Provided by: mame_0.247+dfsg.1-1_amd64 
NAME
MAME - Multi-purpose emulation framework
SYNOPSIS
mame [options] gamename
DESCRIPTION
Started in 1997 by Nicola Salmoria, MAME was originally intended as a series of emulators
for individual games, which were later combined into a single multi-game emulator. In the
following years, MAME grew over and over up to the actual size, with more than 100
contributors to the project.
OPTIONS
Core commands
-help, -?
Displays current MAME version and copyright notice.
-validate, -valid
Performs internal validation on every driver in the system. Run this before
submitting changes to ensure that you haven't violated any of the core system
rules.
Configuration commands
-createconfig, -cc
Creates the default mame.ini file in the current directory. All the configuration
options (not commands) described below can be permanently changed by editing this
configuration file.
-showconfig, -sc
Displays the current configuration settings.
-showusage, -su
Displays a summary of all the command line options. For options that are not
mentioned here, the short summary given by -showusage is usually sufficient.
Frontend commands
All the list commands below write info to the screen. If you wish to write the info to a
textfile instead, use redirection. For example, mame -listxml > ~/mamelist.xml writes the
full list of supported game to file mamelist.xml in your home directory.
-listxml, -lx [gamename|wildcard]
List comprehensive details for all of the supported games. The output is quite
long, so it is usually better to redirect this into a file. The output is in XML
format. By default all games are listed; however, you can limit this list by
specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -listxml command.
-listfull, -ll [gamename|wildcard]
Displays a list of game driver names and descriptions. By default all games are
listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard
after the -listfull command.
-listsource, -ls [gamename|wildcard]
Displays a list of drivers and the names of the source files their game drivers
live in. Useful for finding which driver a game runs on in order to fix bugs. By
default all games are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
driver name or wildcard after the -listsource command.
-listclones, -lc [gamename|wildcard]
Displays a list of clones. By default all clones are listed; however, you can limit
this list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -listclones command.
-listbrothers, -lb [gamename|wildcard]
Displays a list of "brothers" or other drivers from same sourcefile. By default
all games are listed; however, you can limit this list by specifying a driver name
or wildcard after the -listbrothers command.
-listcrc
Displays a full list of CRCs of all ROM images referenced by all drivers within
MAME code.
-listroms, -lr gamename
Displays a list of ROM images referenced by the specified game.
-listsamples gamename
Displays a list of samples referenced by the specified game.
-verifyroms [gamename|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images. By default all drivers that have valid
ZIP files or directories in the rom path are verified; however, you can limit this
list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -verifyroms command.
-verifysamples [gamename|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing samples. By default all drivers that have valid ZIP
files or directories in the samplepath are verified; however, you can limit this
list by specifying a driver name or wildcard after the -verifyroms command.
-romident
Attempts to identify ROM files, if they are known to MAME, in the specified .zip
file or directory. This command can be used to try and identify ROM sets taken from
unknown boards. On exit, the errorlevel is returned as one of the following:
0 all files were identified
7 all files were identified except for some "non-ROM" files
8 some files were identified
9 no files were identified
-listdevices, -ld
Output the list of devices referenced by a given game or set of games.
-listslots, -lslot
Output the list of available slots and slot devices for the system.
-listmedia, -lm
Output the list of available media for the system.
-listsoftware, -lsoft
Output the list of known software for the system.
-verifysoftware, -vsoft [gamename|wildcard]
Checks for invalid or missing ROM images in your software lists. By default all
drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories in the rompath are verified;
however, you can limit this list by specifying a specific driver name or wildcard.
-getsoftlist, -glist
Retrieve software list by name.
-verifysoftlist, -vlist [softwarelistname]
Checks a specified software list for missing ROM images if files exist for issued
softwarelistname. By default, all drivers that have valid ZIP files or directories
in the rompath are verified; however, you can limit this list by specifying a
specific softwarelistname (without .XML).
-listmidi, -mlist
Create a list of list available MIDI I/O devices for use with emulation.
-listnetwork, -nlist
List available network adapters.
Configuration options
-[no]readconfig, -[no]rc
Enables or disables the reading of the config files. When enabled (which is the
default), MAME reads the following config files in order:
1. mame.ini
the main configuration file
2. name.ini
where name is your executable name, i.e. mame unless you changed it (e.g. if you
renamed mame to mame0137, the parsed file will be mame0137.ini)
3. debug.ini, if the debugger is enabled
4. vector.ini, for vector games only
5. [driver].ini
based on the source filename of the game driver
6. [parent].ini
for clones only, may be called recursively
7. [gamename].ini
note this sometimes resolves to the same of the source driver
The settings in the later ini's override those in the earlier ini's. So, for
example, if you wanted to disable overlay effects in the vector games, you can
create a vector.ini with the "effect none" line in it, and it will override
whatever effect value you have in your mame.ini. The default is ON (-readconfig).
