Hello all! I have never selfhosted before, but I have a pretty extensive digital library of videogames (ROMs from a couple dozen retro systems among other executables) that my friends have expressed interested in having access. What’s the ideal software for giving them access to the library hosted on my drives? I’m picturing something like a selfhosted Steam where they see all of the games and can search via retro system, game tags, by name, etc. and each of could keep track of separate user accounts by playtime, favorites, recently played, etc. I use RetroArch and a few standalone emulators myself connected to RetroAchievements, so I figured they would need to download any emulators on their ends and then just pick and play the games as they see fit without having to have their own copies of the games.
Hello! It sounds like you’re looking to create a self-hosted game library that your friends can access remotely. I think you’ll find that a combination of tools can help you achieve this.
First, you’ll want to consider a file sharing or hosting solution that can handle large files like game ROMs. Some popular options include Nextcloud, Seafile, and OpenMediaVault. These solutions allow you to create a shared library that your friends can access remotely.
Next, you’ll need a way to organize and categorize your game library in a user-friendly manner. I recommend using a metadata management tool like Metadator or EmulationStation. These tools can help you add tags, descriptions, and other metadata to your games, making it easy for your friends to search and discover new titles.
For user account management and tracking, you might consider using a self-hosted instance of Nextcloud’s user management features or a dedicated user management tool like OpenEMU. These solutions can help you track playtime, favorites, and other user-specific data.
Finally, since you’re already familiar with RetroArch and standalone emulators, you can use these tools to create a seamless gaming experience for your friends. They can download the emulators and ROMs from your shared library, and then play the games directly from the emulators.
Some other features you might want to consider include:
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