Cores

Libretro Cores

This page lists every libretro core that Emutastic surfaces in its in-app Core Manager, with the upstream project, the source where Emutastic obtains the binary, and the license.

Distribution model

Emutastic does not redistribute any core binaries. The Emutastic release archive (Emutastic-v<version>-win-x64.zip) contains only Emutastic's own code, its .NET runtime dependencies, and the rcheevos.dll it builds from source. No third-party emulation core .dll files are shipped.

When a user installs or updates a core through the in-app Core Manager, Emutastic downloads the binary directly from libretro's official build server (https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/windows/x86_64/latest/). The user's machine connects to libretro's infrastructure; Emutastic does not proxy the request. The binary is written to the user's local Cores\ directory.

Because Emutastic is not the distributor of core binaries, license obligations attached to the act of distribution (e.g. GPL source-availability requirements at the point of binary distribution) attach to libretro, not Emutastic. Emutastic surfaces metadata about which cores exist and what systems they support, which is informational and not a distribution event.

The same model applies to non-commercial-licensed cores (Snes9x, Genesis Plus GX, FBNeo, ProSystem, SAME CDi). Emutastic is non-commercial open-source software and does not ship those binaries; users obtain them themselves from libretro's buildbot, the same way users of any other libretro frontend (RetroArch, RALibRetro, etc.) do.

Emutastic's own license

Emutastic is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. The full text is at LICENSE.txt in the main repository. All Emutastic source code is publicly available at github.com/codingncaffeine/Emutastic.

Core inventory

For every core, the Upstream column links to the canonical source repository where the authoritative LICENSE file lives. License notations below are summaries of those upstream licenses; the upstream repo is the source of truth.

Core	System(s)	Upstream	License
Azahar	Nintendo 3DS	github.com/azahar-emu/azahar	GPL-2.0-or-later
Beetle PSX HW / SW	PlayStation	github.com/libretro/beetle-psx-libretro	GPL-2.0
Beetle Saturn	Sega Saturn	github.com/libretro/beetle-saturn-libretro	GPL-2.0
Beetle PCE	TurboGrafx-16 / TurboGrafx-CD	github.com/libretro/beetle-pce-libretro	GPL-2.0
Beetle PCE Fast	TurboGrafx-16 / TurboGrafx-CD	github.com/libretro/beetle-pce-fast-libretro	GPL-2.0
Beetle VB	Virtual Boy	github.com/libretro/beetle-vb-libretro	GPL-2.0
Beetle NGP	Neo Geo Pocket / Color	github.com/libretro/beetle-ngp-libretro	GPL-2.0
blueMSX	ColecoVision	github.com/libretro/blueMSX-libretro	GPL-2.0
bsnes	SNES	github.com/libretro/bsnes-libretro	GPL-3.0-or-later
DeSmuME	Nintendo DS	github.com/libretro/desmume	GPL-2.0-or-later
Dolphin	GameCube	github.com/libretro/dolphin	GPL-2.0-or-later
FBNeo (FinalBurn Neo)	Arcade	github.com/libretro/FBNeo	Non-commercial (see upstream LICENSE.md)
FCEUmm	NES	github.com/libretro/libretro-fceumm	GPL-2.0-or-later
Flycast	Dreamcast	github.com/libretro/flycast	GPL-2.0-or-later
Gambatte	Game Boy / Game Boy Color	github.com/libretro/gambatte-libretro	GPL-2.0
Gearcoleco	ColecoVision	github.com/drhelius/Gearcoleco	GPL-3.0-or-later
Genesis Plus GX	Genesis / Mega Drive / Master System / Game Gear / SG-1000 / Sega CD	github.com/libretro/Genesis-Plus-GX	Non-commercial (see upstream LICENSE.txt)
Geolith	Neo Geo	github.com/libretro/geolith-libretro	MPL-2.0
Kronos	Sega Saturn	github.com/libretro/yabause (Kronos branch)	GPL-2.0-or-later
MAME 2003-Plus	Arcade	github.com/libretro/mame2003-plus-libretro	MAME license (non-commercial; see upstream LICENSE.md)
melonDS	Nintendo DS	github.com/libretro/melonDS	GPL-3.0-or-later
mGBA	Game Boy / GBC / GBA	github.com/libretro/mgba	MPL-2.0
Mupen64Plus-Next	Nintendo 64	github.com/libretro/mupen64plus-libretro-nx	GPL-2.0-or-later (with some plugins GPL-3.0)
Nestopia UE	NES	github.com/libretro/nestopia	GPL-2.0-or-later
Opera	3DO	github.com/libretro/opera-libretro	GPL-2.0-or-later
ParaLLEl-N64	Nintendo 64	github.com/libretro/parallel-n64	GPL-2.0-or-later
Picodrive	Genesis / Mega Drive / 32X / Master System	github.com/libretro/picodrive	LGPL-2.1-or-later (with some non-commercial components — see upstream)
PPSSPP	PlayStation Portable	github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp	GPL-2.0-or-later
ProSystem	Atari 7800	github.com/libretro/prosystem-libretro	Non-commercial (see upstream License.txt)
QuickNES	NES	github.com/libretro/QuickNES_Core	LGPL-2.1-or-later
SAME CDi	Philips CD-i	github.com/libretro/same_cdi	MAME license (non-commercial; see upstream LICENSE.md)
Snes9x	SNES	github.com/libretro/snes9x	Non-commercial (see upstream LICENSE)
Stella	Atari 2600	github.com/libretro/stella2014-libretro	GPL-2.0
VecX	Vectrex	github.com/libretro/libretro-vecx	GPL-3.0-or-later
Virtual Jaguar	Atari Jaguar	github.com/libretro/virtualjaguar-libretro	GPL-3.0-or-later
Yabause	Sega Saturn	github.com/libretro/yabause	GPL-2.0-or-later

Verifying licenses

Each upstream link above resolves to the canonical source repository. The LICENSE (or equivalent) file at the root of that repository is authoritative. License notations in the table above are summaries for navigation; if the table conflicts with an upstream LICENSE file, the upstream LICENSE file wins.

For users or reviewers wanting to confirm a particular binary's license, the libretro buildbot publishes a <core_name>_libretro.info companion file alongside each <core_name>_libretro.dll at https://buildbot.libretro.com/info/. Those .info files include the upstream license string as recorded by the libretro project.

Reporting issues

If a core's license entry above is inaccurate, please open an issue at the Emutastic repository and the table will be corrected.