-[no]writeconfig, -[no]wc
Write configuration to [driver].ini on exit. Default is OFF (-nowriteconfig).
Search path options
Be careful to use the path, directory and file options in mame.ini ONLY. Otherwise, the
outcome may be unpredictable and not consistent across releases.
-rompath, -rp, -biospath, -bp pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find ROM or hard disk images. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'roms'
(that is, a directory "roms" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-hashpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to search for software hash files. Multiple
paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'hash'
(that is, a directory 'hash' in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-samplepath, -sp pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find sample files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'samples' (that is, a
directory "samples" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-artpath, -artwork_directory pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find artwork files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'artwork' (that is, a
directory "artwork" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-ctrlrpath, -ctrlr_directory pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find controller-specific configuration
files. Multiple paths can be specified by separating them with semicolons. The
default is 'ctrlr' (that is, a directory "ctrlr" in the same directory as the MAME
executable).
-inipath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .INI files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is '/etc/mame/'.
-fontpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find .BDF font files. Multiple paths can
be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is '.' (that is,
search in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-cheatpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find cheat files. Multiple paths can be
specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'cheat' (that is, a
directory 'cheat' in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-crosshairpath pathname
Specifies a list of paths within which to find crosshair files. Multiple paths can
be specified by separating them with semicolons. The default is 'crosshair' (that
is, a directory "crosshair" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If the
Crosshair is set to default in the menu, MAME will look for gamenamespecified
crosshairpath, where # is the player number. Failing that, MAME will use built-in
default crosshairs.
-pluginspath pathname
Specifies a single path within which to find plugins. The default is 'plugins'
(that is, a directory 'plugins' in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-languagepath pathname
Specifies a single path within which to find language files. The default is
'language' (that is, a directory 'language' in the same directory as the MAME
executable).
Output Directory Options
-cfg_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where configuration files are stored. Configuration
files store user configurable settings that are read at startup and written when
MAME exits. The default is 'cfg' (that is, a directory "cfg" in the same directory
as the MAME executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-nvram_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where NVRAM files are stored. NVRAM files store the
contents of EEPROM and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) for games which used this type of
hardware. This data is read at startup and written when MAME exits. The default is
'nvram' (that is, a directory "nvram" in the same directory as the MAME
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-input_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where input recording files are stored. Input
recordings are created via the -record option and played back via the -playback
option. The default is 'inp' (that is, a directory "inp" in the same directory as
the MAME executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-state_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where save state files are stored. Save state files
are read and written either upon user request, or when using the -autosave option.
The default is 'sta' (that is, a directory "sta" in the same directory as the MAME
executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-snapshot_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where screen snapshots are stored, when requested by
the user. The default is 'snap' (that is, a directory "snap" in the same directory
as the MAME executable). If this directory does not exist, it will be automatically
created.
-diff_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where hard drive differencing files are stored. Hard
drive differencing files store any data that is written back to a hard disk image,
in order to preserve the original image. The differencing files are created at
startup when a game with a hard disk image. The default is 'diff' (that is, a
directory "diff" in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory
does not exist, it will be automatically created.
-comment_directory pathname
Specifies a single directory where debugger comment files are stored. Debugger
comment files are written by the debugger when comments are added to the
disassembly for a game. The default is 'comments' (that is, a directory "comments"
in the same directory as the MAME executable). If this directory does not exist,
it will be automatically created.
State/playback options
-state slot
Immediately after starting the specified game, will cause the save state in the
specified slot to be loaded.
-[no]autosave
When enabled, automatically creates a save state file when exiting MAME and
automatically attempts to reload it when later starting MAME with the same game.
This only works for games that have explicitly enabled save state support in their
driver. The default is OFF (-noautosave).
-playback, -pb filename
Specifies a file from which to play back a series of game inputs. This feature does
not work reliably for all games, but can be used to watch a previously recorded
game session from start to finish. In order to make things consistent, you should
only record and playback with all configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory
card files deleted. The default is NULL (no playback).
-[no]exit_after_playback
If play back is enabled (see -playback option) the program exits when end of file
is reached. Otherwise the machine will continue to run. Default is OFF
(-noexit_after_playback).
-record, -rec filename
Specifies a file to record all input from a game session. This can be used to
record a game session for later playback. This feature does not work reliably for
all games, but can be used to watch a previously recorded game session from start
to finish. In order to make things consistent, you should only record and playback
with all configuration (.cfg), NVRAM (.nv), and memory card files deleted. The
default is NULL (no recording).
-[no]record_timecode
Specify whether to create a timecode file. It contains a line with elapsed times on
each press of timecode shortcut key (default is F12). This option works only when
recording mode is enabled (-record option). The file is saved on inp folder.
