Folder Structure

How to organize your ROMs and files for EmuDeck and RetroDeck.

Overview

Both EmuDeck and RetroDeck create organized folder structures for your games. Understanding this structure helps you:

Know where to put new ROMs
Find save files for backup
Troubleshoot when games do not appear
Organize large game collections

The key rule: each system gets its own folder. Put SNES games in the SNES folder, PlayStation games in the PlayStation folder, and so on.

EmuDeck Folder Structure

EmuDeck creates an Emulation folder in your chosen location (internal storage or SD card).

Internal Storage Path

/home/deck/Emulation/

SD Card Path

/run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/

Complete EmuDeck Structure

Emulation/
    bios/                   # BIOS files for all systems
    hdpacks/                # HD texture packs
    roms/                   # All ROM folders
        3do/
        amiga/
        amstradcpc/
        arcade/
        atari2600/
        atari5200/
        atari7800/
        atarilynx/
        atomiswave/
        c64/
        colecovision/
        doom/
        dos/
        dreamcast/
        famicom/
        fbneo/
        fds/                # Famicom Disk System
        gamegear/
        gb/                 # Game Boy
        gba/                # Game Boy Advance
        gbc/                # Game Boy Color
        gc/                 # GameCube
        genesis/            # Also called megadrive
        gw/                 # Game & Watch
        intellivision/
        mame/
        mastersystem/       # Sega Master System
        megacd/             # Sega CD in Europe
        megadrive/          # Genesis in Europe
        model2/
        msx/
        n3ds/               # Nintendo 3DS
        n64/                # Nintendo 64
        naomi/
        nds/                # Nintendo DS
        neogeo/
        neogeocd/
        nes/
        ngp/                # Neo Geo Pocket
        ngpc/               # Neo Geo Pocket Color
        odyssey2/
        openbor/
        pc88/
        pc98/
        pcengine/           # TurboGrafx-16
        pcenginecd/         # TurboGrafx-CD
        pico8/
        pokemini/
        ports/
        primehacks/
        ps2/
        ps3/
        psp/
        psx/                # PlayStation 1
        saturn/
        scummvm/
        sega32x/
        segacd/
        sg1000/
        snes/
        sneshd/
        solarus/
        supergrafx/
        switch/
        tg16/               # TurboGrafx-16 alternate
        tgcd/               # TurboGrafx-CD alternate
        uzebox/
        vectrex/
        vic20/
        virtualboy/
        wii/
        wiiu/
        wonderswan/
        wonderswancolor/
        x68000/
        xbox/
        zxspectrum/
    saves/                  # Some emulator saves
    storage/                # Emulator-specific storage
        cemu/               # Wii U emulator data
        citra/              # 3DS emulator data
        dolphin/            # GameCube/Wii data
        duckstation/        # PS1 emulator data
        pcsx2/              # PS2 emulator data
        ppsspp/             # PSP emulator data
        rpcs3/              # PS3 emulator data
        ryujinx/            # Switch emulator data
        yuzu/               # Switch emulator data
    tools/                  # Helper applications

RetroDeck Folder Structure

RetroDeck creates a retrodeck folder in your chosen location.

Internal Storage Path

/home/deck/retrodeck/

SD Card Path

/run/media/mmcblk0p1/retrodeck/

Complete RetroDeck Structure

retrodeck/
    bios/                   # BIOS files
        dc/                 # Dreamcast BIOS subfolder
        keropi/             # X68000 BIOS
        np2kai/             # PC-98 BIOS
        pcsx2/              # PS2 BIOS can also go here
        switch/             # Switch keys and firmware
    gamelists/              # ES-DE game metadata
    mods/                   # Game modifications
    roms/                   # All ROM folders
        (same folder names as EmuDeck)
    saves/                  # Save files
        (organized by system)
    screenshots/            # Game screenshots
    shaders/                # Custom shaders
    states/                 # Save states
    texture_packs/          # HD textures
    themes/                 # ES-DE themes

ROM Folder Names

The folder names are standardized. Games must go in the correct folder to be detected. Here is the complete reference:

Nintendo Systems

System	Folder Name	Alternate Names
NES	`nes`	`famicom`
Famicom Disk System	`fds`	-
SNES	`snes`	`sfc`
Nintendo 64	`n64`	-
GameCube	`gc`	`gamecube`
Wii	`wii`	-
Wii U	`wiiu`	-
Switch	`switch`	-
Game Boy	`gb`	-
Game Boy Color	`gbc`	-
Game Boy Advance	`gba`	-
Nintendo DS	`nds`	-
Nintendo 3DS	`n3ds`	`3ds`
Virtual Boy	`virtualboy`	-
Pokemon Mini	`pokemini`	-

Sony Systems

System	Folder Name	Notes
PlayStation 1	`psx`	Not ps1
PlayStation 2	`ps2`	-
PlayStation 3	`ps3`	Games in subfolders
PlayStation Portable	`psp`	-
PlayStation Vita	`psvita`	-

Sega Systems

System	Folder Name	Alternate Names
Master System	`mastersystem`	-
Genesis/Mega Drive	`genesis`	`megadrive`
Sega CD	`segacd`	`megacd`
Sega 32X	`sega32x`	-
Saturn	`saturn`	-
Dreamcast	`dreamcast`	-
Game Gear	`gamegear`	-
SG-1000	`sg1000`	-

