RetroDECK Setup: 24 Components in 12 Steps [2026]

RetroDECK crossed 1,229 GitHub stars this month, and its Flathub page shows 14,493 installs in the past 30 days alone — a fast clip for a project that only exists to solve one problem: getting a working, legal retro-gaming setup onto a Steam Deck or Linux PC without hand-configuring a dozen separate emulator cores. Where EmuDeck installs each emulator as its own script-managed program with full access to your filesystem, RetroDECK ships as a single sandboxed Flatpak app — 24 components, one installer, one update channel, and a permission model you can actually audit.

This guide walks through a full RetroDECK install in 12 steps: getting it onto your Steam Deck or Linux desktop, adding BIOS files and ROMs the legal way, running the configurator, mapping controllers, and — because this is a security-focused site — actually looking at what permissions the sandbox grants before you hand it access to your SD card. Every figure below comes from RetroDECK’s live GitHub repository, its official documentation, or Flathub’s own stats API, captured July 2026.

Most retro-gaming setup guides treat the installer as an afterthought and spend all their time on ROM sourcing. This one spends equal time on the part that actually determines whether the software is trustworthy to run in the first place: what it’s allowed to touch on your device, and how that compares to the alternative of running a dozen separately-installed emulators with full filesystem access. If you’ve already decided between RetroDECK and EmuDeck and just want the comparison numbers, see our dedicated EmuDeck vs RetroDeck breakdown — this guide assumes you’ve picked RetroDECK and walks through actually running it.

RetroDECK Quick Facts

The table below summarizes the numbers referenced throughout this guide, pulled live from GitHub and Flathub rather than any third-party aggregator.

Metric	Value
GitHub stars	1,229
Forks	55
Open issues	291
License	GPL-3.0
Latest stable release	0.10.9b (May 30, 2026)
Distribution channel	Flathub only (`net.retrodeck.retrodeck`)
Bundled components	24 (across 5 categories)
Supported platforms	x86_64 Linux only
Flathub lifetime installs	485,676
Flathub installs, last 30 days	14,493

What Is RetroDECK?

RetroDECK is an open-source, all-in-one retro-gaming platform distributed exclusively through Flathub under the package ID net.retrodeck.retrodeck. Its own project description, pulled straight from the GitHub repository, calls it “a powerful all-in-one retro gaming platform designed for handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck, full Linux desktops, Linux HTPC setups, and Linux-based PC consoles such as the Steam Machine.” As of this month the repo carries 1,229 stars, 55 forks, and 291 open issues under a GPL-3.0 license, with commits as recent as July 22, 2026 — an actively maintained project, not an abandoned side-hustle.

The core idea is that instead of installing RetroArch, Dolphin, PCSX2, and eight other emulators separately and wiring up your own frontend, you install one Flatpak, run one setup wizard, and get a unified ES-DE (EmulationStation Desktop Edition) frontend with everything already wired together. The latest tagged GitHub release is 0.10.9b, published May 30, 2026, though the project’s commit history keeps moving well past that tag between formal releases. Since version 0.10.0b, the project underwent what its own release notes call a “complete rewrite” — moving from a single monolithic Flatpak sandbox to per-component sub-sandboxing, where each of the 24 bundled components gets its own isolated filesystem and device permissions. The runtime moved to org.kde.Platform 6.10, and the overall app shrank by roughly 800MB in the process. The BIOS-checker tool also got dramatically faster in the 0.10.3b update — scan times dropped from roughly 60-90 seconds to 2-10 seconds, though that’s RetroDECK compared against its own earlier version, not a measured race against any competitor’s checker.

That rewrite matters more than a typical changelog entry because of what it changes architecturally, not just what it speeds up. A monolithic sandbox treats the whole app as one trust boundary — if any single bundled emulator has a memory-safety bug or gets fed a malformed ROM designed to exploit it, that compromise happens inside a sandbox that also has access to every other component’s files. Per-component sub-sandboxing narrows that blast radius down to the one component involved. It’s the same general principle behind process isolation in a modern browser, applied to a bundle of 24 pieces of software that would otherwise all share one trust boundary by default.

The 24 Bundled Components, by Category

RetroDECK’s official documentation groups its bundled software into five categories. Recomputing the totals from the literal enumerated list (rather than trusting the docs’ own subtotal labels, which have mislabeled the standalone tier before) gives 24 components exactly: 4 utilities + 2 multi-system emulators + 13 standalone emulators + 4 game engines + 1 legacy component.