Default is OFF (-norecord_timecode).
-mngwrite filename
Writes each video frame to the given filename in MNG format, producing an animation
of the game session. Note that -mngwrite only writes video frames; it does not
save any audio data. Use -wavwrite for that, and reassemble the audio/video using
offline tools. The default is NULL (no recording).
-aviwrite filename
Stream video and sound data to the given filename in AVI format, producing an
animation of the game session complete with sound. The default is NULL (no
recording).
-wavwrite filename
Writes the final mixer output to the given filename in WAV format, producing an
audio recording of the game session. The default is NULL (no recording).
-snapname string
Describes how MAME should name files for snapshots. string provides a template that
is used to generate a filename. Three simple substitutions are provided: the /
character represents the path separator on any target platform (even Windows); the
literal %g represents the driver name of the current game; and the literal %i
represents an incrementing index. If %i is omitted, then each snapshot taken will
overwrite the previous one; otherwise, MAME will find the next empty value for %i
and use that for a filename. The default is %g/%i, which creates a separate folder
for each game, and names the snapshots under it starting with 0000 and increasing
from there. Example: if you use mame robby -snapname foo/%g%i snapshots will be
saved as snaps/foo/robby0000.png, snaps/foo/robby0001.png and so on.
-snapsize widthxheight
Hard-codes the size for snapshots and movie recording. By default, MAME will create
snapshots at the game's current resolution in raw pixels, and will create movies at
the game's starting resolution in raw pixels. If you specify this option, then MAME
will create both snapshots and movies at the size specified, and will bilinear
filter the result. Note that this size does not automatically rotate if the game is
vertically oriented. The default is 'auto'.
-snapview internal|auto|viewname
Specifies the view to use when rendering snapshots and movies. By default, both use
a special 'internal' view, which renders a separate snapshot per screen or renders
movies only of the first screen. By specifying this option, you can override this
default behavior and select a single view that will apply to all snapshots and
movies. Note that viewname does not need to be a perfect match; rather, it will
select the first view whose name matches all the characters specified by viewname.
For example, -snapview native will match the "Native (15:14)" view even though it
is not a perfect match. viewname can also be 'auto', which selects the first view
with all screens present. The default value is 'internal'.
-[no]snapbilinear
Specify whether snapshot/movie should have bilinear filtering applied. Default is
ON (-snapbilinear).
-statename string
Describes how MAME should store save state files, relative to the state_directory
path. string provides a template that is used to generate a relative path. Two
simple substitutions are provided: the / character represents the path separator on
any target platform (even Windows); the literal %g represents the driver name of
the current game. The default is '%g', which creates a separate folder for each
game. Example: if you use mame robby -statename foo/%g save states will be stored
inside sta/foo/robby/.
-[no]burnin
Tracks brightness of the screen during play and at the end of emulation generates a
PNG that can be used to simulate burn-in effects on other games. The resulting PNG
is created such that the least-used areas of the screen are fully white (since
burned-in areas are darker, all other areas of the screen must be lightened a
touch). The intention is that this PNG can be loaded via an artwork file with a
low alpha (e.g, 0.1-0.2 seems to work well) and blended over the entire screen. The
PNG files are saved in the snap directory under the
gamename\burnin-<screen.name>.png. The default is OFF (-noburnin).
Performance options
-[no]autoframeskip, -[no]afs
Automatically determines the frameskip level while you're playing the game,
adjusting it constantly in a frantic attempt to keep the game running at full
speed. Turning this on overrides the value you have set for -frameskip below. The
default is OFF (-noautoframeskip).
-frameskip, -fs value
Specifies the frameskip value (autoframeskip must be disabled). This is the number
of frames out of every 12 to drop when running. For example, if you say -frameskip
2, then MAME will display 10 out of every 12 frames. By skipping those frames, you
may be able to get full speed in a game that requires more horsepower than your
computer has. The default value is 0, which skips no frames.
-seconds_to_run, -str value
This option can be used for benchmarking and automated testing. It tells MAME to
stop execution after a fixed number of seconds. By combining this with a fixed set
of other command line options, you can set up a consistent environment for
benchmarking MAME performance. In addition, upon exit, the -str option will write a
screenshot called final.png to the game's snapshot directory.
-[no]throttle
Configures the default throttling setting. When throttling is on, MAME attempts to
keep the game running at the game's intended speed. When throttling is off, MAME
runs the game as fast as it can. Note that the fastest speed is more often than not
limited by your graphics card, especially for older games. The default is ON
(-throttle).
-[no]sleep
Allows MAME to give time back to the system when running with -throttle. This
allows other programs to have some CPU time, assuming that the game isn't taxing
100% of your CPU resources. This option can potentially cause hiccups in
performance if other demanding programs are running. The default is ON (-sleep).
