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ROM Librarian
What it is
ROM Librarian is a free desktop application for organizing and maintaining retro gaming ROM collections on Windows and Linux. Its batch renaming uses regular expressions, provides previews, handles filename collisions, and supports undo. A DAT tool matches files against No-Intro or MAME records using CRC32, MD5, and SHA1 hashes. The application can compress files to ZIP or 7z and extract those archive formats, and convert CUE/BIN or ISO disc images to CHD. Windows includes chdman for conversion; Linux users need chdman in PATH. When files are renamed, ROM Librarian can update EmulationStation or RetroPie gamelist.xml metadata and restore it with undo. It can identify multi-disc games and create M3U playlists, as well as find duplicates using SHA1 or MD5 and preferences for region, file size, and date. Archives are compared as files rather than by their ROM contents, so the project recommends extracting them before duplicate checks. Linux also has a command-line interface for renaming, compression, extraction, and DAT-based renaming. The project is MIT licensed.
For and against
For
- Batch renaming includes previews and undo.
- Matches ROMs against No-Intro or MAME DAT files.
- Creates M3U playlists for multi-disc games.
- Linux CLI supports scripted use.
Against
- Linux CHD conversion requires chdman in PATH.
- Archives are compared as files, not ROM contents.
- Supported platforms are Windows and Linux.
The verdict
ROM Librarian covers several collection tasks, from DAT matching to archive and disc-image handling. Extract archives before duplicate checking if you need to compare the ROM contents inside them.
Who it suits
ROM Librarian suits retro gaming collection owners who want batch renaming, archive handling, DAT matching, or duplicate checks on Windows or Linux. Linux users can also use its command-line tools.
Plans and prices
ROM Librarian
No paid tiers or usage limits stated on the opened project pages
Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Archive tools
- It can batch compress ROMs to ZIP or 7z and extract ZIP and 7z archives.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Batch renaming
- It offers regex-based batch renaming with live previews, collision handling, and undo support.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Comparison limitation
- The project says archives are compared as files rather than by the ROM content inside, and recommends extracting them first for accurate duplicate detection.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- DAT matching
- Its DAT rename feature uses CRC32, MD5, and SHA1 hashes to match ROMs against No-Intro or MAME DAT files.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Disc conversion
- It converts CUE/BIN and ISO disc images to CHD, with chdman bundled for Windows and Linux users instructed to have chdman in PATH.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Duplicate detection
- It detects duplicates using SHA1 or MD5 hashing and supports region, file-size, and date preferences for choosing which copy to keep.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- EmulationStation and RetroPie
- When renaming files, it can update EmulationStation or RetroPie gamelist.xml metadata and supports restoring it with undo.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Headless use
- Its Linux CLI supports renaming, compression, extraction, and DAT-based renaming, with a --yes option for scripted use.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is released under the MIT License.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Maker
- The README credits development to RobotWizard.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Multi-disc games
- It detects multi-disc games and generates M3U playlists for emulators.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- ROM Librarian is a desktop application for managing, organizing, and maintaining retro gaming ROM collections.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Updates
- The app checks GitHub for releases, can check on startup, and provides a manual update check and release notes preview.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
