Axon : Retro Pi Installation and Setup

General
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Retro Pi Installation and Setup

Pre-requitsites

  • Image : Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ( eMMC / RAW Image(SD Card / NVMe))

Overview

This guide explains how to:

  • How to install RetroPi in Linux
  • Add and configure a new controller in RetroPie.
  • Add games (ROMs) for supported systems.
  • Copy files into the correct RetroPie directories.

RetroPie works with EmulationStation as the frontend and supports multiple emulators.

Setup

Step 1: Update System Packages

Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

RetroPie needs several packages to build and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git dialog unzip xmlstarlet
sudo apt install libwayland-egl1=1.22.0-2.1build1
sudo apt install libwayland-cursor0=1.22.0-2.1build1
sudo apt install libwayland-server0=1.22.0-2.1build1
sudo apt install libwayland-client0=1.22.0-2.1build1
sudo apt install libxcb1=1.15-1ubuntu2
sudo apt install libwayland-dev
sudo apt install libxcb1-dev

Step 3: Clone the RetroPie Setup Script

git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup.git
cd RetroPie-Setup

Step 4: Run the Setup Script

Launch the setup tool:

sudo ./retropie_setup.sh

Step 5 : Run emulator in terminal

emulationstation

The menu will appear with several options.

Adding a New Controller Key Setting

Method 1: Using EmulationStation

  1. Start RetroPie and wait until you reach the EmulationStation main screen.
  2. If no controller is detected, RetroPie will prompt:
    No gamepad detected. Hold a button on your device to configure it.
  3. Hold any button on the new controller until the setup wizard starts.
  4. Follow the prompts to map:
    • D-Pad directions
    • Start, Select
    • A, B, X, Y buttons
    • L1, R1, L2, R2
    • Hotkey (usually Select)
The following table provides a complete mapping for all RetroPie controller inputs:

+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| RetroPie Input           | Keyboard Key   | Description                           |
+==========================+================+=======================================+
| Up                       | W              | D-pad up                              |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Down                     | S              | D-pad down                            |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left                     | A              | D-pad left                            |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right                    | D              | D-pad right                           |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Start                    | Enter          | Start / pause                         |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Select                   | Right Shift    | Select button                         |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| A                        | J              | Primary action                        |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| B                        | K              | Secondary action                      |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| X                        | U              | Extra action                          |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Y                        | I              | Extra action                          |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Shoulder (L1)       | Q              | Shoulder button                       |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Shoulder (R1)      | E              | Shoulder button                       |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Trigger (L2)        | Z              | Trigger button                        |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Trigger (R2)       | C              | Trigger button                        |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Thumb (L3)          | 1              | Press-in left analog stick            |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Thumb (R3)         | 2              | Press-in right analog stick           |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Analog Up           | T              | Analog stick up                       |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Analog Down         | G              | Analog stick down                     |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Analog Left         | F              | Analog stick left                     |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Left Analog Right        | H              | Analog stick right                    |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Analog Up          | Up Arrow       | Right analog up                       |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Analog Down        | Down Arrow     | Right analog down                     |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Analog Left        | Left Arrow     | Right analog left                     |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Right Analog Right       | Right Arrow    | Right analog right                    |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
| Hotkey Enable            | Right Shift    | Used for special commands (exit, save)|
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------------------------------+
  1. Press and hold any button to skip unwanted inputs.

Method 2: Reset and Add Again

If you want to reconfigure a controller:

rm ~/.emulationstation/es_input.cfg
emulationstation

This will erase all input settings and prompt you to reconfigure.

Adding Games (ROMs)

Reference : Transferring Roms - RetroPie Docs

Step 1: Download Games

Download Games for specific emulators supported by RetroPi. RetroPie supports many gaming systems. ROMs must be placed in the correct folder.

You can see the Directory named as

/home/vicharak/RetroPi/roms/

Example:

  • NES ROMs → /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/nes/
  • SNES ROMs → /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/snes/
  • PlayStation ROMs → /home/pi/RetroPie/roms/psx/

Step 2: Unzip the Downloaded Games and paste them into the specific ROMs Folder, as shown below.

Step 3: Restart EmulationStation

After copying ROMs:

emulationstation --restart

The new games should now appear in the menu.

Notes

  • ROMs must be in supported formats (e.g., .nes, .sfc, .zip for some systems).

References

If you have a query, Put it over here.