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Special community version of Lakka has been released!

This special version is aimed at Raspberry Pi SBCs, namely Pi 3, Pi 4 and Pi 5. Out of the box these builds work with the composite video and analog audio outputs of these SBCs. In case of Pi 5 some soldering and a USB to 3,5” jack soundcard/dongle are required.

Release summary

This version of Lakka is set up to use analog video and audio outputs, so no changes after flashing the image are required. Two different versions of Raspberry Pi kernels have been used. Raspberry Pi 5 uses kernel 6.6.y, but Pi 3 and Pi 4 use kernel 5.10.y due to broken analog video output in kernel 6.6.y. RetroArch is updated to commit tagged 1.18.0 and all libretro cores are same version as latest v5.0 release. Mesa is at version 24.0.6.

Due to issues (hiccups and stutters) on the current release (Lakka-v5.x) and development (devel) branches, this community version is based on the Lakka-v4.x branch, where these issues are not present.

The community is grateful to all Raspberry Pi engineers and namely to njhollinghurst, who contributed latest updates to the driver for the RP1 VEC of the Pi 5 and provided detailed explanations and help in Raspberry Pi forums. Many thanks also to MegaManGB for hours of testing.

Currently only images with NTSC preset are available, but we will update this article with instructions for PAL users.

You can download the images from below links:

• Raspberry Pi 3
• Raspberry Pi 4
• Raspberry Pi 5

Once updated images will be released with community fixes and updates, use the built-in online updater to download new udpates.

Remember to configure each core individually to have an integer vertical height, which varies per core (like 224 or 240 for NES). And mainly use a tvout shader to horizontally even out / blur pixels and alleviate composite artifacting.

Known issues

As this is a community release, there is no official support, but feel free to join the community on Discord (channel #lakkatv) using the invite link in the footer!

Final notes

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!

Thumbnail by jdalmanza

New version of Lakka has been released!

We are happy to announce the new and updated version of Lakka.

Release summary

Changes since version 4.3:

• Based on LibreELEC 11.0 build system
• RetroArch updated to 1.17.0
• Cores updated to their most recent versions
• New cores added:
  • dirksimple: Dragon’s Lair player
  • dosbox-core: DOSBox
  • ep128emu: Enterprise 64/128, Videoton TVC, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum
  • geolith: Neo Geo AES and MVS Cartridge Systems
  • jaxe: XO-CHIP/S-CHIP/CHIP-8
  • numero: TI-83
  • thepowdertoy: The Powder Toy
  • vice_xpet: Commodore PET
  • vircon32: Virtual Game Console inspired by 16/32-bit systems
  • vitaquake2: Quake II
• Mesa updated to 24.0.4
• Updated Linux kernel
  • mainline: 6.1.84
  • raspberry: 6.1.77
  • amlogic: 6.1.38
• Added images for following devices
  • Raspberry Pi 5
  • Raspberry Pi Zero 2 in Retroflag GPI Case 2W
  • Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in Retroflag GPI Case 2
  • Generic PC:
    • Support for nVidia GPUs (using proprietary nVidia driver, separate image)
  • Allwinner SOC:
    • OrangePi Zero2
    • OrangePi 3 LTS
  • Amlogic SOC:
    • BananaPi CM4
    • BananaPi M2 Pro
    • BananaPi M2S
    • BananaPi M5
    • Radxa Zero
    • Radxa Zero2
    • WeTek Core
    • WeTek Hub
    • WeTek Play 2
  • Rockchip SOC:
    • Firefly ROC-PC Plus
    • OrangePi 4 LTS
    • Radxa Rock Pi 4 Plus
    • Radxa Rock Pi 4 C Plus
• Retrorama - theme and dynamic wallpapers for XMB

Full changelog

Known issues

See GitHub for information about currently open bugs and issues and also for possible workarounds for these bugs/issues.

Final notes

You can download the latest release from Lakka download page. If you want to follow the development of Lakka more closely, you can download latest Lakka development builds.

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!

Thumbnail by jdalmanza

New version of Lakka has been released!

We are happy to announce the new and updated version of Lakka.

Release summary

Changes since version 4.2:

• RetroArch updated to 1.14.0
• Cores updated to their most recent versions
  • fake-08: added new libretro core (Pico-8)
  • mojozork: added new libretro core (Z-Machine)
  • puae2021: added new libretro core (Amiga, less demanding version of the core)
• Mesa updated to 22.1.7
• Added image for Orange Pi 4 LTS (Rockchip RK3399)
• Added support for more Nintendo Switch variants (Hekate 6.0.1+ is required, on Nintento Switch Lite use touchscreen to change the default input device: Settings → Input → Port 1 Controls → Device Index → top most item)
• Updated Linux kernel
  • mainline: 5.10.123
  • raspberry: 5.10.110
  • amlogic: 5.11.22

Full changelog

Known issues

See GitHub for information about currently open bugs and issues and also for possible workarounds for these bugs/issues.

Final notes

You can download the latest release from Lakka download page. If you want to follow the development of Lakka more closely, you can download latest Lakka nightly builds.

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!

Thumbnail by jdalmanza

New version of Lakka has been released!

We are happy to announce the new and updated version of Lakka.

