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This is unreleased documentation for the next Zaparoo Core release.
For up-to-date documentation, see the latest version (Stable).
Version: Next

Zaparoo Online

Zaparoo Online is an optional companion service for features that need an account or cloud connection. It backs up Zaparoo data from every Core platform, including supported MiSTer and SteamOS settings and saves. It also syncs play history, favorites, and decks, gives apps access to your data, and manages virtual cards and decks. Zaparoo Core continues to work without an Online account.

Cloud backup requires Warp, the paid tier of Zaparoo Online. Play history sync, Library sync, the User API, and virtual cards and decks are free. Remote control through the User API is free for one device at a time and unlimited with Warp.

Online currently provides:

  • Cloud backup with Warp: keep off-site snapshots of Zaparoo data, plus supported MiSTer saves and settings
  • Play history sync: optionally upload play sessions to your account
  • Library sync: keep favorites, likes, play later, and decks the same on every linked device
  • User API: give apps scoped access to data from your account
  • Remote control: let apps you authorize send approved commands to a device that has opted in
  • Virtual cards and decks: create cards and collections online, then write them to physical NFC tags
Optional Online Service

Zaparoo Online is a proprietary service operated by Wizzo Pty Ltd. It complements the open-source Zaparoo projects without replacing local functionality. Linking a device does not enable cloud backup, play history sync, or Library sync automatically.

Create an account​

  1. Go to online.zaparoo.com and choose Sign up.
  2. Use an email address and password, or continue with Google or Apple.
  3. Claim a username when prompted.
  4. Link a device: on the device, open Settings > Online in the terminal UI (or the Decky plugin on SteamOS) to get a URL and one-time code, then approve it from the Link device button on your Online dashboard.

Linking a device does not turn on cloud backup, play history sync, Library sync, or remote control. Each is enabled separately.

Cloud backup with Warp​

Warp is the optional paid tier for Zaparoo Online. It adds automatic off-site backups for linked Core devices and includes Zaparoo App Pro while the subscription is active. A free account can also hold a one-time App Pro purchase (the App's paid phone-as-reader feature) linked from the App, so Pro works on both Android and iOS.

Core can upload snapshots on a daily or weekly schedule, or only when you start one. Online keeps the latest 30 changed snapshots for each linked device. Snapshots from every platform contain Zaparoo-owned data. MiSTer and SteamOS snapshots can also contain supported platform settings, saves, and save states. See Device Backups for setup, contents, exclusions, and restore behavior.

Portable local backups remain free. Ending a Warp subscription stops new cloud snapshots but leaves existing snapshots available to browse, download, and restore. If you unlink a device, its backups stay under Unlinked devices for 60 days and are then deleted.

Patreon Supporter and Sponsor members have Warp while their membership is active. Link Patreon under Account > Warp instead of subscribing separately.

If Warp isn't for you, there are other ways to support Zaparoo.

Play history sync​

Core keeps play history on the device by default. Linking a device does not upload it automatically.

To opt in from the Core terminal UI:

  1. Open Settings > Online.
  2. Link the device to your Zaparoo Online account if it is not already linked.
  3. Enable Play history sync.

On SteamOS, use Zaparoo Online > Link device in the Decky plugin, approve the displayed QR code or URL, then enable Sync play history. Linking alone uploads nothing.

Play history sync does not require Warp. The first sync uploads all retained local history. Core requests another sync when a session starts or ends, refreshes an active session about every five minutes, and runs a catch-up pass about once an hour.

Each synced session includes:

  • Session and profile IDs; profile names and PINs are not included
  • System, launcher, media name, and media path
  • Parsed filename tags such as region or disc number; user-created tags are not included
  • Start and end times, play duration, and clock-reliability details
  • Whether the local record was marked as deleted
  • A media identity derived from the file (canonical system, normalized title, and a content fingerprint) so the same game can be matched across devices

Synced history also shows on the device's page in Online under Recent play.

Core checks the setting again before each batch. Disabling it stops later uploads but does not delete history already stored by Zaparoo Online. Unlinking the device also stops sync without deleting play history already stored. You can delete stored play history at any time under Account > Profile.

While sync is enabled and the device is linked, local retention cleanup preserves sessions that have not reached the server yet. After a session is acknowledged, the normal playtime.retention period still applies to the local copy.

