Universal Retro Gaming Toolkit — by M5 Dev
🎮 Meet ROMeo — OpenROM's official mascot. Your friendly pixel-art cartridge companion for all things ROM.
OpenROM is a free, open-source Universal Retro Gaming Toolkit — one app to replace every fragmented ROM tool out there. Convert, patch, compress, clean, and manage your ROM collection with a modern Flutter desktop UI, real-time terminal logging, smart platform detection, and a full headless CLI for automation — all running 100% offline.
| Platform | GitHub Release | SourceForge Mirror |
|---|---|---|
| 🪟 Windows | OpenROM_Windows_Portable.zip | Mirror |
| 🐧 Linux | OpenROM_Linux_x86_64.zip | Mirror |
| 🍎 macOS Apple Silicon | OpenROM_macOS_arm64.zip | Mirror |
| 🍎 macOS Intel | OpenROM_macOS_x86_64.zip | Mirror |
| 🤖 Android | 🚧 Coming soon via Termux | — |
Each release includes the Flutter GUI (OpenROM) and the headless CLI (openrom-core).
📖 Guides & Docs: Official Wiki — setup, Steam Deck, Termux, FAQs.
- 20+ conversion paths — ISO, BIN, CUE, GDI, IMG, ECM, CHD, CSO, ZSO, XISO, RVZ, WIA, WBFS, GCZ and more.
- Smart Platform Detection — Magic byte detection for PS1, PS2, PSP, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, Dreamcast — not size guessing.
- Real CHD Header Parsing — Reads actual CHD v4/v5 headers to determine CD vs DVD type accurately.
- Auto CUE Generation — Generates CUE sheets for standalone BIN files with correct track mode (MODE1/MODE2/AUDIO).
- Integrity Verification — Post-conversion CHD integrity check via
chdman verify.
- 9 patch formats — IPS, IPS32, UPS, BPS, PPF, APS, EBP, DPS, xdelta3.
- Auto format detection — Drop a patch file and OpenROM detects the format automatically.
- Checksum verification — CRC32 integrity checks before and after patching with a detailed report.
- Ignore checksum mode — Force-apply patches even on modified ROMs.
- ZIP and 7Z support — Compress ROMs or entire folders with fast / normal / ultra presets.
- Smart skip — Already-compressed formats (CHD, CSO, RVZ, 7Z…) are automatically skipped.
- Batch extraction — Extract ZIP and 7Z archives with progress tracking.
- Delete source option — Auto-clean source files after successful compression.
- Copier header detection and removal for NES (iNES), SNES (SMC), Game Boy / GBC — with confidence rating (certain / likely).
- Auto backup — Original ROM backed up as
.bakbefore any modification. - Non-destructive — Output written to a separate file; source untouched by default.
- M3U Playlist Generator — Auto-generate M3U playlists for multi-disc games (PS1, Saturn, etc.).
- BIN Merger — Merge multi-track BIN files into a single BIN + CUE.
- Batch Processing — Drop a whole folder, process everything at once.
- Gaming Dashboard UI — Flutter-powered dark interface inspired by PS5/Xbox aesthetics, with ROM cards, platform badges, and real-time progress.
- Themeable — Swap between built-in themes (Gaming Dashboard, Cyberpunk, Terminal, Minimal) or create your own via JSON.
- Real-time Terminal Log — Live process output with timestamps, slides up during conversion.
- Drag & Drop — Native drag and drop for files and folders.
- Full Headless CLI —
openrom-corefor scripting, automation, and Flutter IPC. - No Telemetry — Zero network requests. No analytics. Runs 100% locally forever.