Release summary

Changes since version 4.1:

• RetroArch updated to 1.10.3
• Cores updated to their most recent versions
  • a5200: added new libretro core
  • race: fixed savestates on arm platforms
• Mesa updated to 22.0.2
• Amlogic: disable composite output on generic TV boxes by default
• Generic: fix/add back support for Ventoy

Known issues

See GitHub for information about currently open bugs and issues and also for possible workarounds for these bugs/issues.

Final notes

You can download the latest release from Lakka download page. If you want to follow the development of Lakka more closely, you can download latest Lakka nightly builds.

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!

Thumbnail by jdalmanza

New version of Lakka has been released!

We are happy to announce the new and updated version of Lakka.

Release summary

Please see Lakka 4.1-rc release notes for changes since version 4.0. Additional changes since version 4.1-rc:

• RetroArch: fixed scanning of .wbfs Nintendo Wii games
• pcsx_rearmed: fixed dynarec on aarch64

Known issues

See GitHub for information about currently open bugs and issues and also for possible workarounds for these bugs/issues.

Final notes

You can download the latest release from Lakka download page. If you want to follow the development of Lakka more closely, you can download latest Lakka nightly builds.

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!

Thumbnail by jdalmanza

We are proud to announce a release canditate for the upcoming release of Lakka 4.1. This release candidate is considered to be stable. Before we release final 4.1 version, we want to give it a good test drive by a broader audience. We thank all testers in the community who give us valuable feedback on the nightly development builds.

What is new?

Here are changes since the release of Lakka 4.0:

• RetroArch updated to version 1.10.2
• Cores updated to their most recent versions
• New cores added
  • race: Neo-Geo Pocket
  • bk-emulator: BK-0010/0011/Terak 8510a
  • same_cdi: Philips CD-i
  • mame: MAME current
• duckstation core (Sony Playstation) removed
• Mesa updated to version 22.0.1
• Mainline kernel updated to 5.10.109 (PC, Amlogic, Allwinner, NXP)
• Raspberry kernel updated to 5.10.103
• Nvidia support fixed (driver is now compiled as module)
• Added Support for USB Wi-Fi dongles ASUS BT500 and TP-Link UB500
• RPi.GPIO Python library added to all Raspberry Pi images (support for custom scripts for various cases)
• System files for standalone cores added (no need to add them manually, but we disabled the system files downloader in Lakka - see below)

Removed system files downloader

System files downloader was removed from Lakka, as Lakka already ships files in the system folder required by various cores. It is still possible to add own files as before, but as some of these files have to match the version of the libretro core, this feature is not available in Lakka in order to avoid incompatibility between core and the files in system folder (espcially in case of PPSSPP). Files required by following cores are included in the Lakka image:

• cannonball: tile patch and tile map files, you have to add your ROM files if you want to use the core from the standalone launcher
• dinothawr
• dolphin
• ecwolf
• fbneo: high score file
• mame2003-plus: artwork, high score / cheat / history files
• mame: artwork and sample files
• nxengine: Cave Story files
• ppsspp: assets
• prboom
• scummvm: themes and DAT files for various game engines
• uae4arm: floppy drive sounds
• xrick

If you have already added some system files to your Lakka, they will still have priority over files in the image. To remove these files, please remove them via SCP / SFTP from the /storage/system folder (do not remove them via SAMBA share System, as this share shows already the path used by RetroArch; you can use the share to add new files).

Bluetooth pairing

Couple releases back a hack was added to RetroArch to remove existing pairings. This is useful in case you need to re-pair a game controller (e.g. you paired it with different device), but as the pairing is already stored in the Lakka OS, only attempt to connect is made. To remove pairing, simply navigate to Settings → Bluetooth, wait for the scanning to finish (you do not need to put your game controller in pairing mode yet) and if you see your game controller, scroll to it and then press the Start button on connected game controller or press the Space key on the keyboard. Then restart RetroArch, switch on pairing mode on your game controller, navigate to Settings → Bluetooth, wait for the scanning to finish and chose your game controller for pairing.

We have also added a small fix in cases your game controller would not reconnect after it was already succesfully paired, but it will not automatically connect after waking it up / rebooting. However you need to re-pair your game controller, so please follow the steps in previous paragraph.

To auto-connect your paired game controller after boot, make sure that Bluetooth service is enabled via Settings → Services → Bluetooth.

How do I get it?

You can download this release candidate:

• Use the Online Updater in RetroArch (recommended; for devices with 2 GB RAM or more)
• Use the command line update script lakka-update (in case your device has 1 GB of RAM or less)
• Download update .tar file and transfer the file:
  • to /storage/.update using SCP / SFTP
  • to the share Updater using SAMBA

Vulkan / GL

Many cores already support Vulkan, therefore on platforms, where Vulkan support is included (PC with Intel and AMD GPU, Raspberry Pi 4, Nintendo Switch) we recommend using the vulkan video driver (Settings → Video → Output → Video). Many cores should automatically switch to different video driver in case they do not support the selected one. If you encounter crash, please try again with gl / glcore video driver, as most probably the level of implementation of Vulkan on the platform / in the GPU driver does not meet the requirements of the core or the Vulkan support for your platform is not supported by the core.

Final notes

If you want to follow the development of Lakka more closely, you can download latest Lakka nightly builds.

See GitHub for information about currently open bugs and issues and also for possible workarounds for these bugs/issues.

If you want to show your support for further development of the Libretro projects and ecosystem, you can learn more here.

Happy retro-gaming!