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BiosSystem edited this page May 22, 2026 · 1 revision

Installation

This guide covers both prebuilt binary installation (for end users) and development setup (for contributors).

Prebuilt Binaries

Download the latest release from the GitHub Releases page.

Windows (x64)

  1. Download Retro.Arcade.Launcher_<version>_x64-setup.exe.
  2. Double-click the installer and follow the prompts.
  3. The app is installed to %LOCALAPPDATA%\BiosSystem\Retro Arcade Launcher\ by default.
  4. Launch Retro Arcade Launcher from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut.

Note: Windows SmartScreen may flag the installer as from an unknown publisher. Click More info → Run anyway to proceed.

WebView2 Requirement

Tauri v2 on Windows uses the system Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime. This comes pre-installed on Windows 10 (version 1803+) and Windows 11. If it is missing, the installer will prompt you to download it automatically from Microsoft.

macOS (arm64 / x64)

  1. Download Retro.Arcade.Launcher_<version>_aarch64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or _x64.dmg (Intel).
  2. Open the .dmg and drag Retro Arcade Launcher to your /Applications folder.
  3. On first launch, macOS Gatekeeper may block the app. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.

Android (arm64)

  1. Download Retro.Arcade.Launcher_<version>_arm64-v8a.apk.
  2. Enable Install from unknown sources in Android Settings → Security.
  3. Tap the .apk file to install.
  4. Touch controls are automatically enabled — on-screen D-Pad and action buttons replace keyboard input.

Development Setup

Prerequisites

Tool Minimum Version Install
Node.js 20 LTS nodejs.org
npm 10+ Bundled with Node.js
Rust 1.77.2+ rustup.rs
WebView2 (Windows) Latest Auto-installed by Tauri

On macOS, also install Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

For Android builds, additionally install:

  • Android Studio (with NDK and SDK Manager)
  • ANDROID_HOME environment variable set correctly
  • Tauri Android target: rustup target add aarch64-linux-android

Clone and Install

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/BiosSystem/retro-game-replicas.git
cd retro-game-replicas

# Install JavaScript dependencies
npm install

Run in Development Mode

The tauri dev command starts Vite's dev server (HMR enabled at http://localhost:5173) and launches the native Tauri desktop window pointing at it:

npm run tauri dev

The window will open with a resolution of 800×600 (configurable in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json). Hot-module replacement from Vite means UI changes reflect instantly without restarting the Rust process.

Build for Production

# Compile TypeScript, bundle with Vite, then package with Tauri
npm run tauri build

Output artifacts are placed in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/:

Platform Output Directory Artifact
Windows bundle\msi\ or bundle\nsis\ .msi / .exe
macOS bundle/macos/ .app / .dmg
Linux bundle/deb/ or bundle/rpm/ .deb / .rpm

For Android:

npm run tauri android build

Environment Variables

Variable Default Description
TAURI_PRIVATE_KEY — Code signing key (for production releases)
TAURI_KEY_PASSWORD — Password for the private key
VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL http://localhost:5173 Override the Vite dev server address

Project Identifier

The Tauri app identifier is com.biossystem.retroarcade, defined in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json. This affects:

  • macOS bundle ID
  • Android package name
  • Windows registry keys

See Development for detailed project structure and how to add new games.

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