Where Does EmulationStation Keep Config and Gamelists?
EmulationStation stores systems, gamelists and themes in a .emulationstation folder in your home directory. Windows and Linux paths.
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Every EmulationStation configuration file lives in a .emulationstation folder inside your home directory. The star is es_systems.cfg, the XML that defines each system, its ROM path and launch command. Scraped metadata lands in gamelists per system, with themes beside them.
On RetroPie the same folder is symlinked to /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation, and a stock config ships in /etc/emulationstation. Copy the stock file into your home copy before editing, since updates overwrite the system one. The portable Windows build redirects home with run_portable.bat instead.
Where EmulationStation stores this, by platform
%HOMEPATH%\.emulationstation
es_systems.cfg, gamelists and themes here. Type %HOMEPATH% into Explorer's address bar to resolve it. RetroPie-style /etc defaults don't exist on Windows.
~/.emulationstation
Same role, with /etc/emulationstation as the stock fallback ES reads when no home copy exists. Quit EmulationStation before editing configs or changes get overwritten.
Frequently asked questions
Where do EmulationStation gamelists go?
ES checks the ROM folder first, then ~/.emulationstation/gamelists/[SYSTEM]/gamelist.xml, then the /etc fallback. The built-in scraper writes to the home-folder spot. Point external scrapers at either of the first two.
How do I add a new system to EmulationStation?
Copy es_systems.cfg into ~/.emulationstation if it isn't there, add a <system> block with path, extensions and launch command, and restart. Keep a backup: RetroPie updates regenerate the /etc original and ignore your edits there.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.