RomForge vs ROMSorter

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.

ROMSorter detects and renames ROMs and other games, with tools for archives, duplicates and file checks. It can zip files, convert supported archive formats by extracting and recompressing them, or unpack archives into a folder. Identical files can be moved into a subfolder named after the original file. A catalog stores file names and hashes for later checks that files have not changed. The program can create DAT files for other ROM manager apps and rename single-file games using a supplied DAT file. It converts BIN/CUE or ISO files to CHD and can extract CHD back to BIN/CUE using chdman. Other tools include building one-game, one-ROM sets from Parent/Clone DAT files with region priorities, sorting Everdrive folders by starting letter, generating M3U playlists, and batch IPS/BPS patching. The current ROMSorter release is for Win-x64 only; its Librarian command-line companion is available across platforms. Both require .NET 6. Linux and Mac Librarian users need an appropriate MAME chdman build for CHD commands. It is free, MIT licensed and provided without warranty.