Batocera

Batocera is a software emulation distribution based around EmulationStation, with support for a huge number of systems and devices.

Location	Path
Config	/userdata/system/.config/zaparoo/config.toml \\BATOCERA\SHARE\system\.config\zaparoo\config.toml
Log	/userdata/system/.local/share/zaparoo/logs/core.log \\BATOCERA\SHARE\system\.local\share\zaparoo\logs\core.log
Mappings	/userdata/system/.local/share/zaparoo/mappings \\BATOCERA\SHARE\system\.local\share\zaparoo\mappings

Install

Install Script

The easiest way to install Zaparoo on Batocera is using the automated install script. This can be run either via SSH or directly in the Batocera terminal.

tip

Not familiar with SSH? Batocera has an SSH guide that explains how to connect and use it. The default username is root and the password is linux.

Run the following command via SSH or in the Batocera terminal (press F4 to access the terminal):

curl -sSL https://zaparoo.org/install.sh | sh

This will automatically:

• Install Zaparoo via the pacman package manager
• Set up the service to run on startup
• Add a Zaparoo entry to the Ports system

After installation, you can access the Zaparoo TUI by launching the Zaparoo entry from the Ports system in EmulationStation.

From this point, the service is running and you can follow all other guides as normal. The Zaparoo App will connect using the Batocera device's IP address, which you can find in the Batocera main menu under Network Settings.

Manual Install

Alternatively, you can manually install Zaparoo by downloading the files and setting them up yourself.

Download Zaparoo Core for Batocera from the Downloads page and unzip it. It comes with two important files:

• zaparoo - The main Zaparoo Core executable.
• zaparoo_service - A service script that runs Zaparoo Core on startup.

From here, there are a few ways to transfer files to your Batocera device.

tip

Batocera has a guide available on copying files if you're unsure about anything here.

info

If you want to put the zaparoo file in a different location, you must also update the zaparoo_service file to reflect this. The default location is /userdata/system/zaparoo.

Network Share

1. Copy the zaparoo file into the system directory of your Batocera share. This is usually accessible at \\BATOCERA\share\system on Windows.
2. If it doesn't exist, create a new directory in the system directory called services.
3. Copy the zaparoo_services file into the services directory.
4. Enable the service:
   1. Press Start to open the main menu.
   2. Navigate to System Settings > Services (at the bottom in the Advanced section).
   3. Find zaparoo_service in the list and enable it.
5. Restart Batocera to start the Zaparoo service.

USB

1. Copy the zaparoo and zaparoo_service files to a USB drive and plug it into your Batocera device.
2. Press F1 to open the file manager and navigate to the USB drive.
3. Copy the zaparoo file into the /userdata/system directory.
4. If it doesn't exist, create a new directory in the system directory called services.
5. Copy the zaparoo_service file into the services directory.
6. Enable the service:
   1. Press Start to open the main menu.
   2. Navigate to System Settings > Services (at the bottom in the Advanced section).
   3. Find zaparoo_service in the list and enable it.
7. Restart Batocera to start the Zaparoo service.

SSH

1. Copy the zaparoo file into /userdata/system using a program like scp or WinSCP.
2. SSH into your device and make sure you're in the /userdata/system directory:

cd /userdata/system

3. Run the install command, to copy and setup the service script automatically:

./zaparoo -install

If you get a -bash: ./zaparoo: Permission denied message, fix the permissions as shown below and try step 3 again.

chmod +x ./zaparoo

4. Enable the Zaparoo service:

batocera-services enable zaparoo_service

5. Start the Zaparoo service:

batocera-services start zaparoo_service

Supported Readers

Reader	Status
PN532 USB	✅
PN532 Module	✅
ACR122U (PCSC)	✅
File Reader	✅
Simple Serial	✅
RS232 Barcode	✅
Optical Drive	✅
TTY2OLED	✅
MQTT	✅
External Drive	✅

Supported Launchers

Launcher	Systems/Extensions	Notes
Kodi	Movies, TV Shows, Music, Collections	Only works in Kodi mode with API enabled
EmulationStation	150+ retro systems	Via Batocera's built-in emulators
Custom Scripts	.sh files	Shell script execution

Kodi Integration

Kodi integration only works when Batocera is in Kodi mode. Launches will only work with Kodi open and active, and scanning Kodi media only works while Kodi is running. You'll also need to enable the Kodi API - see the LibreELEC instructions for details on configuring the API settings.

