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Contributing to RetroBIOS

Add a BIOS file

  1. Fork this repository
  2. Place the file in bios/Manufacturer/Console/filename
  3. Variants (alternate hashes for the same file): bios/Manufacturer/Console/.variants/
  4. Open a Pull Request - hashes are verified automatically and reported as a comment

The dump provenance page lists catalogued dumps still missing from the collection, with their hashes. A file matching one of those is the most useful contribution.

Add a platform

  1. Write a scraper in scripts/scraper/ (inherit BaseScraper)
  2. Read the platform's upstream source to determine how it checks BIOS files
  3. Register it in platforms/_registry.yml
  4. Generate the platform YAML and test: python scripts/verify.py --platform <name>

Full walkthrough: adding a platform.

Add an emulator profile

  1. Clone the emulator's source code, upstream and libretro port
  2. Trace the file loading from the entry point, not from a keyword grep
  3. Document every file the code loads, with a source_ref line reference
  4. Write the YAML to emulators/<name>.yml
  5. Test: python scripts/cross_reference.py --emulator <name>

Full walkthrough: profiling guide.

File conventions

  • bios/Manufacturer/Console/filename for canonical files
  • bios/Manufacturer/Console/.variants/filename.sha1prefix for alternate versions
  • Files >50 MB go in GitHub release assets (large-files release)
  • RPG Maker and ScummVM directories are excluded from deduplication
  • Two paths differing only by case break clones on Windows and macOS; tests/test_no_case_collisions.py enforces this

Before opening a PR

python -m unittest discover tests
python scripts/pipeline.py --offline

PR validation

CI computes SHA1/MD5/CRC32 for every new file, checks them against the platform configs, validates the YAML against the schemas, runs the test suite, and posts a report on the PR.

Contributors who add platform support are credited in the README, on the documentation site, and in the BIOS packs.