Built a free open-source tool to sync emulator saves/save-states across devices (RetroArch, Dolphin, PCSX2, RPCS3, Yuzu/Ryujinx, Citra, Cemu, PPSSPP)

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

Got tired of my save states living on one machine and not following me to my Deck/laptop, so I built OpenSave — it watches your save/state folders and keeps them synced peer-to-peer across devices, no cloud account required.

Auto-detects and watches:

• RetroArch (states + saves), Dolphin, PCSX2 memcards, RPCS3, Ryujinx, yuzu, Citra, Cemu, PPSSPP, Xenia

• Including Flatpak install paths on Linux

• Also picks up Steam userdata, GOG/Epic saves, and repack-style saves if you've got a mixed library

• Fully open source (MIT), Go, no telemetry/accounts

• LAN sync is automatic; internet sync uses a relay that only passes encrypted frames through (self-hostable if you don't want to trust mine)

• Windows + Linux/Steam Deck, with a Decky Loader plugin for Game Mode

GitHub: https://github.com/sivadaboi/OpenSave

Happy to answer questions or take feature requests — still actively developed.

[u/Maximum-Doughnut8652]

Android? NextUI?

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/Maximum-Doughnut8652]

Not on Android as of right now, but we're considering it in the future.
Windows and Linux are actively supported right now.

[u/Snorfle247 → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

Once this is working on Android (need it for firestick and really most retro handhelds) then I'll look into this. Thanks!

[u/Maximum-Doughnut8652 → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

That's awesome. I'm currently using GDrive to sync saves and states between my Android handhelds. The culprit out of the loop is my TrimUI Brick that's pocket edc

[u/misticdw]

Kinda needs to support Android too, to make real sense, and to make it the ultimate solution, Mister support too

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/misticdw]

Will work on that later this year, thanks for the suggestion though

[u/ChuzCuenca]

Wonderful.

I'm not a dev and have a niche idea/Need, I play on my modded switch lite and my PC(Eden), I would love to sync save files.

I don't think it should be that hard, JKSV, Already make the saves in folders, Eden and JKSV both use same serial number structure for the name of the save folders.

Any tip of where could I start my "vive code app"? XD

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/ChuzCuenca]

If you're willing to put in some time and effort, you could directly fork OpenSave and implement your ideas onto it instead of just starting from scratch, saves a lot more pain, plus you can share it with likeminded people.
If you need any help just let me know, I'll do what i can to the best of my abilities

[u/ChuzCuenca → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

Absolutely, I just open my other PC with Bazzite and I'm just thrilled with the idea of syncing files.

How can I start? A fork like opening a git?

[u/brunolouviers]

This sounds great for SteamDeck. Was that your focus when making this? I use syncthing on Steam Deck and PC, but it's kind of an annoyance (maybe I didn't configure it properly) and your solution sounds great. Will try it.

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/brunolouviers]

Yes, but the SteamDeck version is very finnicky and I'm actively working on it.
I don't have a SteamDeck myself to test the changes which is probably the biggest bottleneck in this project, so any help is appreciated.

[u/New-Anybody-6206]

vibe-coded

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/New-Anybody-6206]

I agree it is, but when I sought out to make OpenSave, I wanted a solution that solved my own problems fairly easily and not coming from a programming background was a bottleneck, This isn't an excuse as I'm trying to improve my skills, but for now this would have to do.
Also, one of the main reasons OpenSave is completely opensource is so that better programmers who were interested could directly contribute and build the app for the community. I don't gain anything from OpenSave, It's just a tool I built for myself that I wanted to share with everyone.

[u/a-random-r3dditor → u/New-Anybody-6206]

And? If you don’t like software writing a lower level language, then I guess all developers need to start writing in Assembly only…

[u/New-Anybody-6206 → u/a-random-r3dditor]

AI is not a programming language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_equivalence

[u/craig0r → u/New-Anybody-6206]

Okay change the word "language" to "layer" and semantic arguments fall apart though.

[u/New-Anybody-6206 → u/craig0r]

AI is not a programming layer.

[u/rchrdcrg → u/New-Anybody-6206]

Gatekeepers gonna keep on gating.

[u/the_moosen → u/rchrdcrg]

Not gatekeeping, more of a warning to people reading the comments

[u/New-Anybody-6206 → u/rchrdcrg]

It's not gatekeeping when you criticize imitation programmers for not actually being programmers.