Library sync​

Library sync keeps the personal side of your library the same on every linked device and in Online: favorites, likes and dislikes, play later, and your decks. It also uploads the list of games each device holds, so remote control and deck building in Online know what each device can play. It is free and off by default.

To opt in from the Core terminal UI, open Settings > Online, link the device if it is not already linked, and turn on Library sync. The setting is library.sync in config.toml.

With it on:

  • A favorite, like, dislike, or play later set on one device, or in Online under Library, reaches your other devices within seconds. It follows the game rather than the file, so the US and European copies of a game share one favorite, while a ROM hack keeps its own. Hidden entries and launcher choices stay on the device.
  • Decks you make in Online appear on the device as saved playlists, and decks on the device appear in Online. Edits on either side are kept, and a deck edited in both places at once is merged. A deck locked in Online is read-only on the device.

Turning Library sync off removes the device's game list from your account and stops syncing. Favorites and decks already on the device stay there. Linking or unlinking the device also turns it off.

Remote control​

Apps you authorize through the User API can send commands to a device once that device opts in: turn on Remote control under Settings > Online in the terminal UI. A remote command can launch a game or a system, stop what is playing, search and browse the library, or run a MiSTer script, and each one is recorded on the device under Remote control activity. Unlinking the device turns it off again.

Free accounts can remote-control one device at a time. Warp subscribers are not limited.

The Remote status line under the toggle shows whether Online can currently reach the device, including when a free account's remote slot is held by another device. Select it for an explanation of what to do.

User API​

The Zaparoo Online User API gives apps scoped access to data from your account and, for devices that opt in, remote control. It is free to use and does not require Warp.

Version 1 can read:

  • Your profile and premium-access status
  • Play sessions, active now-playing status, and play-time summaries
  • Cards you have redeemed, and your decks
  • Linked Core devices
  • Backup snapshots, manifests, and individual files

To create a key:

  1. Open Zaparoo Online and go to Account.
  2. Select User API.
  3. Choose only the permissions the app needs.
  4. Create the key and save it when shown. The secret cannot be viewed again. An account can have up to 10 active keys.

Send the key as a bearer token with requests to https://user.api.zaparoo.com:

Authorization: Bearer zpk1_...

Keys use separate scopes for profile, play history, cards, decks, devices, and backups, and can be revoked at any time. The read:backups scope can download files from your snapshots, so only give it to apps you trust.

The devices:launch and devices:scripts scopes let an app use remote control on devices that have it turned on; only grant them to apps you trust. Keys cannot change your account data. See the complete User API reference for endpoints, device operations, pagination, rate limits, and response schemas.

Virtual cards and decks​

Virtual cards and decks are free Zaparoo Online features. You can create as many as you would reasonably need; only high abuse-prevention limits apply. One optional display setting, hiding a card's zap count, needs Warp.

A card is a virtual container for one or more ZapScript commands. Each card gets a unique short URL that can be written to a physical NFC tag. Because the tag points to the card rather than storing the script itself, changes made in Online apply without rewriting the tag.

Decks organize cards into shareable collections. You can reorder cards, share a deck through a public URL, and lock a deck to prevent further changes. Cards and decks each have a public page at their short URL, and a deck's URL can be written to a tag the same way as a card's.

Physical Zaparoo cards that come with a code can be added to your account under Redeem cards.

Use the Zaparoo App to write cards and decks to physical NFC tags.

On a device, a deck is a saved playlist that any token can open with **playlist.play:deck://<id>. Online is where you create and edit decks today, and Library sync keeps the device and your account in step. A Zap Link to a shared deck opens it as a playlist too, and the device keeps a read-only copy so the link works offline after that.

Your account​

  • Dashboard: device, deck, and zap counts, your decks, and the Link device button.
  • Devices: each linked device's platform, Core version, backup storage used, backups with per-file downloads, and recent play.
  • Unlinked devices: backups from unlinked devices, kept for 60 days.
  • Redeem cards: add physical Zaparoo cards with a code to your account.
  • Account > Profile: display name, email, a portable export of your data, play history deletion, and account deletion.
  • Account > Security: password, linked Google and Apple sign-in, and two-factor authentication with backup codes.
  • Account > Warp: your access and billing status, including Patreon.
  • Account > User API: create and revoke API keys.