Batocera scripts

You can opt to have scripts launched at various points in Batocera. This will change the location you save the script to and how it opens.

Sometimes you just want to fire up one script after successfully booting, for example when you want to start up a VPN or other after-boot tasks. In order to do this, create a script text file at /userdata/system/custom.sh. Be aware that the script will be executed independently of the executable (x) attribute being set to the script file or not!

This script is the very last one that will be invoked by Batocera at boot time after EmulationStation has launched (check /etc/init.d/ to see all the modules that are loaded before then, S99custom is when the user script is launched). The filename must be custom.sh otherwise it will not be checked.

To distinguish between different events, the first argument parsed in the script will change:

• start Only when Batocera is booting.
• stop Only when Batocera is shutting down.
• restart
• reload

Putting code outside of cases which check these arguments will always be executed on both boot and shutdown.

custom.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Code here will be executed on every boot and shutdown.
 
# Check if security is enabled and store that setting to a variable.
securityenabled="$(/usr/bin/batocera-settings-get system.security.enabled)"
 
case "$1" in
    start)
        # Code in here will only be executed on boot.
        enabled="$(/usr/bin/batocera-settings-get system.samba.enabled)"
        if [ "$enabled" = "0" ]; then
            echo "SMB services: disabled"
            exit 0
        fi
        ;;
    stop)
        # Code in here will only be executed on shutdown.
        echo -n "Shutting down SMB services: "
        kill -9 `pidof smbd`
        RETVAL=$?
        rm -f /var/run/samba/smbd.pid
        echo "done"
        ;;
    restart|reload)
        # Code in here will executed (when?).
        echo "SMB services: reloaded"
        ;;
    *)
        # Code in here will be executed in all other conditions.
        echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
        ;;
esac
 
exit $?

In Batocera v32 and higher, scripts can also be launched early in the boot process, before much of Batocera has even begun loading. This is done by storing the script in the boot partition at /boot/boot-custom.sh. Keep in mind that this script will be limited to more basic commands/modules, as most things have not loaded yet. The filename must be boot-custom.sh otherwise it will not be checked.

This can be used to effectively patch and/or override the modules loaded by Batocera. Here are some examples that are only possible with this method:

• Customize or disable S33disablealtfn to allow a certain text mode console on a particular TTY session.
• Tinker with hwclock to save local time instead of universal time to RTC.
• Run fsck -a or e2fsck -p to harden the file system against data corruption in the case of a power cut/disconnection.

This script is triggered by the same events and follows the same rules as it.

Batocera 5.23 and higher supports running a script right before a game launches and/or after a game is exited. Here are some examples:

• Automatic controller setup
• Automatic scraping for new games
• Change screen resolution (though it might be better to use switchres for this)
• Sync savestates to an external/network device
• … give me your idea here

Place an executable script (can have any filename) with the correct setted shebang (first line!) or an executable binary into directory /userdata/system/scripts/.

# Open up a text editor to create your script:
nano /userdata/system/scripts/first_script.sh
# Write in your script, save and exit.
# Then to add the executable bit to it:
chmod +x /userdata/system/scripts/first_script.sh

You can add as many subfolders as you want, every script placed there will be executed. To distinguish between START or STOP condition the first argument parsed in the script have either of these flags:

• gameStart is passed to your scripts if you select a game from EmulationStation (Game Starts!)
• gameStop is passed to your scripts if you are going back from a game to EmulationStation (Game Stops!)

If you do not set cases for first argument, then the script is executed on every start and on every end of a game.

Table of parsed arguments in correct order and their functions:

At first create the directory where the scripts need to be set up. Connect through SSH and type mkdir /userdata/system/scripts. After this we can set up our first script by typing nano /userdata/system/scripts/first_script.sh. The filename can be anything readable by bash.

Here's the template script:

first_script.sh

#!/bin/bash
# This is an example file of how gameStart and gameStop events can be used.
 
