ROM File Formats¶
This page lists the file types each system accepts. Every system folder under
Roms/ accepts the formats its emulator reads natively. On top of that, the
built-in cores all accept zipped ROMs.
Most users only need one rule of thumb:
- Uncompressed is best.
- CD games should be CHD.
- Arcade zips must stay exactly as they are.
Compressed ROMs (.zip and .7z)¶
Any game launched through a built-in core can be a .zip or .7z archive.
There are two exceptions:
| System | What to use |
|---|---|
| Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS | Uncompressed ROMs. These standalone emulators get their files directly. |
| Sega Dreamcast | .chd for disc images, which is compressed internally anyway. Don't zip disc images: there a .zip is a Naomi/Atomiswave arcade set. |
More detail
- Cores that read archives themselves (FBNeo, the Commodore cores, Amiga) get the file untouched.
- For every other core, NX Redux extracts the ROM out of the archive at launch and hands the core the extracted file. The copy is kept in RAM until the device powers off, so only the first launch of a session pays the extraction delay.
- This does not apply to the standalone emulators.
Uncompressed vs .zip vs .7z¶
Prefer uncompressed ROMs (.gb, .sfc, .md, …). Compression only saves
SD card space, and cartridge ROMs are tiny next to any modern card.
| Format | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
Uncompressed (.gb, .sfc, …) |
Fastest launch, no RAM overhead, works everywhere | Largest files on the SD card |
.zip |
Smaller files, standard romset convention | Extraction delay on first launch; extracted copy sits in RAM all session |
.7z |
Smallest files | Slowest extraction of the three; same RAM cost as .zip |
Already have compressed ROMs?
Compressed cartridge ROMs still work fine. Don't bother compressing
yourself. If you keep archives, prefer .zip over .7z.
More detail
Uncompressed files win everything except SD card space:
- Fastest launch: the core reads the file directly, with no extraction step, every time.
- No RAM overhead: extracted copies of compressed ROMs live in RAM until the device powers off, and the Trimui devices only have 1 GB shared with the emulator itself. An uncompressed ROM costs nothing.
- Works everywhere: including the standalone emulators, which do not get the automatic extraction.
For typical carts (up to a few dozen MB) the extraction delay is under a
second and the RAM cost is small. The extra space .7z saves is small,
and its extraction is noticeably slower on these devices.
Never zip CD images
Do not compress CD-based games (PlayStation, Sega CD,
TurboGrafx-CD) into .zip/.7z. A .cue + .bin pair stops working
when archived (only one file gets extracted). A large image can exhaust
the device's RAM during extraction. Use .chd instead: it is heavily
compressed and read directly, with no extraction step and no RAM cost.
Arcade zips are not compressed ROMs
Roms/Arcade (FBN)/ zips are romsets. The zip itself is the game's
identity, and FBNeo reads it directly. Never extract or re-compress them.
See the Arcade page for naming rules.
Formats per system¶
Native formats verified against each bundled core. .zip and .7z work for
all of these on top of what is listed. Multi-disc games use
.m3u playlists.
Cartridge & handheld systems¶
| System | Core | Formats |
|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600 (A2600) | stella2014 | a26 bin |
| Atari 5200 (A5200) | a5200 | a52 bin |
| Atari 7800 (A7800) | prosystem | a78 bin cdf |
| Atari Lynx (LYNX) | handy | lnx lyx o |
| Colecovision (COLECO) | gearcoleco | col cv bin rom |
| Famicom Disk System (FDS) | fceumm | fds |
| Game Boy (GB) / Game Boy Color (GBC) | gambatte | gb gbc dmg |
| Game Boy Advance (GBA) | gpsp | gba bin agb gbz |
| Game Boy Advance (MGBA) | mgba | gba |
| Super Game Boy (SGB) | mgba | gb gbc sgb |
| Neo Geo Pocket (NGP/NGPC) | race | ngp ngc ngpc npc |
| Nintendo ES (FC) | fceumm | nes unf unif |
| Pico-8 (P8) | fake-08 | p8 png |
| Pokémon mini (PKM) | pokemini | min |
| Sega Genesis (MD) | picodrive | md gen smd bin 68k sgd |
| Sega 32X (32X) | picodrive | 32x bin |
| Sega Game Gear (GG) | picodrive | gg |
| Sega Master System (SMS) | picodrive | sms |
| Sega SG-1000 (SG1000) | picodrive | sg sc |
| Sega — Genesis Plus GX (GPGX) | genesis_plus_gx | md gen smd bin sgd sms gg sg — one pak for every Sega system, picked by extension |
| Super Nintendo ES (SFC) | snes9x | sfc smc swc fig bs st |
| Super Nintendo ES (SUPA) | mednafen_supafaust | sfc smc swc fig |
| TurboGrafx-16 (PCE) | mednafen_pce_fast | pce + CD: cue ccd chd toc m3u |
| Virtual Boy (VB) | mednafen_vb | vb vboy bin |
| Wonderswan Color (WSC) | mednafen_wswan | ws wsc pc2 — WonderSwan and WonderSwan Color games share one folder |
CD-based systems¶
| System | Core | Formats |
|---|---|---|
| Sony PlayStation (PS) | pcsx_rearmed | chd cue bin img iso pbp toc mdf cbn m3u exe |
| Sega CD (SEGACD) | picodrive | chd cue bin iso m3u |
| Sega CD (GPGX) | genesis_plus_gx | chd cue bin iso m3u (BIOS in Bios/GPGX/) |
| Sega Dreamcast (DC) | flycast | chd gdi cdi cue m3u + Naomi/Atomiswave zip 7z — see Dreamcast |
| Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) | ppsspp | iso cso chd pbp elf prx — see PSP |
.chd is the recommended format for all of them: a single file per disc,
compressed, no extraction.
Computers & other¶
| System | Core | Formats |
|---|---|---|
| Amiga (PUAE) | puae2021 | adf adz dms fdi ipf hdf hdz lha slave info cue ccd iso chd uae m3u (zip/7z native) |
| Amstrad CPC (CPC) | cap32 | dsk sna tap cdt voc cpr m3u (zip native) |
| Commodore 64 (C64) / 128 (C128) / PET / Plus4 / VIC-20 | VICE | d64 d71 d81 g64 x64 t64 tap prg p00 crt bin m3u vsf and more (zip/7z/gz native) |
| Microsoft MSX (MSX) | bluemsx | rom ri mx1 mx2 dsk cas m3u |
| Doom (PRBOOM) | prboom | wad iwad pwad lmp |
| Arcade (FBN) | fbneo | zip 7z romsets — see Arcade |
Standalone emulators¶
| System | Emulator | Formats |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo 64 (N64) | mupen64plus | z64 n64 v64 |
| Nintendo DS (NDS) | DraStic | nds |
Additional emulators installed from the Xtras store or as community paks follow their own emulator's formats.