romgi

Easy-to-use ROM downloader for Android devices

A standalone Android application for browsing, downloading, and managing ROMs on Android devices. Perfect for emulation handhelds like Retroid Pocket, Anbernic, AYN Odin, and more.

Concept inspired by pkgi-psp, Kekatsu-DS, and similar tools.

Features

• Browse & Search - Search through thousands of ROMs across multiple platforms
• Platform & Region Filtering - Filter by brand, platform, and region (US, EU, JP, ...)
• Box Art Display - Visual browsing with cached cover art thumbnails
• Download Queue - Queue multiple downloads with concurrent download support
• HTTP + Torrent transports - Direct HTTP downloads and BitTorrent (selective per-file) in the same queue
• Background Downloads - Downloads continue when the app is in the background
• Pause & Resume - Resume downloads after app restart, including torrents
• ZIP Extraction - Automatic extraction of downloaded archives
• Library Management - Track all your downloaded ROMs in one place
• Custom Download Paths - Set default or per-platform download locations
• Internet Archive Support - Persistent login for protected Internet Archive items
• Source Status - See per-catalog health (online / down / unknown) in Settings

Quick Setup

1. Download the latest APK from the Releases page.

2. Install the APK on your Android device.

   • You may need to enable "Install from unknown sources" in your device settings.

3. Launch romgi and grant storage permissions when prompted.

4. Start browsing! Use the search bar and filters to find ROMs.

5. Tap on any ROM to view details and available download links.

6. Tap "Download" to add to your queue. Downloads will start automatically.

Navigation

romgi uses a bottom navigation bar with four main sections:

Tab	Description
Browse	Search and filter ROMs from the database
Downloads	View active, queued, and completed downloads
Library	Browse your downloaded ROM collection
Settings	Configure download paths, themes, and accounts

Download Locations

By default, romgi saves downloads to a public folder accessible by any file manager and emulator:

/storage/emulated/0/Download/Roms/
├── snes/
├── n64/
├── psx/
└── ...

On first launch, you'll be prompted to grant storage permission ("Allow access to manage all files") to enable saving to this location.

You can customize this in Settings > Download Locations:

• Set a custom default download path
• Override paths for specific platforms (e.g., save PS1 games to a different SD card folder)

Internet Archive Login

Some ROMs hosted on Internet Archive require authentication. To access them:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Internet Archive > Log in.
2. Sign in to archive.org in the embedded browser.
3. romgi captures the session and exchanges it for a long-lived API key — protected downloads work automatically from then on.

The session is stored encrypted on the device and persists across app restarts. romgi re-validates it in the background; if the key is ever revoked, you'll be prompted to log in again. Links requiring login are marked with a "Login Required" badge.

Torrent Sources

Some catalogs (notably MiNERVA) distribute ROMs as BitTorrent torrents — often as multi-ROM packs containing thousands of files. romgi handles these natively:

• The download queue treats torrent links the same as HTTP links — pick a ROM, tap Download.
• Only the file you ask for is downloaded from the torrent (selective download via libtorrent file priorities). You don't grab the whole pack.
• Settings > Downloads > Seed torrents controls whether romgi continues sharing back to peers while a download is active. On by default; turn it off if you have a metered connection.

Supported Platforms

romgi supports a wide range of retro gaming platforms, including:

• Nintendo: NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Game Boy, GBA, DS, 3DS, and more
• Sony: PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS Vita
• Sega: Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, Game Gear
• And many more: Atari, Neo Geo, TurboGrafx, and other retro platforms

Building from Source

Requirements

• Flutter SDK (3.0 or higher)
• Android SDK with API level 24+ (Android 7.0+)
• Git

Build the app

git clone https://github.com/caprado/romgi.git
cd romgi
flutter pub get

flutter build apk --debug      # debug APK
flutter build apk --release    # release APK (arm64 only)

The built APK will be located at build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk.

Release builds are filtered to arm64-v8a to keep the APK size sane after bundling the BitTorrent runtime. Every modern Android phone and retro handheld is arm64. To produce a 4-ABI build, edit abiFilters in android/app/build.gradle.kts.

Rebuild the catalog database (optional)

The app pulls a pre-built SQLite catalog from this repo. CI rebuilds it weekly. If you want to run the build locally:

cd db
pip install -r requirements.txt
python workflow.py                  # full rebuild
python workflow.py --use-cached     # reuse cached HTTP responses
python workflow.py --skip-minerva   # skip the ~1.7 GB MiNERVA mirror download

Output is db/romdb.db. Adding a new source = drop a folder under db/sources/<id>/ with source.yml + scraper.py and add the platform routes in db/platforms.yml.

Technical Details

• Minimum Android Version: Android 7.0 (API 24)
• Target Android Version: Latest stable
• Framework: Flutter/Dart
• Data Source: Built-in ROM Database

Key Dependencies

Package	Purpose
dio	HTTP client with download progress
sqflite	Local SQLite (downloads, library)
flutter_riverpod	State management
cached_network_image	Box art caching
archive	ZIP extraction
flutter_local_notifications	Download notifications
flutter_foreground_task	Background HTTP + torrent downloads
flutter_secure_storage	Encrypted IA session storage
webview_flutter	IA login flow
pigeon	Type-safe Dart ↔ Kotlin torrent bridge
libtorrent4j (Android)	BitTorrent runtime with file priorities

Disclaimer

romgi is a tool for downloading content; it does not host any ROMs or copyrighted material. Users are responsible for ensuring they have the legal right to download any content. Similar to how torrent clients operate, the application itself is neutral regarding the content being downloaded.

Credits

• Data Sources: MiNERVA Archive, Internet Archive, NoPayStation, MarioCube
• Inspiration: pkgi-psp, Kekatsu-DS
• Framework: Flutter

License

This project is open source. See the LICENSE file for details.