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Game · Consoles, homebrew & emulation

RetroArch

Frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.

  • Free, with trade-offs
  • Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS
  • Open source
  • No account

Overview

RetroArch is a console and retro computer emulator, available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.

Overview written by LicitPro from the documentation published by the authors and the cited sources; we have not tried the resource ourselves.

Excerpts that establish this information
  • “Retro games and emulators on your device!” — F-Droid, 10 November 2026

At a glance

RetroArch is free, with trade-offs: it relies on a non-free online service.

Its licence (GPL-3.0+) is a copyleft open source licence: you may use, study, modify and redistribute it, including commercially; modified versions must keep the same licence.

Strengths

  • Open source code
  • No account needed
  • No advertising
  • Commercial use allowed

Weaknesses

  • Flagged by F-Droid: relies on a non-free online service

About

RetroArch enables you to run classic games on a wide range of computers and consoles through its slick graphical interface. Settings are also unified so configuration is done once and for all. It enables you to run classic games on a wide range of computers and consoles through its slick graphical interface. Settings are also unified so configuration is done once and for all. RetroArch has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, runahead, and more!

Description from Flathub — AppStream (Flathub)

Sources and checks

  • Facts collected from Flathub (credit card, source code, publisher, licence, free status, platforms, commercial use, version) —
  • Facts collected from Unspecified source (platforms) —
  • Facts collected from Winget (Windows Package Manager) (credit card, account, publisher, licence, free status, platforms, commercial use, version) —
  • Facts collected from F-Droid (credit card, source code, publisher, licence, free status, platforms, ads, commercial use, version) —
  • Last technical check: 6 November 2026
  • Description from Flathub — AppStream (Flathub)

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