Category	Count	Included Components
Utilities	4	ES-DE (frontend), Flips, PortMaster, Steam ROM Manager
Multi-system emulators	2	MAME, RetroArch
Standalone emulators	13	Azahar, CEMU, Dolphin, melonDS, PCSX2, Pico-8, Primehack, PPSSPP, RPCS3, Ruffle, Vita3K, XEMU, XRoar
Game engines (fan-made source ports)	4	GZDoom, IKEMEN Go, OpenBOR, Solarus
Legacy	1	DuckStation

If you want deeper, per-emulator configuration than RetroDECK’s bundled defaults expose, several of these components have their own dedicated setup guides on this site: PCSX2 for PS2, Dolphin for GameCube and Wii, DuckStation for PS1, Vita3K for PS Vita, Azahar for 3DS, RPCS3 for PS3, PPSSPP for PSP, and CEMU for Wii U. RetroDECK’s own versions of these cores are typically a step or two behind each project’s bleeding-edge build, since they get updated on RetroDECK’s own release cadence rather than continuously.

Officially, RetroDECK supports x86_64 Linux only — Valve’s SteamOS, Bazzite, ChimeraOS, and general Linux desktops or HTPC setups. There is no native Windows or macOS build, which is the single biggest differentiator against EmuDeck (covered below). The documentation also extends support generically to “x86_64 handhelds supporting Steam Input,” which in practice means devices like the Legion Go or ROG Ally can run it too, provided a compatible Linux distribution — usually Bazzite — is installed first. RetroDECK’s own project description now explicitly lists Valve’s Steam Machine as a target platform, since it runs the same SteamOS-based Linux stack as the Deck.

RetroDECK vs EmuDeck vs Batocera: Where It Fits

RetroDECK isn’t the only “install everything at once” option. EmuDeck is the older, larger project — a script-based installer with 3,480 GitHub stars, 255 forks, and 89 open issues as of this month, also GPL-3.0 licensed. It installs each emulator as an independent program on your system rather than inside a shared sandbox, and it supports both Windows and SteamOS, which RetroDECK does not. Batocera takes a third approach entirely: it’s a full Linux distribution you flash to external media and boot into, rather than an app you install inside an existing OS.

Category	RetroDECK	EmuDeck
GitHub stars	1,229	3,480
Forks	55	255
Open issues	291	89
License	GPL-3.0	GPL-3.0
Distribution	Flathub only	Installer script
Sandboxing	Yes, per-component since 0.10.0b	No — installs run natively
Platform support	x86_64 Linux only	Windows + SteamOS
Bundled components	24 (across 5 categories)	~26-27 (self-reported count is inconsistent)

One thing worth being direct about: there is no legitimate head-to-head frame-rate benchmark between RetroDECK, EmuDeck, and Batocera, and you should be skeptical of any source that claims one. All three tools launch the exact same underlying emulator binaries — Dolphin is Dolphin, RPCS3 is RPCS3, regardless of which installer put it there. As LinuxAdictos put it, “neither EmuDeck, RetroDECK nor Batocera are emulators” — they’re installation and configuration layers sitting on top of identical cores. Frame rate depends entirely on which system you’re emulating and how demanding that specific core is, not which installer you used to get it. If a comparison article shows you a bar chart claiming one tool is “20% faster,” that number isn’t measuring anything real.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm the following:

Hardware: Any x86_64 device — Steam Deck (LCD or OLED), a Bazzite/SteamOS handheld, or a standard Linux desktop/laptop. RetroDECK does not run on ARM devices, Windows, or macOS.
Operating system: SteamOS 3.x (stock on Steam Deck), Bazzite, ChimeraOS, or any mainstream Linux distribution with Flatpak support.
Flatpak and Flathub access: Pre-installed and pre-configured on SteamOS out of the box. Other distros may need Flatpak installed manually — covered in Step 1.
Storage: At minimum a few GB free for RetroDECK itself, plus however much space your ROM and BIOS library needs — this scales entirely with your own collection, not with RetroDECK. Demanding systems like PS3 or Wii U titles can run into multiple gigabytes per game, so budget storage accordingly if your library leans toward sixth- and seventh-generation consoles.
Legally-owned game backups: RetroDECK does not include any ROMs or BIOS files. You are expected to dump these yourself from hardware and physical media you own. Downloading ROMs of games you don’t own from the open internet is copyright infringement in most jurisdictions, RetroDECK’s own legality aside.
A controller: Steam Deck’s built-in controls work immediately; desktop users will want a wired or Bluetooth gamepad for anything beyond keyboard testing.
Basic terminal comfort: Not required — every step below has a graphical path — but the command-line equivalents are faster once you’re past first-time setup, especially for the permission-auditing step later in this guide.

