MiSTer FPGA

MiSTer is fully supported by Zaparoo as a platform, and originally started as a project on MiSTer. Zaparoo has several MiSTer-exclusive commands because of this.

Item	Path
Data directory	/media/fat/zaparoo
Mappings directory	/media/fat/zaparoo/mappings
Config file	/media/fat/zaparoo/config.toml
Log file	/tmp/zaparoo/core.log

The /media/fat directory is the top level of the SD card.
The /tmp directory is not accessible from the SD card and is deleted when MiSTer is powered off.

Install

Zaparoo Core is available in Update All by enabling the MiSTer Extensions repository in the Tools & Scripts menu.

If you only want Zaparoo Core or don't have Update All, add the following text to the downloader.ini file on your MiSTer's SD card:

[mrext/tapto]
db_url = https://github.com/ZaparooProject/zaparoo-core/raw/main/scripts/mister/repo/tapto.json

This is supported by the downloader script which ships with the official MiSTer image.

Once installed, run zaparoo from the MiSTer Scripts menu, a prompt will offer to enable Zaparoo as a startup service, then the service will be started in the background.

After the initial setup is complete, a status display will be shown. It's OK to exit this screen, the service will continue to run in the background.

From this point, Zaparoo is now set up! You should be able to connect a reader and set up cards using the Zaparoo App.

Manual Install

Download Zaparoo Core for MiSTer from the Downloads page and copy the zaparoo.sh file to the Scripts folder on your MiSTer's SD card.

warning

Using FileZilla to transfer the file? Make sure binary transfer mode is enabled by following these steps. FileZilla incorrectly detects zaparoo.sh as a text file and will corrupt it, resulting in confusing errors.

Launchers

Many launchers are supported on MiSTer which link to official cores. See the full list of supported cores.

The ID on the linked page can be used as the launcher ID in Zaparoo if required. Launchers will be automatically detected and used as long as you stick to the official games folders and core menu structure set by Downloader.

Below are some launchers with special features that are supported by Zaparoo.

ao486

If a .vhd file is launched via Zaparoo, and this .vhd file is sitting in its own folder with an .iso or .chd file, that .iso or .chd file will also be automatically mounted alongside the .vhd file.

AmigaVision (Amiga)

Launching games in the AmigaVision image on the Amiga core is supported via the games.txt files and demos.txt files located in the Amiga/listings folder on your SD card.

For example, to launch Beneath a Stell Sky in AmigaVision:

Amiga/listings/games.txt/Beneath a Steel Sky (OCS)[en]

The games.txt and demos.txt files contain a listing of all supported games and demos, generated by AmigaVision, and can be treated as a virtual folder for launching via Zaparoo. Other games can be launched using the same format of Amiga/listings/games.txt/<Game Name>.

Opening the games.txt and demos.txt files in a text editor will show the full list of supported games and demos.

NeoGeo

NeoGeo also supports launching .zip files and folders directly with Zaparoo, as is supported with the MiSTer core itself.

For example, a .zip file:

NeoGeo/mslug.zip

Or a folder:

NeoGeo/mslug2

Alternate Launchers

Some alternate or unofficial versions of cores are supported and can be used by explicitly setting a launcher in the ZapScript on a token. Like the official cores, Zaparoo assumes they're installed in either the default location from Update All or in the appropriate menu folder unless otherwise noted.

To use them, add the following to the end of the file path or launch command: ?launcher=<launcher ID>. For example: N64/some/game.n64?launcher=80MHzNintendo64

LLAPI

Bliss-Box LLAPI cores. Alternate Arcade cores can be referenced directly with their .mra files.

Launcher IDs: LLAPIAtari2600, LLAPIAtari7800, LLAPIGameboy, LLAPIGBA, LLAPIMegaDrive, LLAPISMS, LLAPIMegaCD, LLAPINeoGeo, LLAPINES, LLAPINintendo64, LLAPI80MHzNintendo64, LLAPIPSX, LLAPIS32X, LLAPISuperGameboy, LLAPISaturn, LLAPISNES, LLAPITurboGrafx16

PWM

24-bit video PWM cores.

Launcher IDs: PWMNintendo64, PWM80MHzNintendo64, PWMPSX, PWM2XPSX, PWMSaturn

Overclock

Robert Piep's experimental overclock cores.

Launcher IDs: 80MHzNintendo64, 2XPSX

Sinden Lightgun

Sinden Lightgun cores.

info

The Sinden cores must be installed in a custom _Sinden folder at the top of the SD card, or else Zaparoo won't see them and they will conflict with official cores.

Launcher IDs: SindenGenesis, SindenMegaDrive, SindenSMS, SindenMegaCD, SindenNES, SindenPSX, SindenSNES

Main Forks

Some MiSTer Main forks are available with Zaparoo integration or features that work well with Zaparoo.

spark2k06

An alternative version of MiSTer Main is available by spark2k06, which adds many great Zaparoo related features to MiSTer like:

• Show status of connected reader as icon in top bar.
• Zaparoo standby screen.
• Box art on game load.
• Many additional MGL features.

Please check spark2k06's repository for more details.

Insert-Coin

An alternative version of MiSTer Main is also available by funkycochise as part of the Insert-Coin project. This version includes a feature to hide the loading screen before cores start games, which works great with Zaparoo!

Known Issues

• Zaparoo can have conflicts with other devices that use serial USB connections such as the tty2oled project and anything else using an Arduino board. The current workaround is to disable auto_detect in the config.toml file and manually set the reader path.