Retrom vs RomForge

Retrom is a self-hosted game library service centered on emulation. It scans a server filesystem for games and platforms, then adds them to a library that desktop clients can use to install, uninstall, and play games. Clients are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a browser client for library access from other devices. Retrom can run with a dedicated server or in standalone mode, where a client runs the server locally; other clients can connect to that standalone server only while the client remains open. It supports cloud saves for built-in and standalone emulators, syncing save data and save states to the server. Emulator profiles can be kept on the server for sharing or restoration, though clients need matching emulator and other client-specific paths to share configurations. Retrom can retrieve metadata and artwork through IGDB, its only listed metadata provider. Steam is its only supported third-party library integration and needs a Steam API key and user ID. Retrom is free under GPL-3.0. The project says it lacks specific security measures and recommends local-network use or a properly secured reverse proxy.

RomForge is free, open-source desktop software for managing ROM collections in the OfflineList DAT ecosystem. It scans ROM folders and matches files to DAT entries using CRC32, then reports statuses such as Verified, Missing, Incorrectly Named, Wrong Archive Type and Untrimmed. Users can rename ROMs to DAT-expected filenames, re-archive between ZIP and 7z, and remove GBA or NDS padding. The application supports multiple DAT files and can update them from configured URLs. Its cache re-hashes only files that changed, while game-list status persists across restarts. RomForge is a modern rewrite of OfflineList and remains compatible with community DAT files. It reads OfflineList XML DAT files, which users supply, but does not currently read the No-Intro/Logiqx format. Supported systems are macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel, Windows x64 and Linux x64. The macOS app is signed and notarized; Windows downloads are ZIP archives and Linux downloads are TAR.GZ archives. The project uses the MIT license.