EmulationStation Systems

Batocera supports over 150 systems through EmulationStation. The complete list includes:

System	Batocera Name	Extensions
Nintendo Systems
NES	nes	.nes, .unif, .unf, .zip, .7z
Famicom Disk System	fds	.fds, .zip, .7z
SNES	snes	.smc, .fig, .sfc, .gd3, .gd7, .dx2, .bsx, .swc, .zip, .7z
Nintendo 64	n64	.z64, .n64, .v64, .zip, .7z
GameCube	gamecube	.gcm, .iso, .gcz, .ciso, .wbfs, .rvz, .elf, .dol, .m3u
Wii	wii	.gcm, .iso, .gcz, .ciso, .wbfs, .wad, .rvz, .elf, .dol, .m3u, .json
Game Boy	gb	.gb, .zip, .7z
Game Boy Color	gbc	.gbc, .zip, .7z
Game Boy Advance	gba	.gba, .zip, .7z
Nintendo DS	nds	.nds, .bin, .zip, .7z
Nintendo 3DS	n3ds	.3ds, .cci, .cxi
Virtual Boy	virtualboy	.vb, .zip, .7z
Sega Systems
Master System	mastersystem	.bin, .sms, .zip, .7z
Game Gear	gamegear	.bin, .gg, .zip, .7z
Genesis/Mega Drive	megadrive	.bin, .gen, .md, .sg, .smd, .zip, .7z
Sega CD	megacd	.cue, .iso, .chd, .m3u
Sega 32X	sega32x	.32x, .chd, .smd, .bin, .md, .zip, .7z
Saturn	saturn	.cue, .ccd, .m3u, .chd, .iso, .zip
Dreamcast	dreamcast	.cdi, .cue, .gdi, .chd, .m3u
SG-1000	sg1000	.bin, .sg, .zip, .7z
Sony Systems
PlayStation	psx	.cue, .img, .mdf, .pbp, .toc, .cbn, .m3u, .ccd, .chd, .iso
PlayStation 2	ps2	.iso, .mdf, .nrg, .bin, .img, .dump, .gz, .cso, .chd, .m3u
PlayStation 3	ps3	.ps3, .psn, .squashfs
PlayStation Portable	psp	.iso, .cso, .pbp, .chd
Arcade Systems
MAME	mame	.zip, .7z
FinalBurn Neo	fbneo	.zip, .7z
Neo Geo	neogeo	.7z, .zip
Neo Geo CD	neogeocd	.cue, .iso, .chd
Computer Systems
Amiga	amiga500, amiga1200	.adf, .uae, .ipf, .dms, .dmz, .adz, .lha, .hdf, .exe, .m3u, .zip
Amstrad CPC	amstradcpc	.dsk, .sna, .tap, .cdt, .voc, .m3u, .zip, .7z
Apple II	apple2	.nib, .do, .po, .dsk, .mfi, .dfi, .rti, .edd, .woz, .wav, .zip, .7z
Atari ST	atarist	.st, .msa, .stx, .dim, .ipf, .m3u, .zip, .7z
Commodore 64	c64	.d64, .d81, .crt, .prg, .tap, .t64, .m3u, .zip, .7z
DOS	dos	.pc, .dos, .zip, .squashfs, .dosz, .m3u, .iso, .cue
MSX	msx1, msx2	.dsk, .mx1, .mx2, .rom, .zip, .7z, .cas, .m3u
ScummVM	scummvm	.scummvm, .squashfs
Atari Systems
Atari 2600	atari2600	.a26, .bin, .zip, .7z
Atari 5200	atari5200	.rom, .xfd, .atr, .atx, .cdm, .cas, .car, .bin, .a52, .xex, .zip, .7z
Atari 7800	atari7800	.a78, .bin, .zip, .7z
Atari Lynx	lynx	.lnx, .zip, .7z
Atari Jaguar	jaguar	.cue, .j64, .jag, .cof, .abs, .cdi, .rom, .zip, .7z
Other Consoles
3DO	3do	.iso, .chd, .cue
ColecoVision	colecovision	.bin, .col, .rom, .zip, .7z
Intellivision	intellivision	.int, .bin, .rom, .zip, .7z
Neo Geo Pocket	ngp	.ngp, .zip, .7z
PC Engine	pcengine	.pce, .bin, .zip, .7z
PC-FX	pcfx	.cue, .ccd, .toc, .chd, .zip, .7z
Vectrex	vectrex	.bin, .gam, .vec, .zip, .7z
WonderSwan	wonderswan, wswanc	.ws, .wsc, .zip, .7z
Handheld Systems
Game & Watch	gameandwatch	.mgw, .zip, .7z
Supervision	supervision	.sv, .zip, .7z
Modern Systems
OpenBOR	openbor	.pak
Pico-8	pico8	.p8, .png, .m3u
TIC-80	tic80	.tic

Either use the Zaparoo App to search for games and write them to cards, or write the absolute path to the game on the card.

Zaparoo also supports launching custom shell scripts. See the Linux page for more information on how to set up launchers this way.