Releases: mayusi/EmuHelper
v0.9.0 - In-app RAR extraction (RAR4+RAR5) + faster downloads
EmuHelper v0.9.0 — in-app RAR extraction + a faster download pipeline
The big one: EmuHelper can now unpack RAR archives for you.
📦 In-app RAR extraction (RAR4 + RAR5)
Download a .rar and EmuHelper offers to extract it automatically when the download finishes — no separate app needed. It uses the official RAR engine (the same one WinRAR uses), so it handles:
- Modern RAR5 archives and older RAR4
- Solid archives and multi-volume sets (
.part1.rar/.r00…) - Unicode filenames
When you download files and a RAR is in your selection, you're asked whether to extract. Anything the engine can't handle (e.g. a password-protected archive) is simply saved as-is — your download is never lost, and a half-extracted mess is never published. Extraction runs in a sandbox with its own path-safety checks.
⚡ Faster small-file batches
Downloading a whole category at once (a stack of small ROMs) used to re-check the Internet Archive mirrors before every single file. Now the app works the mirrors out once per collection and reuses that — cutting a big chunk of per-file overhead. (Large single downloads were already at the mirrors' speed limit; this speeds up the many-small-files case.)
⏱️ Quicker completion on large downloads
The integrity checksum is now computed as the file downloads instead of in a second full pass at the end, so big files finish and show up in your folder noticeably sooner — less time stuck at "Saving…". (If anything's uncertain it still does a full verify; the corruption check is never weakened.)
🔌 Snappier starts
Connections to the Archive's mirrors are warmed up during setup, so the first bytes start flowing a little sooner.
Install: download app-debug.apk below. Requires Android 10 (API 29)+. The alpha installs as a separate .debug package, so it won't collide with any future release build.
SHA-256 (app-debug.apk):
004c23c80660ab7e08d714df3b02b2359a78def2493ffc1eca1622d15046c456
RAR extraction is powered by UnRAR © Alexander Roshal / RARLAB, used for decompression only under its license.
Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
v0.8.0 - Parallel downloads, resume & overnight safeguards
EmuHelper v0.8.0 — parallel downloads, resume, and overnight safeguards
A big round of download improvements that help slow and fast connections alike.
⚡ Download several games at full speed at once
When you download multiple files together, the engine now puts each one on a different Internet Archive mirror datacenter — so two games download in parallel, each at full speed, instead of fighting over the same mirror and splitting it.
🔄 Resume after an interruption — even a crash or reboot
Downloads now keep their progress on disk. If the app gets killed, your network drops, or the device restarts mid-download, you pick up where you left off instead of restarting a multi-GB file. (A finished file is still checksum-verified end to end, so a resumed download can never leave you with a corrupt file.)
🌙 Safer overnight batches
- Wi-Fi-only is now actually enforced mid-download — dropping to mobile data pauses the batch and resumes when Wi-Fi returns, so a big overnight download can't burn your data.
- Thermal safety — if the device gets hot, the engine automatically eases off its connections to let it cool, then ramps back up, so a long batch won't cook a handheld.
🛡️ Public-search safety notice
The "search all of the Internet Archive" feature now reminds you that public results aren't curated or vetted like the built-in collections — download content you recognise and trust. EmuHelper still verifies every download's checksum for integrity.
🔔 Gentler update reminders
If you've dismissed an update but are still on an older build, you'll get one low-key reminder per day (at most) instead of silence — so you don't get stuck on an old version, without being nagged.
Install: download app-debug.apk below. Requires Android 10 (API 29)+. The alpha installs as a separate .debug package, so it won't collide with any future release build.
SHA-256 (app-debug.apk):
f7e42b18986db1f62537c674b521ca73a67bede9b5fe2e5fbe38a87ad5e0dd22
Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
v0.7.0 - Xbox & Xbox 360 support + faster download engine
EmuHelper v0.7.0 — Xbox & Xbox 360 + a faster download engine
The biggest update yet.
