Libretro.NET

Libretro.NET provides native bindings to the famous libretro.h header. Targeting .NET Standard 2.0, it allows to quickly setup a Libretro emulator for a wide range of platforms.

This project is at its early days: only basic features and non-OpenGL cores are supported. That said, if you come by and want to contribute, don't hesitate suggest/implement improvements or report issues!

Installation

This library is available as a NuGet package and can be installed using the dotnet CLI:

dotnet add package Libretro.NET

Sample usage

// Create a new wrapper
var retro = new RetroWrapper();

// Load the core and the game
retro.LoadCore("core/path/here");
retro.LoadGame("game/path/here");

// The wrapper exposes some specifications
var width = retro.Width;
var height = retro.Height;
var fps = retro.FPS;
var sampleRate = retro.SampleRate;
var pixelFormat = retro.PixelFormat;

// Register emulation events
retro.OnFrame = (frame, width, height) =>
{
    // Display or store the frame here
};
retro.OnSample = (sample) =>
{
    // Play or store the audio sample here
};
retro.OnCheckInput = (port, device, index, id) =>
{
    // Check if a key is pressed here
};

// Run a game iteration (one iteration = one frame)
retro.Run();

// Dispose wrapper when done
retro.Dispose();

Example project

The first parameter is the path to the core, and the second parameter is the path to the game.

For users on Linux x86_64, you can quickly test it as follows:

dotnet run --project Libretro.NET.Example/ -- \
    Libretro.NET.Tests/Resources/mgba_libretro.so \
    Libretro.NET.Tests/Resources/celeste_classic.gba

For users on other platforms, just replace the mGBA core with the correct one from the buildbot of Libretro.

References

• The MonoGame framework is used for the example project.
• The ClangSharp library was used to generate the initial libretro.h bindings.
• The NativeLibraryLoader is used for the native interopability mechanisms.
• The mGBA core and Celeste Classic are used for unit testing.
• ... Do I really have to talk about the fantastic Libretro initiative and the inspiration that represents its famous RetroArch front-end?