Other Systems

System	Folder Name
TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine	`pcengine` or `tg16`
TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD	`pcenginecd` or `tgcd`
Neo Geo	`neogeo`
Neo Geo CD	`neogeocd`
Neo Geo Pocket	`ngp`
Neo Geo Pocket Color	`ngpc`
3DO	`3do`
Atari 2600	`atari2600`
Atari 5200	`atari5200`
Atari 7800	`atari7800`
Atari Lynx	`atarilynx`
ColecoVision	`colecovision`
Intellivision	`intellivision`
Vectrex	`vectrex`
WonderSwan	`wonderswan`
WonderSwan Color	`wonderswancolor`
Xbox	`xbox`

Arcade

System	Folder Name	Notes
MAME	`mame`	Generic MAME games
FinalBurn Neo	`fbneo`	FBNeo ROM set
Arcade (general)	`arcade`	Either MAME or FBNeo
Atomiswave	`atomiswave`	-
Naomi	`naomi`	-
Sega Model 2	`model2`	-

Multi-Disc Games

Some games span multiple discs. There are two ways to handle them:

Method 1: M3U Playlist (Recommended)

Create a text file with .m3u extension listing all discs:

Final Fantasy VII (Disc 1).chd
Final Fantasy VII (Disc 2).chd
Final Fantasy VII (Disc 3).chd

Save this as Final Fantasy VII.m3u in the same folder as the game files. The emulator shows only the .m3u file and handles disc swapping automatically.

Method 2: Subfolder

Put multi-disc games in their own subfolder:

psx/
    Final Fantasy VII/
        Final Fantasy VII (Disc 1).chd
        Final Fantasy VII (Disc 2).chd
        Final Fantasy VII (Disc 3).chd

Some frontends handle this automatically. The M3U method is more reliable.

How to Swap Discs

In RetroArch: Open the Quick Menu, go to Disc Control, select the next disc, then close the tray.

In standalone emulators: Usually in the File menu or accessible via hotkey.

Multi-File Games

BIN/CUE Sets

Some games have multiple .bin files with one .cue:

psx/
    Castlevania Symphony of the Night.cue
    Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Track 1).bin
    Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Track 2).bin

Put all files in the ROM folder. The frontend shows only the .cue file.

Convert to CHD

Converting BIN/CUE to CHD combines everything into a single file, making organization easier. See ROM File Formats for how to convert.

PlayStation 3 Games

PS3 games are folders, not single files:

ps3/
    BLUS12345/
        PS3_GAME/
            USRDIR/
                EBOOT.BIN
                ...

Place the entire game folder (BLUS12345 or similar) in the ps3 directory.

Wii U Games

Wii U games can be folders (Loadiine format) or single files (WUX/WUA):

wiiu/
    Mario Kart 8 [AMKE01]/
        code/
        content/
        meta/

Or as a single file:

wiiu/
    Mario Kart 8.wux

File Naming Best Practices

For Scraping (Getting Artwork)

Clean file names help scrapers identify games correctly:

Bad Name	Good Name
`smw.sfc`	`Super Mario World.sfc`
`ff7_d1.bin`	`Final Fantasy VII (Disc 1).bin`
`ZELDA_OOT[!].z64`	`Legend of Zelda, The - Ocarina of Time.z64`

Common Naming Conventions

Use the full game title
Include "The" at the end with comma: Legend of Zelda, The
Region in parentheses: Super Mario Bros (USA)
Disc numbers: Game Name (Disc 1)
Avoid special characters like & : / in file names

No-Intro Naming

No-Intro ROM sets use standardized naming:

Game Name (Region) (Version) (Other Tags).ext

Example: Super Mario World (USA).sfc

This format works well with scrapers and keeps collections organized.

Using Subfolders

You can organize ROMs into subfolders within each system folder:

snes/
    Action/
        Contra III.sfc
        Super Metroid.sfc
    RPG/
        Chrono Trigger.sfc
        Final Fantasy VI.sfc
    Favorites/
        Super Mario World.sfc

How Frontends Handle Subfolders

Frontend	Behavior
ES-DE (RetroDeck)	Shows subfolders as navigable folders
Steam ROM Manager	Scans all subfolders, games appear flat in Steam
Pegasus	Configurable subfolder handling

Multi-Disc Subfolder Warning

If using subfolders for multi-disc games, the M3U file must be in the same subfolder as the disc files, not the parent folder.

Finding Your Paths

In Desktop Mode

Open Dolphin File Manager
Navigate to your folder
Right-click empty space
Select "Copy Location"

Common Paths Quick Reference

What	EmuDeck Path	RetroDeck Path
ROMs (Internal)	`~/Emulation/roms/`	`~/retrodeck/roms/`
ROMs (SD Card)	`/run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/roms/`	`/run/media/mmcblk0p1/retrodeck/roms/`
BIOS (Internal)	`~/Emulation/bios/`	`~/retrodeck/bios/`
BIOS (SD Card)	`/run/media/mmcblk0p1/Emulation/bios/`	`/run/media/mmcblk0p1/retrodeck/bios/`

Note: ~ is shorthand for /home/deck/

BIOS Files Explained

Steam Integration