🎮 Xbox & Xbox 360 support
Two major new consoles are now wired up and appear in the category picker like everything else:
- Xbox 360 — the full Redump alphabetical disc set, Title Updates, the Digital collections, plus DLC, XBLIG, XBLA, and a Rock Band DLC pack.
- Xbox — the complete Redump alphabetical disc set.
⚡ Faster downloads, now on by default
The multi-mirror download engine has been rebuilt around how the Internet Archive actually serves files. Instead of opening lots of cold connections that each restart from scratch, it now opens a few warm, reused HTTP/2 connections per mirror and spreads the work across the Archive's independent mirror datacenters. On-device testing showed it matches or beats the old downloader while running cooler on handhelds — so it's now the default. You can switch back to the simpler single-path downloader in Settings any time.
Install: download app-debug.apk below. Requires Android 10 (API 29)+. The alpha installs as a separate .debug package, so it won't collide with any future release build.
SHA-256 (app-debug.apk):
e03c8b1ea7f780258f2c30b625eb80bbc213ee276136bbfcf04ea0a84c1bf8cf
Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
v0.6.1 - On-device library, per-list folders, favourite consoles
EmuHelper v0.6.1
Three handheld-focused features.
Added
- On-device library. A new On-device library view (Home menu) walks your download folder and shows everything you've already pulled — grouped by category folder, with file sizes and a running total. Files not in your download history are flagged "not tracked", and you can verify any file on demand: it re-hashes the file on disk and checks it against the checksum it was downloaded with, so you can confirm a file isn't corrupt. Verify is opt-in per file to spare your battery on big libraries.
- Per-list download folders. Each saved list can now have its own destination folder, overriding the global one — keep PS1 on internal storage and N64 on the SD card, for example. Set it from the list's menu ("Set download folder"), or clear it back to default. Downloads and retries from that list land in the folder you pinned.
- Favourite consoles. Star the categories you use most and they float to the top of the category picker, so you're not scrolling past everything every time. Independent of the "remember last selection" tick.
Install: download app-debug.apk below. Requires Android 10 (API 29)+. The alpha installs as a separate .debug package, so it won't collide with any future release build.
SHA-256 (app-debug.apk):
b039f532f56c2b62cb1ec03bdffd08b295c8b30069b4095a790d5f2607c8384b
Full changelog: CHANGELOG.md
EmuHelper v0.6.0
EmuHelper v0.6.0
Still early/alpha.
The big one: discover and download from all of the Internet Archive, not just the built-in collections.
Added
- Search the Internet Archive. A new in-app search finds any public item across the whole of archive.org and downloads it through the normal flow. No login needed to search. (Home menu -> Search the Internet Archive.)
- Add from a link. Paste any archive.org item link - or just its identifier - and the app pulls that item's files straight into the picker to select and download. Perfect for links shared in the Discord.
Both feed into the same select/download flow you already know.
Install
Download EmuHelper-v0.6.0.apk below, allow unknown sources, open it. Min Android 10. Ready to use - sign in and download.
APK integrity - SHA-256:
e2b0083656cc713746617f67c1be046785702e5287f595aec7ab066c7018e580
Built by mayusi. Development was assisted by an AI coding assistant.
EmuHelper v0.5.5
EmuHelper v0.5.5
Still early/alpha.
A reliability + polish release.
Fixed
- More reliable resume - the interrupted-batch queue is saved before downloads start, so a crash during the first file still lets you resume.
- Wi-Fi-only now holds the whole download - drop to mobile data and it auto-pauses (resumes when Wi-Fi is back) instead of silently using cellular.
- Confirmations before destructive taps - cancelling a batch and signing out now ask first (easy to mis-tap on a handheld).
- Snappier cancel - no more needless network probes for not-yet-started files; the source health check stops instantly when cancelled.
