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Extraction System

Gregory Cabral De Los Santos edited this page Feb 18, 2026 · 1 revision

Yamata Launcher includes a built-in extraction system designed to automatically decompress downloaded game files. The extraction engine uses 7-Zip across all supported platforms, including:

  • Android
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • SteamOS
  • Batocera

This ensures consistent behavior and broad support for compressed formats.


Why Extraction is Needed

Most game downloads provided by external sources are distributed as compressed archives.

Common reasons include:

  • Reduced file size
  • Easier distribution
  • Multi-file packaging
  • Preservation of folder structure

Because of this, automatic extraction is enabled by default to streamline the workflow after a download completes.


Supported Formats

The 7-Zip engine supports multiple compression formats, including:

  • 7z
  • ZIP
  • RAR
  • TAR
  • GZ
  • BZ2
  • XZ
  • ISO (extraction support when applicable)

Additional formats supported by 7-Zip may also work depending on the archive structure.


Automatic Extraction

After a download finishes:

  1. The file is added to the extraction queue
  2. The archive is extracted to the configured destination

This behavior allows users to immediately use the game without manual intervention.


Extraction Configuration

Automatic extraction can be controlled in two ways.

Global Setting

You can enable or disable automatic extraction from:

Settings → Extract roms after download

This controls the default behavior for all future downloads.


Per-Download Option

When starting a download:

  • The download dialog includes an Extract contents after download option
  • Unchecking this option will skip extraction for that specific download

This is useful when:

  • You want to keep the archive
  • You plan to extract manually
  • The file should remain compressed

Extraction Queue

To maintain system stability and performance, Yamata processes extractions using a controlled queue.

Desktop Platforms

  • Maximum concurrent extractions: 4

Platforms:

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Linux
  • SteamOS
  • Batocera

Android

  • Maximum concurrent extractions: 2

This lower limit helps prevent excessive CPU and memory usage on mobile devices.


Password-Protected Archives

If a download source provides archive passwords:

  • Yamata will automatically try the passwords during extraction
  • No manual input is required

Passwords are taken from the Download Source configuration.

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