# It's good practice to set all constants before anything else.
logfile=/tmp/scriptlog.txt
 
# Case selection for first parameter parsed, our event.
case $1 in
    gameStart)
        # Commands in here will be executed on the start of any game.
        echo "START" > $logfile
        echo "$@" >> $logfile
    ;;
    gameStop)
        # Commands here will be executed on the stop of every game.
        echo "END" >> $logfile
    ;;
esac

Now you can see a log file created /tmp/scriptlog.txt, that parsed all arguments in this file. This is just a small test of course. You can check out the SSH page and the usage of batocera-settings page for general and Batocera-specific commands.

In case Batocera's provided scripting functionality is not sufficient, ES itself also triggers scripts of its own volition. Extra scripts can be created at /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/<event name>/<script>.sh; unlike regular Batocera scripts the event named will trigger all scripts in the respective event folder. For instance, to have a script execute at every game-start event, it must be placed in /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/game-start/.

# Open up a text editor to create your script:
nano /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/game-start/first_script.sh
# Write in your script, save and exit.
# Then to add the executable bit to it:
chmod +x /userdata/system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/game-start/first_script.sh

EmulationStation sends different arguments to these scripts based on the event type. For game-related events:

pixelcade.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
# Save the arguments into variables.
system="${1}"
rom="${2}"
romname="${3}"
 
# Convert an argument into another value.
if [[ "${system}" == "fbneo" ]]; then
        system="mame"
fi
 
# Switch case for certain systems.
case ${system} in
  fbneo)
    system="mame"
    ;;
  scummvm)
    rom="${rom%.*}"
    ;;
esac
 
# Execute this part every time this event triggers.
curl -G \
        --data-urlencode "t=${romname}" \
        http://127.0.0.1:8080/arcade/stream/${system}/`basename ${rom}`

• Shutdown Batocera at a given time.

custom.sh

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
    currenthour=$(date +%k%M)
    if [ $currenthour -eq 2355 ]; then
        shutdown -h now
    fi
    sleep 30
done

• Disable a specific network interface (e.g. eth0, eth1, etc.):

custom.sh

#!/bin/bash
ifconfig eth1 down

• Output text to a file

outputsomething.sh

#!/bin/bash
# by cyperghost for batocera
 
testfile="/userdata/system/scripts/output.txt"
echo "END Script!" >> $testfile
echo "Parameter: $@" >> $testfile
echo "Systemname: $1" >> $testfile
echo "Emulatorcore: $2" >> $testfile
echo "ROM: $(basename "$3")" >> $testfile 
[[ "$4" == "libretro" ]] && echo "You are free!" >> $testfile || echo "No hotkey is pure hell eh??" >> $testfile

• Method to not lose SRM and other meta-data

custom.sh

    #!/bin/bash
    # custom.sh - place to /userdata/system
    # by cyperghost 23/11/19
    #
 
    if [[ $1 == stop ]]; then
        batocera-es-swissknife --emukill
    fi

• Splash video during game load (x86/x86_64) (credit to @algernon)

videolaunchx86.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
# Adds system specific loading screen videos to x86 builds of batocera via VLC
# Add your .mp4 videos to /userdata/loadingscreens naming them each with the same as in your roms folder i.e named snes.mp4 to play a video before for each snes game.
# Add this script in /userdata/system/scripts then chmod+x /userdata/system/scripts/videolaunchx86.sh in terminal to give this script permissions to run
 
do_videostart ()
{
	video="$1"
	vlc play --fullscreen --no-video-title-show --play-and-exit $video
}
 
# Comment out the above phrase and uncomment this one to enable playing loading videos concurrently with emulator launch instead of before (experimental) 
#do_videostart ()
#{
#	video="$1"
#	vlc_opt="play --fullscreen --no-video-title-show --play-and-exit"
#	vlc $vlc_opt $video &
#	PID=$!
#}
 
videopath="/userdata/loadingscreens"
 
if [[ "$1" == "gameStart" && -n "$2" ]]; then
	video="${videopath}/$2.mp4"
	[[ -f "$video" ]] || exit 1
else
	exit 1
fi
 
do_videostart "$video"
#wait $PID
exit 0
 
 
# Replace or comment out all the other code above except for the first bash line then uncomment the following phrase to enable a single loading splash for all systems. It should be named default.mp4 in the same folder as above.
#default="/userdata/loadingscreens/default.mp4"
#case $1 in
#	gameStart)
#		vlc play --fullscreen --no-video-title-show --play-and-exit $default
#	;;
#
#esac
#
#exit 0