-speed value
Controls the speed of gameplay, relative to realtime; smaller numbers are slower.
Default is 1.00.
-[no]refreshspeed, -[no]rs
Automatically adjusts the -speed parameter to keep the effective refresh rate below
that of the lowest screen refresh rate. Default is OFF (-norefreshspeed).
-numprocessors, -np value
Set number of processors; this overrides the number the system reports.
-bench value
Benchmark for the given number of emulated seconds; implies -video none -sound none
-nothrottle.
-[no]sdlvideofps
Show SDL video performance. Default is OFF (-nosdlvideofps).
Rotation options
-[no]rotate
Rotate the game to match its normal state (horizontal/vertical). This ensures that
both vertically and horizontally oriented games show up correctly without the need
to rotate your monitor. If you want to keep the game displaying 'raw' on the screen
the way it would have in the arcade, turn this option OFF. The default is ON
(-rotate).
-[no]ror | -[no]rol
Rotate the game screen to the right (clockwise) or left (counter- clockwise)
relative to either its normal state (if -rotate is specified) or its native state
(if -norotate is specified). Default for both is OFF (-noror -norol).
-[no]autoror | -[no]autorol
These options are designed for use with pivoting screens that only pivot in a
single direction. If your screen only pivots clockwise, use -autorol to ensure that
the game will fill the screen either horizontally or vertically in one of the
directions you can handle. If your screen only pivots counter-clockwise, use
-autoror. Default for both is OFF (-noautoror -noautorol).
-[no]flipx -[no]flipy
Flip (mirror) the game screen either horizontally (-flipx) or vertically (-flipy).
The flips are applied after the -rotate and -ror/-rol options are applied. Default
for both is OFF (-noflipx -noflipy).
Artwork options
-[no]artwork_crop, -[no]artcrop
Enable cropping of artwork to the game screen area only. This option can also be
controlled via the Video Options menu in the user interface. The default is OFF
(-noartwork_crop).
-[no]use_backdrops, -[no]backdrop
Enables/disables the display of backdrops. The default is ON (-use_backdrops).
-[no]use_overlays, -[no]overlay
Enables/disables the display of overlays. The default is ON (-use_overlays).
-[no]use_bezels, -[no]bezel
Enables/disables the display of bezels. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
-[no]use_cpanels, -[no]cpanel
Enables/disables the display of cpanels. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
-[no]use_marquees, -[no]marquee
Enables/disables the display of marquees. The default is ON (-use_bezels).
Screen options
-brightness value
Controls the default brightness, or black level, of the game screens. This option
does not affect the artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MAME UI, you
can individually set the brightness for each game screen; this option controls the
initial value for all visible game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting
lower values (down to 0.1) will produce a darkened display, while selecting higher
values (up to 2.0) will give a brighter display. The default is 1.0.
-contrast value
Controls the contrast, or white level, of the game screens. This option does not
affect the artwork or other parts of the display. Using the MAME UI, you can
individually set the contrast for each game screen; this option controls the
initial value for all visible game screens. The standard value is 1.0. Selecting
lower values (down to 0.1) will produce a dimmer display, while selecting higher
values (up to 2.0) will give a more saturated display. The default is 1.0.
-gamma value
Controls the gamma, which produces a potentially nonlinear black to white ramp, for
the game screens. This option does not affect the artwork or other parts of the
display. Using the MAME UI, you can individually set the gamma for each game
screen; this option controls the initial value for all visible game screens. The
standard value is 1.0, which gives a linear ramp from black to white. Selecting
lower values (down to 0.1) will increase the nonlinearity toward black, while
selecting higher values (up to 3.0) will push the nonlinearity toward white. The
default is 1.0.
-pause_brightness value
This controls the brightness level when MAME is paused. The default value is 0.65.
-effect [none|filename[.png]]
Name of a PNG file to use for visual effects, or 'none'. Default is 'none'.
Vector rendering options
-beam_width_min value
-beam_width_max value
Sets the minimum and maximum width of the vectors. This is a scaling factor against
the standard vector width, which is interpolated between minimum and maximum
according to the beam's intensity. A value of 1.0 will keep the default vector line
width. Smaller values will reduce the width, and larger values will increase the
width. The default is 1.0.
-beam_intensity_weight value
Applies an exponential weight to the minimum and maximum beam width. For positive
values the interpolated scaling factor will affect lines with higher intensity more
than lines with lower intensity. The default is 0.0.
-flicker value
Simulates a vector "flicker" effect, similar to a vector monitor that needs
adjustment. This option requires a float argument in the range of 0.00-100.00
(0=none, 100=maximum). The default is 0.