Step 1: Switch to Desktop Mode (Steam Deck) or Confirm Flatpak Is Installed (Other Linux)

On Steam Deck, hold the Power button and choose Switch to Desktop, or go through Steam’s Power menu. SteamOS ships with Flatpak and the Flathub remote already configured, so there’s nothing further to install — you can skip straight to Step 2.

On a standard Linux desktop, check whether Flatpak is already present, and add the Flathub remote if it isn’t:

sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Substitute apt for your distro’s own package manager (dnf, pacman, zypper) — the Flathub remote-add command is identical across all of them. A logout/login (or reboot) after adding the remote ensures Flatpak’s integration with your desktop’s app store shows up correctly.

Step 2: Install RetroDECK from Flathub

On Steam Deck or any distro with a graphical software center (GNOME Software, KDE Discover), open it, search “RetroDECK,” and click install. The official RetroDECK wiki’s Steam Deck instructions walk through the same flow with screenshots if your Discover layout looks different from expected.

Prefer the terminal? The exact same install happens with one command:

flatpak install flathub net.retrodeck.retrodeck

This pulls directly from Flathub — the only distribution channel RetroDECK officially supports. There is no separate “Nightly” or “Cooker” build recommended for general use; stick to the stable channel unless you’re specifically testing a pre-release.

Step 3: Add RetroDECK to Steam as a Non-Steam Game

If you’re on Steam Deck and want RetroDECK to appear in Gaming Mode (not just Desktop Mode), open Steam while still in Desktop Mode, go to Games → Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library, find RetroDECK in the list, and add it. Return to Gaming Mode and RetroDECK now shows up as a regular library entry, complete with Steam Input controller support and the ability to add custom artwork.

This step is what makes RetroDECK feel like a native part of the Steam Deck experience rather than a separate desktop app you have to tab out to. Once it’s added, Valve’s Steam Input layer applies its usual per-app controller profile system to RetroDECK automatically, and you get the same suspend/resume behavior as any other Steam library title — closing the lid mid-game suspends RetroDECK exactly like it would a native Steam game.

Desktop Linux users running a traditional desktop environment can skip this step entirely and just launch RetroDECK from their applications menu like any other program.

Step 4: Launch RetroDECK and Run the First-Time Setup Wizard

The first launch triggers RetroDECK’s setup wizard, which creates the base folder structure, checks for available updates to bundled components, and prompts you to choose where your RetroDECK data folder should live — internal storage or an inserted SD card. On Steam Deck, picking the SD card up front saves you a migration step later if your ROM collection is going to be sizeable, since moving tens or hundreds of gigabytes of ROMs between storage locations after the fact is a much bigger job than picking correctly on day one. The wizard finishes by opening directly into the ES-DE frontend, which will be empty until you add content in the following steps.

The wizard also runs a first-pass check of your system for any missing runtime dependencies and offers to fetch them automatically — this is normal and typically adds a couple of minutes to first launch depending on your connection speed. Don’t interrupt it partway through; a cancelled dependency fetch is one of the more common causes of an install that looks “stuck” on later steps.

Step 5: Learn the RetroDECK Folder Structure

Everything RetroDECK manages lives under a single root folder — ~/retrodeck on internal storage, or <sdcard>/retrodeck if you chose external storage during setup:

~/retrodeck/
├── bios/
├── roms/
│   ├── gc/
│   ├── n64/
│   ├── psx/
│   └── snes/
├── saves/
├── states/
├── screenshots/
├── themes/
└── mods/

The bios/ folder is flat — no per-system subfolders, every BIOS file goes directly inside it, and RetroDECK’s own checker sorts out which file belongs to which system. If you’re migrating from EmuDeck, don’t assume folder names match 1:1: RetroDECK uses gc for GameCube where EmuDeck’s tree uses gamecube, and several other systems follow the same pattern. Blindly copying an EmuDeck ROM tree over will leave some systems empty in ES-DE until you rename the relevant folders.

