[Feature request] Add a configuration setting to scan entire game directories automatically

[davidhedlund]

Quick summary

First of all: Please add the CLI label to this issue.

Currently, RPCS3 populates games.yml by hardcoding individual paths for every game added via the GUI (File → Add Games). This makes CLI automation, headless configuration, and portable setups difficult. I request adding a new setting to CurrentSettings.ini (e.g., GameDirectories = /path/to/games) so RPCS3 can automatically scan a root directory and populate the game list on startup.

Details

Current Behavior vs. Proposed Solution

Right now, games.yml explicitly maps every single title ID to its absolute folder path:

AAAAAAAA: /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS3/AAAAAAAA/
BBBBBBBB: /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS3/BBBBBBBB/
CCCCCCCC: /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS3/CCCCCCCC/

Instead, a root directory option in CurrentSettings.ini would allow the emulator to scan for valid PS3 game structures (like PS3_GAME) automatically:

[Data]
GameDirectories = /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS3

Alternatives Considered

• External Scripting: Writing custom scripts to scrape folders and manually format/append data into games.yml before launching RPCS3. This is brittle and prone to breaking if the YAML schema changes.
• CLI Launching (rcps3 --launch <path>): While this boots a specific game, it does not permanently populate the main UI game list for future standard launches.

Industry Reference

A root game directory setting is standard practice across almost all major modern emulators to support seamless front-end and CLI integration. Examples of how this is implemented elsewhere:

Emulator	Config File	Sample Implementation
Citra/Azahar	qt-config.ini	Paths\gamedirs\1\path=INSTALLED Paths\gamedirs\2\path=SYSTEM Paths\gamedirs\3\path=/home/user/Downloads/Nintendo - 3DS Paths\gamedirs\size=3
Cemu	settings.xml	<GamePaths> <Entry>/home/user/Downloads/Nintendo - Wii U</Entry> </GamePaths>
PCSX2	PCSX2.ini	[GameList] RecursivePaths = /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS2
PPSSPP	ppsspp.ini	[General] CurrentDirectory = /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PSP
Ryujinx	Config.json	"game_dirs": [ "/home/user/Downloads/Nintendo - Switch" ]

[Megamouse]

Closing since there are plenty of ways to do this already

[davidhedlund]

Closing since there are plenty of ways to do this already

How?

[Megamouse]

I feel like you're just trolling at this point.
Please read the wiki or ask in the discord for obvious questions like that

[davidhedlund]

I feel like you're just trolling at this point.

I wasn't trying to troll you.

Please read the wiki or ask in the discord for obvious questions like that

I dug into it further and found this can be managed via Manage → Virtual File System → games, which I successfully automated with:

tee $HOME/.config/rpcs3/vfs.yml > /dev/null << 'EOF'
/games/: /home/user/Downloads/Sony - PS3/
EOF

Games are now automatically added to the game list!

[davidhedlund]

@Megamouse Is it ok if I file this feature request?

[Feature request]: Trigger dialog when saving changes in Virtual File System

---

Quick Summary

When adding game directories via File ➔ Add Games, the application prompts the user to precompile caches and create shortcuts. However, adding directories via Manage ➔ Virtual File System misses this step entirely upon saving. This feature request asks to bring the same prompt to the Virtual File System flow for a consistent user experience.

---

Details

Current Behavior

There is a UX inconsistency depending on how a user adds new game directories:

• Via File ➔ Add Games: A dialog box appears asking if the user wants to Precompile caches, Add desktop shortcut(s), and Add launcher shortcut(s):

• Via Manage ➔ Virtual File System: If you navigate to the game tab, click the + button to add a directory, and then click Save, the setup process finishes silently. The dialog box does not appear.

Proposed Solution

Trigger the exact same configuration dialog box automatically after a user clicks Save inside the Manage ➔ Virtual File System menu. This ensures that caches and shortcuts can be managed immediately, regardless of the path the user took to add the files.

Additional Context

The most important part of this request is being asked to Precompile caches.

[Megamouse]

That is unnecessary bloat in my opinion.
You can just trigger it manually.
I don't understand why you want all these complex features when you can already do this.
Pre compiling caches is not necessary anyways

[davidhedlund]

That is unnecessary bloat in my opinion. You can just trigger it manually.

I don't understand why you want all these complex features when you can already do this.

I proposed this to standardize GUI options to improve consistency and reduce confusion.

[davidhedlund]

I feel like you're just trolling at this point.

Here is the reason why I failed

• [Feature request] Change 'Add Games' to 'Add Game(s)' and 'Add ISO Games' to 'Add ISO Game(s)' under the File menu #18986