RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.8

RetroShell beta.8 adds installable external themes while keeping the main application and separately licensed community artwork cleanly separated.

Highlights

• External theme discovery from RETROSHELL/themes/, including optional palettes, backgrounds, system artwork, and logos.
• Gallery presentation with an artwork carousel and two-pane game library.
• Favorites remains available as a first-class system and library category in Gallery themes.
• Built-in Dark, Graphite, Light, and Mist themes retain their standard presentation.
• Community Core Lab adds guided templates and validation tools for contributors working on emulator-core performance and compatibility.
• The full main install includes all normal production cores plus the current gpSP, FrogGBA, and Snes9xTYL integrations.

Optional Art Book Next theme

RetroShell-Theme-Art-Book-Next-v1.0.0-beta.8.zip is an optional, separate community add-on. It is not part of RetroShell’s MIT-licensed main archive. The package contains its own attribution and CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license; use is non-commercial and share-alike.

Install

1. Back up save data before updating.
2. Extract RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.8.zip to the Memory Stick root, preserving the PSP/GAME/RETROSHELL layout.
3. Optional: extract the Art Book Next ZIP to the Memory Stick root and merge its PSP/GAME/RETROSHELL/themes path.
4. Supply any emulator BIOS files you are legally entitled to use. No ROMs or BIOS files are included.

Validation

• PSP cross-build and complete release packaging passed.
• Repository audit, host tests, Core Lab tests, and fuzz smoke checks passed.
• PPSSPP Art Book and Dark theme automation passed the full launch, save/load, frontend return, screenshot, video, audio, and clean-exit checks.
• Both archives passed ZIP integrity and content-layout audits.
• The main archive was verified not to contain Art Book assets.

SHA-256

• RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.8.zip: 9bfff4f287e35b21a6b5849657997d07cbf15b44cec83d399db65ae1875aa46c
• RetroShell-Theme-Art-Book-Next-v1.0.0-beta.8.zip: 546a6470c417e76f9f540d2734cc7e9e26b2083dc5950f4f7a4597d4c5eb68ab

RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.7

Beta 7 adds hardware-style handheld borders to RetroShell and completes their
integration with the native FrogGBA emulator.

Highlights

• Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance borders. RetroShell now
  automatically applies a branded, hardware-style bezel for each supported
  handheld system.
• FrogGBA border support. FrogGBA launches with the matching GBA border and
  includes a persistent Border On/Off option in the RetroShell pause menu.
• A true border-off layout. Disabling the FrogGBA border removes the entire
  bezel and its reserved space, returning to a centered, full-height,
  aspect-correct game display.
• Safer PSP overlay loading. FrogGBA now handles PSP FAT filename variants,
  validates overlay paths, sizes and reads, and renders through uncached VRAM
  to avoid crashes and stale frames.

Install or update

1. Download RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.7.zip.
2. Extract it to the root of the Memory Stick and merge folders.
3. Start RetroShell from Game → Memory Stick.

Merging keeps your saves, settings, artwork, installed cores and BIOS files.
FrogGBA still requires a legally obtained gba_bios.bin in
RETROSHELL/system/.

Core packages

The main ZIP already contains every emulator. The .rscore.zip assets below
are standalone packages for reinstalling one emulator: copy the package
unopened into RETROSHELL/cores/ and restart RetroShell.

Artwork attribution

The handheld border artwork is adapted from the default black overlays in
Watomsk/Overlays, commit
8aaf9a930c16a33df581ebd481086c29a0cb7298. That repository does not currently
include an explicit license, so the artwork is not covered by RetroShell's MIT
license; see the bundled third-party notices for details.

RetroShell requires custom firmware. Games and BIOS files are not included.

RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.6 (hotfix)

Beta 6 is a hotfix for the bundled native emulators. If you use Snes9xTYL (or FrogGBA) from RetroShell, update.

Fixes

• Snes9xTYL: HOME, the pause menu and the controls respond again. With the Accurate soft renderer (the default since beta 5), Snes9xTYL's emulation thread never paused between frames and starved the threads that read the HOME button and handle quitting. In game, HOME and L+R+Select did nothing and there was no way back to RetroShell. Snes9xTYL is now 1.9.01-rs8.
• Native emulators find their way back from any install folder. RetroShell only told FrogGBA and Snes9xTYL where to return when it was installed in PSP/GAME/RetroShell (or a few fixed variants). Installed anywhere else, such as an ARK category folder or a renamed folder, L+R+Select did nothing, HOME opened the emulator's own menu, and Exit went to the XMB. RetroShell now passes the folder it was actually started from.

Install or update

1. Download RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.6.zip.
2. Extract it to the root of the Memory Stick and merge folders.
3. Start RetroShell from Game → Memory Stick.

Both fixes are needed, so update the whole release, not just one file. Merging keeps your saves, settings, artwork, installed cores and BIOS files. If you run RetroShell from a folder other than PSP/GAME/RetroShell, copy the new EBOOT.PBP over the one in that folder.