Step 6: Add Your BIOS Files

Several of RetroDECK’s bundled cores — RPCS3 and Vita3K especially — need real console firmware to function, not just a game file. Copy BIOS files you’ve legally dumped from your own hardware into the flat bios/ folder described above. RetroDECK’s built-in BIOS checker (accessible from its configuration menu) scans the folder and reports which required files are present, missing, or mismatched by checksum — a process that takes roughly 2-10 seconds since the 0.10.3b speed pass, down from closer to a minute on earlier versions.

Do not download BIOS files from ROM sites. Beyond the legal risk, third-party BIOS dumps circulating online are a well-documented source of corrupted or modified files that cause hard-to-diagnose crashes precisely because they don’t match the checksum the emulator core expects.

Step 7: Add Your ROMs

Copy your own legally-dumped game files into the matching subfolder under roms/ — roms/snes/ for Super Nintendo, roms/psx/ for PlayStation, and so on. ES-DE scans these folders and builds your library automatically; there’s no manual “add game” step required as long as files land in the correct system folder with a supported file extension. If a system you expect to see doesn’t appear in ES-DE at all, double-check the exact folder name against RetroDECK’s documentation rather than guessing — this is the single most common reason a system silently fails to show up.

Step 8: Run the Multi-Config Tool (RetroDECK Configurator)

RetroDECK’s Configurator is the central control panel for everything that isn’t per-game — default emulator core selection per system, RetroArch shader presets, audio/video defaults, and bulk options like enabling or disabling specific bundled components you don’t plan to use. Run it after any bulk ROM import, since it’s also where you re-trigger a BIOS re-scan and refresh ES-DE’s game list if something added earlier doesn’t appear. It’s accessible from within RetroDECK’s own menu system, no separate download required.

Step 9: Map Your Controller Per-Emulator

ES-DE’s front-end navigation picks up a connected controller automatically, but per-system emulator button mapping is configured separately inside each core’s own settings menu (accessible via ES-DE’s in-game menu once you’ve launched a title). On Steam Deck, Valve’s own Steam Input layer typically handles this transparently, but if you’re on a third-party handheld or desktop with a generic gamepad, expect to spend a few minutes confirming face-button mapping matches what you expect on at least one game per emulator core — RetroArch-based cores share one mapping scheme, while standalone cores like Dolphin or PCSX2 each keep their own independent settings.

Test one game per core category rather than assuming a single test covers everything. A working mapping on a RetroArch-based SNES core says nothing about whether Dolphin’s independent GameCube mapping is also correct, since the two don’t share configuration. Budgeting ten to fifteen minutes to walk through one launch per major system category up front saves a much more confusing mid-session troubleshooting detour later, when you can’t tell whether a control issue is the game, the core, or the controller.

Step 10: Audit and Harden Sandbox Permissions with Flatseal

This is the step most gaming-focused tutorials skip entirely, and it’s the main reason RetroDECK is worth a second look if you care about what software can actually touch on your system. Since the 0.10.0b rewrite, RetroDECK runs each of its 24 components in its own sub-sandbox, not one shared sandbox for the whole app. In practice, that means a crash, bug, or malicious ROM exploit targeting one emulator core is architecturally contained to that core’s own permission set — it can’t reach into another component’s data or your broader home directory just because both happen to live under the same app.

Why Per-Component Sandboxing Matters

Flatpak’s permission model is genuinely inspectable, unlike a script-based installer where every emulator runs with your full user-level filesystem access by default. You can check exactly what RetroDECK’s Flatpak wrapper is allowed to touch with one command:

flatpak info --show-permissions net.retrodeck.retrodeck

By default, RetroDECK’s permissions are scoped to what it actually needs — its own data directory, controller/input devices, and audio. If you store ROMs on an SD card mounted outside the default path, you’ll need to explicitly grant that path rather than widen permissions blanket-style:

flatpak override --user --filesystem=/run/media/mmcblk0p1 net.retrodeck.retrodeck

Adjust the mount path to match your actual SD card device (check with lsblk if unsure). The graphical alternative to both of these commands is Flatseal, itself distributed on Flathub, which presents the same permission set as toggle switches rather than CLI flags — a reasonable choice if you’d rather not memorize flatpak override syntax. Either way, the underlying point stands: RetroDECK’s sandboxing is a real, auditable security boundary, not just marketing language, and it’s worth actually looking at rather than accepting the defaults blindly.

