⬡ OpenROM

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 — with optional online features that are always opt-in.

⬇️ Download

Platform	GitHub Release	SourceForge Mirror
🪟 Windows (Installer)	OpenROM-Windows-Setup.exe	Mirror
🪟 Windows (Portable)	OpenROM_Windows_Portable.zip	Mirror
🐧 Linux x86_64	OpenROM_Linux_x86_64.zip	Mirror
🐧 Linux ARM64	OpenROM_Linux_arm64.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.

🎮 Features

🔁 ROM Conversion

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, Saturn, Sega CD — not size guessing.
Real CHD Header Parsing — Reads actual CHD v4/v5 headers to determine CD vs DVD type accurately.
Correct CHD Codec Routing — createcd for PS1/Dreamcast/Saturn/Sega CD, createdvd for PS2/GameCube/Wii/Xbox — never mixed up.
Auto CUE Generation — Generates CUE sheets for standalone BIN files with correct track mode detection (MODE1/MODE2/AUDIO) via sector header inspection.
Integrity Verification — Post-conversion CHD integrity check via chdman verify.

🩹 ROM Patching

11 patch formats — IPS, IPS32, UPS, BPS, PPF, APS, EBP, DPS, xdelta3, SSP (Sega Saturn), DCP (Dreamcast).
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.

🎮 Dreamcast Tools

DCP Patch Applier — Apply Dreamcast .dcp patch files with full xdelta3 delta-patch support. Compatible with Universal Dreamcast Patcher patch files.
IP.BIN Editor — Read and modify the Dreamcast boot sector: game title, region flags (Japan / USA / Europe / Region Free), VGA mode toggle, and full Shift-JIS encoding support for Japanese game titles.
GDI Track Inspector — Load and inspect GDI disc image track structure — track number, LBA offset, type (Audio/Data), sector size, and filename.

🗜️ Compression & Extraction

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.

🧹 ROM Header Removal

Copier header detection and removal for NES (iNES), SNES (SMC), Game Boy / GBC — with confidence rating (certain / likely).
Double-strip protection — SNES internal header validation prevents stripping clean ROMs twice.
Auto backup — Original ROM backed up as .bak before any modification. Existing backups are never overwritten.
Non-destructive — Output written to a separate file; source untouched by default.

🗂️ Collection Utilities

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, with correct INDEX 00 pregap handling.
CUE Sheet Editor — Open, edit, and save .cue files directly inside OpenROM.
Batch Processing — Drop a whole folder, process everything at once.

🏷️ ROM Renamer

No-Intro + Redump DAT support — Import any DAT file from datomatic.no-intro.org or redump.org.
CRC32 matching — Identifies ROMs by hash, not filename.
Dry run mode — Preview renames before applying.
DAT library — Import multiple DATs and OpenROM stores them locally for reuse.
Event-based XML parser — Parses DAT metadata without building a full DOM tree; a streaming file decoder is planned for extremely large DAT files.
100% offline — No network requests, no API keys.

📊 Queue & Preview

Queue Manager — Drag to reorder conversion jobs before running. Clear completed jobs with one click.
Compression Preview — See estimated output size before converting, based on format and compression level.

🖥️ UI & Workflow

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-core for scripting, automation, and Flutter IPC.
6 Languages — English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese.
Privacy-first — No telemetry, no analytics, no accounts. Optional online features (update checks, RetroAchievements) are opt-in and clearly disclosed.

🌐 Online Features (Optional)

Auto-update check — Checks GitHub on startup for a newer version. Disabled by default, enable in Settings.
RetroAchievements hash check — Verifies if your ROM is supported before converting. Requires a free retroachievements.org account. Disabled by default.
All online features are opt-in. No data is ever collected without explicit user consent.

🔁 Conversion Matrix

Input	Output	Tool	Notes
ISO	CHD	chdman	`createcd` for PS1/Dreamcast/Saturn/Sega CD, `createdvd` for PS2/GC/Wii/Xbox
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
NKit	ISO	nkit	GameCube / Wii
WUD	ISO	nkit	Wii U
WUX	ISO	nkit	Wii U (compressed)
ISO	NKit	nkit	GameCube / Wii

🩹 Supported Patch Formats

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
SSP (Sega Saturn Patcher)	Sega Saturn disc patches
DCP (Dreamcast Patch Container)	Sega Dreamcast disc patches

💻 CLI Usage

# 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

# Apply a Dreamcast DCP patch
openrom-core --dcp patch.dcp --disc-dir /disc/ --output /out/

# Read IP.BIN fields
openrom-core --read-ipbin IP.BIN

# Edit IP.BIN — region free + enable VGA
openrom-core --write-ipbin IP.BIN --region-free --set-vga

# Edit IP.BIN — set custom title
openrom-core --write-ipbin IP.BIN --set-title "MY GAME"

# Inspect GDI track structure
openrom-core --read-gdi disc.gdi

# 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.iso

🎨 Themes

OpenROM 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.

🛠️ Bundled Tools

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
nkit / nkds	NKit GameCube/Wii/WiiU conversion	MIT
saturn-patcher	Sega Saturn SSP patch applier	GPL v3
xgdtool	Xbox Game Disc (XGD) tooling	GPL v3

🚀 Building from Source

Requirements

Dart SDK 3.0+
Flutter SDK (stable channel)

Run Flutter UI from source

git clone https://github.com/M5Devs/OpenROM
cd OpenROM

# Build Dart core CLI
cd core
dart pub get
dart compile exe bin/openrom.dart -o ../openrom-core

# Run Flutter UI
cd gui
flutter pub get
flutter run -d windows   # or linux / macos

Build release packages

# Windows
build_windows.bat

# Linux
./build_linux.sh

# macOS
./build_mac.sh

🗺️ Roadmap

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests.

📄 License

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.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
assets/icons		assets/icons
core		core
docs		docs
flatpak		flatpak
gui		gui
themes		themes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
THANKS.md		THANKS.md
TRANSLATORS.md		TRANSLATORS.md
VERSION		VERSION
build_linux.sh		build_linux.sh
build_mac.sh		build_mac.sh
build_windows.bat		build_windows.bat
crowdin.yml		crowdin.yml
macos_entitlements.plist		macos_entitlements.plist
openrom.nsi		openrom.nsi

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⬡ OpenROM

⬇️ Download

🎮 Features

🔁 ROM Conversion

🩹 ROM Patching

🎮 Dreamcast Tools

🗜️ Compression & Extraction

🧹 ROM Header Removal

🗂️ Collection Utilities

🏷️ ROM Renamer

📊 Queue & Preview

🖥️ UI & Workflow

🌐 Online Features (Optional)

🔁 Conversion Matrix

🩹 Supported Patch Formats

💻 CLI Usage

🎨 Themes

🛠️ Bundled Tools

🚀 Building from Source

Requirements

Run Flutter UI from source

Build release packages

🗺️ Roadmap

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⬡ OpenROM

⬇️ Download

🎮 Features

🔁 ROM Conversion

🩹 ROM Patching

🎮 Dreamcast Tools

🗜️ Compression & Extraction

🧹 ROM Header Removal

🗂️ Collection Utilities

🏷️ ROM Renamer

📊 Queue & Preview

🖥️ UI & Workflow

🌐 Online Features (Optional)

🔁 Conversion Matrix

🩹 Supported Patch Formats

💻 CLI Usage

🎨 Themes

🛠️ Bundled Tools

🚀 Building from Source

Requirements

Run Flutter UI from source

Build release packages

🗺️ Roadmap

🤝 Contributing

📄 License

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