- A notice now shows if saved lists/history fail to load, history entries no longer collide, the login screen submits on the keyboard Done key, plus accessibility and touch-target fixes.
Install
Download EmuHelper-v0.5.5.apk below, allow unknown sources, open it. Min Android 10. Ready to use - sign in and download.
APK integrity - SHA-256:
5348cf4f762876e544ac6f8f341fbcd004c8cb91c07dd2f8cd23965b4da95f9e
Built by mayusi. Development was assisted by an AI coding assistant.
EmuHelper v0.5.4
EmuHelper v0.5.4
Still early/alpha.
Fixed
- Login status updates live on the home screen. After v0.5.3, the home screen could still briefly show "not signed in" even when you were logged in (it fixed itself if you opened another screen and came back). Now it shows your real login state immediately and updates the instant a background sign-in finishes - no navigating away and back.
Install
Download EmuHelper-v0.5.4.apk below, allow unknown sources, open it. Min Android 10. Ready to use - sign in and download.
APK integrity - SHA-256:
c80226aff013114c57cfcaeeed571372bb5197236161838199db11746259e576
Built by mayusi. Development was assisted by an AI coding assistant.
EmuHelper v0.5.3
EmuHelper v0.5.3
Still early/alpha.
A reliability release: stay logged in, no more download flash, and an experimental faster mode for the adaptive engine.
Fixed
- Stay logged in. Sign in once and the app keeps your session — it no longer needlessly re-logs-in on startup or briefly shows a signed-out screen. If your session ever expires it re-authenticates silently; you should only see the login screen again if your saved password stops working.
- No more "No files found" flash. Starting a download no longer flashes the empty screen, and pressing Back after a download returns home instead of a stale, empty picker.
Changed
- Adaptive engine — faster mode (experimental, still off by default). It can now open more connections across more mirrors at once and race the last few slow chunks to cut the tail. Honest note: how much faster depends on your connection and how many fast mirrors a file has — if you are already maxing your bandwidth, more connections will not beat that ceiling. Settings → Experimental to try it.
Install
Download EmuHelper-v0.5.3.apk below, allow unknown sources, open it. Min Android 10. Ready to use — sign in and download.
APK integrity - SHA-256:
3ef77147ffa079f546e2a0314b553fc4f38e9589fd9bb4ca65d2ed97e5d072e8
Built by mayusi. Development was assisted by an AI coding assistant.
EmuHelper v0.5.2
EmuHelper v0.5.2
Still early/alpha.
Fixed: adaptive download engine
The experimental adaptive engine (Settings -> Experimental) could fail a download around the halfway point in v0.5.0/0.5.1. The cause was an over-eager "slow mirror" detector that fired under normal multi-connection load and counted those false alarms as real failures, exhausting the retry budget mid-file.
This release fixes it: slow-mirror migrations can never fail a download (only genuine errors can), the "slow" decision now uses a realistic decaying baseline that must be sustained before acting (and stays off until it has enough real data), and the engine can no longer get stuck or drop part of a file. Backed by new tests covering exactly these cases.
It is still off by default and experimental — but it should now help instead of failing. Give it another try and let us know on Discord.
Install
Download EmuHelper-v0.5.2.apk below, allow unknown sources, open it. Min Android 10. Ready to use — sign in and download.
APK integrity - SHA-256:
d82dbb9d1643cf21711e2711ceb1de5d10239a15d842917530ddd0fc6bfa5bc8
Built by mayusi. Development was assisted by an AI coding assistant.
EmuHelper v0.5.1
v0.5.1 - Discord community link + first-launch welcome prompt - Adds a Discord community/support link in three places: a one-time welcome dialog on first launch (Join / Maybe later, never shown again), a permanent entry in the About screen, and the README (badge + a Community & support section). - New SettingsStore flag tracks that the first-launch prompt was shown, so it appears exactly once and can't re-trigger or flicker.