Step 11: Set Up Steam ROM Manager for Artwork and Steam Grid Sync

Steam ROM Manager is one of RetroDECK’s four bundled utilities, and it solves a purely cosmetic but genuinely annoying problem: making your individual games (not just RetroDECK itself) show up in Steam’s Gaming Mode library with real box art instead of a generic placeholder. Run it from RetroDECK’s utilities menu, point it at your ROM library, and it scrapes matching artwork and generates Steam shortcuts per-game. This step is optional — everything in Steps 1-10 gets you a fully working setup without it — but it’s the difference between a folder of ROMs and something that feels like a real curated library when you’re browsing in Gaming Mode from the couch.

Step 12: Update RetroDECK and Verify Your Setup

Because RetroDECK ships as a single Flatpak, updates are equally centralized — one command updates RetroDECK and, by extension, the bundled version of every one of its 24 components at once:

flatpak update net.retrodeck.retrodeck
flatpak list --app | grep retrodeck

The second command confirms the install is present and shows the currently installed version string, useful for checking you’re actually on 0.10.9b (or whatever has shipped since) rather than an older cached build. At this point your setup is complete: RetroDECK installed, BIOS and ROMs in place, controller mapped, sandbox permissions reviewed, and an update path confirmed working.

Common Pitfalls

Assuming EmuDeck folder names transfer directly. RetroDECK’s system folder names (like gc) don’t always match EmuDeck’s (gamecube) — a blind copy leaves some systems empty until you check each folder name individually.
Sourcing ROMs or BIOS from download sites. Beyond the legal exposure, third-party dumps are a common source of checksum mismatches that RetroDECK’s BIOS checker will flag, or worse, silent corruption the checker won’t catch.
Expecting Windows or macOS support. RetroDECK is x86_64 Linux only. If you’re on Windows, EmuDeck is the comparable tool that actually supports your OS.
Skipping the Configurator after bulk ROM imports. Newly added systems sometimes don’t appear in ES-DE until the Configurator’s refresh/BIOS-rescan step runs.
Granting blanket filesystem permissions instead of scoping them. It’s tempting to grant broad Flatpak filesystem access “to make an error go away” rather than diagnosing which specific path is missing — this defeats the entire point of per-component sandboxing described in Step 10.
Confusing the “legacy” DuckStation tier with an actively-prioritized core. RetroDECK labels DuckStation as its one legacy component; if PS1 emulation is your main use case, our dedicated DuckStation setup guide covers running it independently with more current options.

Troubleshooting

RetroDECK doesn’t appear when searching Discover or GNOME Software.
Confirm the Flathub remote is actually added (flatpak remote-list should show it) and that your software center has refreshed its catalog — a reboot usually forces this.

Games don’t show up in ES-DE after copying ROMs.
Check the exact folder name against RetroDECK’s documented system list — a misnamed folder is silently ignored rather than throwing an error, and it’s the most common cause of a “missing” system.

The BIOS checker flags files as missing even though they’re in the folder.
Confirm the files sit directly in bios/, not in a subfolder, and that filenames match exactly what RetroDECK’s checker expects — some systems require a very specific filename, not just “any file that works elsewhere.”

Controller isn’t detected, or button mapping is wrong.
Confirm the controller works outside RetroDECK first (Steam’s own controller test screen, or jstest on desktop Linux) to rule out a hardware/driver issue before assuming it’s a RetroDECK-specific problem.

The non-Steam-game shortcut doesn’t launch RetroDECK from Gaming Mode.
Re-add the shortcut from Desktop Mode and confirm the launch target points at the actual Flatpak binary path rather than a stale shortcut created before an update changed it.

Flatpak permission errors when accessing an SD card or external drive.
Run the flatpak override --filesystem command from Step 10 with the correct mount path, or grant the equivalent permission via Flatseal’s GUI.

Frame drops or stuttering on demanding systems.
PS3 (RPCS3) and Wii U (CEMU) cores are genuinely demanding regardless of which installer put them on your device — this isn’t RetroDECK-specific overhead, it’s the same performance ceiling EmuDeck or a manual install would hit on identical hardware. Lowering internal resolution scale inside the specific core’s own settings menu is a more effective fix than anything at the RetroDECK level, since RetroDECK itself doesn’t add meaningful overhead on top of the emulator binary it’s launching.

