A cross-platform desktop client for RomM. Browse your library, download games, and launch them in the emulator you already use — on Linux, macOS and Windows.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the RomM project.
RomM's built-in browser player (EmulatorJS) works, but gamepad support in the browser is janky — input lag, dropped buttons, remapping that doesn't stick. The Android client, Argosy, is seamless by comparison because it plays natively.
RustRomM takes the same approach on the desktop: it is a launcher, not an emulator. It finds your games, downloads them, and hands the file to RetroArch, PPSSPP, Dolphin or whatever you prefer. Controller support is then whatever your emulator already does — which is to say, properly.
- Connect to any RomM server with your normal username and password
- Browse the whole library or filter by platform, with cover art
- Search across your collection
- Download games, with progress, cancellation, and no half-written files left behind
- Launch straight into your emulator, configurable per platform
- Remembers your server; optionally remembers your password
- Emulate anything itself — by design, see above
- Save/state sync back to RomM
- Gamepad navigation of RustRomM's own interface (you still use mouse and keyboard to browse; the game is played on the pad)
- Collections, achievements, multiplayer
Download a build for your platform from Releases. Both x86_64 and arm64 are built for all three operating systems:
| x86_64 | arm64 | |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | rustromm-linux-x86_64.tar.gz |
rustromm-linux-arm64.tar.gz |
| macOS | rustromm-macos-x86_64.tar.gz (Intel) |
rustromm-macos-arm64.tar.gz (M-series) |
| Windows | rustromm-windows-x86_64.zip |
rustromm-windows-arm64.zip |
Every build except Intel macOS is compiled and runs the test suite on a runner of its own architecture — including both arm64 targets. The Intel macOS binary is cross-compiled from an Apple Silicon runner, since GitHub is retiring its Intel macOS image, so it is the one build not covered by a test run.
macOS and Windows builds are unsigned, so the OS will warn on first launch — on macOS, right-click the app and choose Open; on Windows, More info → Run anyway.
Needs Rust 1.85 or newer.
git clone https://github.com/cloudmaking/rustromm.git
cd rustromm
cargo run --releaseOn Linux you may also need the usual GUI development libraries:
sudo apt install libxkbcommon-dev libwayland-dev libx11-dev \
libxcursor-dev libxrandr-dev libxi-dev- Launch it, enter your RomM server address (
192.168.1.10:8087is fine —http://is assumed if you leave the scheme off), your username and password. - Pick a platform on the left, or search.
- Download a game, then Play.
Settings → Emulators. Set a default and, optionally, one per platform.
retroarch -L /usr/lib/libretro/snes9x_libretro.so
"C:\Program Files\RetroArch\retroarch.exe" -L cores\genesis_plus_gx.dll
/Applications/PPSSPPSDL.app/Contents/MacOS/PPSSPPSDL
Use {rom} where the file path should go. If you leave it out, the path is appended at the
end — which is what almost every emulator expects, so usually you can just name the program.
With nothing configured, Play hands the file to your operating system's default handler.
| Settings | ~/.config/rustromm/config.json (Linux), ~/Library/Application Support/uk.cloudmaking.rustromm/ (macOS), %APPDATA%\cloudmaking\rustromm\ (Windows) |
| Downloads | Your Downloads folder, under RustRomM/<platform>/ — changeable in Settings |
Set RUSTROMM_CONFIG_DIR to override the settings location — handy for a portable install.
On passwords: "Remember password" stores it in that config file as plain text, with owner-only permissions on Linux and macOS. It is not encrypted. Leave the box unticked if that bothers you and type it each launch.
cargo test # 40 tests, no server required
cargo clippy --all-targets
cargo fmtThe suite has four layers:
| Layer | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Unit tests (13) | URL normalising, emulator command parsing, config fallbacks, size formatting |
| API tests (20) | The full HTTP stack against a mock RomM server — auth headers, query strings, streaming downloads, cancellation, error mapping |
| UI tests (7) | The real widget tree, headless, via egui_kittest — connect flow, error states, library rendering |
| Live tests (8) | Opt-in, against a real RomM instance |
Live tests are skipped unless you point them at a server:
RUSTROMM_LIVE_URL=http://192.168.1.10:8087 \
RUSTROMM_LIVE_USER=you \
RUSTROMM_LIVE_PASS=secret \
cargo test --test live_tests -- --nocaptureThese are the ones that catch RomM changing its API shape, which the mocks cannot see by construction. Verified against RomM 5.1.0.
- RomM — the server this talks to (AGPL-3.0)
- Argosy — the Android client whose approach and interface this follows (GPL-3.0)
- Built with egui
GPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.
RustRomM follows the design of Argosy, which is GPL-3.0, so it is GPL-3.0 too — anything derived from this has to stay open as well.
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