| Input | Output | Tool | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO | CHD | chdman | createcd for PS1/Dreamcast, createdvd for PS2/GC |
| ISO | CSO | maxcso | PSP / PS2 |
| ISO | ECM | ecm | |
| ISO | XISO | extract-xiso | Xbox |
| ISO | RVZ | nodtool | GameCube / Wii |
| BIN | CHD | chdman | Auto CUE if missing |
| BIN | ECM | ecm | |
| CUE | CHD | chdman | |
| GDI | CHD | chdman | Dreamcast |
| IMG | CHD | chdman | |
| CHD | ISO | chdman | |
| CHD | BIN/CUE | chdman | |
| CSO | ISO | maxcso | |
| ZSO | ISO | maxcso | |
| ECM | ISO / BIN | unecm | Auto-detects output format |
| XISO | Files | extract-xiso | Extracts to folder |
| RVZ | ISO | nodtool | GameCube / Wii |
| WIA | ISO | nodtool | GameCube / Wii |
| WBFS | ISO | nodtool | Wii |
| GCZ | ISO | nodtool | GameCube / Wii |
| Format | Systems |
|---|---|
| IPS / IPS32 | NES, SNES, GBA, and most retro systems |
| UPS | Universal — any ROM |
| BPS | Universal — any ROM |
| PPF | PS1 / PS2 disc patches |
| APS (GBA) | Game Boy Advance |
| APS (N64) | Nintendo 64 |
| EBP | EarthBound / SNES |
| DPS | DOS / PC |
| xdelta3 / VCDIFF | Large ROMs, disc images, PS2, PSP |
# Detect file format and platform
openrom-core --detect game.iso
# Convert a single file
openrom-core --input game.iso --format CHD
# Batch convert a folder
openrom-core --folder /roms/ --format CHD --compression Max
# Convert with verification
openrom-core --input game.iso --format CHD --verify
# Apply a patch
openrom-core --patch game.sfc --patch-file hack.ips
# Compress to 7Z
openrom-core --compress game.iso --format 7z --level ultra
# Remove ROM header
openrom-core --remove-header game.smc
# Generate M3U for multi-disc game
openrom-core --m3u /roms/Metal\ Gear\ Solid/
# Verify a CHD
openrom-core --input game.chd --verify-only
# JSON output (for scripting / Flutter IPC)
openrom-core --json --detect game.isoOpenROM ships with 4 built-in themes and supports fully custom themes via JSON files in the themes/ folder:
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
default.json |
Gaming Dashboard — dark navy, red accent |
cyberpunk.json |
Neon on black |
terminal.json |
Green on black, monospace |
minimal.json |
Clean light mode |
Create your own theme by copying any JSON file and editing the color values.
All tools are open source and verifiable. See SECURITY.md for SHA256 checksums.
| Tool | Purpose | License |
|---|---|---|
| chdman | CHD conversion (MAME) | GPL v2 |
| maxcso | CSO/ZSO compression | ISC |
| ecm / unecm | ECM compression | GPL v2 |
| extract-xiso | Xbox ISO extraction | GPL v2 |
| nodtool | GameCube / Wii formats | MIT |
| xdelta3 | xdelta/VCDIFF patching | Apache 2.0 |
- Python 3.10+
- Flutter 3.27+
- PyInstaller 6.0+
git clone https://github.com/M5Devs/OpenROM
cd OpenROM
# Build headless Python core
pip install -r requirements.txt
pyinstaller --onefile --name openrom-core core/cli.py
# Run Flutter UI
cd openrom_flutter
flutter pub get
flutter run -d windows # or linux / macos# Windows
build_windows.bat
# Linux
./build_linux.sh
# macOS
./build_mac.sh- Flutter UI rewrite (v2.5.0)
- Magic byte platform detection
- CHD header parsing
- Theme system
- ROM Patcher (IPS, BPS, UPS, xdelta3, PPF and more)
- ZIP / 7Z compression & extraction
- ROM header removal (NES, SNES, GB/GBC)
- M3U playlist generator
- Wii U support (WUD / WUX)
- Android support via Termux 🤖
- ROM Checker — No-Intro DAT + RetroAchievements hash verification
- ARM builds (Linux ARM64)
Contributions are welcome! Read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests.
OpenROM is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL v3) — a free, copyleft license approved by the Open Source Initiative.
| ✅ | Free to use personally and commercially |
| ✅ | Free to study, modify, and distribute |
| ✅ | Forks must remain open source under GPL v3 |
| ✅ | Listed on Flathub, Linux distros, and OSI-compliant repos |
See LICENSE for the full license text.