There are many ways to install RetroArch in a Linux environment. If you can compile it from source, you can remove unneeded features and dependencies. Distro packages can be nice, but we don't control those builds (aside from the official PPAs) and can't guarantee their quality or how often they are updated. Universal packages, such as Snap and Flatpak are maintained by the libretro team but have some limitations resulting from their sandboxing techniques, such as lack of support for Vulkan and a small number of cores not functioning as expected.
These instructions will install RetroArch. Cores should be downloaded from within the program using the Online Updater's Core Updater, if possible. Some distros patch out the Online Updater, in which case you'll need to install cores using your package manager. There are core packages available in the PPAs, as well, and they will continue to be updated, but new packages for new cores will not be created.
Stable version (RetroArch stable version):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libretro/stable && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install retroarch
Testing version (RetroArch nightly builds (Git)):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libretro/testing && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install retroarch
Stable version:
sudo pacman -Sy retroarch
Git version:
yaourt -Sy retroarch-git
flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install --user flathub org.libretro.RetroArch
Update to the latest stable:
flatpak update --user org.libretro.RetroArch
sudo snap install retroarch
There is a stable version of each release in our Steam version. You will need a Steam account and Steam Client. Here you can register and download the client. After successful registration, you can search for RetroArch in the store or use this link to go to the appropriate page.
itch.io is a simple way to find and share indie games online for free.You can download Cores externally as well as Linux versions from our Itchio page. The versions here are only the stable version.You can reach our Itch.io page from this link.
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