sets the enforced break time between sessions. After a game stops, cumulative playtime is preserved during this period. If another game launches within this timeout and the session limit hasn't been reached, the session continues. However, if the session limit was reached, new launches are blocked until this timeout expires and the session fully resets.

[playtime.limits]
session_reset = "20m"  # 20-minute break before new session (default)
session_reset = "1h"   # 1-hour break before new session
session_reset = "0"    # Reset immediately (no enforced break)

This creates a mandatory cooldown period between sessions when limits are enforced.

warnings

Key	Type	Default
warnings	duration[]	["5m", "2m", "1m"]

warnings sets the time-remaining intervals when warnings should be triggered.

[playtime.limits]
warnings = ["10m", "5m", "2m", "1m"]

Warnings are sent as notifications to the Zaparoo App and played as audio feedback.

Auth File

A separate TOML file called auth.toml, alongside the config file, can be created which defines credentials used when Core connects to remote endpoints:

[creds."smb://10.0.0.123/Games"]
username = 'myaccount'
password = 'Password123'

When a remote endpoint matches against the prefix URL after creds., the credential set will be attached to the request. This can be used to authenticate with a NAS.

Multiple credentials may be defined for the same server but on different paths.

Example File

Click to view a complete example config.toml file

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

config.toml

config_schema = 1
debug_logging = true

[audio]
scan_feedback = true
success_sound = "custom_success.wav"
fail_sound = "custom_fail.wav"
limit_sound = "custom_limit.wav"

[media]
filename_tags = true
default_regions = ["us", "world"]
default_langs = ["en"]

[readers]
auto_detect = true

[readers.scan]
mode = 'hold'
exit_delay = 3.0
ignore_system = [ 'PC', 'MSX' ]
on_scan = '**echo:card was scanned'
on_remove = '**echo:card was removed'

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'acr122pcsc'
path = '/dev/ttyUSB0'

[[readers.connect]]
driver = 'opticaldrive'
path = '/dev/sr0'
id_source = 'uuid'

[readers.drivers.simpleserial]
enabled = false

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

[launchers]
index_root = [
    '/media/alt_mount/games'
]
allow_file = [
    '^/media/fat/something.mgl$'
]
on_media_start = '**echo:media started'

[[launchers.default]]
launcher = 'KodiTV'
server_url = 'http://localhost:5678'

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

[playtime]
retention = 365

[playtime.limits]
enabled = true
daily = "2h"
session = "45m"
session_reset = "20m"
warnings = ["10m", "5m", "2m", "1m"]

[service]
api_port = 7497
api_listen = "0.0.0.0"
allowed_ips = [
    "192.168.1.100",
    "192.168.1.0/24"
]
device_id = '4d01c19f-09ba-4871-a58a-82fb49f5b518'
allowed_origins = [
    'https://app.zaparoo.org'
]
allow_run = [
    '^\*\*launch\.random:.+$'
]

[[service.publishers.mqtt]]
enabled = true
broker = "mqtt://localhost:1883"
topic = "zaparoo/events"
filter = [
    "media.started",
    "media.stopped",
    "tokens.added"
]

[groovy]
gmc_proxy_enabled = true
gmc_proxy_port = 32106
gmc_proxy_beacon_interval = '2s'