Video options
-video [soft|opengl|bgfx|none]
Specifies which video subsystem to use for drawing:
soft uses software rendering, which is slower but more compatible.
opengl uses OpenGL and your graphics accelerator to speed up many aspects of
drawing MAME including compositing artwork, overlays, and bezels, as well as
stretching the image to fit your screen.
bgfx uses the bgfx renderer which supports portable shaders and multiple graphics
APIs including OpenGL, OpenGL ES and DirectX.
none does no drawing and is intended for CPU benchmarking.
Default is 'soft' on Linux or 'opengl' on macOS.
-numscreens [1-4]
Number of screens to create; usually, you want just one. Default is '1'.
-[no]window, -[no]w
Run MAME in either full screen or a window. This is a fully-featured window mode
where the window resizes as necessary to track what the game does. And you can
resize it yourself with your OS's standard window controls. The default is OFF
(-nowindow).
-[no]maximize, -[no]max
Controls initial window size in windowed mode. If it is set on, the window will
initially be set to the maximum supported size when you start MAME. If it is turned
off, the window will start out at the smallest supported size. This option only has
an effect when the -window option is used. The default is ON (-maximize).
-[no]keepaspect, -[no]ka
Forces the correct aspect ratio. This means when you're resizing the window in
windowed mode the actual game image will resize in discrete steps to maintain the
proper shape of the game graphics. If you turn this off you can resize the window
to anything you like and get funny squishing and stretching. The same applies for
full-screen. Default is ON (-keepaspect).
-[no]unevenstretch, -[no]ues
Allow non-integer stretch factors. Video purists should stay far, far away from
this option, while everyone else will be happy to know that it lets you fill the
screen properly in full-screen mode. Default is ON (-unevenstretch).
-[no]unevenstretchx, -[no]uesx
Act as -[no]unevenstretch on horizontal basis only.
-[no]intoverscan, -[no]ios
Allow overscan on integer scaled targets.
-intscalex, -sx
Set horizontal integer scale factor.
-intscaley, -sy
Set vertical integer scale factor.
-[no]centerh
Center horizontally within the view area. Default is ON (-centerh).
-[no]centerv
Center vertically within the view area. Default is ON (-centerv).
-[no]waitvsync, -[no]vs
Enable waiting for the start of VBLANK before flipping screens; reduces tearing
effects. Default is OFF (-nowaitvsync).
-[no]syncrefresh, -[no]srf
Enable using the start of VBLANK for throttling instead of the game time. Default
is OFF (-nosyncrefresh).
Software video rendering subsystem options
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only with softare video rendering
subsystem, i.e -video soft.
-prescale [value]
Scale screen rendering by this amount in software. Default is 1.
-scalemode, -sm [none|async|yv12|yuy2|yv12x2|yuy2x2]
Hardware scaling mode.
none use software rendering.
async async overlay.
yv12 yv12 overlay.
yuy2 yuy2 overlay.
yv12x2 yv12 overlay using x2 prescaling.
yuy2x2 yuy2 overlay using x2 prescaling.
Default is NONE.
OpenGL video rendering subsystem options
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only with OpenGL video rendering
subsystem, i.e -video opengl.
-[no]filter, -[no]glfilter, -[no]flt
Enable bilinear filtering on screen output. Default is ON (-filter).
-prescale [value]
Scale screen rendering by this amount in software. Default is 1.
-[no]gl_forcepow2texture
Force power of two textures. Default is OFF (-nogl_forcepow2texture).
-[no]gl_notexturerect
Don't use OpenGL GL_ARB_texture_rectangle. Turn off if corruption occurs in OpenGL
mode, at cost of some performance loss. Default is ON (-gl_notexturerect).
-[no]gl_vbo
Enable OpenGL VBO, if available, for a performance increase. Turn off if
corruption occurs. Default is ON (-gl_vbo).
-[no]gl_pbo
Enable OpenGL PBO, if available, for a performance increase. Turn off if
corruption occurs. Default is ON (-gl_pbo).
-[no]gl_glsl
Enable OpenGL GLSL, if available, for a performance increase. Default is OFF
(-nogl_glsl).
-gl_glsl_filter value
Enable OpenGL GLSL filtering instead of FF filtering 0=plain, 1=bilinear. Default
is 1: bilinear.
-glsl_shader_mame[0-9]
Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader set mame bitmap (from 0 to 9).
-glsl_shader_screen[0-9]
Preferred custom OpenGL GLSL shader screen bitmap (from 0 to 9).
-screen
Explicit name for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess.
-aspect, -screen_aspect
Aspect ratio for all screens; 'auto' here will try to make a best guess.
-resolution, -r
Preferred resolution for all screens; format is widthxheight[@refreshrate] or
'auto'.
-view Preferred view for all screens
-screen[0-3]
Explicit name of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make
a best guess.
-aspect[0-3]
Aspect ratio of the first|second|third|fourth screen; 'auto' here will try to make
a best guess.
