RetroBox

EmulatorJS-based retro gaming frontend with remote controller support.

Prerequisites

• Bun (for local development)
• Docker (for containerized deployment)
• EmulatorJS directory
  • Note: this has been modified to support decoupled screen/controller architecture (source uploaded upon request)

Running Locally

bun run server.ts

Server runs at http://localhost:3333

Native mode uses RetroArch and its cores from /run/current-system/sw. The gamecube and wii native system IDs load dolphin_libretro.so with Vulkan, using a separate copy of the kiosk configuration for each launch. Dolphin runs in single-core mode (dolphin_main_cpu_thread = "disabled") to avoid a CPU/GPU frame handshake stall on the Pi 5. Other built-in defaults are preserved; explicit core options use the shared dolphin-emu options directory. The matching Dolphin Sys assets belong at ~/.config/retroarch/system/dolphin-emu/Sys under the kiosk home. The Nix wrapper supplies the current assets, controller autoconfiguration, and core paths.

Running with Docker

docker build -t retrobox .

docker run -d --name retrobox -p 3333:3333 \
  -e HOST_IP=$(ipconfig getifaddr en0) \
  -v $(pwd)/EmulatorJS:/app/EmulatorJS \
  -v $(pwd)/presets:/app/presets \
  retrobox

Note: HOST_IP is required on macOS so LAN devices can discover the correct IP.
On Linux, use hostname -I | awk '{print $1}' instead.