Boxshelf 1.82.0-beta.6: now on Windows, Android and Linux

Boxshelf is now on Android and Linux

Alongside Windows, this beta brings two new versions:

• Android, made for the AYN Thor and its two screens (it runs on other Android handhelds, phones and tablets too). The bottom screen shows the game you're on with its buttons.
• Linux / Steam Deck, an experimental first build. It finds EmuDeck and RetroDECK setups, Flatpak and AppImage emulators, and your games on the SD card.

Downloads

Your device	Download
Windows 10 / 11 PC	Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.6-windows.zip
AYN Thor and other Android devices	Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.6-android.apk
Linux / Steam Deck (experimental)	Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.6-linux.AppImage

You need the emulators and games you already own. Boxshelf doesn't include or download any games, BIOS files or keys.

What's new in beta.6

• 12 new consoles: PlayStation, NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, Mega Drive / Genesis, Master System, Game Gear and Dreamcast, each with its own case style. They run through RetroArch (Boxshelf picks the right core for you) or the best standalone emulator: DuckStation, melonDS, mGBA, Rosalie's Mupen GUI, BlastEm, Flycast. Box art and manuals know them all.
• Clean starts and exits (Windows): like a real console, nothing but Boxshelf and your game on screen. No taskbar flashing, no emulator windows on the way in or out, and the shelf always comes back in front of your other windows. (Settings → Display → Screen & motion → Hide the taskbar during games.)
• Rename any game: Details → Rename. Box art and manual searches use the new name too, so a wrong name no longer pulls the wrong art.
• Pick the cover for PC games: Steam, Epic and Custom games get a cover picker (Details → Box art), with SteamGridDB covers when you add a free key, Search by name…, and A picture of yours for real box art on recomps and other Custom games.
• Fix: renaming a game in Settings → Custom games now saves properly.

Get started

Windows

1. Unzip Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.6-windows.zip into a folder of its own (for example Documents\Boxshelf). Coming from an earlier beta? Unzip it over your old folder; your settings are kept.
2. Run Boxshelf.exe. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway (the beta isn't code-signed yet).
3. The setup wizard finds your emulators and games, or lets you pick them yourself.

Android (AYN Thor)

1. Open the .apk on your device. The first time, Android asks to allow installs from your browser or file manager: allow it.
2. Open Boxshelf. Setup finds the emulator apps you have installed and asks for your games folders (one per console is easiest).
3. Box art downloads in the background into a Boxshelf Art folder next to your games, so it's only downloaded once.

The bottom screen hides while a game runs, so DS and 3DS emulators get it (Settings → Display → Bottom screen turns it off). Controller and touch both work everywhere. Needs Android 7 or newer. Manuals aren't downloaded on Android yet. (The app's own version label says 0.4.0-beta.1: it's this release.)

Linux / Steam Deck (experimental)

1. Put the .AppImage somewhere like ~/Applications and make it executable (right-click → Properties → Permissions → "Is executable", or chmod +x).
2. Run it. On a Steam Deck, start in Desktop Mode. Boxshelf keeps its settings in ~/Boxshelf.
3. It finds emulators installed as programs, Flatpaks or AppImages (EmuDeck and RetroDECK included) and your games in ~/Emulation/roms, ~/retrodeck/roms or on your SD card. RetroArch uses its Linux cores.

This is a first build, so not everything works yet. There's no Home menu or quit combo during a game yet (quit from the emulator's own menu), no power menu, and Steam Deck Gaming Mode hasn't been tested. On the Deck, adding Boxshelf to Steam as a non-Steam game should let it see the controller. On Ubuntu 24.04 you may need to start it with --no-sandbox. Steam Deck and Linux players: please tell us how it goes (your device or distro, and what worked).

Found a problem?

On Windows: Settings → System → Report a problem saves a zip on your Desktop (passwords and keys removed). Then use Report a bug online in the same place, or open an issue, and attach the zip. On Android and Linux, open an issue and say which device you have.

See Known issues for what's already known. Boxshelf is free software (GPL-3.0): the source code is at boxshelf-source.

Boxshelf 1.82.0-beta.4 for Windows

The public beta of Boxshelf for Windows. Thank you for all the feedback on beta.3: this update is built from it.

Get started

1. Download Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.4-windows.zip below and unzip it into a folder of its own (for example Documents\Boxshelf). Coming from an earlier beta? Unzip it over your old folder; your settings are kept.
2. Run Boxshelf.exe. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway (the beta isn't code-signed yet).
3. The setup wizard finds your emulators and games, or lets you pick them yourself.