-resolution[0-3], -r[0-3]
Preferred resolution for the first|second|third|fourth screen; format is
widthxheight[@refreshrate] or 'auto'.
-view[0-3]
Preferred view for the first|second|third|fourth screen.
BGFX post-processing options
NOTE: All the options in this group are available only when BGFX video post-processing is
enabled, i.e -video bgfx. For full info on BGFX please visit official MAME documentation
page:
http://docs.mamedev.org/advanced/bgfx.html
-bgfx_path pathname
This is where your BGFX shader files are stored. The default is 'bgfx' (that is, a
directory "bgfx" in the same directory as the MAME executable).
-bgfx_backend auto|opengl
Selects a rendering backend for BGFX to use. The default is 'auto', which will let
MAME choose the best selection for you.
-bgfx_debug
Enables BGFX debugging features. Most users will not need to use this.
-bgfx_screen_chains default|unfiltered|hlsl[,...]
This dictates how to handle BGFX rendering on a per-display basis. For each
display specify one of the possible choices:
default default bilinear filterered output
unfiltered nearest neighbor unfiltered output
hlsl HLSL display simulation through shaders
Separate directives for each window with a comma (,) and for each physical screen
with a colon (:). For example, for an emulated game with 3 displays emulated on 3
windows on your monitor, -bgfx_screen_chains default,unfiltered,default specifies
to apply default filter on what is been rendered on the first and third window and
leave the content of the second window unfiltered.
-bgfx_shadow_mask filename
This specifies the shadow mask effect PNG file. Default is 'slot-mask.png'.
-bgfx_avi_name filename
This specifies a filename for BGFX output logging.
Full screen options
-[no]switchres
Affects full screen mode only. Chooses if MAME can try to change the screen
resolution (color depth is normally left alone) when in full-screen mode. If it's
off, you always get your desktop resolution in full-screen mode (which can be
useful for LCDs). Default is OFF (-noswitchres).
-[no]useallheads
Split full screen image across monitors. Default is OFF (-nouseallheads).
Sound options
-sound [sdl|portaudio|coreaudio|dsound|xaudio2|none]
Specifies which sound subsystem to use for audio output:
sdl uses the Simple DirectMedia Layer audio output system (not available on
Windows by default).
portaudio uses the PortAudio library which supports low-latency output and
multiple audio APIs.
coreaudio uses the Core Audio API which supports low-latency output and AudioUnit
effects (only available on macOS).
dsound uses the DirectSound API (only available on Windows).
xaudio2 uses the XAudio2 API which supports low-latency output (only available on
Windows).
none produces no audio output.
Default is 'dsound' on Windows, 'coreaudio' on macOS or 'sdl' on other platforms.
-samplerate, -srf value
Sets the audio sample rate. Smaller values (e.g. 11025) cause lower audio quality
but faster emulation speed. Higher values (e.g. 48000) cause higher audio quality
but slower emulation speed. The default is 48000.
-[no]samples
Use samples if available. The default is ON (-samples).
-[no]compressor
Enable audio compressor. It temporarily reduces the overall volume when the audio
output is overdriven. The default is ON (-compressor).
-volume, -vol value
Sets the startup volume. It can later be changed with the user interface (see Keys
section). The volume is an attenuation in dB: e.g., "-volume -12" will start with
-12dB attenuation. The default is 0.
-audio_latency value
This controls the amount of latency built into the audio streaming. The exact
behavior depends on the selected audio output module (see the -sound option).
Smaller values provide less audio delay while requiring better system performance.
Higher values increase audio delay but may help avoid buffer under-runs and audio
interruptions. The default is 1.
Input options
-[no]coin_lockout, -[no]coinlock
Enables simulation of the "coin lockout" feature that is implmeneted on a number of
game PCBs. It was up to the operator whether or not the coin lockout outputs were
actually connected to the coin mechanisms. If this feature is enabled, then
attempts to enter a coin while the lockout is active will fail and will display a
popup message in the user interface. If this feature is disabled, the coin lockout
signal will be ignored. The default is ON (-coin_lockout).
-ctrlr controller
Enables support for special controllers. Configuration files are loaded from the
ctrlrpath. They are in the same format as the .cfg files that are saved, but only
control configuration data is read from the file. The default is NULL (no
controller file).
-[no]mouse
Controls whether or not MAME looks for a mouse controller to use. Note that in many
cases, lightguns are treated as mice by the operating system, so you may need to
enable this to enable lightgun support. When this is enabled, you will not be able
to use your mouse while playing a game. If you want to get control of your computer
back, you will need to either pause the game or quit. The default is OFF
(-nomouse).
-[no]joystick, -[no]joy
Controls whether or not MAME looks for joystick/gamepad controllers. The default
is ON (-joystick).