Core packages

The ZIP already contains every emulator. The .rscore.zip assets below are standalone packages for reinstalling one: copy it unopened into RETROSHELL/cores/ and restart RetroShell. Only Snes9xTYL changed in this release (snes9xtyl-1.9.01-rs8.rscore.zip).

Everything else is as in beta 5. Full history in the changelog.

RetroShell requires custom firmware. Games and BIOS files are not included.

RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.5

Beta 5 rebuilds the shell around a new spatial Home, ships every emulator as included (FrogGBA and Snes9xTYL now come in the release itself), and adds per-emulator settings, Save States in Game Details, a Favorites entry on the system rail, and a full visual polish pass.

Install or update

1. Download RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.5.zip.
2. Extract it to the root of the Memory Stick and merge folders.
3. Start RetroShell from Game → Memory Stick.

Do not delete the existing RETROSHELL folder: merging keeps your saves, settings, artwork, installed cores and BIOS files. If you installed RetroShell somewhere other than PSP/GAME/RetroShell (an ARK category folder, for example), copy EBOOT.PBP over your existing install instead. Settings → About shows the running build's version.

Home

• New spatial Home. Left/Right changes system, Up/Down moves between layers: Continue Playing above, the system rail in the middle, the Library below and Game Detail beyond it. X plays or enters, O goes back, Square favorites, Triangle opens Game Detail, Start returns Home.
• Favorites on the system rail. Favorites is the first entry on the rail, with its own pixel star, and opens like a console: every starred game from all enabled systems in one A-Z list, with sort and search from the View menu.
• View menu (Select, in a Library): show All / Favorites / Recently Added, sort A-Z / Z-A / Recently Played / Most Played, and search with the PSP's on-screen keyboard. Remembered per system.
• Resume anywhere. The system, layer and Continue slot you were on survive launching a game, a native emulator and a power cycle.
• Clean titles: Pokemon - Crystal Version (USA, Europe) (Rev 1) shows as Pokémon Crystal. Game Details keeps the real file name.
• No first-boot setup screen: RetroShell opens straight to Home.

Emulators and settings

• Every emulator is included: Gambatte, QuickNES, Snes9x 2005, PicoDrive, gpSP, PCE Fast and SMS Plus GX in-process, and FrogGBA and Snes9xTYL as bundled native emulators. Both natives use RetroShell's pause menu (L+R+Select or HOME), save library, and return to RetroShell on Exit.
• Emulator Settings in the pause menu: frame skip and audio buffer for every core, plus each core's own speed and sound options. Saved per emulator, or for one game with Save for → This game only.
• Settings → Systems: choose each system's default emulator, or turn a system off to hide it from Home.
• Game Details → Emulator picks the emulator for one game without launching it.
• Save States in Game Details: every slot with when and by which emulator it was saved, a large preview, and X to start the game from that state.
• Save State asks first ("Save to Slot N?"), and Apply & Restart lets you save to a slot, restart without saving, or cancel.

Look and feel

• Deep navy default theme plus Light, Graphite and Mist; IBM Plex Mono throughout, with hinted, pixel-sharp text.
• One header and legend on every screen; a legibility pass brings secondary text to WCAG AA contrast.
• New startup screen in your theme's colours, new XMB icon and background, and the RetroShell mark in the header.
• New Figma pixel glyphs for the Favorites star and the D-pad arrows; sharper console icons.
• Library thumbnails are built in the background and cached, so scrolling never reads the Memory Stick.
• Actionable error screens (missing ROM, emulator, BIOS, storage, long path, memory) with one fix action each.

Cores that need a BIOS

FrogGBA needs your own Game Boy Advance BIOS: a gba_bios.bin of exactly 16,384 bytes at RETROSHELL/system/gba_bios.bin. gpSP stays the default for GBA. RetroShell does not include BIOS files. See Installing cores.

Core packages

The ZIP already contains every emulator. The .rscore.zip assets below are standalone packages for reinstalling one: copy it unopened into RETROSHELL/cores/ and restart RetroShell.

The full list of changes is in the changelog.

RetroShell requires custom firmware. Games and BIOS files are not included.

RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.4

Beta 4 completes the native adapter pipeline, adds a home-layout choice, and fixes a memory regression that could freeze the application mid-game.

Install

Extract RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.4.zip to the root of the Memory Stick.

If you installed RetroShell somewhere other than PSP/GAME/RetroShell — an ARK category folder, for example — copy EBOOT.PBP over your existing install instead of extracting blind, or you will end up with two copies and keep launching the old one. Settings now shows the running build's version, build time and core API version, so you can confirm which one started.

Native emulator adapters

• FrogGBA now launches, creates its own working directories, and returns to RetroShell instead of exiting to the XMB. Launch and return are confirmed on a real PSP-1000.
• Fixed native launches failing with 0x80020149 (SCE_KERNEL_ERROR_ILLEGAL_PERM_CALL). RetroShell is a user-mode module and sceKernelLoadExec is privileged, so launches now go through custom firmware's SystemCtrl loader.
• Native launch failures report the cause — a missing BIOS, an uninstalled emulator, an over-long ROM path — instead of a status code.
• Native adapters no longer outrank in-process cores, so installing one no longer silently makes it the default for its system.