• Splash video during game load (Raspberry Pi)

videolaunchpi.sh

#!/bin/bash
do_videostart ()
{
    video="$1"
    # Launch the video
    omx_fnt="--font=/usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSans-BoldOblique.ttf"
    omx_opt="--no-keys --layer=10000 --aspect-mode=fill"
    omx_srt="--no-ghost-box --lines=1 --align=left $omx_fnt --font-size=20 --subtitles=/usr/share/batocera/splash/splash.srt"
 
    # Disable sound
    omx_nosound="-n -1"
    # -911 = Volume set to 35% (On omxplayer)
    # 1/(10^(911/2000)) = 0.35034828830157
 
    /usr/bin/omxplayer -o both --vol -2500 $omx_opt $omx_srt $omx_nosound $video &
    PID=$!
}
 
 
videopath="/userdata/videoloadingscreens"
 
if [[ "$1" == "gameStart" && -n "$2" ]]; then
    video="${videopath}/$2.mp4"
    # Filecheck
    [[ -f "$video" ]] || exit 1
else
    exit 1
fi
 
do_videostart "$video"
#wait $PID
exit 0

• OGST Screen Support (original post)

OGST_screen.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Install videos of ZIP file to /userdata/OGST/
# Install scripts to /userdata/system/custom.sh and /userdata/system/scripts/OGST_screen.sh to use this script.
 
logo_folder='/userdata/OGST'
default_logo='start.mp4'
logo_file=""
loop=false
default_logo_loop=false
cache_file='/userdata/system/.cache/ffmpeg_PID'
 
clean_cache () {
	if [ -f $cache_file ]; then
		rm -f $cache_file
	fi
}
 
case "$1" in
 
    start)  
        # init TFT screen
        [ `/sbin/lsmod | grep -c spi_s3c64xx` -ge 1 ] && rmmod spi_s3c64xx
        modprobe spi_s3c64xx force32b=1
        modprobe fbtft_device name=hktft9340 busnum=1 rotate=270 force32b=1
 
        # wait fb1 loaded
        N=0
        while ! test -e /dev/fb1 -o $N -gt 15; do
                sleep 1
                let N++
        done
 
		# rename fb1 to fb_ (trick to ovoid conflics with some emulators like reicast...)
		mv /dev/fb1 /dev/fb_
 
		clean_cache
        logo_file=$default_logo && loop=default_logo_loop
    ;;
 
    stop)
		clean_cache
		logo_file='stop.mp4' && loop=false
	;;
 
	gameStop)
		logo_file=$default_logo && loop=default_logo_loop
	;;
 
	gameStart)
		logo_file=$default_logo && loop=default_logo_loop
		case "$2" in
			3do)				logo_file='3do/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			amiga)				logo_file='amiga/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			amigacd32)			logo_file='amigacd32/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			amstradcpc)			logo_file='amstradcpc/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			apple2)				logo_file='apple2/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atari800)			logo_file='atari800/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atari2600)			logo_file='atari2600/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atari5200)			logo_file='atari5200/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atari7800)			logo_file='atari7800/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atarist)			logo_file='atarist/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			atomiswave)			logo_file='atomiswave/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			c64)				logo_file='c64/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			cavestory)			logo_file='cavestory/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			colecovision)		logo_file='colecovision/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			dreamcast)			logo_file='dreamcast/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			fba)				logo_file='fba/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			fds)				logo_file='fds/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gameandwatch)		logo_file='gameandwatch/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gamegear)			logo_file='gamegear/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gb)					logo_file='gb/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gba)				logo_file='gba/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gbc)				logo_file='gbc/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			gx4000)				logo_file='gx4000/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			intellivision)		logo_file='intellivision/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			jaguar)				logo_file='jaguar/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			lynx)				logo_file='lynx/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			mame)				logo_file='mame/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			mastersystem)		logo_file='mastersystem/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			megadrive)			logo_file='megadrive/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			msx)				logo_file='msx/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			n64)				logo_file='n64/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			naomi)				logo_file='naomi/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			neogeo)				logo_file='neogeo/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			neogeocd)			logo_file='neogeocd/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			nes)				logo_file='nes/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			ngp)				logo_file='ngp/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			ngpc)				logo_file='ngpc/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			o2em)				logo_file='o2em/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			pcenginecd)			logo_file='pcenginecd/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			pcengine)			logo_file='pcengine/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			pcfx)				logo_file='pcfx/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			pokemini)			logo_file='pokemini/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			prboom)				logo_file='prboom/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			psp)				logo_file='psp/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			psx)				logo_file='psx/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			satellaview)		logo_file='satellaview/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			saturn)				logo_file='saturn/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			scummvm)			logo_file='scummvm/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			sega32x)			logo_file='sega32x/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			segacd)				logo_file='segacd/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			sg1000)				logo_file='sg1000/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			snes)				logo_file='snes/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			sufami)				logo_file='sufami/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			supergrafx)			logo_file='supergrafx/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			thomson)			logo_file='thomson/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			vectrex)			logo_file='vectrex/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			virtualboy)			logo_file='virtualboy/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			wswan)				logo_file='wswan/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			wswanc)				logo_file='atari800/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			x68000)				logo_file='x68000/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			zx81)				logo_file='zx81/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			zxspectrum)			logo_file='zxspectrum/video.mp4' && loop=true ;;
			*)
		esac
	;;
esac
 