-[no]lightgun, -[no]gun
Controls whether or not MAME makes use of lightgun controllers. Note that most
lightguns map to the mouse, so using -lightgun and -mouse together may produce
strange results. The default is OFF (-nolightgun).
-[no]multikeyboard, -[no]multikey
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple keyboards. Some systems
may report more than one keyboard; by default, the data from all of these keyboards
is combined so that it looks like a single keyboard. Turning this option on will
enable MAME to report keypresses on different keyboards independently. The default
is OFF (-nomultikeyboard).
-[no]multimouse
Determines whether MAME differentiates between multiple mice. Some systems may
report more than one mouse device; by default, the data from all of these mice is
combined so that it looks like a single mouse. Turning this option on will enable
MAME to report mouse movement and button presses on different mice independently.
The default is OFF (-nomultimouse).
-[no]steadykey, -[no]steady
Some games require two or more buttons to be pressed at exactly the same time to
make special moves. Due to limitations in the PC keyboard hardware, it can be
difficult or even impossible to accomplish that using the standard keyboard
handling. This option selects a different handling that makes it easier to register
simultaneous button presses, but has the disadvantage of making controls less
responsive. The default is OFF (-nosteadykey).
-[no]ui_active
Enable MAME user interface on top of emulated keyboard (if present). User
interface may be toggled during execution by pressing the key defined with
-ui_modekey. Default is OFF (-noui_active).
-[no]offscreen_reload, -[no]reload
Controls whether or not MAME treats a second button input from a lightgun as a
reload signal. In this case, MAME will report the gun's position as (0,MAX) with
the trigger held, which is equivalent to an offscreen reload. This is only needed
for games that required you to shoot offscreen to reload, and then only if your gun
does not support off screen reloads. The default is OFF (-nooffscreen_reload).
-joystick_map, -joymap map
Controls how joystick values map to digital joystick controls. See
/usr/share/doc/mame/config.txt for full details on map format.
-joystick_deadzone, -joy_deadzone, -jdz value
If you play with an analog joystick, the center can drift a little.
joystick_deadzone tells how far along an axis you must move before the axis starts
to change. This option expects a float in the range of 0.0 to 1.0. Where 0 is the
center of the joystick and 1 is the outer limit. The default is 0.3.
-joystick_saturation, -joy_saturation, -jsat value
If you play with an analog joystick, the ends can drift a little, and may not match
in the +/- directions. joystick_saturation tells how far along an axis movement
change will be accepted before it reaches the maximum range. This option expects a
float in the range of 0.0 to 1.0, where 0 is the center of the joystick and 1 is
the outer limit. The default is 0.85.
-[no]natural, -[no]nat
Allows user to specify whether or not to use a natural keyboard. This allows you
to start your game or system in a 'native' mode, depending on your region, allowing
compatibility for non-"QWERTY" style keyboards. The default is OFF (-nonatural).
-[no]joystick_contradictory, -[no]joy_contradictory
Enable contradictory direction digital joystick input at the same time. Default is
OFF (-nojoystick_contradictory).
-coin_impulse time
Set coin impulse time. A negative value for time disables the impulse; set time to
0 to obey driver or give a positive value to set impulse time.
-uimodekey, -umk value
Specifies the key used to toggle between full and partial UI mode.
-uifontprovider auto|sdl|none
Provider for ui font.
-output console|network|none
Provider for output.
-keyboardprovider auto|sdl|none
Provider for keyboard input.
-mouseprovider auto|sdl|none
Provider for mouse input.
-lightgunprovider auto|none
Provider for lightgun input.
-joystickprovider auto|sdl|none
Provider for joystick input.
-[no]keymap
Enable keymap for non-QWERTY keyboards. Used in conjunction with -keymap_file.
Default is OFF (-nokeymap).
-keymap_file keymap_file
Specifies the full path to the keymap file to be used. A few keymap files are
available in /usr/share/games/mess/keymaps.
-joy_idx[0-8] joystick
With these options you can assign a joystick to a specific index in MAME. Even if
the kernel will list the joysticks in a different order on the next boot, MAME will
still see the joystick as e.g. "Joystick 2". Use mame -v to see which joysticks are
recognized. Default is 'auto'.
-[no]sixaxis
Use special handling for PS3 Sixaxis controllers. Default is OFF (-nosixaxis).
-mouse_index[1-8]
Map mouse to specific index in MAME.
-keyb_idx[0-8] keyboard
With these options you can assign a keyboard to a specific index in MAME.
-videodriver, -vd auto|x11|directfb
SDL video driver to use; 'auto' selects SDL default.
-renderdriver, -rd auto|software|opengl|directfb
SDL render driver to use; 'auto' selects SDL default.