Cores that need a BIOS

FrogGBA requires a Game Boy Advance BIOS. RetroShell does not include BIOS files.

Place a gba_bios.bin of exactly 16,384 bytes at RETROSHELL/system/gba_bios.bin, then install froggba-0.5.0-native.rscore.zip and pick FrogGBA through Options → Per-game Settings. RetroShell verifies the size and copies it into the emulator's folder, so one copy serves every emulator that needs it.

A wrong-size file is the common mistake: headered dumps, zipped files renamed to .bin, and BIOS images from other consoles all fail the check. Full setup steps and every failure message are in Installing cores.

Interface

• Settings → Home layout switches between the beta.3 text rail (Modern) and the pre-beta.3 badge cards (Classic).
• Settings shows the build identity, so a console can be matched to the artifact running on it without reading the log.

Fixes

• Fixed the application freezing mid-game on the first in-game screenshot. The newlib heap had been sized from a sample that never observes a capture — the largest heap burst in the application. The PSP installs no exception handler, so it appeared as the application silently stopping.
• Fixed a zero-size SRAM being treated as an error for cartridges without battery backup.
• QuickNES and Gambatte now emit the PSP GE's native pixel ordering from their palettes, removing a per-pixel channel swap of 61,440 and 23,040 pixels per frame at no runtime cost.
• Fixed the vendored mGBA tree adopting this repository's git tag as its own version, which changed its artifact on every commit and broke provenance verification.

Core packages

The ZIP bundles the production cores. The .rscore.zip assets below are standalone packages — copy one unopened into RETROSHELL/cores/ and restart RetroShell. Compatibility labels describe this build, not every game.

RetroShell requires custom firmware. Games and BIOS files are not included.

RetroShell PSP v1.0.0-beta.3

RetroShell PSP v1.0.0-beta.3

Beta 3 adds the adapter and core-package foundation, improves large-library
performance, hardens the runtime, and completes the first major interface
redesign.

Highlights

• Native-emulator adapter SDK for PSP emulators that need the full process,
  memory, display, audio, dynarec, and suspend lifecycle.
• Protocol-v1 direct ROM launch, shared L+R+Select pause contract,
  return-to-RetroShell flow, and per-game shared save paths.
• Validated drag-and-drop .rscore.zip installation from RETROSHELL/cores/.
• Large-library rendering, sorting, cache, artwork, and navigation fixes.
• PSP-native frame paths, bounded audio recovery, ROM streaming, RTC
  persistence, suspend safety, and save/state hardening.
• Redesigned home rail, Recently Played drawer, game lists, details, settings,
  pause menu, console icons, fonts, themes, branding, and startup shimmer.
• Expanded host tests, parser fuzz smoke tests, deterministic packaging,
  provenance records, and hardware-oriented logging.

The main Beta 3 ZIP includes Gambatte, QuickNES, Snes9x 2005, PicoDrive,
gpSP, Beetle PCE Fast, and SMS Plus GX. Compatibility status varies by core;
see the emulator directory.

FrogGBA and Snes9xTYL adapter source is included in the repository, but native
binary packages are not attached to this release while reproducible packaging
and hardware qualification remain pending.

Install or update

1. Download RetroShell-PSP-v1.0.0-beta.3.zip.
2. Extract it to the root of the PSP Memory Stick and merge folders.
3. Start RetroShell from Game → Memory Stick.

Do not delete the existing RETROSHELL directory before updating. Merging the
release preserves saves, settings, artwork, installed cores, and user-supplied
BIOS files. Games and BIOS files are not included.

Verification

• Repository and provenance audit: passed.
• Host tests: 7/7 passed.
• JSON and ZIP parser fuzz smoke tests: passed.
• PSP-1000-mode PPSSPP launch/save/load/return test with Gambatte: passed.
• Release ZIP reproducibility check: passed.

PPSSPP is a correctness check. Real PSP hardware remains the performance and
compatibility authority, especially for entries labeled Testing or
Experimental.

Full details: CHANGELOG.md

RetroShell PSP v1.0.0-beta.2

Changes

• Keeps large ROM libraries responsive by drawing only visible tiles and using the cached index.
• Adds natural, case-insensitive game ordering.
• Indexes cover art placed beside ROMs and avoids repeated Memory Stick probes while browsing.
• Fixes green/red UI artifacts on PSP hardware, including thumbnails, action icons, and the pause menu.
• Caps screenshots at 50 to prevent unbounded Memory Stick usage.

Install

Extract the ZIP to the root of the PSP Memory Stick. Existing saves and settings remain in place.

Tested on PSP-1000 hardware. Games and BIOS files are not included.

RetroShell v1.0.0-beta.1

First public beta.\n\nInstall by extracting the ZIP to the root of a PSP Memory Stick. A PSP with custom firmware is required. Games and BIOS files are not included.\n\nSome bundled cores remain under real-hardware testing. See the README for current support status.\n\nSHA-256: 991ebea61aeecb6b6b8d743d03b9a544c130197e9ffeeed6a472dcae7a038eb8