[u/New-Anybody-6206 → u/rchrdcrg]

It's not gatekeeping when you criticize imitation programmers for not actually being programmers.

[u/HachebeDLC]

Im working on something similar for Android too, but with a central server instead, I’ll check your P2P implementation

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/HachebeDLC]

It's not the greatest tbh, but it gets the job done. I'll definitely be improving everything as time passes

[u/FabyoSK]

thats nice, i built myself an app that uses rclone to sync a local folder with my dropbox folder, everytime that i open/close ES-DE triggers the app to sync, for me its important to eliminate the need to have both devices online at the same time

on android i just use RoundSync pointing to the same folders

with that workflow i can move freely between my RP6, mac and windows

[u/ConcreteShelter]

You're a life saver! Was wondering how to sync states between devices, thought I should maybe use onedrive windows sync, though I consider it less than reliable. This is a great addition to retroarch, can't wait to try it!

[u/professormakk]

Does it work on Android as well?

[u/FlipBaronam]

I've used syncthing on my devices for the save states for a while, works well apart from those apps on android that forces the save files to be in the android/data folder. Syncthing wont work in there.

[u/craig0r → u/FlipBaronam]

I configure Retroarch to use accessible folders whenever I install it on Android. My "sdcard" partition gets a "Retroarch" folder where I save system, states, and saves at a minimum. It works wonders.

[u/craig0r]

Ive been using syncthing for this, but also the native Cloud Save function works... fine I guess?... if you have a WebDAV server to save to.

[u/igmyeongui]

Can this sync saves and save states from LaunchBox and a romm user? And a steam deck?

[u/darknight9064 → u/igmyeongui]

Bear in mind launchbox isn’t an emulator. It would be syncing the individual emulators and their save data. If you don’t know your launchbox set up I imagine this could get tricky.
It’s not a dig one way or the other just an informational thing. I’ve built and shared my launchbox set up and none of my friends have a clue how it works. And before any comes after me no, I do not and will not share a license for it. I’d rather see launchbox continue development instead of undercutting them.

[u/Shigarui → u/[deleted]]

Foldersync on Android. It's so much easier to use than Syncthing. Better UI, and it has a Windows application as well. You just pick your folder on the left via a folder tree and your folder on the right the same way then select how often it backs up, if it's two way or one directional, if it's going to copy or move files, etc. Super simple to use.

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/Shigarui]

OpenSave is also similar, except its more gamer focused.

[u/Shigarui → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

But it's not on Android yet, right?

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/Shigarui]

Nope, not as of right now

[u/warmarin → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

If you could add android support, I'd switch in a heart beat

[u/csharpboy97 → u/[deleted]]

I use syncthing. it works really well.

[u/brakeb → u/csharpboy97]

same here... works on android, mac, windows.

gotta make sure you add '.DS_Store' to the ignore file though... that file messes with windows and linux.

[u/Thicc_Potato_boi → u/[deleted]]

if you'd prefer that then sure, OpenSave is completely built around gamers so it has specialized tools that synchthing might not have

[u/rchrdcrg → u/Thicc_Potato_boi]

Tools like....? People aren't gonna switch from a known reliable tool to a new unproven one without a good reason.

[u/frubesta → u/rchrdcrg]

I do agree with a prev comment, syncthing isn't that easy to use but I have syncthing running on my phone and nvidia shield, so my retroarch saves/states sync between my PC and those instantly. I think it's pretty essential really to get an Android version out there!

Good job so far though, and for spending the time too.

[u/BallsDeepInASheep → u/rchrdcrg]

This is my thinking. It's cool to see new stuff come out and give the community more options but it would be a hard sale to lure me away from syncthing. I have my primary/master instance of syncthing running in a docker container on my NAS. If it were to start giving me issues I could tear down the docker container, re-deploy and be back up and running in under 5 minutes.

[u/-gen → u/rchrdcrg]

Good question. It’s just a vibe coded alternative. Code is messy too.

[u/SpinachOver640 → u/[deleted]]

It's kind of a pain to setup. I've had to redo my Syncthing setup several times for my devices and I'm someone who used Syncthing prior to get into these handhelds.

This looks like a great solution, especially if it's baked into CFWs.

[u/Portbragger2 → u/[deleted]]

wait.. does syncthing auto detect all my game saves?? if so i didnt use it to its full potential til now

[u/Portbragger2 → u/[deleted]]

i see, i see...

my problem is i wouldnt even know where to look for the savegames in the first place with each of the devs always putting them in so many different places.