-audiodriver, -ad auto|alsa|arts
SDL audio driver to use; 'auto' selects SDL default.
-gl_lib auto|alsa|arts
Alternative libGL.so to use; 'auto' selects SDL default.
Input automatic enable options
-paddle_device, -paddle [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-adstick_device, -adstick [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-pedal_device, -pedal [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-dial_device, -dial [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-trackball_device, -trackball [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-lightgun_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-positional_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
-mouse_device [none|keyboard|mouse|lightgun|joystick]
Each of these options controls automatically enabling the mouse, or joystick
depending on the presence of a particular class of analog control for a particular
game. For example, if you specify the option -paddle mouse, then any game that has
a paddle control will automatically enable mouse controls just as if you had
explicitly specified -mouse. Note that these controls override the values of
-[no]mouse, -[no]joystick, etc.
Debugging options
-[no]log
Creates a file called error.log which contains all of the internal log messages
generated by the MAME core and game drivers. The default is OFF (-nolog).
-[no]verbose, -[no]v
Displays internal diagnostic information. This information is very useful for
debugging problems with your configuration. IMPORTANT: when reporting bugs, please
run with mame -verbose and include the resulting information. The default is OFF
(-noverbose).
-[no]update_in_pause
Enables updating the screen bitmap while the game is paused. This is useful for
debuggin in some scenarios (and gets in the way in others). Default is OFF
(-noupdate_in_pause).
-[no]debug, -[no]d
Activates the integrated debugger. By default, the debugger is entered by pressing
the tilde (~) key during emulation. It is also entered immediately at startup. The
default is OFF (-nodebug).
-debugscript filename
Specifies a file that contains a list of debugger commands to execute immediately
upon startup. The default is NULL (no commands).
-debugger debugger_name
Name of the debugger to use. Default is AUTO.
-debugger_font, -dfont font_name
Specifies the font to use for debugging. Default is AUTO.
-debugger_font_size, -dfontsize size
Specifies the font size to use for debugging.
-[no]oslog
Outputs the error.log data to the system debugger. This can be used at the same
time as -log to output the log data to both targets as well. Default is OFF
(-nooslog).
Communication options
-comm_localhost
Local address to bind to.
-comm_localport
Local port to bind to.
-comm_remotehost
Remote address to connect to.
-comm_remoteport
Remote port to connect to.
Misc options
-[no]drc
Enable DRC cpu core if available. Default is ON (-drc).
-[no]drc_use_c
Force DRC use C backend. Default is OFF (-nodrc_use_c).
-[no]drc_log_uml
Write DRC UML disassembly log. Default is OFF (-nodrc_log_uml).
-[no]drc_log_native
Write DRC native disassembly log. Default is OFF (-no_drc_log_native).
-bios biosname
Specifies the specific BIOS to use with the current game, for game systems that
make use of a BIOS. The -listxml output will list all of the possible BIOS names
for a game. The default is 'default'.
-[no]cheat, -[no]c
Activates the cheat menu with autofire options and other tricks from the cheat
database, if present. The default is OFF (-nocheat).
-[no]skip_gameinfo
Forces MAME to skip displaying the game info screen. The default is OFF
(-noskip_gameinfo).
-uifont fontname
Specifies the name of a BDF font file to use for the UI font. If this font cannot
be found or cannot be loaded, the system will fall back to its built-in UI font. On
some platforms fontname can be a system font name instead of a BDF font file. The
default is 'default' (use the OSD-determined default font).
-ui simple|cabinet
Type of UI.
-ramsize, -ram value
Size of RAM (if supported by driver).
-[no]confirm_quit
Display confirm quit screen on exit. Default is ON (-confirm_quit).
-[no]ui_mouse
Display UI mouse cursor. Default is OFF (-noui_mouse).
-autoboot_command, -ab command
Command string to execute after machine boot (in quotes ""). To issue a quote to
the emulation, use """ in the string. Using \n will issue a create a new line,
issuing what was typed prior as a command. Example: -autoboot_command "load
"""$""",8,1\n".
-autoboot_delay [value]
Timer delay (in seconds) to trigger command execution on autoboot. Default is 2.
-autoboot_script, -script [filename.lua]
File containing scripting to execute after machine boot.
-[no]console
Enable emulator LUA console. Default is OFF (-noconsole).
-[no]plugins
Enable LUA plugin support. Default is ON (-plugins).
-plugin value
List of plugins to enable.
-noplugin value
List of plugins to disable.
-language, -lang value
Display language. Default is 'English'.
-watchdog value
Specifies a number of seconds after which MAME should automatically exit if it
detects that the emulation has locked up.
SEE ALSO
chdman(1), jedutil(1), ldresample(1), ldverify(1), romcmp(1)
LEGAL NOTICE
Please visit the MAME website for some important legal information:
http://mamedev.org/legal.html