draw_logo () {
	loop=0
	if [ $3 = true ]; then loop=-1; fi
    dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/fb_ 2>/dev/null >/dev/null   #clear before draw
    ffmpeg -hide_banner -re -stream_loop $loop -i $1/$2 -c:v rawvideo -pix_fmt rgb565le -f fbdev /dev/fb_ 2>/dev/null >/dev/null &
	echo $! > $cache_file
}
 
# draw logo
if [ "$logo_file" != "" ]; then
	# kill last played video if running
	if [ -s $cache_file ] ; then
	    kill -9 $(cat $cache_file)
	fi
	# draw
	draw_logo $logo_folder $logo_file $loop
fi
 
exit 1

• Change LED colors while running games, and shutdown on button press

shutdownsimple.sh

#!/bin/bash
LED1=22
LED2=27
SHUTDOWN=3 
 
case "$1" in
start)
    # LED init
    echo "$LED1" > /sys/class/gpio/export
    echo "$LED2" > /sys/class/gpio/export
    echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio$LED1/direction
    echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio$LED1/value
    echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio$LED2/direction
    echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio$LED2/value
 
    #Button init
    echo "$SHUTDOWN" > /sys/class/gpio/export 
    echo "in" > /sys/class/gpio/gpio$SHUTDOWN/direction 
    #This loop continuously checks if the shutdown button was pressed 
    #It sleeps as long as that has not happened. 
    buttonstate1=$(cat /sys/class/gpio/gpio$SHUTDOWN/value)
    shutdownSignal=$(cat /sys/class/gpio/gpio$SHUTDOWN/value)
    while [ $shutdownSignal = $buttonstate1 ]; do 
        shutdownSignal=$(cat /sys/class/gpio/gpio$SHUTDOWN/value)
        sleep 0.5
    done
    shutdown -h now 
;;
stop)
      #unexport all GPIOs
       #echo "$SHUTDOWN" > /sys/class/gpio/unexport 
       echo "$LED1" > /sys/class/gpio/unexport 
       echo "$LED2" > /sys/class/gpio/unexport 
;;
esac
exit $?

• Load latest created savestate automatically

loadlatestsave.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
# disable auto load/save state inside ES
# add 'global.retroarch.savestate_auto_load=true'
# to your batocera.conf
# by cyperghost aka lala for BATOCERA
# 
# download this script to '/userdata/system/scripts' and set executable bit
# 
 
rom_no_ext="$(basename "${5%.*}")"
sav_path="/userdata/saves/$2"
 