You need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and the emulators and games you already own. The README has the full guide.

New in beta.4

• Custom shelf: recomps, PC ports and any other program get a shelf of their own. Add them in Settings → Custom games (name them as you like). They start from their own folder, with the Home menu and quit buttons like any game.
• Quiver Launcher: everything you installed with Quiver shows up on the Custom shelf by itself (Quiver 3, installed or portable, and Quiver 4). A portable copy is found with one press of Find in Settings → Custom games.
• Epic Games: your installed Epic games join Steam's on the PC shelf and start through the Epic launcher, so sign-in and cloud saves work as usual (Settings → PC games to turn it off).
• Check for updates from the quick menu: Quick menu → Updates checks right away; when a new beta is out, press it again to open its download page.
• Emulator download links for every console in setup and Settings, now straight to each emulator's official download page, including Switch 2.
• Big libraries: tested with 21,000 games. The shelf, scanning and the box art pages stay smooth. (The Museum is still slow to open with thousands of games on a console; a fix is planned.)

Found a problem?

Settings → System → Report a problem saves a zip on your Desktop (passwords and keys removed). Then use Report a bug online in the same place, or open an issue, and attach the zip.

See Known issues for what's already known.

Boxshelf 1.82.0-beta.3 for Windows

The public beta of Boxshelf for Windows. Thank you for testing!

Get started

1. Download Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.3-windows.zip below and unzip it into a folder of its own (for example Documents\Boxshelf). Coming from beta.2? Unzip it over your old folder; your settings are kept.
2. Run Boxshelf.exe. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway (the beta isn't code-signed yet).
3. The setup wizard finds your emulators and games, or lets you pick them yourself.

You need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and the emulators and games you already own. "Start here.txt" in the zip has the short version, and the README has the full guide.

New in beta.3

• Switch 2 builds: Settings → Switch 2 → Builds lists every Eglantine build Boxshelf finds (the same list Play shows). Choose one to always start in it, or keep Ask each time. Builds kept in other folders can be added (a single build or a whole folder of forks).
• Themes: pressing A on a theme in Settings → Display now keeps that theme instead of jumping to the next one.
• Manuals: a game's manual page is laid out properly again (Lock this manual and the language choice were squeezed).
• Box art: a console's games list can no longer get stuck on "Loading…".
• Manual search works for Switch 2 and PS5 games.

In this beta

• A new install starts quiet: the menu music is off (Quick menu → Customize → Menu music turns it on).
• Box art and manuals download only if you say yes on the last page of setup.
• Setup also looks for emulators in Documents and OneDrive.
• Clear messages when an emulator is missing, has moved, or closes right after a game starts (usually a missing BIOS, keys or firmware).
• Update and DLC files next to your games are no longer shown as games.
• Boxshelf tells you when a newer beta is out (Settings → System → Beta updates; you can turn the check off there).

Found a problem?

Settings → System → Report a problem saves a zip on your Desktop (passwords and keys removed). Then use Report a bug online in the same place, or open an issue, and attach the zip.

See Known issues for what's already known.

Boxshelf 1.82.0-beta.2 for Windows

The first public beta of Boxshelf for Windows. Thank you for testing!

Get started

1. Download Boxshelf-1.82.0-beta.2-windows.zip below and unzip it into a folder of its own (for example Documents\Boxshelf).
2. Run Boxshelf.exe. If Windows says "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway (the beta isn't code-signed yet).
3. The setup wizard finds your emulators and games, or lets you pick them yourself.

You need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and the emulators and games you already own. "Start here.txt" in the zip has the short version, and the README has the full guide.

What's in this beta

• A new install starts quiet: the menu music is off (Quick menu → Customize → Menu music turns it on).
• Box art and manuals download only if you say yes on the last page of setup.
• Setup also looks for emulators in Documents and OneDrive.
• Clear messages when an emulator is missing, has moved, or closes right after a game starts (usually a missing BIOS, keys or firmware).
• Update and DLC files next to your games are no longer shown as games.
• Boxshelf tells you when a newer beta is out (Settings → System → Beta updates; you can turn the check off there).

Found a problem?

Settings → System → Report a problem saves a zip on your Desktop (passwords and keys removed). Then use Report a bug online in the same place, or open an issue, and attach the zip.

See Known issues for what's already known.