RetroDECK fails to update or appears stuck on an old version.
Run flatpak update manually from a terminal rather than relying solely on a background auto-update, and check flatpak list --app | grep retrodeck afterward to confirm the version actually changed.

Save files don’t appear to sync between Desktop Mode and Gaming Mode.
Both modes point at the same underlying ~/retrodeck/saves/ folder by default — if saves seem to vanish, confirm you didn’t accidentally point one launch method at a different storage location (internal vs SD card) during initial setup.

Advanced Tips

Use Flatseal instead of raw CLI overrides if you’re auditing permissions regularly — it’s faster to scan visually than to re-run flatpak info --show-permissions every time, and it makes it obvious at a glance which of the 24 components have broader access than the others.
RetroAchievements works out of the box on RetroArch-based cores, since RetroDECK bundles RetroArch itself and inherits its native RetroAchievements integration — no separate setup beyond logging in through RetroArch’s own menu.
Netplay is available through the same bundled RetroArch, letting you play certain emulated multiplayer titles online with friends running their own RetroArch-based setup, RetroDECK or otherwise.
Custom ES-DE themes can replace RetroDECK’s default frontend skin — the themes/ folder in the root directory is where community themes get dropped in, and most are simple enough to swap without touching any underlying configuration.
Re-run the BIOS checker after every major update, not just on first setup — a bundled core version bump occasionally changes which exact BIOS file revision it expects.
Disable bundled components you don’t use from the Configurator rather than leaving all 24 active by default — a smaller active surface means fewer sandboxed processes to keep track of, and it’s a five-minute change once you know which systems you actually play.
Keep a periodic backup of the saves/ and states/ folders outside the RetroDECK directory entirely — since everything lives under one root folder, a single accidental deletion or corrupted SD card can take your whole save library with it if there’s no separate copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RetroDECK free?
Yes. It’s open-source under the GPL-3.0 license and distributed free of charge through Flathub.

Is RetroDECK itself legal to use?
Yes — RetroDECK is emulation software, which is legal in most jurisdictions. Legality risk comes entirely from how you source ROMs and BIOS files, not from installing or running RetroDECK. Only use game and firmware files dumped from hardware and media you legally own.

Does RetroDECK work on Windows or macOS?
No. RetroDECK officially supports x86_64 Linux only — SteamOS, Bazzite, ChimeraOS, and mainstream Linux desktops. Windows users looking for a similar all-in-one experience should look at EmuDeck instead.

What’s the real difference between RetroDECK and EmuDeck?
Sandboxing and platform support. RetroDECK runs every component inside an isolated Flatpak sandbox and only supports Linux; EmuDeck installs each emulator natively with full filesystem access and supports both Windows and SteamOS. Neither approach produces faster or slower emulation — they launch identical underlying cores.

Do I need BIOS files for every system?
No. Many systems (most of Nintendo’s consoles, for instance) emulate fine without original firmware. Others — PS3 via RPCS3 and PS Vita via Vita3K in particular — require real dumped firmware to function at all. RetroDECK’s BIOS checker tells you exactly which systems in your library are missing required files.

Can I run RetroDECK on a handheld other than Steam Deck?
Yes, provided the device runs a compatible x86_64 Linux distribution — typically Bazzite. Devices like the Legion Go or ROG Ally can run RetroDECK once set up with Bazzite, since RetroDECK’s requirement is the OS layer, not the specific hardware brand. It also runs on Valve’s newer Steam Machine for the same reason — anything running a compatible SteamOS-based Linux stack qualifies.

How do I know which version I’m running?
Run flatpak list --app | grep retrodeck from a terminal, or check the version string shown in RetroDECK’s own settings menu. The current stable release is 0.10.9b.

Is RetroDECK safe to run on my main gaming device?
As safe as any actively-maintained, open-source Flatpak application with a public GitHub repository and a real per-component sandbox — which is a meaningfully stronger security posture than a script-based installer granting every emulator full filesystem access by default. That said, “safe” still depends on where your ROM and BIOS files come from, not just the installer; sourcing files from unofficial ROM sites carries its own separate malware risk regardless of which emulation platform you’re running them through.

Does RetroDECK support save states and RetroAchievements?
Yes to both. Save states are handled per-core and stored under the states/ folder in RetroDECK’s root directory. RetroAchievements works natively through the bundled RetroArch component on any RetroArch-based core.

For the full gaming hardware and platform archive, visit the Gaming section.