Where Does Stella Store Settings and Saves?
Stella keeps settings and ROM data in a per-OS base folder (%APPDATA%\Stella, ~/Library/Application Support/Stella, ~/.config/stella).
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Stella funnels its supporting files through one base directory per OS, which keeps backup simple. The settings database, ROM properties, cheat files, palette, and NVRAM snapshots all live there. ROMs themselves stay wherever you put them.
Older builds used different names (stella.ini on Windows, stellarc on Linux), so version mismatches explain half the confusion online. Current builds use a SQLite settings file in the same base folder. ROM-specific debugger scripts stay beside their ROMs instead.
Where Stella stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Stella
Settings database plus cheats, palette, ROM properties, and NVRAM. Older builds used stella.ini here instead. Delete the settings file with Stella closed to reset cleanly.
~/Library/Application Support/Stella
Same base-folder role on macOS. Snapshots and state subfolders sit beside the settings. Override everything with the -basedir launch flag.
~/.config/stella
stellarc for options, stella.pro for ROM properties, plus nvram, state, and snapshots subfolders. The man page documents every file; -basedir relocates the tree.
Frequently asked questions
Settings are corrupted. How do I reset Stella?
Delete stella.sqlite3 (or stellarc on older builds) with Stella closed. A fresh default generates on next launch. Your ROMs live elsewhere and are untouched by the reset.
Can I move Stella's data folder?
Pass -basedir with a folder path when launching. Stella stores everything under it instead of the OS default, which suits shared and portable setups.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.