mame

TLDR

Run arcade ROM

$ mame [romname]

List available games

$ mame -listfull

Run with fullscreen

$ mame -window 0 [romname]

Verify ROM set

$ mame -verifyroms [romname]

Show controls for game

$ mame -listctrl [romname]

Configure controls

$ mame [romname] -ui_active

SYNOPSIS

mame [options] [system] [media...]

MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) emulates arcade game hardware. It preserves gaming history by documenting and emulating arcade machines, allowing original software to run on modern computers.
MAME supports thousands of arcade systems and some home consoles.

PARAMETERS

-window

Run windowed (1) or fullscreen (0).

-listfull

List all supported systems.

-verifyroms

Verify ROM integrity.

-rompath path

ROM directory.

-listctrl

Show control configuration.

-ui_active

Activate UI during emulation.

-createconfig

Create default config.

DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

$ ~/.mame/
├── roms/      # Game ROMs
├── cfg/       # Configurations
├── nvram/     # Saved data
└── snap/      # Screenshots

CAVEATS

ROMs must be legally obtained. ROM sets change between versions. Some games need CHD files. Performance varies by emulated system.

HISTORY

MAME was started by Nicola Salmoria in 1997. It merged with MESS in 2015 to become a universal emulation project preserving both arcade and home systems.