[[ "$(batocera-settings get global.autosave)" -eq 1 ]] && exit
[[ "$(batocera-settings get global.retroarch.savestate_auto_load)" == "true" ]] || exit
 
if [[ $1 == "gameStart" ]]; then
    file="$(/bin/ls "$sav_path/$rom_no_ext."* -turR1A | tail -1)"
    [[ -n "$file" ]] || exit
    [[ "${file##*.}" == "png" ]] && file="${file%.*}"
    [[ -f "$file" ]] || exit
    cp -f "$file" "$sav_path/$rom_no_ext.state.auto"
fi
 
if [[ $1 == "gameStop" ]]; then
    rm -f  "$sav_path/$rom_no_ext.state.auto"
fi

• Faff about with audio settings.

audio-shenanigans.sh

case "$1" in
 
    start)
        # Get the current audio profile.
        defaultprofile="$(batocera-audio get-profile)"
        # Get the current audio device.
        defaultaudio="$(batocera-audio get)"
        # Set the audio device to HDMI-2.
        batocera-audio set HDMI-2
        # Set the default "auto" audio profile.
        batocera-audio set-profile auto
 
        # Unmute the audio device.
        batocera-audio setSystemVolume unmute
        # Set audio level to 69.
        batocera-audio setSystemVolume 69
        # Test the audio device with Mallet.wav
        batocera-audio test
    ;;
    stop)
        # Toggle the audio mute.
        batocera-audio setSystemVolume mute-toggle

boot-custom.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Delay Syncthing until other boot stuff has completed.
 
if [[ "$1" != "start" ]] && exit 0; then
  if mv /etc/init.d/S27syncthing /etc/init.d/S99syncthing; then
    echo "Successfully delayed Syncthing."
  elif ls /etc/init.d/S99syncthing; then
    echo "Command has already run!"
    exit 0
  else
    echo "Syncthing failed to be delayed."
    touch /userdata/check-boot-custom-sh
    shutdown -h now
    exit 1
  fi
fi
 
exit $?

Original forum post with a deeper explanation. Artwork needs to be sourced and placed in the appropriate Marquee and roms/Marquee folders first.

Place game.sh into system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/game-selected

game.sh

#!/bin/bash
System=$1 #system name
Romname=${2%.*} #romname
rom=${Romname##*/}
/userdata/marquee.sh Gameselected $System "$rom"

Place system.sh into system/configs/emulationstation/scripts/system-selected

system.sh

#!/bin/bash
System=$1 #System name
/userdata/marquee.sh Systemselected $System &

Place marquee.sh in /userdata

marquee.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
case $1 in
Start)
Romname=$3
Gamepath=$2
marqueeimage=$Gamepath/images/$romname-marquee.png
if [ -f "/userdata/roms/Marquee/videos/$Romname.mp4" ]
then
ffmpeg -i /userdata/roms/Marquee/videos/$Romname.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 -sws_flags bilinear -pix_fmt rgb565le -f fbdev /dev/fb0
 
fi
 
if [ -f "/userdata/roms/Marquee/hires/$Romname.jpg" ]
then
fbv /userdata/roms/Marquee/hires/$Romname.jpg -fer
elif [ -f "$marqueeimage" ]
then
fbv $marqueeimage -fer
else
fbv /userdata/roms/mame/images/mame.png -fer
fi
 
;;
Gameselected)
System=$2 #system name
Romname=$3 #romname
 
if [ -f "/userdata/roms/Marquee/$Romname.png" ]
then
fbv /userdata/roms/Marquee/$Romname.png -fer
elif [ -f "/userdata/roms/$System/images/$Romname-marquee.png" ]
then
fbv "/userdata/roms/$System/images/$Romname-marquee.png" -fer
else
fbv /userdata/roms/Marquee/mame.png -fer
fi
 
;;
 
Systemselected)
imagepath="/userdata/roms/sysimages/$2"
if [ -f "$imagepath.png" ]
then
fbv "$imagepath.png" -fer
else
fbv /userdata/roms/mame/images/mame.png -fer
fi
 
;;
 
esac

Place script.sh in system/scripts

script.sh

#!/bin/bash
 
case $1 in
gameStart)
 
gamepath=${5%/*}
romname=${5##*/}
/userdata/marquee.sh Start $gamepath ${romname%.*} &
;;
 
gameStop)
killall ffmpeg
;;
esac