Put your cartridgesback on the shelf.

RetroMao is a local-first Android frontend for retro games. Pick a ROM folder and start browsing every console’s original boxes and media with your controller. Then make it your own with plugins, themes and system packs.

Download RetroMao Read the Wiki

Android 8.0 or later · 3DS save sync app available separately

A web recreation of the app’s interface, not a device screenshot. The box is the same model the app uses, and you can drag it. These games are fictional demo content, with AI-generated covers.

35systems with box and media models

4built-in languages, matched automatically

3interface styles, plus theme packs

0accounts needed, no cloud required

Every console gets its own box

Paper boxes, plastic cases, jewel cases, cartridges and discs are modeled separately, using Japanese designs by default. All 35 built-in systems wrap covers on true-to-size 3D models.

Nintendo: Famicom · Famicom Disk System · Super Famicom · Game Boy · Game Boy Color · Game Boy Advance · Nintendo 64 · GameCube · Wii · Wii U · Nintendo DS · Nintendo 3DS · Nintendo Switch
SEGA: Master System · Mega Drive · Mega CD · SEGA 32X · Game Gear · SEGA Saturn · Dreamcast
Sony: PlayStation · PlayStation 2 · PlayStation 3 · PSP · PS Vita
SNK: NEO GEO · NEO GEO CD · NEO GEO Pocket · NEO GEO Pocket Color
NEC: PC Engine · PC Engine CD
Bandai: WonderSwan · WonderSwan Color
Microsoft: Xbox · Xbox 360

Choose a folder once. It handles the rest.

Pick your ROM root folder
Systems are found from folder names, indexes and unambiguous extensions. It only asks when it can’t tell.
Media falls into place
Images and videos with matching names are linked automatically. Existing ES-DE, Pegasus and LaunchBox indexes can be imported.
Press A to play
Games launch through each emulator’s public entry point: RetroArch, PPSSPP, Dolphin, DuckStation, Azahar and more.

Your saves travel with you. You decide the version.

Sync ROMs, media and saves over WebDAV or Baidu Netdisk. Saves sync when you say so, and you choose when histories diverge. Every version stays in your own cloud storage, ready to restore.

One-tap pairing over your local network, so new devices don’t need your account details again.

Learn about save sync

Built for controllers, fits every screen

The D-pad moves between covers, shoulder buttons switch systems and triggers switch pages. Buttons can be remapped and A/B confirm can be swapped. Designed at 16:9, it adapts to 4:3, 1:1 and dual-screen handhelds.

Plugin system

More than a frontend. RetroMao is a platform.

Plugins are real programs: a background script and a few web pages that call RetroMao through a public SDK. You don’t need to change the app or rebuild an APK.

Build real features
Read and edit game details, favorites and recent records, manage media links, sync fields with the index, use the network, read and write JSON in cloud storage, add resources to ROM sync and customize launch entries.
Bring your own interface
Write pages in HTML, CSS and JavaScript with any framework you bundle. Pages open within RetroMao’s navigation, follow the theme colors, and support D-pad focus.
Players control permissions
Plugins declare capabilities, and players approve them before enabling. If an update adds a capability, the plugin stays disabled until it’s approved. Network access requires declared hosts.
Games stay fast
Launching a game never waits for plugins. Background scripts run on demand in an isolated engine and are released when done. Closing a page doesn’t interrupt a task.
Publish on your own
Anyone can publish from their own GitHub repository. After players add the URL, the Store shows updates, versions and authors.

plugin.json

{
  "id": "example.hello",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "entryPoint": "main.js",
  "capabilities": ["LIBRARY_READ"],
  "pages": [{ "id": "main", "path": "index.html" }],
  "actions": [{ "id": "count" }]
}

main.js

retromao.define({ actions: {
  async count() {
    const page = await retromao.library.records({ limit: 200 });
    await retromao.tasks.progress(page.games.length);
    return { total: page.games.length };
  }
} });

Install “Favorites sync”?This plugin needs these capabilities:

Read and edit your library
Use cloud connections you allow

Allow and enable

Plugin system Develop plugins RetroMao-Community

Available in the Store today

These plugins all use the same public SDK, so you can learn from them too.

Favorites syncSync favorites through a configured cloud connection, without transferring ROMs, media or saves.
Recent games syncSync recent play dates, play counts and durations.
Pinyin initials searchSearch games and apps using Chinese pinyin initials, such as jsq for 计算器.
Vita3K ROM syncSync Vita3K games, updates, DLC and licenses.
Custom launch entriesChoose a system and customize emulator launch parameters.

Four ways to extend

Extensions live in public GitHub repositories, and you don’t need the app’s source code to build them.

Ready to fill the shelf?

Download RetroMao

RetroMao doesn’t include any game ROMs, BIOS files or emulators.

Put your cartridgesback on the shelf.

Every console gets its own box

Choose a folder once. It handles the rest.

Pick your ROM root folder

Media falls into place

Press A to play

Your saves travel with you. You decide the version.

Built for controllers, fits every screen

More than a frontend. RetroMao is a platform.

Build real features

Bring your own interface

Players control permissions

Games stay fast

Publish on your own

Available in the Store today

Four ways to extend

Ready to fill the shelf?